Hey all, I have kind of the same issue, sort of. I had a tire repaired (slow leak) some time ago but am not sure if the shop knew the rim had a sensor on it. I had it serviced a couple of months ago and was told one tire was at 20 psi! No warning light was on. So a few weeks ago I set the psi to what I wanted (42f/40r) and tried to reset the system. I followed the procedure in my repair book, Bentley's, and no 'flashing warning light' signaling the system had been reset. I did this 2 more times, nothing. If one sensor is bad, will it throw the whole system off? I think the repair shop who fixed the tire originally may have damaged the one sensor. I was going to take it to Toyota and have it checked out but wanted to run it by you guys first. Thanks...
I almost in the same boat as you, txtabby. My TPMS light on the dash is on constantly. My tires are fine according to the dealer, but they want to keep the car for a day to at least give it a full check. I am afraid they may out a nail on my tire while in the shop. Sorry, I don't trust those stealerships.
Try tirerack dot com for TPMS sensors. They list them as 315MHz Tire Pressure Sensor $288.00 for a quantity of 4. Also you can buy their ATEQ TPM QUICKSET RESET TOOL for $125 to set the new ones in your car.
If your TPMS light is solid on all the time (it should flash for 60 seconds, then stay solid, or at least it does that in the 2010) then it indicates a malfunction in the TPMS. That could be a dead sensor battery, broken sensor, incorrect TPMS ID programmed (probably a few other things as well). The dealer should be able to fix this pretty quickly and under the 3/36 warranty (if you're still under it). It will take them about 5 mins to pull the TPMS info from the TPMS ECU and see what the problem is. Unfortunately, taking the wheels apart to get the IDs may take them awhile. Any competent dealer shouldn't be holding your car overnight for this simple procedure. The ATEQ tool is good for those that have separate winter/summer tires on separate wheels with each having a sensor. You also have to know the sensor IDs for it to work, which can be difficult unless you already have them recorded somewhere. I have one and will get my first real use from it in a couple weeks when I put my winter tires on the car.
In my case the light is on (flashing then solid) because the rims with the senders are 5km away in m storage locker and will be until spring comes and I put the summer tires and rims back on. I deal with the annoying light by applying a small happy face sticker. :focus:
My shop dealer is very incompetent. They seem to give me a hard time. I've been back and forth now for at least 4 times on the same problem and my TPMS light keep coming back on solid after blinking for a few seconds. Does anyone know who to contact at Toyota regarding this matter? Need to make a complaint and hopefully Toyota will eventually fix it.
I'm guessing the Toyota Care number. However, I would look for a new dealer also. Has your current dealership given you anything as far as what they did each time you were in for this issue? It almost seems like they're just clearing out a DTC in the TPMS ECU and sending you on your way. Of course, then you have the same problem again.