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Tire Pressure Sensors

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by simplifying, Jun 2, 2018.

  1. simplifying

    simplifying Junior Member

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    I had a tire pressure sensor malfunction on a 2 year old tire which was repaired by my tire company for 106 dollars.. My car is a 2006 Prius. I have had the car for 2 years and prior repair records show no problems with the sensors.

    Question: How long do these sensors last? Should I be expecting problems with the other 3? Thank you.
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The sensors last around 10 years, you can expect the others will fail, and you can get a much better repair price at Costco.
     
  3. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    I had one TPMS die at 9.5-years and the other three still good approaching 12-yr mark.
    But after about 7-8 years they are on borrowed time.
    If you are talking about the orig TPMS, they should be dead by now except for good luck.
    If you saw the battery inside the TPMS you'd wonder how the heck it can last 10-years
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Look into the regs in your State, and ask around at tire stores: you may be able to just use regular valves, go old-school.

    In some States a tpms light in the dash will fail you at an annual inspection, but in a lot it won't. The sticking point though, might be the willingness of tire shops to install regular valves. I'm not sure, but I believe the letter of the law says they have to? I'm not sure what the current "climate" is though.

    FWIW, in Canada you can do what you want, there's currently no obligation to maintain TPMS sensors.
     
  5. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    I just replaced all 4 of my sensors 2 days ago, one was dead, one had comm problems, and the other 2 were still working. They were 12 years old in my '06. Bought them online for about $37 each and replaced and registered them myself.

    I got oem, but you could get non-oem units that clone the original id if you don't have a mini-vci and techstream to register the units. Depending where you go to have them done it can be cheap or not so cheap.

    As Patrick indicated, Costco is about as cheap as they come, about $10 each. Caveat, they are busy and you will have a bit of a wait time is my experience for tire replacement/repair.

    2006 Gen 2
    2014 Gen 3 v
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What's that $10 for, tpms sensor install and initialize? The part itself is extra??

    Up here Costco charges $3.99 (CDN) for tpms rebuild, which is to replace O-ring(s) and valve innards. Reasonable price.
     
  7. simplifying

    simplifying Junior Member

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    Thanks for the responses. Good to get information about the tire sensors longevity.

    As an older person, the installation of the new one is important to me. Jujst do not want to get stranded somewhere.
     
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  8. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    Labor only. Don't know what the parts cost would be. Thinking about it, they might only be able to clone your old unit, so if you bring in oem they might not be able to do it. Better to call first before your buy your own.
     
    #8 hchu1, Jun 2, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2018
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  9. RobertK

    RobertK Member

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    I checked my sensors with Techstream before I replaced the tires last fall. One sensor was showing low voltage, so I replaced all four when I bought the tires. Costco charged my $45 per sensor with no charge for installation since they were replacing the tires. The sensors are not Toyota branded, but they work and are visible in Techstream. There was no TPMS "rebuild" fee either. They charge $15 to install if it is a standalone job, so I saved $60 by doing them with the tires.

    I beleive that Toyota recommends sensor replacement when the tires are replaced if the sensors are 10 years old or have 100K miles on them, or if the new tires will cross either of those thresholds.
     
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