TPMS Thread

[Don]

Wondering if anyone has researched new sensors which will 'talk' to the electronics in the car?

I see lots of Dodge/Mitsubishi compatible sensors on eBay for reasonable prices, but most of them only list Mitsubishi's 2008 or 2010 and older. I did find there are different frequencies used on the newer cars. Does anybody know which frequency our car is?

I'm looking for a second set for some aftermarket wheels and am hoping some of you with different wheels for winter tires may have figured this out - I just don't want to pony up $140 each from the Mitsu dealer when there are obviously cheaper aftermarket ones which will work fine . . . . once we know what frequency we need

Don

 

[Barbagris]

Wondering if anyone has researched new sensors which will 'talk' to the electronics in the car?

I see lots of Dodge/Mitsubishi compatible sensors on eBay for reasonable prices, but most of them only list Mitsubishi's 2008 or 2010 and older. I did find there are different frequencies used on the newer cars. Does anybody know which frequency our car is?

I'm looking for a second set for some aftermarket wheels and am hoping some of you with different wheels for winter tires may have figured this out - I just don't want to pony up $140 each from the Mitsu dealer when there are obviously cheaper aftermarket ones which will work fine . . . . once we know what frequency we need

Don

Are you sure your car have TPMS sensors? Indicates how much pressure have each wheel, or only one wheel has less pressure than others? (I don't have that equipment)

Perhaps is a "Indirect TPMS", through ABS sensors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire-pressure_monitoring_system#Indirect_TPMS

In that case, no problem with a 2nd set of wheels.

 

[PV1]

The i-MiEV (unfortunately, IMO) has a sensor in each wheel. I saw them when I got new tires put on.

 

[jray3]

After searching the archives, I've confirmed that our cars use valve-stem tire pressure sensors with batteries, but are only activated when the wheels are turning.

I've acquired a second set of i-MiEV rims (steel) complete with nearly-new tires from a salvaged car. The tire pressure warning light didn't activate during the first two low-speed test drives, but now starts blinking as soon as I start moving and lights up steady after a minute or so.

Does anyone know if the TPMS sensors have to be 'linked' to a particular car, and whether the sensors or their batteries can be replaced without dismounting the tire?

In full disclosure, this new-to-me set of tires came from a Hurricane Sandy-flooded car, so there's a chance that the sensors experienced saltwater intrusion, though the valves had their caps on and appear pristine. Also of note on those salty steel wheels, the only corrosion was on the welds, which I repainted. That may be something to watch for as cars age in the 'salty road zones'.

 

[Don]

Pretty sure they're not linked to any specific car - There are only a few different sensors and they vary according to the frequency used. I *think* any sensor used on any Mitsu car over the past few years *should* work o any other Mitsu . . . . probably on half a dozen other makes of car s as well

I doubt your sensors were harmed by the flood - They were protected by being inside the tire and with the valve stem cap on them. Since they worked for a little while, I suspect one or more of them must have a weak battery. Yes, you must dismount the tire to change the batteries. If you mark the position of the valve stem on the tire before dismounting, you shouldn't have to rebalance them

It would be interesting to put your OEM wheels and tires back on and then install the steel wheels one at a time and see if it's all of them or just one which is causing the problem

Don

 

[jray3]

Don, how come your solutions always involve work!
Oh well, guess I'll one-up ya. I'll put one original wheel back on each evening this week until the warning goes away, and if that doesn't yield a conclusion, then I'll decide whether to test the replacements one at a time, or dismount tires and do a sensor/battery replacement... These batteries should be better than my originals though, as they were on a later-mfg car and haven't been used at all.

 

[jray3]

update- since Don's suggested solution required effort, I went instead to a local Tiny's Tire shop. They threw two possibilities at me. One is that it may take 30 minutes of uninterrupted driving faster than 15 mph to 'link' the sensors, and then when he discovered my tire pressure was 52 psi, that must be the problem, and reset 'em to 36. This was a punt, however, as he didn't have the i-MiEV listed in his TPMS database, and didn't get lucky on the first try with a scan tool.

Of course many of us have run elevated pressures without a TPMS issue, but I'll give the 30 minute cruise a try before I start changing wheels again. We'll see if free advice was worth the price.

 

[RobertC]

Does anyone know if the TPMS sensors have to be 'linked' to a particular car, and whether the sensors or their batteries can be replaced without dismounting the tire?

From the Service Manual:

The service manual states that the Mitsubishi M.U.T.-III Scan Tool is required to get the car's computer to recognize the new tire pressure sensors. When I was range testing tires I swapped wheels on two Mitsubishi i EV's and the TPMS warning lights illuminated on both vehicles. The TPMS lights went out when I returned the wheels to the proper vehicle. The TPMS warning light is set to come on for low tire pressure only and will illuminate when the tire pressure is below 28.6psi. The TPMS warning light also comes on for three seconds when the vehicle is started.
Perhaps the Mitsubishi dealer would not charge you too much to use their scan tool to register your new TPMS transmitters with your car.

Also, the tire does have to be removed from the rim to replace the TPMS transmitters. The service manual dedicates five pages and seventeen drawings to replacing a TPMS transmitter.

 

[Don]

Thanks Robert

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/channel/retailing/article/story/2014/04/tpms-mitsubishi-outlander-and-outlander-sport.aspx

I'm guessing the procedure is probably similar on our cars

Sad, because other makes and models use a procedure which can be done by the owner without a trip to the dealership. Imagine having to go through this twice per year when installing and removing snow tires :roll:

Maybe something like this will work for us???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gntvc9XAz8

But, likely not
http://orotekusa.com/TPMSResetProcedure.aspx?id=120&Application=Make:Mitsubishi Model:i-MiEV Sub-Model:SE Year:2012, 2013, 2014

I guess when you drive an EV which almost never needs servicing, the dealers are only too happy to have you come in and pay for procedures just like this . . . .

Don

 

[sventchik]

Also, cars who don't have TPMS (as the ion and the c-zero), you could install that :

http://www.cubelec.com.tw/uni-sensor-en.php



It fists almost all modern cars !

 

[danpatgal]

Just to add to this ... we've had our TPMS light on over the past few days for no apparent reason. The dealer said it just needs to be "reset" (whatever that means), while I wonder if it is the battery in one of the sensors going bad since the tire pressure seems just fine.

 

[jray3]

So when I got the rusty bolt recall done, I had the dealer link up the sensors in my salvaged wheels to the car. 1/2 hr of labor, $60 after tax. Not something that would be fun twice per year in a snow tire zone. I'll just live with the light next summer while I run the remaining tread off of my originals.

 

[RobertC]

So when I got the rusty bolt recall done, I had the dealer link up the sensors in my salvaged wheels to the car. 1/2 hr of labor, $60 after tax. Not something that would be fun twice per year in a snow tire zone.

Automakers should program their car's computers to accept two sets of tire pressure sensors for owners that swap wheels twice a year.

I'll just live with the light next summer while I run the remaining tread off of my originals.

I have found that a small piece of black electrical tape placed over warning lights makes them much less distracting.

 

[JoeS]

I have found that a small piece of black electrical tape placed over warning lights makes them much less distracting.

:lol:
As someone who religiously checks tire pressures at least once/month (but ignores treadwear), usually glances at the tires whenever approaching the car, and can detect a low tire by the difference in handling, I consider TPMS just another costly mandated car 'safety' addition, but which is probably a good thing for the typical clueless consumer. Galls me not to be able to reset or program the TPMS myself. In the early days of TPMS it was an expensive proposition to replace the darn thing when flat-inflating goo was used - I don't know if that's still the case.

Now, with two i-MiEVs, I'm beginning to think that investing in a MUT3 might be worthwhile - perhaps a used one from a Mitsu dealership going belly-up?

 

[GdB]

Too bad the caniOn Android App on Google Play does not read TPMS.

I am considering getting the Fobo Bluetooth Tire Pressure Monitoring system.
http://www.gizmag.com/fobo-bluetooth-tire-pressure-monitoring-system/33754/

https://my-fobo.com/Product/FOBOTIRE

But at $175 it's pricey.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fobo.tire&hl=en

https://my-fobo.com/Product/FOBOTIRE#user+manual
https://my-fobo.com/uploads/fobotire/fobotirequickstartguide.pdf
General Setting and Profile Setting
(page 5)
(1) General setting
Alarm sound setting, Units and other info can be set after click at "Setting"
at upper right of the Home screen.
(2) Profile setting
Advance Setting Screen
Max
Min
https://my-fobo.com/uploads/fobotire/fobotireuserguide5.pdf

 

[GdB]

I have found that a small piece of black electrical tape placed over warning lights makes them much less distracting.

I'm thinking of going this way after I get the new tires on my 14" insight wheels and a fobo system. More about that later on the wheels and tires thread...

Is there a sound also or is it just the light? I don't remember hearing it at all.

I got a long nail in my tire. I wish the TPMS was louder and customizable to warn or notify at a higher pressure.
That might have prevented me from driving to fill up with air and the nail slightly punctured the sidewall from the inside causing an irreparable leak.

NOTE TO SELF: ALWAYS PUMP UP A FLAT OR GET A TOW BEFORE DRIVING A LOW TIRE! DAMAGE!

 

[Benjamin Nead]

Looks like I've now got a new TPMS story of my own to add here. The dash indicator light came on last night, while making a short run from my house to the grocery store. Under the parking lot lights, I couldn't see anything wrong with the tires and I got back home without incident. I gave everything a quick look in the daylight early this morning and drove to work just fine. After work, with the tires looking fine then, I decided to drop by the local rubber merchant I've been using for years, Discount Tire (not sure if this franchise extends much beyond southern Arizona.) It was here that the tech noticed that the passenger/front tire was about 9 pound lower than the rest (I run them all at 40psi) and further observed that a drywall screw was poking into the tread.

So, TPMS did it's job. I would not have noticed this discrepancy on my own and, had I not taken the car in for them to check, the tire would have undoubtedly gone flat within a few days, with a possible less than positive outcome or leaving me stranded somewhere. As it is, Discount was able to fix the flat and they do this sort of patching for free. They also check air pressure for free whenever you happen to drop by and I make a habit of doing this about once a month. They make their money when they sell you tires and the incentive to give them your business for this is the free checkups and flat fixing they do for you between tire purchases.

But . . . it looks as if I'm going to be getting a new set of tires fairly soon anyway. The tech noticed that I'm actually running on deep tread snow tires! My Carfax report indicated that new tires were installed on the car at the end of the lease period, prior to me purchasing it. But this was almost certainly done while the car was still living in Illinois and at the end of the leasing period, which would have been late 2014, when the roads in the Land of Lincoln are typically covered with that strange fluffy frozen water stuff that we almost never see here in the Sonoran desert.

So, the tire tech advised me that a purchase of actual summer tires would be prudent but not an emergency just yet. He observed that I would start wearing out the snow tires rather quickly as soon as the super hot 100° F summer weather arrives here in June or July, but driving on them now isn't hurting them all that much (it was 75° F here today.) Fortunately, I've got a few months to address this and I can make a tire purchase in stages (rear tires first and the front ones a month of so later.) Discount's prices on the dedicated i-MiEV Dunlops is around $130+ each, so they're in line with what I've been reading elsewhere here on what they should be costing. Even with snow treads, I'm getting almost 70 miles on a full charge with my "little old lady from Pasadena" driving style. So, I expect my mileage to improve even more with dedicated summer treads.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

TPMS saves me again. The indicator light was on when I was making my short commute to work yesterday morning. A quick visual inspection after I parked didn't show any of the tires under-inflated. 7 hours later, after work and getting back to my parked car, the rear drivers-side one looked a bit low, but not alarmingly so. But I played it safe drove over to Discount Tire and, sure enough, they found a nail that I must have driven over. It was patchable and cost me nothing. If I didn't have TPMS, the slow leak probably would have completely deflated the tire a day or two later. It might have caught me at a time when it would have been late for an important appointment and/or far less convenient to spend time at the tire store . . . or I might have been caught in a situation where I would have been driving on the flat (permanently damaging it and forcing me to buy a new tire.)

The funny side story here is that, while spending the hour or so waiting to have them fix it, another EV-driving buddy I know was having a new tire installed on his Tesla. What would have been an otherwise rather boring hour in the waiting room was, instead, filled up with us exchanging electric car news. A few people sitting in proximity also seemed to find our EV-related banter entertaining. After my Tesla friend went on his way, I picked up one of the automotive boutique magazines in the lobby and noted more than a few articles on new high end EV or PHEVs getting positive write-up. Times are changing.

 

[GdB]

(UPDATE) Still need a nice option that is not just for Mitsubishi...

There are other options to the MUT-III tool to reset the i-MiEV TPMS. Here is what I found:

http://www.thetpmsforum.com/showthread.php?1530-Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-TPMS-Reset-Procedure
Mitsubishi i-MiEV TPMS Reset Procedure
Relearn Code: MIT-1
Relearn Procedures: A properly formatted scan tool is required to learn sensor IDs when replacing sensors.

http://jameshalderman.com/index.html
FREE Automotive Resources
http://jameshalderman.com/images/import_tpms_relearns_1-4.pdf
Make/Model Year(s) Procedure
Mitsubishi i-MiEV 10-13 MIT-1
IMPORTANT: Verify scan tool capability BEFORE installing sensors. Many tools do not have the capability to write new sensor IDs via the OBDII. New sensor IDs HAVE to be written via OBDII connection, or a cloneable sensor can be used if given previous sensors' ID number. A properly formatted scan tool is required to learn new sensor IDs when replacing sensors.
http://jameshalderman.com/images/tpms_procedures.pdf
Mitsubishi i-MiEV: A properly formatted scan tool is required to learn new sensor IDs when replacing sensors.

$180
ateq Mitsureset (Mitsubishi only)
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/en-us/home/support/mitsureset-ecu-reset-for-mitsubishi/
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Mitsureset-Quickstart-User-Manual-En-Sp.pdf
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/MitsuReset-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf

$150 (OBD! asian makes, but not for mitsubishi)
ATEQ QuickSet TPMS Reset Tool
https://www.amazon.com/ATEQ-QuickSe...sr=1-2&keywords=ATEQ+QuickSet+TPMS+Reset+Tool
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/en-us/home/support/quickset-light-tpms-reset-tool/
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Quickset-Coverage-Chart-11.11.16-V5-1.pdf


$1XXX !
ATEQ VT56 universal TPMS tool?
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/en-us/home/products/vt56-tpms-tool/
https://www.ateq-tpms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/VT56-Factsheet-English.pdf


As an example of what not to get, here are a few other TPMS tools which I don't think will work with the i-MiEV:

$135 (missing OBD!)
Autel TS401 MaxiTPMS TPMS Activation Tool
https://www.amazon.com/Autel-TS401-...ncoding=UTF8&refRID=C38KHMVB62FX54HD09Z5&th=1
Can this tool program all car make and model?
Nope, It just a real nice code reader. Check out the ATEQ QuickSet TPMS Reset Tool ($150), works great!

$152 (missing OBD!)
Foxwell NT1001 TPMS Trigger Tool
https://www.amazon.com/Foxwell-NT10...8-2&keywords=Foxwell+NT1001+TPMS+Trigger+Tool

-----------------------
other finds:

$357
ITM 08001 Sensor-AID Black TPMS Diagnostic and Programming Tool
https://www.amazon.com/ITM-08001-Sensor-AID-Diagnostic-Programming/dp/B00I7M3IVQ

(product support?)
http://orotekusa.com/TPMSResetProce...l:i-MiEV Sub-Model:SE Year:2012, 2013, 2014
TPMS Reset Procedure
Make:Mitsubishi Model:i-MiEV Sub-Model:SE Year:2012, 2013, 2014
Before performing the re-learn procedure below, please review all data in your owner’s manual pertaining to your TPMS system.
As of 4/1/2013, There is NO equipment in the industry with the protocol to communicate learned TPMS Sensor ID's into the vehicles ECU. On some models, It has been noted that you can work around this issue by using a hand scanner to record you sensor id's and a Diagnostic Tool like the Snap-on Verus to hard code the sensor id's directly into the ECU.
1. Properly install tire pressure sensors.
This step should be performed only by a tire technician who has been properly trained in the operation and installation of TPMS systems.
2. Confirm all tires are inflated to the pressure indicated on tire placard. (located in the door jam of your vehicle)
This is a sample tire pressure placard.
Not for this specific vehicle.
3. Following the instructions supplied by the manufacturer of your properly formatted scan tool. Read the sensor ID's into your scan tool starting with the left front tire, contact tire sidewall near air valve and press the switch to learn the sensor id.
4. Repeat step 4 on the remaining tires, in the following order,
Right front
Right rear
Left rear
5. Connect Diagnostic Tool into the OBD plug under your dash. Turn ignition to ON position (engine off). Following the instructions supplied by the manufacturer of the on-board diagnostic equipment, go to the TPMS Screen and enter codes and positons. (Procedures vary by manufacturer of diagnostic tools)
NOTE: Some Models are not available on the above mentioned diagnostic unit to perform this procedure.
6. Turn the ignition to the “OFF” position and unplug the diagnostic tool.
7. Check the instrument cluster to insure that the TPMS warning light is off.

 

[acensor]

Hi Joe.

Earlier yoy wrote...
"...As someone who religiously checks tire pressures at least once/month (but ignores treadwear), usually glances at the tires whenever approaching the car, and can detect a low tire by the difference in handling,.consider TPMS just another costly mandated car 'safety' addition, but which is probably a good thing for the typical clueless consumer. Galls me not to be able to reset or program the TPMS myself...."

Yeah.... I had that take, too.
But one morning when I didn't look at all tires, 5 minutes out of the driveway noticed the tire warning light.
Turned out I'd picked up a screw puncture and pressure was IIRR down to about 25 psi. On a back tire not yet low enough for me to feel it in handling. Was deflating slow but fast enough that by time I'd have noticed would at least have stranded me in inconvenient place, or maybe even damaged tire and rim.
So well worth having it even if for that one event. Put extra air in at next gas station, light reset itself IIRR after pressure back up, drove to tire shop, fixed flat.
Also ...now that I've educated wife what that light means and what actions it calls for feel she's safer on road.