Is the TPMS a warranty item? Or wear and tear?

I have a 2012 tacoma. My TPMS light has been blinking for the past 2-3 months. I know that this means that there is a malfunction with the system. I have also had a flat recently changed at a local tire shop. I know the tire shop did not mess up my sensor because it was blinking long before that.

My big question is if the TPMS is covered under the bumper to bumper warranty? Or is it a wear and tear item. I called my dealer and they said since I had my tires changed that they won't cover it because they claim that the shop damaged it. The shop didn't. They did say that they will run diagnostics for free because of my warranty. Does this sound right? I don't want to go in an get slapped with a charge for new sensors.

Also, can a OBDII scanner clear the light if the dealer wont fix it? Thanks

 

Have you tried to reset the TPMS? The steps are in your manual. Also, do you have a sensor in your spare? It may be low. Just a couple of thoughts. Then again, I'm not sure if the sensor blinks or just stays on when activated by low tire pressure.

 

Given the above stated circumstances I would not cover it either. They are very easily damaged with a flat tire or when you have the tires changed. You say you know that the tire dealer didn't damage the sensors. Your car dealer doesn't know this. You should have taken it in when it first started blinking.

Sorry, I hope you get it sorted.

There is no sensor in the spare for the 2012.

 

What Jimmy said.

 

I can't speak for Toyota but at Lexus we would cover it unless there was something visible on the sensor to indicate damage. We do it all the time

 

Checked the air pressure in your spare tire lately?

 

I know I should have bought it in way earlier; that's on me. I'll probably just live with the blinking light, and if I decide to upgrade to a new set of wheels and bigger tires soon i'll just drop the money for new sensors then.

BTW can 2012s take aftermarket sensors that will play nice with the ecu?

I must say though, electronics are the devil. I've had both my stereo and aux unit go out. Knock on wood, no problems mechanically though!

 

2012, no TPMS sensor in the spare tire...

 

A tire shop can replace one TPMS sensor for you for something in the neighborhood of sixty bucks.

 

It used to be about $100 for a new OEM sensor and another $100 for the dealer to reprogram to accept it. Maybe the technology has changed but then (my 2007) nothing worked 'out of the box'; the vehicle had to be programmed. But many tire shops will change out with AM sensors (just get the right one) and program the vehicle to accept it. I don't know what they'll charge; shopping around may pay off though.

Leaving the light blinking may or may not work in your state: some states will fail safety inspection even though Fed Law does not require it be maintained operational. IMO: it's a scam to generate a revenue stream for tire shops. The sensors have batteries and they WILL start going bad starting at around 7 years.

What I did was to take dash apart (not that hard) and disable the blinking light. I'm used to regular tire pressure checking so no problem for me; and I hate feeding the scammers.

 

you didn't happen to photo document that process did you?

 

No I didn't! what I did was follow the steps someone posted for taking the instrument cluster out to replace the LED's with custom-color ones. I imagine it's buried in the stickies somewhere!