Discount Tire is making me MAD

these are the reasons I try to stay with OEM stock parts, using any aftermarket stuff always leaves the door open for more head aches and more money than originally thought to get it working right

 

Are these the original Tpms sensors that came with the truck? They're only good for around ten years so if they're all from 2006 it's about time they died. Consider replacing all the sensors now since you're pulling the tires on and off, also the slow leaking can possibly be attributed to leaking valve cores which again they are old as shit. They are removed and replaced during tire installation and sometimes leak a bit. If you have a valve core tool give them a little flick of the wrist to tighten them a little and see if that helps. Or consider replacing them since they are cheap as shit.

Or like I stated before, buy all new sensors and be done with it. My truck is also a 2006 and the Tpms sensors finally failed this year. Time to replace

 

I had a similar experience with Discount Tire. Always used them, they're great folks.

I took my truck in to get new tires. Left with a TPMS light on. Brought it back and they said it was a dead battery in one of the sensors and it'd be $120 to replace it.

It wasn't an issue before I took the truck in, so I asked what they might've done to damage the sensor and they said it wasn't damaged but they did do a calibration (or something they had to connect to the sensor to talk to it for some reason) and this sometimes drains a weak battery past it's critical voltage point.

Since no other shop has ever unnecessarily connected to my TPMS sensors during a tire change (in any vehicle we've owned) I asked why they did it. They assured me it was them going the extra mile. I argued that their "extra mile" just put undue battery strain on my TPMS sensor and it'd be nice of them to replace it for free due to this unrequested check. They agreed and it's been fine for 6 months now.

So, just an FYI...specifically request they DON'T connect to check the TPMS. If they do and kill your battery, it's my opinion that they're going to be held responsible as their actions created the issue, regardless of the TPMS being close to it's ~7 year battery life expectancy or not.

 

There's no place on the sensor to connect to. They fed you a load of crap to try to cover their ass. Glad you called them out on it.

 

They connected wirelessly (probably just intercepted the signal the TPMS sends to the truck wirelessly). As I waited for them to fix it, I witness them doing it to other vehicles. It was a little handheld device about the size of a OBD II scanner that they held right up against the valve stems for a few seconds, then scanned through some info the device registered.

 

I find it doubtful that the sensors have 2 way communication, but I could be wrong. The thing that they held next to the wheel reads the sensor ID codes from the sensors.

 

I'd agree. Like I mentioned, I forget what their reasoning was or what they actually did, so I was just injecting the "calibration" as a possible scenario. I do know they read it in some fashion, not sure if that was just a poll on the unit to view battery life, status, record ID codes on each for the record, etc.

Whatever the case; it taxed the units battery past a critical point so it must've been more power draw than the TPMS typically sees...or was coincidental in that it died right then and there. As far as I'm concerned though, it was an external influence on the TPMS sensor, outside it's normal operating conditions and it's what lead to battery expiration.

 

Yea keep holding it down through the blinks until it goes out, then release the button. You can do it engine running, engine off, doesn't matter as long as the ignition is on

 

bens06tacko, sorry you are having trouble with your TPMS light coming on after installing new tires. I would recommend speaking to the local Store Manager to make sure they are diagnosing the problem correctly. The store cannot change batteries on sensors as they are sealed but they change the valve portion of the sensor any time a tire is dismounted to make sure there is not a problem with the valve stem leaking.

It could be that your battery life has run its course as they normally last 7 to 10 years or 100,000 miles. If this is the case the store can use their Bartec scanner to find and diagnose the sensors.

 

My 06 is at 146k and still has oem sensers, as for the reset hold button like they say and then give it a few days of driving.

When I put my winter tires on stock rims on last month, I hit reset and it took a few days for the lite to go off.

 

Just bought new tire/wheel pkg from DTD over Black Friday

NO TPMS sensors this time.....plain ole reliable $3 rubber stems......

Buy a helluva good tire gauge for the $100 that the sensors cost !

 

What are your plans for your TPMS light? TPMS pipe bomb?

 

We appreciate you posting a photo of your awesome looking tire and wheel package. Thanks for your support.

 

Little furniture sticky pad.......works great !

 

I just had DTD mount/balance my Ray10s and Falkens. Tire pressure light has been on for a couple weeks now. Took it in today and they are replacing 3 of the four TPMS sensors. The truck only had approx 1000 miles when they were changed. Not sure what happened, but they are fixing the issue. That's really all I can ask for.

 

No TPMS in spare.