1 TPMS needs replacement, best options?

Anyone have ideas on the cheapest/best way to replace one
TPMS sensor?

I was quoted $300.- by my local dealer to do it.

Normally I wouldn't be so cheap about it but $300 for one sensor and mount and balance
and a quick reprogram just doesn't seem right.

Any ideas how to get it done correctly without such a piping?

Thanks...

 

I think if you go to to an aftermarket place like America’s tire/discount tire (same shop different name for different states) they can do it for way cheaper, tire dismount is $7 tire remount is $22 and I think a new sensor is $60. Prices subject to vary area by area

 

That’s way too much for one. I got all four done for $350 at my local tire shop.

 

tpms is designed to suck money from your wallet again and again over the life of the truck... it's the gift that keeps on giving. Just buy a $10 pressure gauge and be done with it. Free yourself from the insanity!

 

You can buy an aftermarket kit on Amazon. The tire valve caps measure the pressure. Something like this...
Easesuper Solar Tire Pressure Monitoring System,7 Alarm Modes & Real-time Monitoring,Automatic Brightness LCD Display,4 External Waterproof Sensors for Car (0-99psi/0-6.8bar)

Easesuper Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with Solar Charge, 7 Alarm Modes & Real-time Monitoring,LCD Display,Auto Sleep Mode, 4 TPMS Sensors for Rv(0-99PSI)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09374H9VG?_encoding=UTF8

 

I agree but it varies greatly by which America’s Tire store you go to, or maybe who you talk to there. I’m having a similar issue with a Corolla I’m fixing up for my GF’s son. I knew I had a bad TPMS sensor and went to ATC to see what it would cost to replace and program one sensor.

They quoted me $400 which included one new sensor with no guarantee that they would be able to program it. I thanked the man for his time (and for confirming which tire had the bad sensor in it) and went home.

I ordered a new Bosch sensor on Amazon for $30, bought a programmer for $150 then paid a local, no name tire shop $30 to replace the sensor.

Beware though that if one sensor has gone bad, others may not be far behind; I replaced the bad sensor on the Corolla I’m working on then six weeks later another stopped working. I’m giving some thought to just replacing the original three just to save having to deal with this every couple of months.

 

That's fuckin' ridiculous. Dealer pricks is what they are. I have an obvious sensor failure that was not caused by anything other then it's own death. Maybe battery, maybe circuitry, but no damage whatsoever and I couldn't get 2 dealers to warranty the POS. Just give me a sensor and clone it and done.

I just went and bought a complete TPMS kit. The Autel TS508 so I can do my own shit, now. If you want a new, 7000 mile old Toyota OEM sensor, I'll sell you one. I removed 3 functional units and won't reuse them. Any shop can put it in, they don't have to break down your tire, just the bead at the air valve, seal it up with air and program it to your ECU. The programming takes a minute. $40 shipped USPS Priority. I can send you a video proving it works by reading it on my scanner.

Lots of shops use the Autel brand because they are dual frequency, 315mHz & 433mHz. That way, they only have to stock 1 rubber stem model and 1 metal stem model. The system can read and work with most all OEM systems, it just can't program an OEM sensor. Autel sensor work beautifully with the Toyota ECU.

I literally just programmed one minutes ago to put in my spare with a new matching TRD Pro wheel. The shop did want $55 a sensor and I think it was $360 to do all 4 so I said screw it and bought the entire system. Autel sensors are only $31

 

I run these on my trailer. Great for what they are, but their refresh rate is abysmal compared to stock.

For the truck I'd let discount tire handle it.

 

That's pretty much the answer right there. As confusing as it seems when asking questions and getting nebulous answers from dealers and even tire shops, the whole thing is quite simple once you put in a little effort to understand it. This is a money maker for dealers for doing the absolute most minute amount of work. Toyota's sensor prices are hideous. They're made by Pacific and really do nothing more than any other sensor yet I saw them sold for upwards of $80/ea! As I mentioned above, even my Big Brand wanted $55/ea and I had already started investigating sensors and scanners. I've got to be buddy-buddy with the manager there and I asked him what kind of sensors they recommended and sold, he said Autel. Ironically, I already had the Autel system in my Amazon Cart! After our conversation, I sat down while waiting for them to test my bad sensor and I hit the "BUY" button. It was literally in my hands the next day! LOL! 2 days later, I was back with 4 new wheels and 4 new sensors, already programmed (cloned) and it only cost me $109 to break down, mount, and road force balance the new wheels on my near new tires.

@cropduster78 Serious, if you're interested in an OEM sensor, hit me up. How old are your good sensors? If you're near 5 years, they're croaking. I've got 3 good ones if that helps in anyway, otherwise, check with a local shop and find out if they use Autel sensors because you can buy them on Amazon and hand them to them to program.

 

You might check Costco or Sam’s Club in your area.

 

Town Fair did mine a couple years ago for about $50.00 each.

 

I bought new tires at Costco for a 14 RAV, and decided to do premptive on 8 yo TPMS and had them put in 4 new units.

Dill is the brand.

But truthfully any good tire repair or retail shop should be able to fix you up for $75 or so.

I'd not be inclined to revisit your dealer for ANY service work outside of warranty or recall.

 

Costco told me $55 for sensors which seemed in line with most reasonable shops. I didn't go as far as asking whether that was including the install since I was just curious with the sensors themselves.

 

Got a replacement sensor at NAPA for $45.

 

Did like @GrizzledBastard did, bought the Autel brand scanner/programmer with new stems from TPMS.com. Used a farm jack to get the tire far enough from the rim near the stem to get my fat hand in there to do the swap & air back up. Figured these things are going to be on every new car I own or family/friends have for the rest of my life so why not just get the tool to do them myself.

 

Great idea on the bead break! Damn, I had a Harbor Freight tire changer set up bolted to the concrete for a few years to change my own and friend's motorcycle tires. It had a bead breaker that would have been perfect for the job. I started running some of the heavier, high mileage Bridgestone and Michelin Sport/Tour tires that were even tough for modern hydraulic changer machines. I tore the bolts out of the ground trying to mount one! I gave it away after that!

 

Just did my 2012.
(4) denso sensors from Amazon (~$35 each)
(1) bead breaker from harbor freight (~$50 each) - did first with a bottle jack, after it worked I bought bead breaker.
(1) copy of techstream and dongle

Balance seems plenty good, i only broke bead on one side so the tires stayed aligned to the wheel and balance weights.
NOTE, I only recommend doing this yourself with steel wheels, unless you are OK with scratching aluminum wheels.

 

In my ignorance on TPMS, after the insane quotes and even the $360 from the tire shop, I tried reasoning out the expense and thought "Well, they got break down the tire then mount and balance, so...I get some of the cost...." Then I watched them pull and check my bad OEM sensor that they had been implicated in damaging by the Stealership when I tried to warranty. They just busted the one bead and that's it! I felt pretty stupid that I didn't think out of the box on that one. Then I got pissed again because there's nothing to it! Who would figure so much emotion over a tire sensor?!

 

if you work on your truck a lot, get a bi-directional OBD2 scan tool that can reprogram TPMS
you can then just buy your own TPMS sensor and pair it yourself as many times as you want, especially if you also swap winter tires