TPMS System Write-Up

I see/read alot of questions on this forum regarding the Tire Pressure Monitoring System and the appearance of the light on the dash so I hope I can explain the basic system and what your truck is telling you when the light comes on.

To start, there are 5 sensors on your truck that monitor each tires' pressure, including the spare. From the factory, Toyota determines what the ideal pressure is for our trucks (I think its 29psi) and the TPMS light will come on when any one of the sensors is reading a psi that is off from the "ideal psi" by more than 25%.

When getting new tires, the "ideal psi" for that particular tire may be different from what Toyota determined for the stock tires, and this is when you should reset your TPMS system [not just because the light comes on]. When resetting the TPMS system, you are essentially telling the system to forget the 29psi that Toyota said was ideal, and to now consider the new psi ideal. To reset your TPMS system, inflate ALL (spare too) tires to your new ideal pressure, make sure your truck is not running (turn key to "on"), and press and hold the TPMS Reset Button for three seconds. The TPMS reset button is located underneath your steering column. Once properly reset, the TPMS light should blink slowly for three seconds at which point the system has learned the new ideal pressure you have set for it. When resetting the system, make sure the current pressure is the correct pressure for your particular tire.

There are occasions in which, at startup, the TPMS light will blink for a minute straight, and then remain solid, THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOUR PSI IS OFF. When the PSI is off, the light will simply come on and stay on. When it blinks for a minute, and then stays solid, one or more of your sensors is malfunctioning. If you recently had new tires/wheels put on, the garage may have damaged one of yours sensors in the process. These sensors and the accompanying parts are very sensitive and breaking them is quite easy to do. I'm not saying go blame your local shop before anything else, but keep it in mind as a possible cause as this has happened to many people [including myself].


So.

1. If light blinks for a minute at startup, then goes solid, you have a sensor malfunction [broken sensor].

2. If light just comes on, one or more of your tires' psi is off by 25% of the set "ideal pressure".

3.You can reset your tpms system and "teach" it a new ideal pressure by holding down the tpms reset button underneath the steering column for 3 seconds.

4. Dont forget to check your spare.

Im sure I missed some stuff but hopefully this answers the majority of the TPMS questions that are asked here.

 

Great post, but aren't there like 2 years (2nd gens) where there isn't a TPMS in the spares??

 

My '09 only has four.

 

Is it the 05 that has 4 also?

Also you could note that the steel and alloy sensors are interchangable.

 

mine has 9 ..oh , I bought 4 for the winter tires

 

The 05s have none lucky sons of a gun!

 

Is there a way to single out which sensor it is if you having a malfunction? Assuming a scan would say which one has threw the light.

 

You have to get it scanned by the dealer or a tire shop.

 

I know this thread is old, but thanks dysfunctnlretard for the great explanation on how the TPMS system works. I now believe my '09 must have one or more broken sensors. Maybe even just a battery that is bad.....no surprise since they are all 13 years old.