Just has a TPMS sensor go bad in my 2012 Sport. Guys @ Discount Tire (neighborhood shop where I know the manager and trust them) said he is surprised it has gone gad this early. Usually good for 3-5 years. Their quote was $65 to replace, all-in.

Question:

• These puppies usually go this fast?
• Should I go the dealer and ask for a warranty repair?
• If dealer tells me to "pound sand" does $65 from Discount Tire sound about right?
• Anyone have any past experience?

 

Sensor life varies sensor to sensor, design to design (direct and indirect sensors on Hondas), and how often the vehicle is driven (sensors go into a sleep/awake state). The earliest I've seen a sensor fail was on a '10 Fit with 9k miles on the odometer.

My question is; how many miles did you have on your Fit when the sensor failed? If it was under 36k miles you definitely can have that replaced under warranty at Honda so long as no sort of tire/flat sealant was used nor does the sensor show any physical damage from a tire being mounted/dismounted (its VERY hard to hit a tire pressure sensor unless you bend the wheel or hit a REALLY long nail to spike the sensor).

Typically, I see a vehicle with a failed sensor that is usually 4 to 7 years old but this is in an area were its regularly warm/hot... areas with colder temperatures possibly shorten battery life.

 

Free beats $65. Unless you're over 36K which is the only reason I can think of to have this conversation. $65 seems ok considering the OE part from honda lists for $37. Should be a 15 minute job.

Personally I wouldn't trust discount tire (Kennesaw GA) to change the valve caps on my tires.

I'm at 5 years 65K with no issues.

 

Car is at 37,500 miles on the clock. 70% city miles, 30% Highway.

I live in Central NC so from a temp perspective, all over the map. No real extremes.

Have never had a flat and have never used any sealants. OEM tires went 30K and these new tires have been on about 6 months.

Sounds like it is on the low-side of typical/expected failure. I could fight with the dealer but @ $65, I honestly don't think it's worth my time (no, I'm not rich).
I trust this particular Discount Tire store and I'm just gonna go for it.

I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

I made up the bit about 15 minutes. That's if they know which sensor is bad.

There's a lengthy procedure to activate each wheel's sensor separately while at rest so they can be identified with whatever trouble code is stored. The Honda Data System and a separate handheld Honda device to wake up the sensors are needed for this.

I'd guess at least an hour for 1 sensor. I think Honda would charge close to $150 for parts and labor for a single bad sensor.

If they can determine which sensor is bad, $65 is a great deal. If the $65 amount is per sensor when they replace all four then you're talking about $260. I doubt Honda would be any worse. Not sure if these should be replaced singly or in sets of four. I'd probably want four new ones.

If you're looking at a few hundred instead of just $65 you might want to talk to Honda. They'll probably cut you a good will deal since you're not far out of warranty.

(The section in the shop manual on TPMS is about 25 pages. One tidbit is Honda wheels are counterbalanced to make up for the weight of the sensors. These special TPMS wheels are have an identifying mark. I don't know how they do this with aftermarket wheels or if they just load them up with weights...)

 

Depending on the Service Manager, they could perform possibly the repair under "Good Will" since you are 1.5k out of the 3/36 warranty. This is when Honda and the customer both pay for portions of the repair. If not then when the TPMS is being diagnosed the tech can check and see what sensor(s) have coded, monitor the signals from the sensor(s), and accurately tell you what sensor(s) have failed and/or failing.

Replacing the sensors and relearning isn't hard at all with the right equipment... Its diagnosing the system and making sure everything else is function is the time consuming part.

@Steve244: For non-TPMS designed after market wheels, the tire pressure sensor is still mounted in the same fashion as OEM Honda TPMS wheels. Just insert the sensor and tighten through the barrel (like a regular valve stem), put a nylon washer on the stop side of the sensor and tighten the nut for the sensor (with the nylon washer between the nut and the wheel). Wheel balancing is performed just like any other wheel.

As for sensor replacement, its regular practice to replace the failed sensors and sensors that are intermittently failing/producing erratic signals. Replacing all 4 is do-able but overkill on fairly new vehicles in my honest opinion.

 

My guy at Discount Tire says the usually use a a generic TPMS but on Hondas they has always been hit or miss. So the $65 price was for an OEM unit, out-the-door.

 

I had about 3 years/85k when Discount Tire broke two of my sensors transferring them to aftermarket wheels and replaced them for free. The other two OEM sensors are still fine.

They just used a generic TPMS set tool and generic TPMS sensors. Took them all of 15 minutes to replace, balance and set the sensors on the two wheels.

 

Alright...the plot thickens.

Discount got the Honda OEM TPMS Sensor for my Left-Rear tire and promptly replaced. When they gave me my keys back they said "You'll notice a different tire-pressure light flashing for a while now it but should go away soon after you drive a little while". So I did.
Unfortunately after 60 miles, light was still there flashing.

I brought it back in they got right back on it. They put the tool back on each tire and confirmed all four transmitters were sending the factory correct signal but something was not working. Even checked and insured tire pressure was the same and correct in each tire. All good. The light (tire pressure, not the original 'TPMS' light) was still flashing steady.

Any ideas? Could it be my TMPS receiver also went bad, coincidentally?

 

See the key words.... OP, you didn't mention if this sensor magically failed after having DT replace the tires... did it?
There's been quite a few people who had their tires replaced (various shops), and then their TPMS sensor(s) stopped working... If it did stop working when you changed tires they broke a sensor (or more), and should replace them free of charge just like they did for Wanderer.

If they really did program the car with the new TPMS ID(s), and they woke them the light will go away as soon as you go 28mph+
This below is complete BS (on the part of the shop)
They tell it to everyone.... oh yeah drive around for a bit and it will go away.... BS, if everything is registered correctly, and the sensors are "woken up" it will go away at 28mph+.

What I would do if I were you is try to wake the sensor(s) yourself, you don't need a tool for that (although a tool can do it)... the wake up procedure, is a sequence of quickly deflating the tire & then refilling it... that will wake up the sensor, and then when you go over the mph threshold it will start sending the signal, and if there is a light present it will go out (unless you're under the psi, or TPMS is broken - blinking light). They might have even entered the wrong TPMS ID(s)?

Just as an FYI you could get the same "generic" brand TPMS sensors (set of 4) for about $80 on ebay --- search OEM Honda Fit TPMS. Afaik, Honda doesn't actually make the sensors themselves. Last year I saw sets of 4 going for about $65 shipped.

 

Discount had changed the tires about 6 months ago and there were no issues with the TPMS afterwards. This issue just popped up recently, about a week after the tires were rotated and balanced.

 

If it were the receiver I would think the TPMS light would be lit, indicating a problem with the system itself, not the tire pressure light, but I could be wrong.

My sensors didn't fail right away. I drove around for a week or so after getting the wheels before the problems happened. What I think happened was they over-tightened the stems on the sensors and cracked the plastic. The crack grew from the force of being spun and killed one of the sensors, the other sensor separated from the stem completely and was rolling around in the tire lol. I think before that they were kind of working.

I say this because perhaps when you took it in for balancing something happened that dislodged a sensor or made minor damage worse, like bouncing a wheel or something like that.

It's probably best to take it back in one more time, ask them politely to break the bead on the tires and inspect the sensors carefully for damage and reset all of them from scratch with the tool.

They told me: "one of the sensors probably failed, it's about that age" when I first brought my car in, but it was TOO coincidental it'd happen shortly after they worked on it. So I asked them nicely to de-bead and inspect. Sure enough, they screwed it up. He apologized and fixed it.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they entered the ID #'s wrong... but 6 months is quite a difference though. So most likely your scenario.
Good points Wanderer.

 

Sounds like they didn't register the ID correctly. Here's the procedure (don't mock me W...)

 

Its a bit late now, but in the future its worth trying to buy the sensor yourself online, then finding a Walmart to have them mount and program it. They charge 15 bucks to program a sensor. No bullshit, no extra purchase required.

 

lol never, it's useful info. Consistency is important

Yeah, I am assuming they set the ID's correctly and everything, but the simplest scenario is usually the most likely, so maybe they didn't. Just ask them to double check EVERYTHING from the start to finish. I find it unlikely the receiver failed especially when there is so much room here for human error.

 

What ever happened to a tire pressure gage? Young girl I know paid $340 to replace all four. Sounds fishy to me.
Service said our Accord was 2lb low in one tire. Guess what? The light is still on.
How about a code to eliminate the light?

 

Tire pressure gauges are great and I check my tires every couple of weeks. But I can't check them while I'm driving. Last week on the Garden State Parkway my tire pressure light went on, and it gave me enough time to pull over safely, long before I would've felt it and spent time wondering why my car felt funny before I figured it out...


Much safer to have an earlier warning of trouble.

 

yeah, I took a screw. Didn't know it the next morning when I got in the car. Light went on. Stopped. Looked at all the tires. Didn't see anything obviously low. Thought crap, crappy TPMS crap.

Whipped out my handy pressure gauge and yeah, one tire was 18lbs. Went to NTB instead of driving 20 miles to the office. I'm a convert.

 

For an old-fashioned guy like me who can actually monitor tire pressure by eyeballing them, I want to know if it's possible to simply not use the TPMS and use ordinary caps instead...