I am good with electronics, so I thought I could replace the battery in the one TPMS that had failed on my 2014 Prius Plugin. Easier said than done. I can't break the bead of the tire to pull out the TPMS. Tried the following: 1. I used a jack to push down the tire after I watched several YouTube videos. The sidewall collapsed, but the bead stayed there. 2. Used 2x4 lumber pieces and leverage to try pushing them down. Watched several YouTube videos. The sidewall collapsed, but the bead stayed there. 3. Harbor Freight tool. Watched several YouTube videos. The sidewall collapsed, but the bead stayed there. 4. Used Vevor Manual Bead Breaker, HK1040B, with the alloy wheel protector. May have bent the rim. Failed. The next step is to find a brick wall to bang my head against. Or maybe try to figure out what I am doing wrong. Any words of wisdom will help. Maybe break my streak and go to a mechanic after 30+ years.
Take it to an independent tire shop. They'll charge you $20 to replace, reprogram, and rebalance; if you supply the TPMS and they're not busy..
If you have the patience to carve them out of all the potting goop, and then re-pot them with silicone or something. Say, if you're on a desert island, but a desert island with roads and inspections to check that your TPMS works.
when the sidewall goes flat, it means the wedge of whatever bead breaker tool you're using has slipped off the tires bead. a trick is to keep pushing the wedge under the rim between the rim and the tire and when it slips out either try try again or spin the wheel around 180 degrees and try in a new spot on the rim or flip the wheel and try on the other side. Typically, once the bead is broken in one spot the rest is easy on the side that the bead was broken, but not always, sometimes it takes breaking the bead in two or three spots on one side of the wheel. Than there is the flip side of the wheel ( when removing the tire ), and if the wedge is slipping out on one side it can (doesn't always ) slip out of the other side too. (Sometimes) if getting the tires bead to move even a bit, before the wedge slips off the bead, holding pressure there and spraying for lube (soapy water) between the rim and tire works, other times it make the wedge slip off the bead sooner. That's when an old towel under the wedge can help somewhat. I've sworn some of those tubers had done the hard part before shooting the videos and don't bother posting the hour or two long videos of getting the initial bead broken with the blood sweat and tears, that can happen with some tires. Watch some more tubes about how to set the bead. Those are way better, IMO. Makes one realize just how small ones problems can be in retrospect.
get some penetrating oil on that rim/bead interface and let it seep in for a couple hours. Then lean on it with the spoon again. Heck even just a bit of kero or lamp oil.
$15 at the independent tire shops around here. Wheel removed, bead broken, your tpms installed, tire inflated and wheel reinstalled. All in ten minutes.
Not really. I have been taking apart stuff and putting them back together since I don't know when. Soldering a new battery in should not be difficult. I just need to keep the weight exactly the same.
Thanks. First, for telling me that the problems are fairly common and that I am not a maroon, and second, for all the ideas you gave. I know I can take it to a shop, but I have this burning desire to do it by myself.
Been turning wrenches all my life...but I'm not buying a tire buster. Have fun learning "how to", but I promise you won't do this "emergency repair" again. Right tools for the job if you will.
The second time dismount than remounting and balancing a new set of tires can be just as difficult as the first time. Or it can be way easier. Than the third time comes around and if you only remember the second time and forgot what you learned the first time (ask me how I know), the third time can be even more frustrating than the first time many years ago. Not all tires mount or unmount the same ! Than there are directionals ! !
Please let us know how it turns out! When the battery in one dies, the rest are probably right around the corner. May as well do all 4.
The statistical way of saying that is there's a bell curve for when the battery in each one is likely to conk out, and all four have the same bell curve and the peaks all line up at the same point in time (if they were all from the same lot at the factory). But the bell curves are still pretty wide, so what that really tells you about when the batteries will conk out isn't really as much as you'd think. It's been three years since the first battery of mine conked out. Last summer, I had a second transmitter get busted by a Walmart changing a tire I blew on a rock in Yellowstone. Still waiting for the next battery to conk out.
I really just want him to do all four and let us know how it goes. If you're going to bust your balls with a sledgehammer just for the sake of doing it, you may as well go all the way and get the full experience.
This is PriusChat We are all masochists here, of our own device, stabbing with our steely bars, but we still can't kill the bead. (yeah, I'm that old). My brother would gladly pay $1000 a month to avoid having the problems I create for myself.
I've found sets of 4 sensors at the bay for around $40, but I've also noticed the batteries in them don't typically last as long as I'd imagine the OEM ones that cost at least $40 each will last. Take your pick. Since I mount my own I get the sets. And my TPMS dash light has been on since year 2. One of these days I hope to find a tools I can afford to programm OEM sensors into the car. Unless we go for a Gen 5 or 6 which automatically detects new sensors (if I've read that right).
