Strange behaviour of TPMS w/non-OEM wheels

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by JayGoldstein, Nov 28, 2006.

  1. JayGoldstein

    JayGoldstein Member

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    My Prius's TPMS warning light has been behaving strangely following the installation of steel wheels and winter tires. Here's the chronology of events:
    1) the winter wheels and tires installed on Nov. 20th and there was no warning light;
    2) from Nov. 21 to the morning of Nov. 25th, the car was used for several short (<20 km/12 mi) trips each day with no warning light;
    3) on Nov. 25th, I took a longer (100 km/62 mi) drive, and toward the end of that drive (and many kilometers from home) the warning light came on;
    4) for the next two days, each time I started the car, the warning light flashed for a while and then stayed on constantly;
    5) today, the warning light did not come on. :huh:

    According to my Owner's Manual, the TPMS will be disabled in a number of conditions, including two that are present in my situation:
    *If tires not equipped with tire pressure warning valves and transmitters are used.
    *If non-genuine Toyota wheels are used.

    If I'm interpreting the Manual correctly, the warning light never should come on when my winter wheels and tires are on the car.

    Any ideas about what's going on with my Prius?
     
    #1 JayGoldstein, Nov 28, 2006
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    http://priuschat.com/Well-that-s-weird-t26918.html

    Basically exactly what you're describing, posted a few hours ago...

    The car doesn't automatically shut off the TPMS light when you change your wheels... thats something the dealer can do for you, though.

    I bet your TPMS tires are sitting in the garage or otherwise close to the car on a regular basis, right?
     
    #2 eagle33199, Nov 28, 2006
  3. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    The bottom line is that the TPMS is working just the way it was designed to work. It just took a while to figure it out. Many thanks to galaxee and her DH!
     
    #3 Allannde, Nov 28, 2006
  4. Sarge

    Sarge Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JayGoldstein @ Nov 28 2006, 12:23 PM) [snapback]354826[/snapback]</div>
    Your story is a virtual carbon copy of what I have experienced since I installed winter tires Nov 17.

    I usually park in the garage next to the alloy rims, so some mornings the TPMS comes on, other times it doesn't. No real rhyme or reason. When it does stay off, it usually does for at least an hour or so of driving (50-100km) before coming back on. (?)

    Very strange system... :huh:

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 28 2006, 12:29 PM) [snapback]354830[/snapback]</div>
    eagle,

    Is that confirmed? When I asked my dealer (granted they do not seem very knowledgeable about the Prius), they said the light would be on all the time if the sensors are absent, which seemed to be the general consensus around here as well, except for a couple reported exceptions I remember reading a while back...?

    It seems like there is a "timeout" tied to this sensor (that happens to be incredibly long) before the TPMS error condition fires, and I wonder if the stories of the light not coming on happen to be owners who generally take short trips and generally park near their sensors?
     
    #4 Sarge, Nov 28, 2006
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    not sure if there's a way to turn off that light, short of covering it up or yanking the light behind the dash. and we're not sure if the light behind the dash is of the yankable sort :p

    i'll ask DH if he's got time to dig into the scantool menu next time he's got an 06 or 07 in his bay, but iirc the consensus was no.
     
    #5 galaxee, Nov 28, 2006
  6. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    Yeah, i can't guarantee they can... i just seem to remember someone on here saying it was possible at one point... that may have been later debunked and i didn't see it though.
     
    #6 eagle33199, Nov 28, 2006
  7. JayGoldstein

    JayGoldstein Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 28 2006, 11:29 AM) [snapback]354830[/snapback]</div>
    Nope; TPMS wheels/tires are stored in my basement, while the car is parked outside, about 40 ft. away.
     
    #7 JayGoldstein, Nov 28, 2006
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