Hey everyone,
There have been a lot of questions and confusion about TPMS, so I wanted to make a detailed post to help clear things up and share my experience replacing a dead TPMS sensor on our 2011 Odyssey Touring Elite. I also included a breakdown of which TPMS system each Odyssey generation uses for anyone unsure what they’re working with. A number of you will likely wonder why I opted to spend more to change my own. Well like many of us minivan owners, we have a big family with a number of vehicles. Currently we have 3 vehicles with TPMS sensors and that number will likely grown in coming years. Our accord had 2 dead sensors and our Tiguan I'm sure is shortly behind. Not to mention I do all of my own maintenance and having the convenience of owning a TPMS scanner to update my wheel positions in the ECM after tire rotations in my opinion is worth it alone. If your year and trim has the ability to view your pressures in real time, it has even more value.
Additionally I learned that in Autel's next higher model scan tool the TS601, it adds the ability to scan OBD2 engine codes as well. I own a few scanners already so I did not opt for that model. However someone without a code scanner could have the ability to not only re-learn TPMS sensors, but also scan for engine codes using the same scanner.
TPMS System Types:
There are two main types of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems:
Direct TPMS (dTPMS):
DIY TPMS Sensor Replacement – Full Video Guide:
I show how to:
If your tires are dry-rotted or cracked, avoid this method and replace the tire as it can worsen the cracks and cause leaks or structural failure. You’ve been warned!
Special Tools:
TPMS sensors can vary in weight slightly (~1 oz). It’s best to match sensor weights or re-balance your tire afterward. Some techs won’t balance anything within 1 oz, but I prefer to add sticky weight's if needed—either opposite or in line with the new sensor.
If you're a DIYer like me, I recommend an Amazon bubble balancer—I've had great luck with it. I’ll post a video on this soon and drop the link here.
Bead Breaking Alternative:
After seeing how easy TPMS swaps were, I went down the rabbit hole and got a manual tire changer with a duck bill like pro machines have to prevent wheel damage. It works great for breaking beads, doing full tire swaps and obviously changing TPMS sensors. If your interested in doing more DIY things like installing patch/plug's yourself I highly recommend it.
📹
I'll be posting a video soon where I replace the other 3 TPMS sensors while I dis-mount and mount new tires on the Odyssey using this method. Along with how to manually static balance the wheel assembly.
TPMS Systems by Odyssey Generation
This part’s for anyone wondering what type of TPMS their Odyssey uses, and what tools/features are available:
If you have questions or info to add, feel free to drop it below. I’ll keep this updated as I add more videos and do the full tire replacement on our 2011 soon.
Hope this helps someone else out there! 👨🔧👊
There have been a lot of questions and confusion about TPMS, so I wanted to make a detailed post to help clear things up and share my experience replacing a dead TPMS sensor on our 2011 Odyssey Touring Elite. I also included a breakdown of which TPMS system each Odyssey generation uses for anyone unsure what they’re working with. A number of you will likely wonder why I opted to spend more to change my own. Well like many of us minivan owners, we have a big family with a number of vehicles. Currently we have 3 vehicles with TPMS sensors and that number will likely grown in coming years. Our accord had 2 dead sensors and our Tiguan I'm sure is shortly behind. Not to mention I do all of my own maintenance and having the convenience of owning a TPMS scanner to update my wheel positions in the ECM after tire rotations in my opinion is worth it alone. If your year and trim has the ability to view your pressures in real time, it has even more value.
Additionally I learned that in Autel's next higher model scan tool the TS601, it adds the ability to scan OBD2 engine codes as well. I own a few scanners already so I did not opt for that model. However someone without a code scanner could have the ability to not only re-learn TPMS sensors, but also scan for engine codes using the same scanner.
TPMS System Types:
There are two main types of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems:
Direct TPMS (dTPMS):
- Uses pressure + temperature sensors inside each wheel (typically valve-stem mounted).
- Sends real-time data wirelessly to the vehicle.
- More accurate; can report exactly which tire is under-inflated.
- Uses ABS wheel speed sensors to detect rotational differences.
- If a tire has low pressure, it rotates faster—triggering a warning.
- No physical sensors in the wheels. Less accurate.
DIY TPMS Sensor Replacement – Full Video Guide:
I show how to:
- Diagnose a dead TPMS sensor
- Use a Autel TS501 Pro scan/re-learn tool
- Break the tire bead using a scissor jack + wood block
- Install a new sensor
- Re-seat the tire and re-learn the sensor to the vehicle’s ECM
If your tires are dry-rotted or cracked, avoid this method and replace the tire as it can worsen the cracks and cause leaks or structural failure. You’ve been warned!
Special Tools:
- Autel TS501 Pro TPMS scan/programming/relearn tool
- Valve core removal tool
- TPMS Sensors (315 MHz for 2011–2017 Odyssey)
- Programmable (clone-able) TPMS sensors can mimic your OEM sensors. Great for running winter/summer wheels without re-learning.
- But when rotating tires, you’ll still need to relearn positions unless your vehicle can auto-detect them (see table below).
- Relearning means syncing each wheel's location to the ECM. This is required on 2011–2017 Odysseys using tools like the TS501 Pro.
TPMS sensors can vary in weight slightly (~1 oz). It’s best to match sensor weights or re-balance your tire afterward. Some techs won’t balance anything within 1 oz, but I prefer to add sticky weight's if needed—either opposite or in line with the new sensor.
If you're a DIYer like me, I recommend an Amazon bubble balancer—I've had great luck with it. I’ll post a video on this soon and drop the link here.
Bead Breaking Alternative:
After seeing how easy TPMS swaps were, I went down the rabbit hole and got a manual tire changer with a duck bill like pro machines have to prevent wheel damage. It works great for breaking beads, doing full tire swaps and obviously changing TPMS sensors. If your interested in doing more DIY things like installing patch/plug's yourself I highly recommend it.
📹
TPMS Systems by Odyssey Generation
This part’s for anyone wondering what type of TPMS their Odyssey uses, and what tools/features are available:
| Gen. | Year Range | TPMS Type | Sensors in Wheels? | Sensor RF | Viewable Tire Pressures? | Requires Tool for Relearn? | Reset Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995-1998 | N/A | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | N/A | |
| 2 | 1999–2004 | N/A | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | N/A | |
| 3 | 2005–2006 (Touring only) | Direct | ✅ | 315 MHz | ✅ | ❌ | Automatic learn |
| 3 | 2007-2010 | Direct | ✅ | 315 MHz | ✅(Touring only) | ✅(except Touring) | Tool required, auto-learn for Touring |
| 4 | 2011–2017 | Direct | ✅ | 315 MHz | ❌ | ✅ | Tool required (Autel, etc.) |
| 5 | 2018+ | Direct | ✅ | 433 MHz | ✅ (via dash/menu) | ❌ | Reset via infotainment/dash |
If you have questions or info to add, feel free to drop it below. I’ll keep this updated as I add more videos and do the full tire replacement on our 2011 soon.
Hope this helps someone else out there! 👨🔧👊
