Honda Odyssey Forum banner

Tire Pressure Monitor Missing

4K views 50 replies 16 participants last post by  2011.2017.odyssey 
#1 ·
I have learned Im missing a sensor monitor in my rear tire thus throwing the dash "TPMS" light. Is this something I can install as a home mechanic? I mean does it take any special tools or any special calibrating?

Secondly, any idea what a sensor unit would cost? I have not reached out to my dealer yet to get a quote.

Thanks everyone!
 
#2 ·
You may be able to install the sensor but you need a programming device like an Autel TS508 to prgram the new sensor to the ECU.

You need to do a LOT of homework. Start by searching TPMS and read up. :D
 
#3 ·
For one tire, I would absolutely take it to a tire shop and let them do it. I think the tools and time needed for this are too much to make a DIY worth your effort. You'll be in and out of a decent tire shop in less than an hour for probably under $100. The sensor itself is probably in the neighbourhood of $30-ish and then whatever the shop charges to dismount and remount a tire. It is not necessary to go to a Honda dealership for this.
 
#4 ·
I was definitely procrastinatng going to the dealership. For whatever reason I was thinking a diy home fix then was thinking dealing with sensors was way above my head and tool kit. Thanks for the input

S
 
#6 ·
They charge $60 a corner (on top of their mounting/balancing fees) when you buy new tires to replace and program the sensor(s). They may just do it for that normal $60 for that one tire. BUT. The life of the sensor batteries is somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 - 10 years. If one died and was removed, odds are that the other ones aren't too far and you likely don't know the status of the rest of them with that TPMS light ON.

All of this has been discussed here more than once in several threads. :)
 
#7 ·
if you buy a cloneable tpms sensor, you can have it programmed to the original id of the missing one in the PCM.
assuming someone swapped the wheel, and the old one is no more.

a shop or DIY can install a new sensor by simply breaking the tire bead, and wedging something (hard rubber) between the bead and tire to install the new one.
literally did this on my 2011TE when all of the existing tpms needed seal kits.

thus saving you a mount and balance charge.

I absolutely hate the tech, its a useless expense for owners, more so for people who swap winter tires and rims.
 
#8 ·
I absolutely hate the tech, its a useless expense for owners, more so for people who swap winter tires and rims.
Testify brother! 🙌

TPMS is by idiots, for idiots.

The rest of us who have eyes and a tire pressure gauge simply have to find a way to live alongside it as cheaply and inobtrusively as possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2011.2017.odyssey
#9 ·
If my tire pressure is low I can usually figure it out just by driving on it...

A few weeks ago I noticed the tires on my Accord were feeling a little soft, so i went over to Costco to air them up. Sure enough, the warm pressures were at 30 when the cold spec is supposed to be 32. Probably because of the amount of regular air in there. I never have this issue when I air up with nitrogen (which is why I went all the way to Costco to air up), but since I got this car used, the tires were filled with air.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2011.2017.odyssey
#10 ·
apparently nitrogen fillups, are free now for members at the filler station.
guess the tire centres got fedup topping up for members.

Im still a knuckle head and use air, even with a costco membership.

The only time I would appreciate using nitrogen, is when the temp drops below 32F, and the tpms sensors moan about the 1-2psi drop.
which equates to about week or two before the winter tires and rims get installed.
 
#14 ·
Im a guy who always has a pressure gauge handy. The TPMS has always been a just a pain and usually I just let the light roll and just ignore it.

Now the nitrogen topic is something I do not use. Im not sure its super available in my area. Or it may be and Im not aware. No Costco around these parts. Ill have to start snooping around and find out. My past experiences with nitro have been great. Less chirping at me!
 
#15 ·
Im a guy who always has a pressure gauge handy. The TPMS has always been a just a pain and usually I just let the light roll and just ignore it.
Well. Then, the TPMS light should be par for the course for you I suppose. You can continue ignoring it.

That said, if/when the TPMS light is ON, you cannot disable VSA and if you live in snow country, you sometimes would need to disable VSA to get out of parking from a snowy/icy spot or go up a hilly drive way. As long as you are aware of that pitfall, you can ignore the light and ensure the tire pressures in all 4 tires are OK and all should be well.
 
#16 ·
Over all these years, since my '70 Super Beetle and servicing Dad's cars, I've been happy with using only 78% Nitrogen in my tires! :ROFLMAO:
 
#26 ·
I like how this was totally missed by everyone touting the 'nitrogen' thing. The difference (if there is one) is probably with DRY air, since the partial pressure of water does change a fair amount with temperature. If all the non-nitrogen was leaking out, the tires would only be filled with nitrogen after a few top-ups, basically... Also, they don't vacuum out the tire, you are only tripling the absolute amount of air in the tire by going from atmospheric to ~30psi - which means 1/3 of the gas in there is 'normal' air, even when 'filled' with nitrogen. You are just going from 78% nitrogen to 92% nitrogen with a 'nitrogen' fill.

I'd chalk up tires loosing air quickly to cheap tires - that's been my experience. My nice tires loose <<1psi a month, cheap tires (generally on used vehicles I've purchased) are often >1psi/month. Same air used to fill them...

-Charlie
 
  • Like
Reactions: skelsall
#22 ·
My local Costco is always packed to the brim and the parking lot stop signs are apparently optional. I love going there but I hate the crowds. However I am hinking about testing the nitrogen fill to see how long it takes to drop pressures using the "full deflate" and refill method.
 
#23 ·
You probably don't want to completely deflate the tires with the vehicle on the ground. Otherwise I would have already totally expelled the tires on my Ody and Accord and completely filled them back up.
 
#24 ·
It won't damage anything with the vehicle immobile. I could probably apply the parking brake just to be sure it doesn't rock while deflated. I just want to test how long it takes to lose air pressure with as much of a full fill as I can get. Right now I I lose ~0.5psi per week per tire. I'm going to pull up to the air station, remove the cores to let all the air out, and then fill it back up.
 
#25 ·
I am with @Juggawut on this one. As long as you have it parked and not driving on a full flat tire and are simply deflating and quickly inflating it, it should be fine. Long periods of sitting on a flat tire may cause issues but just removing and adding the air back up should NOT cause issues.

In fact, if my memory is not playing tricks on me, if/when the sensors are having issues and do not register, the recommendation is to remove all air and inflate them back.
 
#27 ·
In my case I just kept the tires constant and varied the air type. In my experience nitrogen holds significantly better than air on the same tires, so I use it.
 
#28 ·
These days, I have a portable pump that is easy to carry to each car and a nice chuck with digital gauge (part of my off-roading tool kit), so I'd prefer to stay home and fill a bit more often anyway... When it was just the big compressor (noise and hassle), tire fill ups were more annoying at home.

-Charlie
 
#29 ·
I believe everyone needs a digital tire inflator with an auto-shutoff in their vehicle. I haven't been without one since I started driving. Besides being useful for keeping your tires always aired up regularly, it's also saved my skin a few times when I got flats but was able to re-inflate the tire to drive somewhere. The auto shutoff is great during winter when you just want to sit in your heated vehicle waiting for it to shut itself off. I run it every month or before a long trip.
 
#30 ·
A lotta good nitrogen talk. Its got me thinking... I have an appointment at DT to install the sensor that's missing. Maybe they can deflate everything and refill with nitrogen. Might as well do the other three. Their getting my business so maybe theyd be understanding. And the free rotation on top of that. ✅
 
#31 ·
I don't think DT does Nitrogen. At least in my neck of the woods they do not. Free pure 78% Nitrogen there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WiiMaster
#32 ·
Yeah, they don't do nitrogen, and they love to talk about why on their website. While I do agree you shouldn't be paying more for nitrogen, there's nothing wrong with it if it's free...
 
  • Like
Reactions: dvpatel
#36 ·
Am I the only nerd here wondering how people are pulling a vacuum in their tires getting all the air out? [emoji1787]🥸
3x flat and pump up. No need for vacuum.
 
#42 ·
Tire shop I last went to wanted $249 for all four - parts/ labor / programming. I got a great deal on the tires... didn't want to ruin that with an unnecessary charge. I check tire pressure once a month. At worst I'll add 2psi. I bought a DeWalt 20V inflator. Works great. Hate going to the gas station for air.
 
#47 ·
It's not for idiots. It just keeps up with the standards of not needing to pay attention to your car because your car will let you know when somethings up and you should leave all else to professionals. So maybe it is for idiots. I like it though. It let me know when I had a screw in my tire before it went flat while I was driving; a time I could not have diagnosed a low tire.
 
#48 ·
I never looked at it that way. The TPMS thing. Yes. It is costly and an annoyance if/when your sensors die.

The way I saw this was, I at times do NOT check my air. I have fallen below all the way to 25 before when the weather changes and I do not keep up with checking my pressure on all 3 cars frequently. I used to back in the day. As and how one ages and has kids and the priorities change with growing kids, you tend to stop paying attention to small stuff.
The TPMS system warns you when the pressure gets too low (below 30 for us) and reminds you to top up for tires.

That is NOT for idiots or by idiots in my opinion. Its for forgetful folks who dedicate their time to surf OdyClub v/s checking their tire pressures. :p

Now. Think about this. There are millions of cars on the road. If even 25% did not stay on top of their tire pressures, not only is it bad for the environment (MPG loss), its risky as the tires will heat up and cause a blow out and may kill someone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blue Crab
#49 ·
As someone who owns an Odyssey without TPMS and an Accord with TPMS (x2 if you include the previous Accord which also had TPMS), I don't really mind too much. They both have their benefits and drawbacks, and as I mentioned before, I often sense low tire pressure while driving before the TPMS light comes on. So for me, it doesn't matter much.

But I also do know the type of idiots that are in this world, and I do appreciate that it exists for them. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: dvpatel and CroMath
#50 ·
I understand that TPMS has a permanent position in our automotive universe but I believe that is only because the standard of knowledge and discipline required of automobile owners is so abysmally low.

It is necessary for the car to monitor its own tire pressures because the idea that the average driver will or should do it with any sort of regularity is so far outside the norm of automobile operators' behavior that it can be safely presumed by manufacturers to never happen.

I mean really, those 4 contact patches are the only things that keep any vehicle from being a basically uncontrollable killing machine. Why would you ever think making sure they're in good shape yourself is important? 🙄

So TPMS annoys me but helps (saves?) nearly everyone else on the road. I can see the value in that and still wish it was different.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top