skipper972 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 My 02 TPMS light is on, but all four tires have good air pressure. The manual says that the most likely cause for the light is a low battery on one of the TPMS modules. Is there any way to determine which tire needs a battery without breaking down the tire from the wheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmartin248 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 The battery can not be replaced. You have to replace the complete sensor and they run about $125 each. Even after the replacement you have to have the sensor programed to your car by the dealer. I took one of the sensors apart to see if the battery could be replaced and its a special battery as well as spot welded to the connections. This is one area that I am very disappointed in Lexus that the battery can not be replaced. Battery life is about 5 years, so you are about to need more than one. Here is what I did: threw the sensors away, installed normal valve stems, bought a set of valve stem caps that turn red on low pressure from Walmart for $6, and disconnected the TPS light per one of the postings on this board. Yeah, the wife has to walk around the car once a week and look at the valve caps, but it saves $600 + on sensor replacement and I can use any rim that I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipper972 Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 The battery can not be replaced. You have to replace the complete sensor and they run about $125 each. Even after the replacement you have to have the sensor programed to your car by the dealer. I took one of the sensors apart to see if the battery could be replaced and its a special battery as well as spot welded to the connections. This is one area that I am very disappointed in Lexus that the battery can not be replaced. Battery life is about 5 years, so you are about to need more than one. Here is what I did: threw the sensors away, installed normal valve stems, bought a set of valve stem caps that turn red on low pressure from Walmart for $6, and disconnected the TPS light per one of the postings on this board. Yeah, the wife has to walk around the car once a week and look at the valve caps, but it saves $600 + on sensor replacement and I can use any rim that I want. Wow, thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitsuguy Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The battery can not be replaced. You have to replace the complete sensor and they run about $125 each. Even after the replacement you have to have the sensor programed to your car by the dealer. I took one of the sensors apart to see if the battery could be replaced and its a special battery as well as spot welded to the connections. This is one area that I am very disappointed in Lexus that the battery can not be replaced. Battery life is about 5 years, so you are about to need more than one. Here is what I did: threw the sensors away, installed normal valve stems, bought a set of valve stem caps that turn red on low pressure from Walmart for $6, and disconnected the TPS light per one of the postings on this board. Yeah, the wife has to walk around the car once a week and look at the valve caps, but it saves $600 + on sensor replacement and I can use any rim that I want. Might want to be careful with those... they aren't worth the $6 they cost when they sometimes fail. Used to be in the tire and wheel industry and saw many failures from those... three different failure modes for them that are all quite common: 1) low tire pressure, but reading ok tire pressure - on more than one occasion, I have pulled those caps off a completely flat tire, and they still show that there is proper air pressure in them 2) slow leak - they are plastic and plastic isn't so good at holding pressure... with heat especially, the bonds can come loose and cause a slow leak, by the time it is noticed, it is usually too late for the tire 3) catastrophic failure - also on more than one occasion, I have seen the top plastic part completely blown off of the base, causing a complete loss of tire pressure, as fast as air can be let out of a valve Although these don't happen all the time, it is still a relatively common occurrence. There was a recall a year or two ago regarding one brand of these and the 3rd reason I listed above, however I have seen failures of all different types from different manufacturers. You are better off, IMO, with just a plain plastic or metal valve cap and checking the pressure once a week or month, than you are with these things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinTX Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I thought those things were great when they first came out. I put them on all our cars and even sent some to family. After about a year I noticed the plastic top had popped off one, I didn't loose tire pressure but it made me realize how cheaply made they really are. When I spoke with my dad I found he had a slow leak on a tire and that turned out to be the problem. I removed them all also. It was a great idea but someone needs to make some that are better quality, I would be willing to pay more for them but they would need to be reliable than whats out there now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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