Looking for the best educated knowledge on the following.
On a 07 Toyota Camry or any newer car for that matter. Does the on board
computer know which Tire Pressure Sensor is on a specific tire.
What I mean is that if sensor that is installed in the Right Front has an
ID of 1001 and it is learned into computer as being on the Right Front
then I rotate the tires 6 months later and the Right Front tire is now on
the Left Rear, does the computer know that is in the wrong position??
Personally, I don’t think that it does nor can it ever know where it is but
I was just told that the computer knows it is wrong and it must be reset
to the new position so the computer is happy.
Please advise me if I am missing some new technology in that the on
board computer knows more than what I think it can possibly know.
If it works like my GM vehicles then the computer has to be reset. A scan tool can be used or I use the Owner Manual that came with the car.
The manual has a procedure for teaching the TPMS the new tire locations. It involves a clockwise tire pressure inflation procedure and listening for a horn honk, etcetera.
Look in your manual for specific DIY instructions. CSA
On newer cars, yes
On older cars, not always, you just get a warning light if one tire is low, and it’s up to you figure out which one
On older cars where it’s just a matter of detecting if one non-specific tire is low it doesn’t matter. On cars that keep track of individual tire pressure and have the ability to tell the driver that you left-front tire is 10 pounds low, then either the TPMS needs to be reprogrammed (which takes all of two minutes if you have the proper tool for it) or on some newer cars, the system figures it out automatically after a few miles of driving and you don’t have to do anything.
On an 07 Camry I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine it has one of the earlier systems where it can only tell you that you have a tire that’s low, but nothing beyond that as far as specifics go. I could be wrong though.
I feel that Able 1 is trying to worry about a non problem . Not all TPMS systems are the same so the manual of each one will tell if the system does individual tires or not. Some monitor the spare and some do not .
No, not if the tire has a sensor inside the tire. If you move it, the car will still read it but does not know where it is unless you tell it. Some cars don’t really matter, like my Mustang, since even if I program the system with the correct location - takes a special tool - it matters not. Why? Because the car won’t tell me which tire is low, just that one IS. It is up to me to find it.
GM cars, as @common_sense_answer points out, have a procedure and many GM models will display each tires pressure reading on the info display so correct location is useful.
Some cars use the ABS readings to figure out low tires at each corner. If you rotate the tires, as long as you don’t change the pressures, the system will read the correct tire is low since the sensor is on the corner, not the tire.
As long as your TPMS light isn’t ON, don’t worry about it.
Ok, so as the OP on this thread I can see that some either didn’t read or understand
my question or misread what I typed.
First I am not having a problem, I was asking a technology operational question.
I believe I have the answer to what I was asking by gleaning out of the various
postings of those that understood my question.
The sensors are ID’d when learned into the car and being located LF-RF-RR-LR.
If a particular car can only indicate “A” tire pressure is low or “A Specific” tire is
low but regardless the car does NOT know if the tire has been moved to a different
position.
If a sensor is assigned to LF and it stays on LF then and only then will the car
report the LF tire is low.
I realize that some reading this will say “who cares?” I just wanted to understand
that if someone tells me my car is smarter than another because it will know
the tires are in the wrong position if I do a tire rotation is not true.
It only helps with long term maintenance if after rotation that the sensors are properly
assigned and reset. Then it will be “somewhat” easier to determine which tire needs
air rather that walking around and checking all 4 tires to find the one that is low.
I also believe that these sensors are a technological PITA. They cost more and provide less than necessary benefits.
BTW this 07 Camry does not have a sensor in the spare!!
Also, what stated this was I had a low pressure reading and after trying to
figure out the problem it was determined that the LR had a bad sensor
and had to be replaced at a cost of $140.00 Doubt I will do that again!!
Will just let the Dash Indicator on and ignore it.
Thanks to those that have contributed to the thread.
On your car the tire pressure sensors are registered into the receiver as “Transmitter #1”, “Transmitter #2” etc, there is no reference to the location.
Some vehicles have receivers in the wheel wells to identify the transmitter locations, those vehicles do not require a learn procedure to display the correct tire locations.
OK!! Did not know that specific location receivers are located in each wheel well.
Under that system the it would be possible to determine if a specific tire/sensor
was moved to a different location. I would hope that a simple press of a button
would reset the positions and bring all to normal. My guess is that it is not!!!
NOW I am learning something new.
Honestly the only way I can think that these things can be most beneficial would be
if once it detects a tire is getting low, that it would automatically put more air back
into that tire. If the rate of pressure loss can’t be maintained then and only then
the light or alert would come on trying to convince the driver to pull over and call AAA.
Regardless there will be those people that will just ignore the alert and end up in the trench beside the road saying “it was running fine just before I lost control” and “I never saw the light come on or heard the alert”. There are too many clueless people!!
And as such the technology becomes a waste of money.
I believe you might have a reset button, under the dash on the left side, but that is to be used if you rotate tires, not replace a sensor
After that defective sensor was replaced . . . did the mechanic “register” it?
Or did he instead “clone” the old sensor, so that he wouldn’t have to register the new one?
Believe me, registering a new Toyota tpms sensor with a different id is considerably more work, versus your typical gm or ford . . . from the mechanic’s viewpoint, for what it’s worth
Sorry, I can’t answer that question specifically. I assume that it was not cloned.
Actually as I was told they had to reprogram all of the sensor into the car since they were miss labeled as to position which prompted this question in the first place.
As for a reset button, the user manual that came with the car (bought used) describes the reset button as being in the upper left portion of the glove box. It must be highly
top secret since I can’t seem to find it. Must be top secret thingy!! Or the manual is a bit off. Which isn’t surprising. At least it is a hard copy and not on a CD.
As a alternate side question.
Is it possible to program the on board computer to ignore all sensors thus turning
off the tire pressure light??
That is not accurate, perhaps the person you spoke to wasn’t familiar with the procedure. On Toyota/Lexus vehicles the technician can’t just select one sensor code to rewrite, the registration mode process requires all 4 or 5 sensor codes to be entered.
This doesn’t take long, just print the data screen where the current sensor codes are listed, cross off the code of the sensor that was replaced, select sensor registration on the scan tool menu, enter the remaining codes plus the new code, takes 3 minutes.
Yup!
I watched the technician at Costco do this earlier in the week, when I got new Michelin Premier tires. Because my car is now 8 years old, I opted to be pre-emptive and replace the sensors at the same time that I got the new tires installed.
Last year, I was driving my friend’s Rav-4 when the TPMS light came on. Without that light, I would undoubtedly have damaged the tire by driving it with very low pressure. Because of that light, the tire was able to be patched. And, when you are on an expressway, unless you pull-off the road every few minutes to check your air pressure (which nobody in his right mind would do), you would not get an early warning of pressure loss.
TPMS is not a substitute for regular, manual checking of tire pressure, but it definitely does serve a purpose, and it helps to increase your safety margin when driving at expressway speeds.
I do hear what you are saying. However, in the past 50++ years of driving I have had low and/or flat tires. With nails, screws, and other leaks, etc. The number of times verses the miles driven have been minimal at best. Always have had to just check the pressure find the reason for the leak and fix it.
With this car with these sensors there has not been any issues until this now. Spent
time looking for a low tire, could not find one. All pressures were where it was suppose
to be and then had to take to the shop to find out that one sensor was bad and had to
be replaced for whatever reason.
So from my perspective I find the sensors not worth my time or dollars.
Others have different opinions and others have similar.
Most likely because the sensor’s battery was weak and/or dead
Your car is at least 11 years old . . . don’t be surprised if the remaining 3 sensors also start to fail soon
Another thing to consider, though . . .
if I’m looking to buy a used car, and the tpms light is lit or covered by black electrical tape . . . I’m going to wonder what else the seller has ignored. I might even begin to wonder if the car was well maintained
I’m NOT suggesting your Camry isn’t well maintained. I’m merely telling you what MY thought processes would most likely be
