keeeeez

Ok.. for those of you that tried and have been successful with this fix (mod, if you wanna call it that). Here's my experience thus far.

I had the 4 TPS from the stock wheels put into a small wheelbarrow tire (max psi 30). We inflated it to 29-30 psi. Put it in the trunk. Followed the directions (as far as I know) in the manual to re-initialize TPS: Turned the car power to ON without turning on the engine, set the system to Tire Pressure - Initial. Held down the button. Heard the "beep" after a couple of seconds.

At that point the system looked as if it were re-initializing, but then the warning lights remained. So I thought great, I'll have to take it into the dealer (as recommended) for the techs to re-initialize the system.

I turned on the car, drove for about a block, and the warning lights went away... all of them.

Drove around for about 10 miles and no warning lights. Stopped to get gas, no warning lights. Went home, parked the car.

So this morning I turn on the car, got a low tire pressure warning, and all warnings came back. Warning lights still on as of right now. I haven't even tried to re-initialize the system.

My questions are, (1) Do I need to fill the wheelbarrow tire with more air; eg, 35psi
(2) Is it safe to fill the tire past 30psi as that is the recommended maximum limit? (30psi)
(3) Do I really have to go to the dealership to re-initialize TPS
(4) Are you having to re-initialize TPS everyday, or at times?

Thanks for your time.

conekiller

I can't answer your questions, but I have some of my own. Why can't the TPS sensors be used on aftermarket wheels? There are aftermarket TPS kits out there that only require you to strap the sensors to the wheel with metal bands (I believe even linked zip ties would work) before putting the tires on...why can't this be done with the OEM sensors?

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

depends where the valve stem can be mounted on an aftermarket wheel, some wheel designs put the valve stem where the TPS cant be mounted

keeeeez

I believe the Lexus techs that tried to band the sensors said that our sensors are not perfectly flat, so eventually they get loose from the bands, and turn into dust (after hoping around for a few seconds inside the wheel). At least that was their experience. The shop that installed my wheels confirmed that banding - or strapping TPMS sensors is not an exact science, with mixed results.

monkeyfarm

You can set the TPS system to whatever initial pressure you want. There are instructions in the manual. This is provided, of course, that the sensors themselves have already been entered into the system by Lexus (i.e. the sensors you put in the wheel barrow tire are the ones that came on the car, not a set you bought).

keeeeez

The sensors I have were pulled from the stock tires and put into the wheelbarrow wheel.
The wheelbarrow wheel was filled to 29-30psi.
I'm not sure if I followed the directions exactly, but the warnings went away yesterday, and re-appeared today. Perhaps the tire lost pressure, or didn't have enough pressure to begin with.

These are issues that hopefully another wheelbarrow modder can answer.

Thanks.

viet658

As Monkeyfarm says, I think there are instructions in the manual on how to change the pressure settings of the sensor. You probably need to set it at a lower PSI. For me, I just went out and bought a wheel barrow tire that could handle 35 PSI and haven't had any problems. Just popped the sensors into the tire and didn't have to adjust or change anything.

keeeeez

Thanks mang. Hopefully my wheelbarrow tire can be inflated to 35PSI (it says max is 30PSI and that's pretety much what they inflated to). I did read the instructions in the manual and attempted to reset the settings (to a lower PSI), but what I couldn't do was to actually change a number (ie 35 to 34, 33, 32, etc). I didn't see a way to do that.

I'll try inflating the tire to 35 PSI and see if that works.

How long have you had this fix viet?
Have you had to make any adjustments since (add more air, etc.)?

Thanks for your time.

viet658

I think you might be misunderstanding me. My wheelbarrow tire is rated at 35 PSI, so inflating it ot 35 PSI isn't much of a problem. I'm not sure how safe it is to overinflate your tire if it is rated at 30PSI. I had this fix for a few months now and I've only had to add air to the tire once. I would suggest just going out and buying a new tire that has a higher rating if possible.

monkeyfarm

You don't input a pressure when you program the sensors. The sensors transmit the pressure readings they're currently reading, and that becomes the new baseline.

Which begs the question, has anyone just removed the sensors, tossed them in the trunk, and tried to re-initialize at effectively 0psi? I wonder if the system will allow it.

keeeeez

It's never easy is it? well, I guess for some it's easier than others.

It would be interesting to see if it's possible to re-initialize at 0psi - that would be perhaps the best when to trick the system. I can't easily check for that unfortunately.

So I think here's the deal: either didn't initialize the system correctly (but it's strange that the alarms went away last night, then re-appeared today) or the system was initialized correctly and the tire lost air - thus needs to be initialized again, or tire needs to be replaced.

Thanks for the help guys. Hopefully it's an issue where the tire, when it's at it's coolest state (last night) has a lower pressure than when it's warmer. I have no idea if that's even possible. I'll check the tire pressure when I get home and tomorrow morning. Thanks again, and feel free to chime in and let me know when I'm off base.

--Rick

sajonf

I put 40psi in my wheelbarrow tire and it says max 30 psi. I haven't had any problems. It took about two months to lose enough air to set off the alarm. When it did, I aired it back up to 40 psi and the warnings went away. I will just check the pressure periodically and air it back up when needed.

keeeeez

That's what I wanted to hear.. thank you!

keeeeez

When wife came home, I initialized the system again...warnings still on... Went to the gas station and check the pressure of the wheelbarow tire - it was like 15psi...seems to have lost 15psi overnight. Filled up to 35 psi. Warning lights are gone.

Probably a bad wheelbarrow tire.. we'll c.

NINEZeRO

hey keeeez, how did you take out the tire sensors from the sotck wheels/tires? Is it diffcult? Can you give me detailed instructions on how to take them out and put them in a wheel barrow tire? Thanks.