Kurtz, you're not paying attention. Check the title of this thread describing the battery as dead. Used sensors on eBay also have dead batteries.

$40.42 is a great bargain even considering that I only need a $5 battery, is that the price installed and programmed?

Evitzee Show me where I complained about the sensor going dead. The sensor works fine and will surely outlast the car. Show me where I complained about the battery going dead, the lifespan of the battery, or it's replacement cost. My complaint here is that the system is deliberately rigged to milk us for money by requiring an expensive sensor to be thrown out with the battery. It's obviously stupid to have a battery in there where it can't be easily serviced but the real issue here is that they glue it in so that you'll be forced to buy an expensive sensor. What if they glued your brake pads to the caliper so that it would cost 1000% more to replace your brakes every 7 years? Or again, what if they glued the battery in your key fob so that every 7 years you had to buy a new fob and get it programmed by a mechanic? Why are you guys not getting this?

heyarms, you seem to represent the majority here in stating that $200 is no big deal for $20 worth of batteries. Can you elaborate? Would you be willing to buy a few packs of AA batteries from me every 7 years? For $200 I'll include free shipping. After all, $200 every 7 years is not a big deal to maintain all the TV remotes in your house, right?

sm1ke, I can't teach you engineering so unfortunately I can't "school" you back. Sure, some punk may blog about the benefits of active vs. passive TPMI. So what? First of all, there's a multitude of ways to make active TPMI sensors without batteries. Second, manufacturers are switching back to passive because it works fine and doesn't cost anything. Third, even if there were a compelling reason to have a battery in there, it's trivial to secure it. Maybe you don't understand the way screws work and that's fine, you don't need to. Just look around and notice the screw holding the entire TPMI sensor in place, or the screws holding your wheels on, or every other part of the car together. There is absolutely no merit whatsoever to the argument that the battery must be glued to withstand the vibration. Do your valve caps ever vibrate off? Do the hose clamps on your engine vibrate loose? What about that one nut that holds the shock absorber to the axle, does it ever vibrate loose? Nevermind the fact that there are an infinite number of ways to secure a battery with a simple cheap clip that uses clever geometry to ensure it cannot ever vibrate loose under any circumstances.

 

So if the tpms wasn't powered by batteries what would u expect it to run on? Magic? Smh

 

Maybe he can sue the battery manufacturer too for charging $5.00 for a battery that cost them probably 50 cents to make. Amazing companies actually trying to make money.

 

You're still incredibly butt-hurt that your car has to have some maintenance, huh? $200 is no big deal to replace something that makes my life easier. Your idiotic analogy to TV remotes is so far in left field, I don't understand you. You need to grow up a bit and accept responsibilities opposed to complaining and becoming defensive.

Seriously, how old are you? You come off as being very young, and that this is your first car or something. We've all tried to help you to begin with, but you came off so defensive and all knowing on how "TPMS sensors are a scam" that this thread went south. If you don't agree with them, don't use them. Disregard the light on your dash and monitor your tires the old fashioned way.

 

The problem here is that the guy keeps saying WE don't know what we're talking about when sadly he doesn't know what he's talking about. There's really no excuse to argue with someone who is closeminded about the situation. His problem is he isn't looking outside the box on how ridiculous he sounds.

His gross oversimplification of saying that we should compare this vs. spending $200 in batteries for our TV remote is ridiculous. Firstly, it's $65-95 on eBay for FOUR OEM Toyota TPMS (which is exactly what they use in our cars). Having these installed at Discount Tire, for me, was completely free. The TPMS I bought were for my brand new wheels, not because I needed to replace mine from my stock wheels that have perfectly been working since 2006. And yes, I bought them off eBay.

I think this guy is a sucker and a conspiracy theorist. He is a sucker because he simply thinks that somehow, MAGICALLY, all four TPMS failed. All at once. He hasn't provided us any evidence, except for his tire shop's word, as if these really failed or not. I personally think he is a sucker because he paid $150 for aftermarket TPMS when he could have paid under $100. And no, those on eBay are NOT broken. They work perfectly well, sir. He is a conspiracy theorist because he thinks Lexus is trying to pick our pockets over TPMS. His rational is obviously way way off considering he wanted to SALVAGE his car over this issue.

So wait, wait, wait. All they needed to do is take out the apparent "dead" TPMS and install the new ones and programmed them as before. If they had a problem figuring out how to program it (something that took my Discount Tire all of 2 minutes to do), then they are complete idiots. Idiots who I would have NOT trusted to tell if my original TPMS were dead or not.

By the way, we're not all rich, retired old people. Last time I checked, this was an entry level luxury vehicle. I am 22 and have had this car for three years. I am a college student but still somehow afford to maintain my car to the highest degree AND have nice mods on my car.

He is really just a gigantic troll here. And he's sadly tried to blast an entire community filled with highly knowledge individuals. If you wanna **** Club Lexus off, you act like a pompous imbecile. We are a community here, and while we may have differing views, we do the adult things and accept them. We listen to each other and LEARN from each other. Obviously you don't do any of these things so why don't you just move the hell along.

 

With all of the time this guy has wasted trying to prove everyone wrong he could have been putting in overtime to pay for some new sensors. Smh

 

As someone with an electronics engineering background, I concur that they could have made the battery a service item that can be replaced instead of having to replace the whole sensor. However, I also know that those design decisions are made for sound reasons, and sometimes, future service revenue is one of them. If only the OP had the maturity to start this thread with his story and ask why the battery is not a service item and what would drive Toyota ( and almost all TPMS sensor manufacturers) to not design it that way, it would have taken a different direction.

Going back to the sensor and it's battery. I think the manufacturers of the sensors ensured that sensor accuracy is maintained, by ensuring each sensor is replaced as it's batteries drained out. It is possible that other key components degrade over time due to the harsh environment they operate under. Tires not only live through extreme climate, but driving generates a lot of heat and that heats up the air inside the tires well above ambient temperature. That and the extreme pressure inside the tire is bound to have wear and tear on the sensor material itself even if it doesn't affect the electronics that interface with that sensor material.

 

1. This guy has got to be trolling.

2. Jeremy I understand what you are saying. This is extortion. You should show them. Trade me your car for my wife's 2001 buick century. Buick didn't engage in this type of non-sense. No tpms sensors over here.

3. Can't believe I took the time to respond to this thread.

 

Since you're making such a big deal out of it, just go with your other option, salvage the car.

 

If the sensors worked on say kinetic energy only when the car is moving or the battery could be replaced- then the cost of replacing a sensor when they break would be sky high. For example the actual valve part of mine broke on my 04 SC about a year ago. It does not happen often but it does happen, the actual unit itself could die. Also if you use fix a flat you can damage your sensor. So basically what I am saying is there are more reasons for these to go bad then just batteries. If the sensors were not made in bulk by the company since its a commonly replaced item then to replace one would be much more expensive. Its simply supply and demand. It is probably going to cost you less to replace all four now then it would have cost you to replace one had the auto makers gone the other route. Now there is also the fact that the companies need to make some money to still be around so that you can ride around and have the luxury of complaining about the car. Can you even prove your battery is out? Are you sure they didnt break the valve or damage the sensors ripping them out? All that being said I think its time to shut this down.

 

Stop the insanity, you make no sense and the more you write the worse it gets, so let's just leave it like this as it makes as much sense as your continued notes:

 

I think this thread has run its course.