2008 RX-350 one of the five sensors stopped working a few months ago. I got a new sensor from Costco tire center for about $50.. They installed it for $15. So far, so good.

 

UPDATE: I decided to replace the 5 sensors on my 07 and phoned the parts mgr at my local dealer (Prestige Lexus, Ramsey NJ) to ask if they could match Sewell's price on the sensors. Had a nice conversation. He said they would match the price but he suggested I not replace the sensors since he sees very few sensors failing even on the older Rx's. And when they do it is often because they were damaged during tire changes,

I also did some research and learned that some senor types go into a sleep mode when not being used and so those on my 8 year old RX with only 45K miles might be in better shape than sensors driven further. Also, garaging the car out of the summer heat should also prolong the life of the sensor batteries. My big question, if any knows the answer, is whether the 07 Lexus sensors do go into a sleep mode when not in use?

 

"Sleep mode" does not make sense, unless they wake up quickly. If the sensor is not transmitting the system should alarm, my 04 Corvette did just that. The sensors on the Vette went at exactly 10 years old. My 05 Highlander is still going strong. If I had an 07, I'd gamble and not replace. These are not critical parts so I believe in pushing the replacement until I have to.

 

Just got 4 tires replaced at Costco for my 2007 RX 350. Funny thing happened on the way - tire pressure sensor light started blinking and after while stayed ON. I was thinking this must be flat tire, but when Costco guy ran diagnostics, he told me two sensors need replacement -- one died and other's bettery was discharged. $45 a piece for 2 sensors + $4 for 2 old sensors - some replacement parts they put when they reuse old sensors.

I was surprised since I got servicing done at Lexus just last week and nothing popped up there, but I trust Costco so may be it was ignorance / incompetence on Lexus mechanic.

 

I just purchased a new set of tires from Costco and had them replace all 4 sensor while they were there. I didn't want to take the chance of a sensor going bad and go back to get it replaced.
Extremely happy with they work they did, it included programming.

 

The spare tire also has a sensor. At some point in the future it will need replacement as well.

 

My 06 4Runner has had 2 sensors replaced so far. As noted above don't forget your spare. On that truck the warning light kept coming on, I'd check all 4 tires and they were fine. Drove me crazy until I realized that it was the spare that was low...

 

I also had a conversation with the service rep at Prestige Lexus and he told me the same thing. I have a 2005 RX330 with the original sensors. I did some research and found this article that discusses the various factors that effect TPMS.
http://www.tirereview.com/changing-tpms-sensor-batteries/

 

Model years 2004-2006 RX 330s do NOT have wheel mounted TPMS sensors. Instead, they use the ABS wheel speed sensors to determine if a tire is low on air. This method works, but it's not as accurate as dedicated wheel mounted sensors. Thus, for the 2007-2009 model years, Toyota (Lexus) switched to using wheel mounted sensors.

So for those with 2004-2006 RX330s, there is nothing to worry about as far as batteries dying and affecting TPMS. Also, with 2004-2006 model years, you can switch to whatever wheels you want without affecting TPMS, as there are no sensors to register to begin with.

EDIT: If I had an 07 RX350, I wouldn't worry about replacing TPMS sensors until you have problems with them. That being said, when 1 dies, you may want to replace all 5. The downside to waiting until they die is that to replace the sensors, you have to dismount the tire, replace the sensor, remount the tire, and rebalance. Thus, you may have to pay a little to get that done, but I wouldn't think that you would be charged much or any at all for install if you get the sensors installed at the same place you buy them at. It may be a good idea to call your tire shop and ask how much they would charge to install new TPMS sensors if you bought new sensors from them. That way you know exactly what it will cost if you wait and they do go bad, pending they do go bad sometime soon.

 

I have about 125,000 miles on an 07 RX 350 AWD. One sensor quit about 3 years ago at around 90-100K.

A few weeks ago the pressure light came on when it was really cold... turned out to be the spare was low on air. Another week or so after that, the light came on again...checked all pressures and everything is good.

In short, another sensor ended up quitting, but I'm not sure which one....Is there a way to pinpoint which sensor is bad? Or just leave it up to the shop to figure it out?

 

Neelnaik, thank you for clearing this up. I guess I misunderstood the service rep when he explained the TPMS on my 2005. It is people like you and a forum like this where people can go to get the most accurate information.

 

@nikolai00,
There isn't really a good way to determine which sensor is bad yourself. You need to have a TPMS tool. You could also probably use TIS Techstream, but I don't remember for sure. Your local tire shop will have a TPMS tool. Using that, they will be able to check each sensor and see if they are responding, and also be able to see what pressure they are reporting. Sometimes (rarely) TPMS sensors lose calibration, but depending on the specific sensor, they may or may not be able to recalibrate it, thus requiring a new one.

@ericg,
No problem! I find that owners tend to know more about the nuances of particular vehicles than service reps do, as service reps see so many different make/model/year vehicles every day. And that's exactly why sites like Club Lexus exist.

 

Are you serious? I didn't know that. Had I known I would have asked to replace the spare tire sensor as well.

 

Our 2007 RX350 has two sensors that have died in the past 3 months, should have replaced them all when I put on new tires last year. BTW, Rockauto.com now sells the OEM Denso sensors for about $35 each. Best deal I have found so far for the OEM sensors.

 

Thanks for the info - $35 is a steal !