What are possible reasons that the TPM light would be on after new tires installed (other than low pressure, obviously)?

 

" O point calibration "could be what you need to get done.
I have seen the TPMS light come on after tire rotation or alignment

 

Do you have a TechStream? If so you can check the battery levels with it and possibly see if one has dropped out.

 

Unfortunately no.

Googled "0 point calibration" but didn't find anything relevant to the SC -- can you be more specitic?

 

My experience is that the ham-fisted tire jockey ripped one or more or the TPMS sensors with his tire machine/iron. On my first tire change they destroyed two of them. Of course they say that it was that way when they took the tires off. I hope yours is an easier fix.

 

Is the light for the TPM on solid and no beeps ? If so consistent with TPM system not recognizing the sensors you have in your wheels ( which could also mean they are not transmitting what the TPM was expecting ). If one or more of your TPMS have not been damaged, then I would check if the glove box setting for the TPMS is in the original condition you had it at when you handed the car over to the tire tech. There are two settings for the TPM switch in the glove box. I run main for winter wheels and TPMS and secondary for my three season wheels and TPMS. When I forget to change the switch after changing my wheels, I get the solid yellow TPM warning light. Takes about 4 miles or so of driving for it to settle down even after I set the glove box switch correctly.

 

Johnnycake

when I rotated my tires and bought new tires, I made sure the sensor was
in the same tire position and once the tires were rotated , no lights came on.

One of the Tech told me if you moved any of the sensirs
to a different position , the lights might be triggered and you will need to have the sensors
reprogrammed. This might be something you want to check on

 

Surprised to hear this. For my 2005 ( with OEM sensors fully programmed by a Lexus dealer each time ), tire rotations work just like any other car - sensors can be at any corner of the car and as long as programmed, the TPM computer will recognize them. They do not have to be at the same corner for the system to work properly. I would be very annoyed if every time I did tire rotation, I would have to remove the sensors and re-nstall or for that matter, to reprogram. Wonder if the fact that Lexus charges between $125 to $140 to program the silly 2002-2006 SC430 TPMS system ( supposedly one of the most user unfriendly systems Toyota ever made) has something to do with the claim that re-programming is needed after each tire rotation.

 

The tech's claim about reprogramming the TPMS after rotation or changing tires is totally bogus. The Lexus/Toyota system doesn't know anything about the location of the transmitter. An alternative to the OEM system that is inexpensive and works better is this one. I've been using it for six months now and I'm very pleased with it.It beeps when air pressure gets low so I keep my ashtray drawer closed and don't even look at it unless I'm curious. It's equally visible at night or day and tells me which tire is low. The batteries in the transmitters are even replaceable! Perfect solution for around $100 on Amazon.

 

I've been eyeing these for a while also. They do look like a good alternative and actually give you some numbers versus an idiot light.

 

Thanks for the info. Bought a set

 

UPDATE: Lexus says the TPMS "lost memory" which they restored.

What during the tire change process caused that? The gas station that did the tire change says they will gladly pay if it was their fault.

 

Wow, that's a new one to me (apparently to you also)! Did they mess with the power while doing the tire change?

 

Even if the battery was disconnected, the TPM computer will still store the codes for the red, blue, white and gold sensors for the OEM TPMS system. I know because I have had my battery replaced before and that never triggered a TPMS warning light. Something is not quite right here.

 

I'm guessing the tire place tried to program them for some reason. Then found their tool couldn't, but it did unpair them. Just my guess.