GR86 Help with TPMS

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SargeJosh

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Hi all, a bit of help/ guidance require please.
So, earlier in the year, I bought another set of wheels from a guy that was selling them to get some after market wheels for his 86. I had them powder coated to smoked crome before fitting as wasn’t overly keen on the black stock wheel colour. Result was amazing and am so pleased.
However, and here comes my embarrassment!
 
The GR86 is the first car that I have owned that has TPMS fitted. Previously had TVR/MG’s etc where nanny state hasn’t affected them😉
I didn’t realise that each wheel is effectively linked to its own corner, so need to keep a note of which wheel is from which corner etc. and obviously the new wheels, even though from another 86 will have different codes which will need to be sync’d with my car. When I had the wheels powdercoasted, as they would have had to take the tyres off, then I now realise that I should have ask them to make a note of the codes/number from the tpms sensor inside the wheel, but didn’t🙈
 
So, I now have a flashing orange tpms light on the dash, which cannot read any info.
Went into Toyota yesterday, and they have said that they will need to take the wheels off in order to remove the tyre in order to get the relevant info from the new sensors, to be able to sync them to the car.
Said would have to allow up to 2 hours, cost £320. They must have seen my jaw drop🤣
What I have learnt now, is never take wheels off without keeping note as to which corner they come from.
 
Any other way to get this fixed? Personally I don’t mind the sensors not being linked, as am one of these people that check my pressures on a very regular basis. But next year when the first MOT comes due, an orange TPMS light is an instant fail I believe.

I’d appreciate any help.
Thanks .
 
I actually thought the car would learn the new position if the wheels were swapped around? (as this is common practice to even up tyre wear etc).
But that aside, a good independent fitter will have a tool that can read the TPMS sensor ID without dismounting the tyre.
If you can get access to the TechStream diagnostic software (either yourself or someone willing to do it) I think you can see the stored ID's, reset them etc.
 
Common problem, easily solved (usually!)

The TPMS sensors themselves are only part of the overall solution, they need coded to the car as you have found out.

The good news is that the sensors you have in the new wheels came from another 86 so you know they work with the car. Then it's just a matter of coding the car to see them. Most cars can accept multiple sets of sensors, or the codes from one set can be cloned onto the other. The position doesn't matter, the car will figure that out.

With the right equipment there is no need to take the bloody tyres off though, no idea what Toyota are saying here unless it's just to make a few bob.

Any tyre place should be able to do this for you for much less than Toyota are quoting, or hell you can buy a proper Autel programmer for less than the garage were going to charge you and do it yourself!
 
The absolute boll0cks that dealerships come out with is unbelievable! :oops: Take the tyres off?! What a bunch of cnuts ... Find a local 'friendly' wheel/tyre place and ask them if they'll do the TPMS for you. I'd do it, but I'm a bit far away I'm guessing.

I have two sets of wheels, both with TPMS, and because I swap them around twice a year in Spring/Autumn, I thought it worthwhile just to buy myself an 'Autel MaxiTPMS TS508WF' TPMS programmer (such as the one mentioned above and as shown here). The TPMS are read with the tyres on. Placed near the valve, the handset pings the sensors, reads and stores the data, then the data is uploaded to the ECU via the OBD port in the car - using this method you don't even have to drive the car to get them to register, the new TPMS readings are there as soon as you start the car. It also shows you their serial numbers and battery levels.
The way I look at it is that every time I use the programmer, the cost to buy it reduces proportionally; so having used it four times already, my initial outlay is a quarter of what it was, so £40 per set to change. Next year it'll be £30 aso. Makes Toyota's pricing seem criminal in comparison! Of course, you can always help out a mate and do theirs too as the kit is universal. Charge them a tenner and you're now in the money! 💷

Anyway, when I changed the wheels a week or so ago, I made a 'reel' for my Instagram page of resetting the TPMS to show how easy it is. In the video I ping each wheel, then plug in the kit to the OBD port (it comes with a lead), then just push the data up to the ECU.
I'll link to the reel below. Get me eh!? Such an inflooensah now innit (although it's taken me over 60 years) ... Enjoy.

 
Last edited:
midlife_sportscar said:
I actually thought the car would learn the new position if the wheels were swapped around? (as this is common practice to even up tyre wear etc).
But that aside, a good independent fitter will have a tool that can read the TPMS sensor ID without dismounting the tyre.
If you can get access to the TechStream diagnostic software (either yourself or someone willing to do it) I think you can see the stored ID's, reset them etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
Appreciate it 🤝
 
Duke said:
Common problem, easily solved (usually!)

The TPMS sensors themselves are only part of the overall solution, they need coded to the car as you have found out.

The good news is that the sensors you have in the new wheels came from another 86 so you know they work with the car. Then it's just a matter of coding the car to see them. Most cars can accept multiple sets of sensors, or the codes from one set can be cloned onto the other. The position doesn't matter, the car will figure that out.

With the right equipment there is no need to take the bloody tyres off though, no idea what Toyota are saying here unless it's just to make a few bob.

Any tyre place should be able to do this for you for much less than Toyota are quoting, or hell you can buy a proper Autel programmer for less than the garage were going to charge you and do it yourself!
Click to expand...
Thanks Duke!
Appreciate it…
 
Can I hijack this thread to have a rant at the absolutely awful implementation of TPMS in this car?

Temperatures have dropped a bit recently after weeks of heatwaves. I got in the car last night for the first time in a couple of weeks. The TPMS light came on immediately. When I moved off, it showed all four tyres as 2.0 bar....but only the driver's side wheels were yellow, indicating a warning. Evidently the warning threshold must work off a more precise value than the dash can display. First strike....

I clear the warning and drive off. It reappears. I clear it again. No matter how many times I acknowledge the warning, it reappears every 5 seconds, rendering the dash info panel unusable for the drive. Strike two.

That might be just about acceptable if the warning stopped triggering if the tyre pressures increased mid-drive though, right? Except after a 20 minute drive, the tyres all warmed up to 2.1 bar. But the two which had triggered the system initially still showed as yellow. So I have to keep clearing the error every 5 ****ing seconds, even though no tyres are below the warning pressure. Strike three.

But somehow most annoyingly....after the initial drive I spent maybe 20 minutes shopping. Came back to the car and the TPMS warning was still coming up. This time however, when I cleared it, it didn't keep reappearing....leaving just the indictor light on the dash, so I can at least use the info panel. So they cant even make it consistent.

I'd really like to meet whoever was responsible for designing or testing this implementation, and kick him in the balls.
 
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Before setting off, would pressing and holding the (glovebox) TPMS reset button work in this situation?
 
Probably. A couple of years ago I intentionally lowered the pressures, reset the TPMS, then pumped the tyres up again exactly to avoid this sort of situation. Seems ill have to do it again.

Still...I stand by the fact that it's poorly implemented.
 
Yup, just turning off the car and turning it back on again stops the warning from being persistent for about 24 hours. Very temperamental warning.
 
sim86 said:
Yup, just turning off the car and turning it back on again stops the warning from being persistent for about 24 hours. Very temperamental warning.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that, but it seems ass-backwards. It should be, the warning should appear, and not show again for the remainder of your drive if you acknowledge it and clear it (just have the normal warning icon stay illuminated). It should then come back on your next drive.
 
Conscript said:
I didn't know that, but it seems ass-backwards. It should be, the warning should appear, and not show again for the remainder of your drive if you acknowledge it and clear it (just have the normal warning icon stay illuminated). It should then come back on your next drive.
Click to expand...
That's weird. I think that's how it works on my car. It appears, I clear it and it shows the icon just as you would expect. I am pretty sure it doesn't keep popping up during a drive.
Mines a June 2023 car. I think yours is earlier? Maybe the software changed?
 
sim61 said:
That's weird. I think that's how it works on my car. It appears, I clear it and it shows the icon just as you would expect. I am pretty sure it doesn't keep popping up during a drive.
Mines a June 2023 car. I think yours is earlier? Maybe the software changed?
Click to expand...
Maybe. It's a bit annoying when you want to have your oil temp guage up, but every 5 seconds you have to press Back.
 
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