VonoreTn Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 (edited) I had a tire pressure sensor go out at 67070 miles, which resulted in the TPMS warning light being on all the time. The manual recommends servicing these at the dealer, and since I don't have a tire removal tool, I took it to the Ford Dealer. I already knew that you couldn't just change the battery on these sensors. $158 later, they had it fixed, it was the right rear sensor was putting out no signal. It doesn't seem like it should cost as much as a new tire to fix a sensor, which probably had a bad battery. The sensors are supposed to last 100,000 miles. I'm not blaming the dealer, They've been fair with me. I think they followed the correct procedure. I just think someone at Ford Service Engineeering in Dearborn needs to consider that an exhausted watch battery in a tire pressure sensor should not cost as much as a new tire to fix. But since that is the only non-normal-maintenance money that I have spent on the car over the first 67,100 miles, I guess I'm doing pretty good. I still love the car. Edited January 16, 2013 by VonoreTn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfruth Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm also getting the sensor failure (TPMS) message, hope the dealer can fix it for $ 160.00 or less ! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonoreTn Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 I'm also getting the sensor failure (TPMS) message, hope the dealer can fix it for $ 160.00 or less ! Here is the bill I got for the work, which included an oil change too. He told me ahead of time that there was a $70 fee for just hooking up the TPMS diagnostic computer, then after the find the bad one, they reset a bunch of codes, something the average mechanic wouldn't have a prayer of doing. Then the cost of the TPMS is pretty high too, I guess it has a premium, unserviceable small battery in it. But I am curious, while the tire pressure is down, like while the tire is under repair, is the sensor constantly putting out low pressure signals, which could shorten that sensor battery life? I'm pretty sure that is the same tire that I had a nail in, and I got the 20 psi warning, and I fixed it 10 miles and 3 hours later, and it was good for about 10,000 miles after that. If you get a chance to talk to the mechanic, please ask him some of this stuff. http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac317/vonoretn/FFH/tiresensorbill_zpsd2fb92cc.jpg 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 The TPMS sensors really only transmit when the wheels are spinning. I'm not sure, but I don't think they would transmit any more often when the tire was low. The low threshold is determined by the computer in the car, so the sensor has no idea what "low" pressure is. Maybe they damaged the sensor when they took the tire off for repair (or did they just do a tire plug?). There is some labor to identify the fault, replace the sensor, and reprogram the sensor, so $75 plus the cost of the part isn't too bad IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.