TPMS question

[tubaprde]

Tesla quoted me $530 for TPMS labor and sensors for my 2014 P85DL ( and I am running 19 inch base wheels). The seller told me the sensors were installed with these wheels however Tesla says that they are not installed or the ones installed are incompatible. Does any of this add up? If so is there another option to save some money? I’m in the Bay Area. I wish I could just suppress the tpms warning but I’ve been told that’s not possible by the dealer

 

[Rocky_H]

however Tesla says that they are not installed or the ones installed are incompatible. Does any of this add up?

Yes, that could add up. I also have a 2014 Tesla, and in those first few years, Tesla was using sensors of a brand called Baolong. They are part of that system where it can give you a warning that a tire is low, but not specifically which one, because it doesn't display the individual tire pressures. At some point, they switched the sensor system. Maybe that was part of the mid-2016 refresh--can't remember. The new system, with the individual tire readouts, had multiple antennas to read the different wheels, and it used Continental brand sensors, and they are not cross-compatible with the old system.

So that could make sense, if someone put in Continental sensors, thinking "That's what Tesla cars use.", but not realizing they won't work on the older system of your 2014 model.

I wish I could just suppress the tpms warning but I’ve been told that’s not possible by the dealer

What dealer? Tesla doesn't use dealerships. Did you buy this car used from a 3rd party car dealership?

And it is possible, but pretty expensive, to do a retrofit of the old cars to change out the antennas and sensors and software to get on the new system with the individual tire pressure readings. And that may be what the $530 price quote is for.

 

[tubaprde]

Yes, that could add up. I also have a 2014 Tesla, and in those first few years, Tesla was using sensors of a brand called Baolong. They are part of that system where it can give you a warning that a tire is low, but not specifically which one, because it doesn't display the individual tire pressures. At some point, they switched the sensor system. Maybe that was part of the mid-2016 refresh--can't remember. The new system, with the individual tire readouts, had multiple antennas to read the different wheels, and it used Continental brand sensors, and they are not cross-compatible with the old system.

So that could make sense, if someone put in Continental sensors, thinking "That's what Tesla cars use.", but not realizing they won't work on the older system of your 2014 model.


What dealer? Tesla doesn't use dealerships. Did you buy this car used from a 3rd party car dealership?

And it is possible, but pretty expensive, to do a retrofit of the old cars to change out the antennas and sensors and software to get on the new system with the individual tire pressure readings. And that may be what the $530 price quote is for.

Thanks for the info. The quote was from Tesla, I call them a dealer but I guess the technical name is service center (see pic). I bought the car private party. Is there a possibility that it does has have the correct hardware and it’s gone bad and therefore the extended service agreement should cover the repair? Assuming it doesn’t have the correct tpms what would you do in my situation?

 

[dabbler]

If you have the first generation TPMS, then you can just purchase the replacement sensors on eBay for about $120 for a set and have them installed at your local tire shop. Usually they charge about $25 per wheel/tire to dismount, install sensors and remount & balance. About $100 for 4 wheels/tires. $220 is a much better deal than $530.

4 2012-2013 TPMS Tire Pressure Sensors Tesla Model S Base Performance Baolong | eBay

 

[Rocky_H]

Thanks for the info. The quote was from Tesla, I call them a dealer but I guess the technical name is service center (see pic).

OK, just trying to understand if you've been working with Tesla the whole time or some other place that maybe doesn't understand Teslas.

I bought the car private party.

Ah, so I'm thinking it may be pretty likely that they got the wrong sensors when they got those wheels, not knowing about the difference.

Is there a possibility that it does has have the correct hardware and it’s gone bad and therefore the extended service agreement should cover the repair?

Yeah, that is possible, but I don't think very likely. I've seen it happening with other people who had some go bad and got the stuff changed under warranty.

Also, I did get this narrowed down to a time frame. The change from the Baolong to Continental was about September 2014 approximately at VIN 50,900. And that quote of $175 each does about match what other people had been seeing for getting the old Baolong ones. Here are several threads from the other Tesla forum that have pretty good info on this topic.

"New" for late 2014 TPMS Sensors | Tesla

New tpms sensor (continental) retrofit in early 2014 | Tesla

evidentally 433mhz sensors needed for model s 2014 | Tesla

Tire pressure sensors-can't get em | Tesla

Assuming it doesn’t have the correct tpms what would you do in my situation?

Hmm, I have been getting warnings off and on with my old March 2014 car about "TPMS system needs service. Contact Tesla". And I'm wondering if it was related to when I got new tires a little over a year ago at Costco, and they asked, "Do you want us to rebuild your tire pressure sensors?" And we said, "Um, sure." I hope they didn't replace my Baolong ones with the Continental ones, not knowing they wouldn't work. But through the past few months I had been trying to find a slow leak in one of the tires and finally got that patched. So...I don't know know if those error messages were the confusing notices from when that tire would be low on air about every three weeks. So I might be facing that $500+ bill too.

I think what I might do is to check into it at my 6th year service that is coming up in a little over a year. I mean we got along just fine driving cars for 100 years without tire pressure sensors, so it's no big deal. And sometimes, they can cut a little deal on labor costs if they are doing something related, or at least can check what's actually going on with them without charging for a separate service visit.

 

[tubaprde]

Ok cool thanks for all the input. I have a Dec. 2014 build date and here's an update:

Took it to another Tesla service center. They tried reading the tpms with two different devices (continentals and the other older brand) and go no response. I pointed out that the car has an ESC and they said they'd cover the parts and labor for the $200 deductible. So i'm gonna just go with that.

Dabbler, I would have jumped on those ebay ones if it hadn't been for tesla saying they'd cover it under extended warranty, thx.

 

[Slavas]

I have the following problem with non-original sensors on my Model S April 2014 ... (original sensors baolong)
Put summer wheels and cloned new sensors. Everything worked fine for 3 weeks, but now the error began to appear.
On winter wheels, exactly the same cloned sensors with the same ID work without errors.
Any idea what the problem is?

 

[ojbego]

I have a 2013 Tesla S P85. I was quoted $1100.00 by the Service Center to replace upgrade the system on my car. Here's the thing, the only issue is that the batteries died in the sensors.

 

[dabbler]

You can buy the first Gen sensors on eBay for about $110 for the set and have them installed at a tire center for the cost of mounting and re-mounting plus balancing. I have a new set never installed I will sell you for $99 plus shipping. My new car is a 2015 and uses a different frequency.

(4) New ITM Tire Pressure Sensor 433MHz TPMS For TESLA MODEL S 2013 | eBay

 

[Rocky_H]

I have the tire pressure system malfunction on my screen right now on my old 2014 Model S, and I'm pretty sure the batteries have just gone out in the sensors. When we got new tires at Costco a couple of years ago, they asked if we wanted them to "rebuild" the tire sensors while we had the tires off, so we said yes. We're about due for new tires in a few months anyway, so I'll probably just have them do it again, which I think should clear up this error message with the batteries getting replaced.

 

[Lasttoy]

1. Do you still have the TPMS Reset option? It was taken off my car when v9 was installed. The old antique cars need it. We dont have the new system.
2. I'm on my third set of tires and now have summer and winter. Each time I get a new tire I have the sensor replaced. 433mhz. The shop charged me $20 last time. Ebay is about 100 for 4.
3. Service center said my senors were bad, the idiot didnt realize he tested them before summer. No, they are all new. I have work ticket open with Tesla help Desk.
4. They also said $1500 to upgrade. Forget it. Check your tires everytime u see a WaWa, air is free.

 

[Rocky_H]

Do you still have the TPMS Reset option? It was taken off my car when v9 was installed. The old antique cars need it. We dont have the new system.

Hmm, I don't know. I haven't thought to check.

 

[fuelsman]

My tire pressure sensors failed on my 2013 P85 with extended warranty. Other than the deductible the sensors and system was updated to display individual tire pressure and covered by the extended warranty.

 

[Lasttoy]

I have NEW 433mhz sensors in both sets of wheels. And I cannot RESET system because that option is gone.
One guy said Tesla removed the option to force us antique owners to pay $1500 to upgrade system and antennas.
I will keep error message forever before I pay them to upgrade my car. Greedy jerks.
There is no excuse for Elon allowing this crap to go on. Talk about bad Karma.