"Check Tire Pressure System" - Cannot initiate reset

[eatSleepWoof]

Bought a set of 20" Tundra OEM wheels, bought a set of Autel MX TPMS sensors (which I've used before on 18" Tundra wheels I used to have), programmed them to the same TPMS IDs as my OEM wheels, and brought it all to a local tire shop. Asked them to mount the sensors, mount/balance the tires, and install on vehicle.

Picked it up, they mention something about trying to reset the TPMS system and not being able to, so they graciously did not charge me $40 for something I didn't ask them to do in the first place. Now the LX shows the amber TPMS icon, and reads "Check tire pressure system."

I've been trying to initialize the TPMS reset procedure for the last 50 minutes and am getting nowhere. I am following the procedure posted by @gaijin here: Adjust when TPMS alerts - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/adjust-when-tpms-alerts.1036673/#post-12668891

As soon as I put the vehicle in ACC mode, the TPMS light is already flashing. I then hit the start button once more (foot off the brake) to put it into ON, and the light keeps flashing. I've tried holding the TPMS reset button from ACC mode to ON mode, just in ON mode, from vehicle completely off, nothing starts the reset process. If I put the vehicle into ON and let it sit for a minute or two, the flashing light stops flashing and becomes solid. I've tried holding the TPMS at that point, but still can't get the reset procedure to start.

My Autel TPMS scanner reads all 4 new sensors just fine - all are charged, all reporting tire pressure and temperature. IDs match up with the OEM sensors.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[gaijin]

Bought a set of 20" Tundra OEM wheels, bought a set of Autel MX TPMS sensors (which I've used before on 18" Tundra wheels I used to have), programmed them to the same TPMS IDs as my OEM wheels, and brought it all to a local tire shop. Asked them to mount the sensors, mount/balance the tires, and install on vehicle.

Picked it up, they mention something about trying to reset the TPMS system and not being able to, so they graciously did not charge me $40 for something I didn't ask them to do in the first place. Now the LX shows the amber TPMS icon, and reads "Check tire pressure system."

I've been trying to initialize the TPMS reset procedure for the last 50 minutes and am getting nowhere. I am following the procedure posted by @gaijin here: Adjust when TPMS alerts - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/adjust-when-tpms-alerts.1036673/#post-12668891

As soon as I put the vehicle in ACC mode, the TPMS light is already flashing. I then hit the start button once more (foot off the brake) to put it into ON, and the light keeps flashing. I've tried holding the TPMS reset button from ACC mode to ON mode, just in ON mode, from vehicle completely off, nothing starts the reset process. If I put the vehicle into ON and let it sit for a minute or two, the flashing light stops flashing and becomes solid. I've tried holding the TPMS at that point, but still can't get the reset procedure to start.

My Autel TPMS scanner reads all 4 new sensors just fine - all are charged, all reporting tire pressure and temperature. IDs match up with the OEM sensors.

Anyone have any ideas?

Is there a different procedure in your Owner's Manual?

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Is there a different procedure in your Owner's Manual?

My LX did not come with a manual. The digital copy I have on hand outlines the same procedure as in your post.

 

[fjc-man]

Just a guess, does your 200 monitor the spare as well?

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Just a guess, does your 200 monitor the spare as well?

It does. I scanned the spare, too, and that sensor is also just fine.

Going to try to find a copy of Techstream (have the cable, never used it) and see if that gets me anywhere.

 

[CruiserFan88]

I had the same issue with my TPMS light and "Check..." on the dash meanwhile 2 different discount locations scanned and told me that all the sensors were fine. My last ditch effort to solve the mystery was disconnecting the battery at both terminals and the problem has resolved itself. I had left the country for a few weeks and unhooked the negative cable only. When I returned the TPMS started acting funny. Really the only reason I gave this a shot. I have not had it come back since the hard reset.

Edit: forgot to mention that you wont be able to initialize the system until you get the light to go off. My symptoms: After a 20 min drive from a cold start only 4/5 sensors reported a pressure. Not always the same 4/5. After 20 min, the computer throws the Check Pressure... and the TPMS light illuminates. It would stay like this for a day or two, then on the third day it would be off. Then after 20 min, the light would return. On a 4 hour road trip, I had the light come on, go off and come back on...It was becoming apparent it had to be a communication problem. TPMS was working fine before I left so went back to the battery.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Disconnected both terminals for ~45 mins, no difference.

Checked all new TPMS sensors again and compared their IDs vs. the original sensors - all good there. The sensors themselves are just fine.

Found what appears to be a copy of Techstream, will try it out and see what I get there.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Made a bit of progress. Not without headache, but I got Techstream working.

Ran diagnostics in Techstream and found this error code:

Digging around further, I found this:

Note that the sensor ID 5 (my spare tire) is not programmed. This is bizarre, as TPMS always displayed pressure for all 5 wheels, and I have zero idea how the 5th value could have been erased (?). Perhaps something the tire shop did.

It's also interesting that there is a '2nd tire' setting. This seems to be a way to register a second set of TPMS sensors, for your 2nd set of wheels. The 'mode status' would suggest the same. Some quick Googling turned up results of Lexus Is owners mentioning they have a button somewhere that lets them toggle between the two sets of TPMS sensors. I haven't found a way to toggle between the 'main' and '2nd' tire sets in either the Techstream software or the LX itself, but it sure seems like it's possible. Anyone want to dig deeper?

As Techstream shows, it reads the four new TPMS sensors just fine. The problem does seem to be the lack of a programmed sensor ID for the spare tire.

I tried to program it twice, and both times got this error message:

Searching around online I came across this page: Toyota Techstream TPMS “ID Registration Failed” Error Solution - VXdiagshop.com - http://blog.vxdiagshop.com/2019/12/10/techstream-tpms-id-registration-failed-solution/

.. which states "the problem is the Mini VCI clone cable."

Guess which cable I'm using? Yeah...

The suggested solution is to get the "VXDiag VCX Nano cable" and use that. Guess I now need to find and order this cable.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

The "select switch info" setting is set to "without," which suggests the LX does not have a physical switch to change from one set of TPMS sensors to the other.

Also interesting that "initialization switch" is set to "off." I wonder if that's the reason I'm not able to enter the TPMS reset? And how would I switch that to "on"?

 

[Lester did that]

Disconnected both terminals for ~45 mins, no difference.

Checked all new TPMS sensors again and compared their IDs vs. the original sensors - all good there. The sensors themselves are just fine.

Found what appears to be a copy of Techstream, will try it out and see what I get there.

Yes, had the same problem the first time I swapped tires.

I had to do the hard reset, its faster than waiting a few hours anyway. Clears a lot of gremlins in 15 minutes.

Disconnect the positive and negative terminals from the battery. Throw a towel over the battery to cover the battery and terminals for safety reasons. Zip tie the positive and negative lugs together for 15 minutes. This will safely drain every capacitor that's still holding a little juice. Complete reset. Like so complete your going to lose every setting. Even the saved engine data. It's equivalent to setting your phone or computer back to original. The truck will relearn everything. After you reboot try the reset procedure again for the TPMS.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Yes, had the same problem the first time I swapped tires.

I had to do the hard reset, its faster than waiting a few hours anyway. Clears a lot of gremlins in 15 minutes.

Disconnect the positive and negative terminals from the battery. Throw a towel over the battery to cover the battery and terminals for safety reasons. Zip tie the positive and negative lugs together for 15 minutes. This will safely drain every capacitor that's still holding a little juice. Complete reset. Like so complete your going to lose every setting. Even the saved engine data. It's equivalent to setting your phone or computer back to original. The truck will relearn everything. After you reboot try the reset procedure again for the TPMS.

Interesting; I've never heard of this procedure before. I think I'd like to avoid resetting all settings if at all possible, but will keep this in mind as a backup option.

When you say "relearn everything", do you mean that it'll automatically pick up the TPMS sensor IDs? I've read that some Toyota products can do that, but am not sure whether the 200-series can.

 

[Lester did that]

It worked for me. My mechanic recommended and I gave it a try. I have a 2009. If the sensors are running on the same frequency it's worth a shot. It's going to be looking for them on it's own. If the tire pressure changed because of a different tire size or what ever that is hard coded into the computer. Then you have to go thru the standard TPMS reset.

It will also reset the saved things in the engine like how it reads octane, how hard or soft the throttle is used ect. It's a full reset back to factory.

It's a neat simple hack.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

It worked for me. My mechanic recommended and I gave it a try. I have a 2009. If the sensors are running on the same frequency it's worth a shot. It's going to be looking for them on it's own. If the tire pressure changed because of a different tire size or what ever that is hard coded into the computer. Then you have to go thru the standard TPMS reset.

It will also reset the saved things in the engine like how it reads octane, how hard or soft the throttle is used ect. It's a full reset back to factory.

It's a neat simple hack.

Tried this out - no go. My pos/neg cables weren't long enough to touch each other, but I connected them with a 2ga wire that I had laying around for about an hour. Hooked everything back up, no difference. But I also don't think I lost my settings - phone reconnected automatically, at least.

 

[1world1love]

I ran into this when I got my first set of KO2s a couple of years ago. They only had 4 in stock so I had them install those while we waited for the 5th to come in. I took it home and drove it a couple of times .Obviously it complained because it could not see the 5th sensor, but when I went back to pickup the spare, it still would not recognize it even though it scanned fine. They futzed around with it for a while and then I futzed around with it for awhile. In the end, it turned out that the sensor was bad. I made them replace it for free since it was working fine when I dropped it off. Even when they replaced it, I still had to disconnect the battery for a few minutes because it still would not read it. When I reconnected, everything was fine.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I'm going to give it some time and see if longer driving might play a role; maybe the sensor will get picked up. Failing that, guess I'll try the new cable route.

 

[yOHda]

Had a similar issue. My spare went flat. Was flat for a couple weeks before the Wife told me there were lights on on the dash. System stopped reading sensors altogether. After new set of tires, it still wouldn't reset. I cycled key and held tpms set button under dash a few times. After the third time system finally reset.

In your case, I would just get new cable and try again with your readings.

Do you have the old sensors still? Maybe swap back to the sensors that were in your other wheels.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I do have the old sensors, but they are in the other set of wheels, and I don't much want to dismount two sets of wheels, move sensors, re-mount and balance all eight. The spare wasn't even touched during this tire swap. My money is on the tire shop wanting to be helpful and trying to program the LX with the 4 IDs of the new sensors (even though I didn't ask them to do that), and somehow wiping out the 5th (spare) sensor's programming in the process. Techstream UI makes you program all 5 in one go, so if the tire shop's tool only had 4 input (which it would have, as I only gave them 4 wheels/tires/sensors), then it makes sense that it would have wiped out the 5th ID from the LX.

New cable is on the way.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

New cable is on the way.

I spent a fair bit of time last Friday searching for the fastest way to get the VXDiag cable/tool. Found the best price and a "Ship from US" promise (as opposed to shipping from China) right on the manufacturer's site.

This week I received tracking information, and wouldn't you know it, it's shipping from China.

Seller wasn't overly helpful, either:

Hello dear
For this device, cannot send from US to Canada, so we send from China directly

Not the end of the world, but frustrating nonetheless. Heads up for anyone ordering this cable in the future!

Also, it seems that the VXDiag cable requires you to connect it to the internet every 2 months to update a "license," without which the cable will not work. That's another pain point, as the manufacturer can take away that license at any point, have their servers go down just when you need to renew the license, etc.

// edit - Seller finally explained that they ship "From US" only to US addresses. Apparently they "cannot" ship from US to Canada.

 

[Stink Whistle]

Had the same problem on my 21. Never could get it in relearn mode so took it back to the dealer. Not sure what they did but it took less than 10min.

 

[paddythesmith]

2019 LC 200... purchased new at local dealer. Running 17 in rock warrior wheels with Nitto ridge grappler in warm months; for winter just put on 18 in tundra alloys with K02's I used on my 04 LX470. Purchased 5 new LC TPMS sensors from dealer when I bought rig (for the K02's). Each time I swap out the 5 wheels/tires, the rig goes to the dealer to get the sensors registered, costing $46 today. The first time I displayed some mild agitation and they comp'd the TPMS registration. I'd purchased Toyota LC factory sensors and expected them to work without hassle. Other brands I've owned tolerate wheel/TPMS swaps without hiccough.
This morning I requested the service manager show me, as he shared the mechanic looked for and was unable to find TPMS reset under "Meter Settings' in the display between the tach/speedo. And, it's not there. Apparently, that feature exists in many other Toyota models, but not my 19' LC.