TPMS Sensor Accuracy OEM vs OE (1 Viewer)

[ATwoZ]

Hi,

I recently had my TPMS sensors replaced at Discount while having some other work done. I've been having sensors start to fail which I know is just age related, and decided to get the rest replaced proactively. Prior to replacement I recalled the OEM sensors being within 1-2PSI of what was measured with a digital gauge. After install they are much more consistent at around 3PSI variance or more. Talking with Discount they said that's normal and these should be equivalent to OEM.

What's your take? Are there real differences in the quality/accuracy of TPMS sensors, or are they all effectively the same? The ones they installed were 'Dill' I believe.

Similarly, am I just nitpicking too small a variance?

 

[04UZJ100]

There are OEM sensors made in Japan - then there’s everything else....

 

[ATwoZ]

There are OEM sensors made in Japan - then there’s everything else....

Fair enough do you know who the oem is for Toyota/Lexus TPMS? I assume that your pressures are much closer then?

 

[04UZJ100]

Fair enough do you know who the oem is for Toyota/Lexus TPMS? I assume that your pressures are much closer then?

Not off the top of my head. If they’re all consistently inconsistent in their reading, what’s the big deal?

 

[sdnative]

Fair enough do you know who the oem is for Toyota/Lexus TPMS? I assume that your pressures are much closer then?

Should be Pacific Industrial

 

[grinchy]

My aftermarket (Autel) and oem read the same. I have a four tire fill hose as well, so I am confident the psi is equalized across the tires

 

[ATwoZ]

My aftermarket (Autel) and oem read the same. I have a four tire fill hose as well, so I am confident the psi is equalized across the tires

Cool, I've got the same type of hose and digital gauge.


Other 'dumb' question, I know the sensors have a life due to a sealed battery, if I look at getting a set of oem ones on ebay do I need to worry about age, or is there a plastic tab etc to activate the battery?

 

[bloc]

Cool, I've got the same type of hose and digital gauge.


Other 'dumb' question, I know the sensors have a life due to a sealed battery, if I look at getting a set of oem ones on ebay do I need to worry about age, or is there a plastic tab etc to activate the battery?

To some extent yes but their sleep mode before being activated with a pressure rise/fall is extremely small. As it is even OEM ones can sit on the shelf for years.
FYI pacific industries sensors will come reboxed as Denso in amazon and other places.. but the sensor itself will have the PI logo. When I got mine they were identical to the originals I replaced other than the absence of the toyota logo and part number.

 

[CruiserFan88]

I had Discount replace mine, they are dead on with the gauge I use and all read the same. I just rotated my tires and reset the RCIP as the temps have started to drop in our area so this is fresh in my mind. For a no questions no hassle 10yr warranty, ill gladly pay the 'premium' over the $30 amazon part and have to run around trying to get shops to install and program. I don't have a guy in my back pocket anymore for these types of things so hard pass on that.

 

[ATwoZ]

Thanks guys @bloc I ordered those denso ones from Amazon as mentioned from another thread. Planning to have discount swap them.

 

[bloc]

I had Discount replace mine, they are dead on with the gauge I use and all read the same. I just rotated my tires and reset the RCIP as the temps have started to drop in our area so this is fresh in my mind. For a no questions no hassle 10yr warranty, ill gladly pay the 'premium' over the $30 amazon part and have to run around trying to get shops to install and program. I don't have a guy in my back pocket anymore for these types of things so hard pass on that.

The issue is you are far more likely to actually have problems with the Chinese clones they use, though the warranty is nice.

 

[CruiserFan88]

Hey I get it. Thats why I have two of said denso parts in the glove box, because these shops around here don't want to put the s*** you bring in they want to sell you there own, which I also get. So after striking out a couple times I said **** it let Discount do it they are changing the tires anyway. If you got the right people though, it pays dividends to go original, always

 

[bloc]

Hey I get it. Thats why I have two of said denso parts in the glove box, because these shops around here don't want to put the s*** you bring in they want to sell you there own, which I also get. So after striking out a couple times I said f*** it let Discount do it they are changing the tires anyway. If you got the right people though, it pays dividends to go original, always

Good point. Discount was completely useless when it came to programming my new PIs, or even detecting a signal from them with their reader.

 

[CruiserFan88]

To your point, the shops blowing me off were using incompatibility of their scanners with "unknown replacement parts" as an excuse as they wouldn't guarantee the work nor did they even want to try. One guy went as far to say that enough people come in with their own sensors that they don't consider it at all anymore. You either buy their product or try your luck elsewhere.

The originals lasted 11 years. I bought the truck late '18 and the first one went out a year later. I've had whatever Discount uses for almost a year with no issues. Lets see how long they last.

 

[sdnative]

I bought the Denso sensors from Amazon, brought them into Discount Tire to install when I had new tires installed. They installed them without issue. I think each store is different, how lenient the manager is, how tech savvy the installer is, etc..

 

[bloc]

My location was totally willing but just incompetent. They put their “best guy” on it and I’m pretty sure if he had just handed over the scan tool I could have sorted it out. Either way with my pre-recorded sensor IDs, carista and $10 for a week of pro I got it programmed and working great.

But yes @sdnative is correct, it likely depends a lot on the individual store.

 

[FJ73Texas]

The stores should keep their scan tool firmware up to date also because TPMS software changes often over the years.

Toyota does use Pacific mostly, sometimes TRW/BCS.

 

[ATwoZ]

Just an update- I bought the Densos off Amazon and took them to Discount to install.

Kudos to discount they took back the other sensors as a courtesy and installed the Densos for the cost of labor. All sensors registered fine, not sure if they just used the scan tool or something else.

I've got some egg on my face that they don't seem to be reading any different for psi, but I at least have some piece of mind that they're OEM and not just OE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯