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TPMS: To be... or not to be?
For those of you that don't already know... I was finally introduced to my first "four-ringed" vehicle back in December of last year. After years of searching for the right Audi to occupy my garage, I finally found her... and right here in Calgary which was nice. Although my lil DBP R32 doesn't stretch her legs as much as she used to... she definitely looks up to her new big sister... a 2007 Misano Red RS4.
After 3 months of ownership, the TPMS warning came on telling me that a tire was low in air pressure. Of course, me being me, I instantly cursed the system and said WTF! That's crap. However, upon arriving home, parking the car and checking the air pressures... well... I'll be damned. The driver rear was down 5 PSI. Upon further inspection... I had picked up a screw in my travels. Well La-di-freakin' dah... Thanks TPMS. A trip to Kal-Tire and before I knew it, I was back on the road.
However, now... a few months later... I have the dreaded TPMS Malfunction. I've diagnosed the problem down to either a damaged sensor or a sensor who's battery has finally went dead. Either way, one of the sensors on my current set of OEM wheels with winter rubber needs to be changed out. As I understand it, this means about $100 for a new sensor, plus labour and install to remove wheel, remove rubber, install sensor, re-install and activate. No idea what the total damage is there... but I'm guessing somewhere in the $100 to $200 range.
Aside from that... I'm the new proud owner of a set of Rotiform BLQ's which will likely be installed on the car this week. This is where my conundrum starts. Although I like and appreciate TPMS (when its working) when it isn't... it seems to be a royal pain in the arse. Personally, I'm the tire pressure nazi... as I swear I check my air pressure twice a week. I'm not certain, but I also understand that installing TPMS on a new set of rims is around the $600 mark. Again, if they last 6 years... I suppose that's only a $100 a year. Not bad if the technology works I suppose. However, once you have 2 sets of wheels with TPMS installed... I'm not sure how it works for switching between winter and summer's during every season change.
So with a sour TPMS taste in my mouth I went to the internet. It wasn't hard to find several folks who had gotten sick and tired of dealing with pricey and less than failsafe TPMS sensors. In fact, some have actually went so far as to disable the "TPMS warning" light on the dash with a VAG-COM using the following procedure:
Select -> 17-Instruments -> Adaptation -> Channel 61. Subtract 512 from whatever value you find there.
Interesing. Very interesting.
Anyhow... that's the back story. Here are my TPMS Questions:
1. If I have TPMS sensors installed on 2 sets of wheels, how does that work? Can I still switch between tire sets myself in my own garage and reset the system... or do I have to go to a dealership or whatever to de-activate the TPMS wheels coming off and activate the TPMS wheels coming on?
2. For those of you that have TPMS (sensor version) and multiple sets of rims... what have you done?
3. If I listen to my wife who says ("F*ck that TPMS sh*t. $600 to tell you what you should see and feel is a waste of money!") Gotta love my wife!
Would anyone be able and willing to help me de-activate my TPMS and warning light with a VAG-COM?
Thanks in advance for your responses and more importantly... for reading my lengthy story!
After 3 months of ownership, the TPMS warning came on telling me that a tire was low in air pressure. Of course, me being me, I instantly cursed the system and said WTF! That's crap. However, upon arriving home, parking the car and checking the air pressures... well... I'll be damned. The driver rear was down 5 PSI. Upon further inspection... I had picked up a screw in my travels. Well La-di-freakin' dah... Thanks TPMS. A trip to Kal-Tire and before I knew it, I was back on the road.
However, now... a few months later... I have the dreaded TPMS Malfunction. I've diagnosed the problem down to either a damaged sensor or a sensor who's battery has finally went dead. Either way, one of the sensors on my current set of OEM wheels with winter rubber needs to be changed out. As I understand it, this means about $100 for a new sensor, plus labour and install to remove wheel, remove rubber, install sensor, re-install and activate. No idea what the total damage is there... but I'm guessing somewhere in the $100 to $200 range.
Aside from that... I'm the new proud owner of a set of Rotiform BLQ's which will likely be installed on the car this week. This is where my conundrum starts. Although I like and appreciate TPMS (when its working) when it isn't... it seems to be a royal pain in the arse. Personally, I'm the tire pressure nazi... as I swear I check my air pressure twice a week. I'm not certain, but I also understand that installing TPMS on a new set of rims is around the $600 mark. Again, if they last 6 years... I suppose that's only a $100 a year. Not bad if the technology works I suppose. However, once you have 2 sets of wheels with TPMS installed... I'm not sure how it works for switching between winter and summer's during every season change.
So with a sour TPMS taste in my mouth I went to the internet. It wasn't hard to find several folks who had gotten sick and tired of dealing with pricey and less than failsafe TPMS sensors. In fact, some have actually went so far as to disable the "TPMS warning" light on the dash with a VAG-COM using the following procedure:
Select -> 17-Instruments -> Adaptation -> Channel 61. Subtract 512 from whatever value you find there.
Interesing. Very interesting.
Anyhow... that's the back story. Here are my TPMS Questions:
1. If I have TPMS sensors installed on 2 sets of wheels, how does that work? Can I still switch between tire sets myself in my own garage and reset the system... or do I have to go to a dealership or whatever to de-activate the TPMS wheels coming off and activate the TPMS wheels coming on?
2. For those of you that have TPMS (sensor version) and multiple sets of rims... what have you done?
3. If I listen to my wife who says ("F*ck that TPMS sh*t. $600 to tell you what you should see and feel is a waste of money!") Gotta love my wife!
Would anyone be able and willing to help me de-activate my TPMS and warning light with a VAG-COM?Thanks in advance for your responses and more importantly... for reading my lengthy story!
If they look like 30 minute or longer jobs lets tackle it on Saturday when no one else is around to distract me 
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