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[M3PO]

I purchased some used wheels with tires from a member on here. He assured me that the TPMS were for an '08 M3. The wheels and tires have less than 1000 miles on them total.

A couple blocks after mounting them on the car, I got a TPM malfunction error. It comes back and stays on every time I start the car without fail. I read another thread suggesting that it might go away after the car "learns" the new sensors so I drove it for a week and nothing has changed. Resetting them doesn't work.

The stealership wants $165 to diagnose the issue which is fawking absurd! So the question is, how do I figure out which one is bad? Or if they are the wrong ones? Would it be possible for someone like EAS to read the faults and determine which wheel is the problem? Would a tire shop be able to detect if one isn't sending a signal?

[arter]

If you had idrive, the car info graphic would tell you which wheel has the problem ( it isn't all or nothing).

Try PEP Boys or some of the other Tires places. Some of them can handle Sensor problems. Dealer sounds expensive. I think you can buy 4 new sensors for $250 ( try Tirerack).

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by arter

If you had idrive, the car info graphic would tell you which wheel has the problem ( it isn't all or nothing).

Try PEP Boys or some of the other Tires places. Some of them can handle Sensor problems. Dealer sounds expensive. I think you can buy 4 new sensors for $250 ( try Tirerack).

In iDrive, all four wheels are grayed out. It says TPM malfunction in the status bar and gives me an option to reset, which doesn't work.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by M3PO

In iDrive, all four wheels are grayed out. It says TPM malfunction in the status bar and gives me an option to reset, which doesn't work.

My guess is either they are all the wrong ones, or all the batteries are dead (possible). 2006-2009 uses same sensor (433 Mhz). Rather than paying somebody to diagnose, ti would be better to just get replacements and change them all. Best price I've seen is $168/4 (without valves - reuse existing) from The Tire Rack. Then you'd need to pay about $100 for dismount/mount/balance> At least you'd know you'll have something that works for the next few years.

This is another option, though I don't know anything about it: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-22...-e88-2007.aspx.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

My guess is either they are all the wrong ones, or all the batteries are dead (possible). 2006-2009 uses same sensor (433 Mhz). Rather than paying somebody to diagnose, ti would be better to just get replacements and change them all. Best price I've seen is $168/4 (without valves - reuse existing) from The Tire Rack. Then you'd need to pay about $100 for dismount/mount/balance> At least you'd know you'll have something that works for the next few years.

This is another option, though I don't know anything about it: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-22...-e88-2007.aspx.

Thanks for the reply. These wheels and tires are supposed to (according to the seller) have less than 1000 miles (I believe him) so the tires on them now are the first tires mounted on these wheels. The production code on the tires suggests they were manufactured in July 2010. Shouldn't the TPMS last more than a year and a half?

Also, I want to retain functionality of the TPM system so that emulator isn't an option.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by M3PO

Thanks for the reply. These wheels and tires are supposed to (according to the seller) have less than 1000 miles (I believe him) so the tires on them now are the first tires mounted on these wheels. The production code on the tires suggests they were manufactured in July 2010. Shouldn't the TPMS last more than a year and a half?

Also, I want to retain functionality of the TPM system so that emulator isn't an option.

Yes, the sensor batteries should last at least 5-6 years. If the tires are 2010, the sensors are probably too. So they won't work with 2009 and before. That's most likely the issue. If you get new ones you can easily resell those.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

Yes, the sensor batteries should last at least 5-6 years. If the tires are 2010, the sensors are probably too. So they won't work with 2009 and before. That's most likely the issue. If you get new ones you can easily resell those.

I won't say that this isn't a possibility but the seller assured me that they are for an '08. If they are the wrong ones, they will be broadcasting a different frequency correct? Other than 433 MHz? I assume that any handheld scanner used by a tire shop won't give any frequency information?

I suppose that if the scanner shows one isn't broadcasting, I'll just replace that one. If they're all broadcasting it's probably safe to assume they are the wrong ones.

[ben@tirerack]

Originally Posted by M3PO

I won't say that this isn't a possibility but the seller assured me that they are for an '08. If they are the wrong ones, they will be broadcasting a different frequency correct? Other than 433 MHz? I assume that any handheld scanner used by a tire shop won't give any frequency information?

I suppose that if the scanner shows one isn't broadcasting, I'll just replace that one. If they're all broadcasting it's probably safe to assume they are the wrong ones.

Was the seller running the wheels on his car? If so, what year M3 was it on? If it was on a 2010 or later, they will NOT work with your 08.

Both the 08-09 sensor and the 2010+ sensor broadcast on 433 MHz but they send a different signal on that frequency.

You might try resetting the TPMS. You should be able to do that by holding down the TPMS button if you have one, or through the iDrive. Consult your manual if in doubt. The system must be reset before it learns new sensors.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by ben@tirerack

Was the seller running the wheels on his car? If so, what year M3 was it on? If it was on a 2010 or later, they will NOT work with your 08.

Both the 08-09 sensor and the 2010+ sensor broadcast on 433 MHz but they send a different signal on that frequency.

You might try resetting the TPMS. You should be able to do that by holding down the TPMS button if you have one, or through the iDrive. Consult your manual if in doubt. The system must be reset before it learns new sensors.

Ahh, good catch, Ben. Here are the instructions for resetting.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by ben@tirerack

Was the seller running the wheels on his car? If so, what year M3 was it on? If it was on a 2010 or later, they will NOT work with your 08.

Both the 08-09 sensor and the 2010+ sensor broadcast on 433 MHz but they send a different signal on that frequency.

You might try resetting the TPMS. You should be able to do that by holding down the TPMS button if you have one, or through the iDrive. Consult your manual if in doubt. The system must be reset before it learns new sensors.

The seller did not run the wheels on his car. He bought them from someone else who he assured me had an '08. He bought them to try to make them work on his E46 but he owned an '09 E92 prior to that so I trust that he would know.

I have tried resetting them via iDrive a bunch of times and it doesn't work. The error comes back immediately. While I suspect that the button on the center console does the same thing, I haven't been able to get it to do anything. I guess I am using it wrong...

I'm going to try to find a tire shop with a scanner this weekend to find out how many are broadcasting. If one isn't broadcasting, I'll replace just that one. If they are all broadcasting, I'll just assume that they are the wrong ones and change them all.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

Ahh, good catch, Ben. Here are the instructions for resetting.

Thanks for that! Now I know how to use the button.

I have tried to reset it a bunch of times via iDrive but it doesn't seem to work. I even tried adding a little air since my tire pressures where about 2-3 PSI low and then resetting the system after that. That seemed to work for a couple of people on E90post. It didn't work for me.

[ttt]

Originally Posted by M3PO

I have tried to reset it a bunch of times via iDrive but it doesn't seem to work. I even tried adding a little air since my tire pressures where about 2-3 PSI low and then resetting the system after that. That seemed to work for a couple of people on E90post. It didn't work for me.

If resetting the TPM didn't work, then it's probably a faulty sensor. I had the same thing happened to me when I mounted all four tires recently. One of the sensors was damaged during mounting. As a result, the TPM malfunction warning would come on after I drove the car around for half an hour. The shop that installed the tires wasn't able to diagnose the problem due to lack of equipment. I had to bring the car back to the dealership, and they were able to figure out which sensor was at fault.

[M3PO]

UPDATE: I went to America's Tire and they used their handheld scanner on the TPMS. All of them appear to be functioning normally. He was able to read all four pressures with no problem. I guess it's safe to assume that they are the wrong sensors.

Does anyone know if these sensors go into sleep mode when they are just sitting. My wheels were only used for less than 1000 miles by the previous owner and stored. If the sensors go into sleep mode, the battery life should be nearly 100%. I'm curious because I plan to sell them.

[calintexas]

Originally Posted by M3PO

UPDATE: I went to America's Tire and they used their handheld scanner on the TPMS. All of them appear to be functioning normally. He was able to read all four pressures with no problem. I guess it's safe to assume that they are the wrong sensors.

Does anyone know if these sensors go into sleep mode when they are just sitting. My wheels were only used for less than 1000 miles by the previous owner and stored. If the sensors go into sleep mode, the battery life should be nearly 100%. I'm curious because I plan to sell them.

I've read that they do go into a sleep mode. I'm pretty sure Ben posted that a while back.

[ben@tirerack]

Originally Posted by M3PO

UPDATE: I went to America's Tire and they used their handheld scanner on the TPMS. All of them appear to be functioning normally. He was able to read all four pressures with no problem. I guess it's safe to assume that they are the wrong sensors.

Does anyone know if these sensors go into sleep mode when they are just sitting. My wheels were only used for less than 1000 miles by the previous owner and stored. If the sensors go into sleep mode, the battery life should be nearly 100%. I'm curious because I plan to sell them.

Sensors do go to sleep to save battery. So while there is still some degradation in battery life over time when sitting, it is not nearly as much as it would be in normal service.

Like you, I would assume that they are the wrong sensors. You've confirmed that they are transmitting, you have tried the reset several times. I think it's a pretty safe bet that if you put them on a 2010 or newer they would work just fine.

[owura143]

Originally Posted by M3PO

UPDATE: I went to America's Tire and they used their handheld scanner on the TPMS. All of them appear to be functioning normally. He was able to read all four pressures with no problem. I guess it's safe to assume that they are the wrong sensors.

Does anyone know if these sensors go into sleep mode when they are just sitting. My wheels were only used for less than 1000 miles by the previous owner and stored. If the sensors go into sleep mode, the battery life should be nearly 100%. I'm curious because I plan to sell them.

Were you able to figure out what the problem was?

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by owura143

Were you able to figure out what the problem was?

More than likely the wrong year sensors.

[Sean@PYSpeed.com]

Hey,

Hold the reset button for the TPMS near your Emergency Blinkers. Make sure your car ignition is on and stopped. After 30 secs it should reset and idrive should show TPMS initializing. Try that, it should hard reset.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by owura143

Were you able to figure out what the problem was?

Yeah, the TPMS were the wrong ones (they were for the later cars). Swapping out the TPMS solved the issue.