TPMS batteries expiring yet ?

tjct · 06-17-2013, 02:02 PM

Read an article stating the typical life of a tire pressure monitoring system battery is 6 to 10 years. Each tire has a battery to power the transmitter to feed info to the computer about tire pressure. Has anyone been told they had to buy a new sensor/battery as they are one piece. What year was the car when you had to replace it? Wondering how long the actual real world life is.

Titanium3er · 06-17-2013, 02:08 PM

I didn't even realize they are battery powered. My '08 model year was manufactured 12/07 and they are still functioning properly. Does a warning light come on when they go out?

cptcrunch · 06-17-2013, 02:23 PM

You should get a TPMS failure of some sort, the problem is, you'll need to unmount each tire to replace the battery and remount, so on top of the new tpms cost ~$200, it'll be an extra $100 to mount/balance 4 tires.

marshall834 · 06-17-2013, 03:06 PM

I was also unaware of this. Interesting. I'll have to look into it.

smallseafishie · 06-17-2013, 03:35 PM

The batteries aren't always powering the TPMS. They're only "on" when the wheels are rotating (that's why the car requires you to drive for a while when you do a TPMS reset). I'd just replace as they go bad. I'd guess it's a matter of time and mileage. I don't know if the batteries themselves are replaceable as the TPM sensors are potted / epoxied.

galahad05 · 06-17-2013, 03:49 PM

My tires/wheels get destroyed so often that this has never been a problem for me.

Dark_Knight_335 · 06-17-2013, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickvacc

I didn't even realize they are battery powered. My '08 model year was manufactured 12/07 and they are still functioning properly. Does a warning light come on when they go out?

+1 I had no idea either haha

deadmn1337 · 06-17-2013, 05:54 PM

i had 04/07 build and right before my accident the batteries were going out. tpms inactive came up on the display. so 6 years for mine almost exactly

tjct · 06-17-2013, 08:20 PM

Interesting, I have s 2007 and will be due for 4 new tires'first time at 47k miles.
Maybe dump all 4 sensors at the same time while tires off the rim.
Hate to do it, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But if other owners are only getting 6 years out of the sensors I guess it makes sense.

deadmn1337 · 06-17-2013, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjct

Interesting, I have s 2007 and will be due for 4 new tires'first time at 47k miles.
Maybe dump all 4 sensors at the same time while tires off the rim.
Hate to do it, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But if other owners are only getting 6 years out of the sensors I guess it makes sense.

I also was at 80k miles so maybe thats the point not just the years if the batteries are only being used when tires are rotating

fazman · 06-17-2013, 10:48 PM

Are u guys crazy? Any tire shop will tell you that anytime you remove the tire from the rim (of a tpms equiped rim) you are suppose to put on a new valve kit for about $5 or so (That will have a new battery).

All tires are considered to be useless 5 years from the date they were first mounted (which is why tire warranties cap out at 5 years), regardless of miles driven or tread life remaining.

Also, you should never drive on RFT tires without a working TPMS, because u will never know that a RFT tire is damaged or flat until it falls apart.

deadmn1337 · 06-17-2013, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazman

Are u guys crazy? Any tire shop will tell you that anytime you remove the tire from the rim (of a tpms equiped rim) you are suppose to put on a new valve kit for about $5 or so (That will have a new battery).

All tires are considered to be useless 5 years from the date they were first mounted (which is why tire warranties cap out at 5 years), regardless of miles driven or tread life remaining.

Also, you should never drive on RFT tires without a working TPMS, because u will never know that a RFT tire is damaged or flat until it falls apart.

I put three sets of tires with tpms service kit each time so that obviiysly isnt true either

Teemo Panda · 06-17-2013, 11:21 PM

I didnt know that it has a battery on it,

I wonder if the battery life would decrease if you have the TPMS coded on.

tjct · 06-18-2013, 10:31 AM

I seriously doubt a new bmw valve stem with a built in battery is about $5 ?
Can anyone out there confirm this? I heard part and labor to replace the TPMS in each wheel is about $80 ? with programming.

zipstic · 06-18-2013, 10:47 AM

Replacing the battery is more expensive than replacing the whole TPMS piece. Each TPMS is ~$50 from Tirerack and other vendors. If one goes out you'll get an alert on your dash. If that happens get a new TPMS (or 4 since they'll all probably be going out soon) and have a tire shop unmount the tire, put in the new TPMS and remount the tire.

If someone can find a new TPMS for $5 with battery included people have been getting ripped off for years across all different makes and models.

porshapower · 08-01-2013, 05:58 PM

Wondering if anyone found a way to bypass it so the light goes out on the dash?? I want to go back to old school...dont need a light to tell me my tires are low...

krhodes1 · 08-01-2013, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazman

Are u guys crazy? Any tire shop will tell you that anytime you remove the tire from the rim (of a tpms equiped rim) you are suppose to put on a new valve kit for about $5 or so (That will have a new battery).

This is completely incorrect. All the 'TPMS Kit' contains is a new valve stem and seals. It is suggested to be replaced because the sensor has to be removed in most cases to remove the tire, and the old one won't necessarily seal properly again. It definitely does not include a battery.

Craigito · 08-01-2013, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadmn1337

i had 04/07 build and right before my accident the batteries were going out. tpms inactive came up on the display. so 6 years for mine almost exactly

I have the same build month. 125k miles. No issues yet

fazman · 08-02-2013, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krhodes1

This is completely incorrect. All the 'TPMS Kit' contains is a new valve stem and seals. It is suggested to be replaced because the sensor has to be removed in most cases to remove the tire, and the old one won't necessarily seal properly again. It definitely does not include a battery.

Thank you for the correction... I believe you are right. So if the TPMS were to fail then we would just buy a new unit or is there a way to replace the battery??

dkexige · 08-02-2013, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazman

Thank you for the correction... I believe you are right. So if the TPMS were to fail then we would just buy a new unit or is there a way to replace the battery??

You would have to replace the entire sensor. The unit is epoxy sealed. Make sure that it is indeed the sensor before you change them out. Some shops have readers that can read battery level. Unless they are completely unresponsive to a normal reader then they need to be replaced anyway

Titanium3er · 08-02-2013, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craigito

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadmn1337

i had 04/07 build and right before my accident the batteries were going out. tpms inactive came up on the display. so 6 years for mine almost exactly

I have the same build month. 125k miles. No issues yet

That's good to know. Hopefully most go at least that long.

fazman · 08-02-2013, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium3er

That's good to know. Hopefully most go at least that long.

It would be neat if these things recharge like those watch batteries that recharge while they are moving

so even a low mileage car will start working once the wheels start spinning and high mileage cars will just never run down

06-17-2013, 02:02 PM	#1
tjct New Member 10 Rep 16 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi coupe Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Haven,Ct. iTrader: (0)	TPMS batteries expiring yet ? Read an article stating the typical life of a tire pressure monitoring system battery is 6 to 10 years. Each tire has a battery to power the transmitter to feed info to the computer about tire pressure. Has anyone been told they had to buy a new sensor/battery as they are one piece. What year was the car when you had to replace it? Wondering how long the actual real world life is.
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06-17-2013, 02:08 PM	#2
Titanium3er First Lieutenant 19 Rep 345 Posts Drives: '08 335i, '03 Kawa Z1000 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: SW FL iTrader: (0) Garage List '08 BMW E90 335i [10.00] '03 Kawasaki Z1000 [10.00]	I didn't even realize they are battery powered. My '08 model year was manufactured 12/07 and they are still functioning properly. Does a warning light come on when they go out?
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06-17-2013, 02:23 PM	#3
cptcrunch Captain Crunch 168 Rep 548 Posts Drives: 2016 340i Join Date: May 2011 Location: Cincinnati iTrader: (0)	You should get a TPMS failure of some sort, the problem is, you'll need to unmount each tire to replace the battery and remount, so on top of the new tpms cost ~$200, it'll be an extra $100 to mount/balance 4 tires. __________________ On Order (in transit): BMW iX 50, Oxide Grey Retired: BMW Welt Delivery 4/14/16: European Delivery - 2016 340i EBII/Saddle - ZMP \| ZCW \| ZDA \| ZLP \| ZTP \| M Adaptive \| Rear Shades \| MPPSK Before and After Dyno Retired: 2011 335D Space Grey/Black - ZSP \| ZPP \| ZCW \| 6FL \| Sat Radio \| Nav \| $600 Base Audio Upgrade
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06-17-2013, 03:06 PM	#4
marshall834 Captain 87 Rep 602 Posts Drives: 2021 BMW M2 Comp Join Date: May 2012 Location: Minneapolis iTrader: (8)	I was also unaware of this. Interesting. I'll have to look into it. __________________ Past: 2015 A3 E90 335i E46 323ci B6 Audi S4
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06-17-2013, 03:35 PM	#5
smallseafishie Colonel 110 Rep 2,017 Posts Drives: AW 07 e92 335i + AW 11 X5 35d Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Atlanta GA iTrader: (13) Garage List 2007 E92 335i [0.00]	The batteries aren't always powering the TPMS. They're only "on" when the wheels are rotating (that's why the car requires you to drive for a while when you do a TPMS reset). I'd just replace as they go bad. I'd guess it's a matter of time and mileage. I don't know if the batteries themselves are replaceable as the TPM sensors are potted / epoxied.
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06-17-2013, 03:49 PM	#6
galahad05 Brigadier General 158 Rep 3,158 Posts Drives: '07 335i e90 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Long Island NY iTrader: (0)	My tires/wheels get destroyed so often that this has never been a problem for me. __________________ Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. --Mark Twain
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06-17-2013, 05:54 PM	#8
deadmn1337 Captain 39 Rep 656 Posts Drives: 2016 EB 435i Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Long Beach iTrader: (11)	i had 04/07 build and right before my accident the batteries were going out. tpms inactive came up on the display. so 6 years for mine almost exactly
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06-17-2013, 08:20 PM	#9
tjct New Member 10 Rep 16 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi coupe Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Haven,Ct. iTrader: (0)	Interesting, I have s 2007 and will be due for 4 new tires'first time at 47k miles. Maybe dump all 4 sensors at the same time while tires off the rim. Hate to do it, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But if other owners are only getting 6 years out of the sensors I guess it makes sense.
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06-17-2013, 10:48 PM	#11
fazman Brigadier General 681 Rep 3,696 Posts Drives: 335 e90 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Are u guys crazy? Any tire shop will tell you that anytime you remove the tire from the rim (of a tpms equiped rim) you are suppose to put on a new valve kit for about $5 or so (That will have a new battery). All tires are considered to be useless 5 years from the date they were first mounted (which is why tire warranties cap out at 5 years), regardless of miles driven or tread life remaining. Also, you should never drive on RFT tires without a working TPMS, because u will never know that a RFT tire is damaged or flat until it falls apart.
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06-17-2013, 11:21 PM	#13
Teemo Panda Bimmerpost Plasti Dip Guru 81 Rep 1,174 Posts Drives: E53, E46-M3, E70, F25-X3 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New Jersey (NJ) iTrader: (0) Garage List 2013 BMW X3 [5.66]	I didnt know that it has a battery on it, I wonder if the battery life would decrease if you have the TPMS coded on. __________________
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06-18-2013, 10:31 AM	#14
tjct New Member 10 Rep 16 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi coupe Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Haven,Ct. iTrader: (0)	I seriously doubt a new bmw valve stem with a built in battery is about $5 ? Can anyone out there confirm this? I heard part and labor to replace the TPMS in each wheel is about $80 ? with programming.
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06-18-2013, 10:47 AM	#15
zipstic Major 484 Rep 1,188 Posts Drives: 2008 e92 335xi Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Minneapolis iTrader: (1) Garage List 2008 335xi Coupe [10.00]	Replacing the battery is more expensive than replacing the whole TPMS piece. Each TPMS is ~$50 from Tirerack and other vendors. If one goes out you'll get an alert on your dash. If that happens get a new TPMS (or 4 since they'll all probably be going out soon) and have a tire shop unmount the tire, put in the new TPMS and remount the tire. If someone can find a new TPMS for $5 with battery included people have been getting ripped off for years across all different makes and models. __________________ http://www.ishopwheels.com
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08-01-2013, 05:58 PM	#16
porshapower New Member 2 Rep 29 Posts Drives: 2008 328i Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	Anyway to bypass the tpms system?... Wondering if anyone found a way to bypass it so the light goes out on the dash?? I want to go back to old school...dont need a light to tell me my tires are low...
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