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Thread: TPMS questions

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    TPMS questions

    I'm not clear on a couple of things regarding TPMS. I'd like to set up a pair of spare wheels and tires with cloned sensors.
    Questions I have are:
    1 - Can I read the existing sensor without removing the sensor from the wheel?
    2 - What's the recommended aftermarket brand? With clone tool.
    3 - If the sensor isn't present, does the light only come on, or do you get the 'warning' chime also?
    Thanks! There's a lot of good information on here (thanks to Cobrajet, among others), and hope I'm not asking something that was answered already.
    Thanks again.



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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    My car had a bad TPMS sensor. When I say bad, I mean it physically broke off inside of the tire and bounced around long enough to create an egg in one of my tires. I replaced it with one from Amazon, but the Walmart Tire Center I go to was not able to reprogram it.

    This is the sensor I used to replace the bad one:
    ORO-Tek (OTI-001B TPMS Sensor)

    So either their programmer simply isn't compatible with Mirages or I bought the wrong sensor. I never did pursue fixing the problem because it means I would have to visit a real tire place and spend the big bucks.

    I simply do a walk around every few days and visually inspect the tires. Its not to big of a deal, I just do it when I am at the gas station waiting for the tank to fill up.

    My car doesn't make a chiming noise. The TPMS light simply blinks for a moment after the car is started and then stays lit after about 30 seconds.

    I'm genuinely interested in finding out what you learn. I'm mostly responding so I can follow this thread. Good luck.

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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Looks like we need a special tool to reprogram TPMS or simply go to the dealership.


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    Quote Originally Posted by tomrad View Post
    I'm not clear on a couple of things regarding TPMS. I'd like to set up a pair of spare wheels and tires with cloned sensors.
    Questions I have are:
    1 - Can I read the existing sensor without removing the sensor from the wheel?
    2 - What's the recommended aftermarket brand? With clone tool.
    3 - If the sensor isn't present, does the light only come on, or do you get the 'warning' chime also?
    Thanks! There's a lot of good information on here (thanks to Cobrajet, among others), and hope I'm not asking something that was answered already.
    Thanks again.
    I purchased two extra steel rims and added 165/65r14 Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires to the front of my 2017 Mirage ES (manual) in December. Since the front snow tires didn't have sensors in them, the dash light flashes for a time every time I start my car and then stays on. There is no sound associated with this. When I took my snow tires off (& put my factory wheels back on) in the spring, the dash light flashed for a moment & then disappeared for good.

    Eventually, I may add 4 snow tires in the winter. Having a 2nd set wheels cloned to the original set of factory wheels is the only way I would ever spend money on sensors. Thus, I am also interested in your inquiry.

    There's no way I am traveling to my nearest dealership (65 miles away) to reprogram my TPMS every time I switch wheels. I'd rather live with the light on during the winter months. If cloning was affordable and worked, I would consider it.

    Wheels that have no sensors & wheels that have sensors that aren't programmed to the car work exactly the same. The dash light just stays on after flashing for a short moment of time.

    I can't say that I have heard of anyone successfully cloning the factory Mirage sensors. In theory, it may be possible. Cloning of sensors exists for other cars. I hope you find answers to all your questions! I will be following this discussion, too!

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    Looks like we need a special tool to reprogram TPMS or simply go to the dealership.

    These do not work. A couple of us have tried them, myself included. They work with every other late-model Mitsubishi product except the Mirage. Why they still list them as being compatible with this car, I don't know.

    The TPMS in the Mirage is a fiddly, proprietary pain-in-the-ass. Most tire shops can't even reprogram a sensor. Sensor cloning may be possible, but nobody I know of has done it yet.

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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    These do not work.
    Thanks for the heads up. I really wasn't planning to spend $300 on equipment to do the job anyway. I've been living with my TPMS issue.

    Out of curiosity, did you end up having the dealer reprogram TPMS? If so, what did it cost and did you have to use a special sensor?

    I'm curious if my sensor from Amazon would work if I brought my car into a dealership for a reprogram. Honestly, at 208k miles on my car, it might be a good idea to just go ahead and replace all of the sensors before spending money on a reprogram. They do have batteries on them that eventually die.

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomrad View Post
    I'd like to set up a pair of spare wheels and tires with cloned sensors.
    That's the absolute easiest/best way to have a set of spare wheels and maintain your TPMS system.

    Can I read the existing sensor without removing the sensor from the wheel?
    Absolutely. Any decent TPMS tool can do this. Any place that sells tires should have a tool that can do this. Don't expect places like Sam's, Costco, Walmart, etc to have a tool like this. My local Discount Tire can do it. They might even read your sensor ID's and not charge you for it.


    What's the recommended aftermarket brand? With clone tool.
    Different manufacturers make their own programmable (clone-able) sensors and cloning tools. So different brands aren't compatible with one another. For example... Schrader makes a programmable sensor called the EZ Sensor. But you have to have a Schrader TPMS tool to program it.

    I have an Autel TS501 tool. It can read sensor IDs and it can program Autel MX sensors. It can also plug into the OBDII port to read the sensor ID's in the car's computer and it can write new ID's into the computer. It's worked on multiple cars I've tested...but amazingly is does NOT work with the Mirage ETACs!!! I'm still working with the manufacturer to try to get a solution. But if it can read/clone sensors, you don't need a tool that talks to the car's computer anyway.

    If the sensor isn't present, does the light only come on, or do you get the 'warning' chime also?
    If the computer doesn't see 4 TPMS sensors for any reason, the light will flash at first when the car is started...then it will just stay on constantly. There is no chime.

    Holy smokes...like Cobrajet said...that POS Mitsubishi Reset tool does NOT work with the Mirage!!!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    More random info...


    There are aftermarket TPMS (non-programmable) sensors that work just fine with the Mirage. Discount Tire broke one of my OEM sensors and replaced it with a VDO Redi-Sensor like this...

    Vdo Instruments Se10001hpr Redi-Snsr Rubber Snap-In Tpms

    Name:  Redi_Sensor_Labeled.jpg
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    But when you install a new sensor like this, you have to get that sensor ID number stored in the car's computer. As of right now, only a dealership scan tool can do that. My dealer charges $90 to re-program new TPMS sensor IDs.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    tomrad (07-26-2018)

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    Thanks for the heads up. I really wasn't planning to spend $300 on equipment to do the job anyway. I've been living with my TPMS issue.
    I did spend the $300, just to find out that I was (unsuccessfully) beta-testing this product for Ateq. Had to send it all back. Right now I just put up with the light when my winter tires are on. I call it my "snow tire indicator light".

    I just bought a 2004 Saab 9-3 convertible and the TPMS system has failed. I was able to test all four sensors, and all four are dead. Four new sensors are about $100 online. How do you re-code them to this vehicle? It is quite an involved process, actually...

    Step 1: Install the sensors.
    Step 2: Start driving.

    The system automatically detects the new sensors and codes them to the car. Why can't Mitsubishi's system be this way?

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    good example

    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    I did spend the $300, just to find out that I was (unsuccessfully) beta-testing this product for Ateq. Had to send it all back. Right now I just put up with the light when my winter tires are on. I call it my "snow tire indicator light".

    I just bought a 2004 Saab 9-3 convertible and the TPMS system has failed. I was able to test all four sensors, and all four are dead. Four new sensors are about $100 online. How do you re-code them to this vehicle? It is quite an involved process, actually...

    Step 1: Install the sensors.
    Step 2: Start driving.

    The system automatically detects the new sensors and codes them to the car. Why can't Mitsubishi's system be this way?

    Your 2004 Saab is a great example of what TPMS were designed to be. A nice added safety feature that didn't require much thought from the owner. Somehow 10 years later, it has become a system that is way more complicated than it needs to be.

    A basic TPMS should be simple. If one tire has low psi, the dash light comes on. That's all the system has to do. I don't even see the need for 4 different codes? Some cars will give you a psi reading for each individual tire on the car, but this system is not that complicated. All the system needs to do is record four working sensors & give a warning for low psi in any given tire.

    It's nice to know a better system is out there. The Mirage system appears to be pretty lame. My hope is that when my sensors start to die, I will be able to replace all four sensors with ones that can be cloned or come with a matching set of sensors. Until that day comes, I will just drive with the dash light on when using my snow tires. Like mentioned already, you can think of the dash light as telling you that you are in snow tire driving mode!



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