Folks,
My '06 Impala SS started throwing a warning message upon startup that the TPMS system is dorked up.

I cycled the tire pressures on the DIC and the passenger-front reads '--' while all of the other tires read normal pressures.

I took the car into my local mechanic. He played around with it for a while and eventually told me to take it to the dealer to have the computer replaced.

I told him that I suspected that the TPMS sensor in the tire was gone (it seems to be a common problem) so he tested this by rotating the tires so that the "bad" tire was on the passenger-rear. Doing so still indicated that the passenger-front tire was done. Both times the passenger-front read, according to his device, something like 1300 PSI.

I'm prone to think that it's less of the computer and more of a receiver issue. If it were the computer, wouldn't the other tires read bizarre numbers instead of (reasonably) accurate numbers? "Have the dealer replace the computer" seems seems suspect to me..

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Wes

 

Its the sensor man mine was doing the same thing every now and then and here recently when i bought some new tires it was discovered that it was broken so i had it removed and just havent ordered another one yet but also when you rotate your tires be sure to hit the option to relearn tire positions i forget which menu it is but i think its the same one you check the pressure with

 

I get it on my car after driving for 15 mins, it's due to my high air pressure (38psi). When the system reaches 40 psi, it will throw that error. Don't know if your issue is similar to mine.

 

It's the TPMS. Unless you re-program the car when you change the position of the tires, it still thinks the tire is in the same place, hence the reading didn't change when you moved the tire.

 

Yup sounds like a bad sensor - you will not be able to re-learn with a bad sensor either.

 

True.

And I just found out that Autozone sells TPMS sensors, at least they did for my car. And they were like $60 cheaper than the dealer...

 

They are pretty cheap on ebay and the battery is supposed to last 7 yrs or something.

 

had a problem with mine as well. when i switched wheels i couldnt get the sensors to relearn. i brought it to the dealer and they said they were bad and covered it under the bumper to bumper. if you still have a warranty on the car you should bring it in.

 

Folks,
Thanks for the responses. I haven't tried to re-learn the tire positions yet, but that seems to be a logical next step.

I spent some time chatting with a buddy last night and he suggested that the receiver for those sensors is tied into the receiver for the key fob. The dealer replaced my receiver for the key fob two years ago as I was getting a 10' range; since then, my range has improved drastically (I'm up to 18' now, an 80% improvement!!!).

I've had the car since October 2005, so the batteries in the TPMS are beginning to approach their life-expectancy. I think I'll take it back to the mechanic with the instructions, "no, really.. please replace the TPMS sensor in -this- wheel."

Alternatively, I might just live with the warning message and, when these tires are sufficiently worn, replace them with new tires on new rims with new TPMS sensors from Tirerack.

Anyways, thanks guys for the feedback. I appreciate the help.

Wes

 

I had my wife's Impala SS in 4 times when it was still under warranty (years ago) after that I stopped caring and just lived with the TPMS Error message. One is leaking air now. Has anyone replaced on on their own.

I am assuming deflate the tire, de-bead, replace sensor and re-inflate?

 

Hey Wes;
The TPMS is somewhat of a mystery when it comes to problems:
First thing to try is to release the pressure completely in the tire and then over fill it to say 40 psi , then release the excess back to say 32 psi
Then from a parking spot away from all metal structures (200’) and not near any other cars, leave the car run in park
From the DIC control panel select Re-learn, the horn will chirp to indicate tire pressure and position re-learn is active.
GO watch the marker lights on the outside of the car, the first one is the drivers front, it should lite and stay on until this is learned. Then the passenger front lite will come on indicating that that sensor is being learned. Then the rear passenger side will lite and so on until all wheel sensors are learned, then the horn will chirp to tell you the re-learn is complete. Be patient it takes a few minutes, if for some reason the marker lights don`t move to the next sensor you can try to re-adjust the tire pressure in that wheel again and start over and/ or drive the car up to 30 mph for a few moments and try again. If a particular sensor fails again/still you can stop by a dealer and ask them to re-calibrate your sensors, it is supposed to be free as it is a gov-mandated safety feature. This will also tell you if any of the sensors are dead, requiring replacement.

 

If you have a Discount Tire Co near you, go by there. They can reset the system for FREE (I work their). Take advantage of it, sensors are battery operated and last only 4-6 years.