How to Change a TPMS Unit | Hometyre Mobile TPMS Servicing in Oxford

Tyre Pressure Monitoring has been around since the late 80s and is continually evolving. The first vehicle to be equipped with an indirect* TPMS system was the 1986 Porsche 959 which used a hollow spoke wheels system developed by PSK. As the years progressed, more and more European companies shared an interest in their system for their luxury cars. From the Audi A8, Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7 Series, this revolutionary system was quickly being adopted by the luxury car market. But, the true breakthrough into the mass market was with Peugeot. Originally installing the system into the low production 1999 Peugeot 607, the system would then be introduced into the Renault Laguna II and soon enough, TPMS would be known to the masses.

For an electronic TPMS unit to be able to function inside a tyre is quite a challenge. From the high pressures, excessive centrifugal forces, and consistent exposure to moisture. These units need to be completely sealed and enclosed in a tough membrane. The downside to this is that once these units become low on battery, the batteries are unable to be replaced thus, the complete unit has to be replaced. TPMS system became mandatory for new passenger vehicles supplied into Europe from 2012 onwards. We are now seeing more and more vehicles displaying errors on their screens which subsequently turn out to be due to low batteries. Typically, these batteries last for about seven years.

Upon arriving to an effected vehicle, each individual unit is scanned to check the battery level and to show any coding errors. From here, we identified which unit had the low battery, removed the unit from the wheel and placed into out cloning machine. The ‘DNA’ of the original device is copied onto the handheld unit, then can be inserted into the new ‘blank’ TPMS unit. Once installed back on the vehicle, the car wont notice the difference apart from the battery now being full!

If you’re displaying a TPMS error on your dashboard, why not give us a call on 0333 444 5454 to get one of our TPMS experts out to your vehicle!

*Indirect units monitor the tyres via the ABS system and through a series of calculations can work out the tyre pressures. However, this does not display individual wheel pressures.