Subaru TPMS Mystery: No Tire Pressures Displaying on Dash
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Date: 2025-09-28
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Comments and reviews: 20
Mark_T_23
This has nothing to do with this video. I am an electrical engineer. I think I grasped Ohm's Law in a few hours. Your techs are quite intelligent, and I think they would be able to grasp the concept in a 3-hour course. They will understand voltage drops, current capability of wires, fuses etc. All you need to know is that E(voltage) = I(Current) times R(Resistance. And P(Power) equals E(Voltage) tlmes I(Current. Current is not easily measured but they will understand a measured voltage is a representation of the current and resistance of a circuit. You don't need to know impedance, which is the perceived resistance due to high frequency. The impedance of a circuit doesn't come into play until you get in the Megahertz (voltage change) range. Automobiles rarely have any signals in this range. Just get a firm understanding of DC Ohms law. With this knowledge you will diagnose electrical problems in half the time. Find a course or have someone come into your shop and tutor them.
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This has nothing to do with this video. I am an electrical engineer. I think I grasped Ohm's Law in a few hours. Your techs are quite intelligent, and I think they would be able to grasp the concept in a 3-hour course. They will understand voltage drops, current capability of wires, fuses etc. All you need to know is that E(voltage) = I(Current) times R(Resistance. And P(Power) equals E(Voltage) tlmes I(Current. Current is not easily measured but they will understand a measured voltage is a representation of the current and resistance of a circuit. You don't need to know impedance, which is the perceived resistance due to high frequency. The impedance of a circuit doesn't come into play until you get in the Megahertz (voltage change) range. Automobiles rarely have any signals in this range. Just get a firm understanding of DC Ohms law. With this knowledge you will diagnose electrical problems in half the time. Find a course or have someone come into your shop and tutor them.
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wssides
Not only foot operated dimmer switches but foot operated starter buttons. Dad's car when I was a kid had an emergency hand fuel pump under the left dash to get home with when the mechanical one failed (best when a passenger could stand on the outside running board and reach through the window to do the pumping) Oh yes, I had three cars with vacuum operated windshield wipers. (They quit going up muddy hills, a quick release of the throttle would give one swipe. Some 6 volt systems had negative ground so boosting and charging were not for the unobservant nor very safe to do in the dark. I had two cars that I could start with a hand crank when the starter failed- made use of the feature on both of them. Drove one for 6 months and about 5000 miles before I could afford a starter.
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Not only foot operated dimmer switches but foot operated starter buttons. Dad's car when I was a kid had an emergency hand fuel pump under the left dash to get home with when the mechanical one failed (best when a passenger could stand on the outside running board and reach through the window to do the pumping) Oh yes, I had three cars with vacuum operated windshield wipers. (They quit going up muddy hills, a quick release of the throttle would give one swipe. Some 6 volt systems had negative ground so boosting and charging were not for the unobservant nor very safe to do in the dark. I had two cars that I could start with a hand crank when the starter failed- made use of the feature on both of them. Drove one for 6 months and about 5000 miles before I could afford a starter.
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HansJansen-q7l
My first experience with TPMS was on my 2010 Explorer that had 20 wheels and Pirelli tires. One tire went bad after about a year and a half and the tire shop I was dealing with at the time advised me to replace them all because it was AWD. I'm not a big fan of large wheels and skinny rubber, so at that time I switched to 17 wheels and the sensors were banded to the bead wells. they were large rectangular blue plastic things, not on the valve stem like yours today. As far as I know they're still working after 15 years so I have no complaint. I also have a 2006 Explorer that is showing signs that the sensors are about done. In either case, they only show the tire icon on the dash and you have to figure out which tire is low.
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My first experience with TPMS was on my 2010 Explorer that had 20 wheels and Pirelli tires. One tire went bad after about a year and a half and the tire shop I was dealing with at the time advised me to replace them all because it was AWD. I'm not a big fan of large wheels and skinny rubber, so at that time I switched to 17 wheels and the sensors were banded to the bead wells. they were large rectangular blue plastic things, not on the valve stem like yours today. As far as I know they're still working after 15 years so I have no complaint. I also have a 2006 Explorer that is showing signs that the sensors are about done. In either case, they only show the tire icon on the dash and you have to figure out which tire is low.
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billlink1726
Curious what you would charge to relearn a TPMS sensor. I took my 2010 Maxima to a local tire shop who told me the Nissan dealer has to install and program the sensor. So of course I went onto Rockauto and purchased a Schraeder brand preprogrammed sensor. The same tire shop charged me $10 to install it, but their scanner can’t read Schraeder sensors. As you would say, interesting. I then took the car to my local mechanic where I had an alignment done, as well as a few miscellaneous items. They charged me 1/4 hour = $35 to learn the one sensor. I realize they need to make money, but it seemed expensive - I’ve been using this shop for some 30 years.
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Curious what you would charge to relearn a TPMS sensor. I took my 2010 Maxima to a local tire shop who told me the Nissan dealer has to install and program the sensor. So of course I went onto Rockauto and purchased a Schraeder brand preprogrammed sensor. The same tire shop charged me $10 to install it, but their scanner can’t read Schraeder sensors. As you would say, interesting. I then took the car to my local mechanic where I had an alignment done, as well as a few miscellaneous items. They charged me 1/4 hour = $35 to learn the one sensor. I realize they need to make money, but it seemed expensive - I’ve been using this shop for some 30 years.
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eeengineer8851
I have a '20 Subaru. Does not have this optional dash with the pressure readouts. I had the car a few months bought used with 38k on it when it would occasionally put on the TPMS light after making a sharp left turn. Would go out when next started. This happened a couple of times. I checked the tires manually with a gauge and no issues. Car was due for a oil change so I had the shop check for anything. They thought maybe a sensor was getting a low battery but didn't know which one so it would be like $3-400 to replace them all. Decided to wait and see. Good move as I don't think its done it again in at least 8 months.
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I have a '20 Subaru. Does not have this optional dash with the pressure readouts. I had the car a few months bought used with 38k on it when it would occasionally put on the TPMS light after making a sharp left turn. Would go out when next started. This happened a couple of times. I checked the tires manually with a gauge and no issues. Car was due for a oil change so I had the shop check for anything. They thought maybe a sensor was getting a low battery but didn't know which one so it would be like $3-400 to replace them all. Decided to wait and see. Good move as I don't think its done it again in at least 8 months.
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LilYeshua
Recently my '09 Nissan's tpms light started flashing and then stayed on. This went in for several days until I had two sensors changed out but the light kept on doing the same thing a few days afterwards before finally the light stayed off. I thought that the main unit inside the car was going bad but the whole thing straightened out and flys right now. I let local repair shops perform tpms services as dealerships charge more money than I want to pay. When I was a kid, mom's arm was our seat belt if we sat in the front seat and if she had to do a hard stop. Dad maintained the family cars sooooo.
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Recently my '09 Nissan's tpms light started flashing and then stayed on. This went in for several days until I had two sensors changed out but the light kept on doing the same thing a few days afterwards before finally the light stayed off. I thought that the main unit inside the car was going bad but the whole thing straightened out and flys right now. I let local repair shops perform tpms services as dealerships charge more money than I want to pay. When I was a kid, mom's arm was our seat belt if we sat in the front seat and if she had to do a hard stop. Dad maintained the family cars sooooo.
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markinkster651
I had a 2003 Forester, I think it was. The customer had front, rear, and every other view cameras all over the car. Wires strung everywhere. It was a real mess but he liked it! TPMS light was on. several sensors scanned bad or weak, so all were replaced. the light kept on. Ended up at the module in the left rear quarter interior. This is also where the power point that he had all the camera stuff plugged into was. You guessed it. with the stuff unplugged the problem disappeared! Interference I guess!
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I had a 2003 Forester, I think it was. The customer had front, rear, and every other view cameras all over the car. Wires strung everywhere. It was a real mess but he liked it! TPMS light was on. several sensors scanned bad or weak, so all were replaced. the light kept on. Ended up at the module in the left rear quarter interior. This is also where the power point that he had all the camera stuff plugged into was. You guessed it. with the stuff unplugged the problem disappeared! Interference I guess!
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bigclivedotcom
I'll guess that for the longest battery life the sensors probably only transmit the data in brief pulses with a long gap between them. So the delay after starting was probably the computer just waiting for a couple of valid pressure data readings from all four before it displayed anything.
Interesting that it just doesn't display anything if it doesn't get a signal from all four sensors.
I bet there's a classic (unchangeable) lithium CR2032 type button cell moulded inside those senders.
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I'll guess that for the longest battery life the sensors probably only transmit the data in brief pulses with a long gap between them. So the delay after starting was probably the computer just waiting for a couple of valid pressure data readings from all four before it displayed anything.
Interesting that it just doesn't display anything if it doesn't get a signal from all four sensors.
I bet there's a classic (unchangeable) lithium CR2032 type button cell moulded inside those senders.
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shawnmorrow8350
TPMS Systems are the worst. I have one one my mazda and yes the batteries in the sensors have gone dead and i let the light on the dash shine brightly. I own a tire gauge that works just fine, plus I can use my eyeballs to see if the tire looks low and guess what then i get the tire gauge out and my air pump if needed, plus I can visually inspect my tire for a leak and pull it off and do what I need to do, duh car manufacturers and government regulators.
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TPMS Systems are the worst. I have one one my mazda and yes the batteries in the sensors have gone dead and i let the light on the dash shine brightly. I own a tire gauge that works just fine, plus I can use my eyeballs to see if the tire looks low and guess what then i get the tire gauge out and my air pump if needed, plus I can visually inspect my tire for a leak and pull it off and do what I need to do, duh car manufacturers and government regulators.
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daveyio87
I love the autel sensors! I've used them on my tacoma for the winter wheels(this will be the 3rd winter) I don't know the longetivty of the sensors but I do have the Autel TS601 I purchased close to 10 years ago. I like that the sensors are realitvily in expensive compared to oem ones.
I had no clue on that law for just putting in a regular valve stem! how dumb! But thanks to the Ford and Firestone Fiasco of the early-mid 2000s here we are with sensors.
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I love the autel sensors! I've used them on my tacoma for the winter wheels(this will be the 3rd winter) I don't know the longetivty of the sensors but I do have the Autel TS601 I purchased close to 10 years ago. I like that the sensors are realitvily in expensive compared to oem ones.
I had no clue on that law for just putting in a regular valve stem! how dumb! But thanks to the Ford and Firestone Fiasco of the early-mid 2000s here we are with sensors.
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harrylister804
I found out that when rotating tires it will mess with the TPMS and it needs to be reset. Toyota put a reset button in the glove compartment but it requires a trained operator. I drove around for a year hitting the reset once and a day later light was on again. I finally read the manual and followed the procedure and that did the trick. If I had gone to a tire chain complaining about the TPMS light, I probably would have 4 new TPMS sensors.
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I found out that when rotating tires it will mess with the TPMS and it needs to be reset. Toyota put a reset button in the glove compartment but it requires a trained operator. I drove around for a year hitting the reset once and a day later light was on again. I finally read the manual and followed the procedure and that did the trick. If I had gone to a tire chain complaining about the TPMS light, I probably would have 4 new TPMS sensors.
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Eric_Olsen
If the you replace one and it fixes the issue you might as well do the rest of them and do the relearn procedure on all four tires. If that doesn’t work contact the customer and suggest order aftermarket external tpms sensors or tell them to head to your favorite retailer and buy a decent pressure gauge. I have sensors in both sets of wheels for my vehicle but in winter the light is on cause the shop didn’t clone the existing sensors.
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If the you replace one and it fixes the issue you might as well do the rest of them and do the relearn procedure on all four tires. If that doesn’t work contact the customer and suggest order aftermarket external tpms sensors or tell them to head to your favorite retailer and buy a decent pressure gauge. I have sensors in both sets of wheels for my vehicle but in winter the light is on cause the shop didn’t clone the existing sensors.
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glassvial
Subaru (and Toyota, too) seem to throw the book at you when there's a problem, no surprise there's a pile of codes for such a simple issue, if I was the customer I would have opted to just do all 4 because the other 2 are likely not far behind the first 2.
Also, if that vehicle is a '18 built vehicle as a '19 MY, those sensors would be 7 years old now, and as you stated, 7-10 years is what you get out of TPMS sensors.
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Subaru (and Toyota, too) seem to throw the book at you when there's a problem, no surprise there's a pile of codes for such a simple issue, if I was the customer I would have opted to just do all 4 because the other 2 are likely not far behind the first 2.
Also, if that vehicle is a '18 built vehicle as a '19 MY, those sensors would be 7 years old now, and as you stated, 7-10 years is what you get out of TPMS sensors.
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oscarjones5773
For a sport, I’m surprised how slow that car is. My 7. 3 diesel dually is much faster with little throttle. However, it’s hydra tuned with a CNC stage 2 pump, CNC-x lines & crossover, bellowed up pipes, and MBRP 304 turbo back exhaust system with banks wastegate and riffraff boost fooler, CCV delete. Only 120k on the clock. I think something else too. It pulls away from the new 6. 6 duramaxes
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For a sport, I’m surprised how slow that car is. My 7. 3 diesel dually is much faster with little throttle. However, it’s hydra tuned with a CNC stage 2 pump, CNC-x lines & crossover, bellowed up pipes, and MBRP 304 turbo back exhaust system with banks wastegate and riffraff boost fooler, CCV delete. Only 120k on the clock. I think something else too. It pulls away from the new 6. 6 duramaxes
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tmb74
sounds just like the results I got with my 2018 Outback. I had one of them trip a code before, but I could still see tire pressures. But this week I could not see any pressures at all when the code came up. My mechanic said that one of the sensors was totally dead. Maybe that is why I did not see any pressures this time. I had to have all four TPMS sensors replaced within a 6 month time frame.
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sounds just like the results I got with my 2018 Outback. I had one of them trip a code before, but I could still see tire pressures. But this week I could not see any pressures at all when the code came up. My mechanic said that one of the sensors was totally dead. Maybe that is why I did not see any pressures this time. I had to have all four TPMS sensors replaced within a 6 month time frame.
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autorepair
The LR sensor in my truck like drops out when I go over the same overpass on my way to work. Most days, when I get off work, the sensor is working again and works all the way home even going over the same overpass that causes it to drop out in the morning. It did this for a few months a year or so ago and then stopped all together. The last few weeks it started doing it again. Really weird.
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The LR sensor in my truck like drops out when I go over the same overpass on my way to work. Most days, when I get off work, the sensor is working again and works all the way home even going over the same overpass that causes it to drop out in the morning. It did this for a few months a year or so ago and then stopped all together. The last few weeks it started doing it again. Really weird.
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JonathanDeaux
Different when I was a kid Hell, different now. My motorcycle has no 'electronics', everything is mechanical, it has points, & has to have lead substitute to run! 1970 Honda CB500 four. If I ever have to pull the engine apart, I'll replace the valve seats. In 1990 I bought 8 carb kits (installed 4, saved 4, a synchronizer, and 6 sets of points because I knew things were getting scarce.
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Different when I was a kid Hell, different now. My motorcycle has no 'electronics', everything is mechanical, it has points, & has to have lead substitute to run! 1970 Honda CB500 four. If I ever have to pull the engine apart, I'll replace the valve seats. In 1990 I bought 8 carb kits (installed 4, saved 4, a synchronizer, and 6 sets of points because I knew things were getting scarce.
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ryangoering2773
I own a 2019 Forester, and it will not populate any of the wheels on the screen until all 4 of them have checked in. I don't know anything about the codes in the computer, but I know when I'm staring at that screen pulling out of the garage, all 4 update at the exact same time. I bought mine in Oct. 2018, has 114, 000 miles, and I haven't replaced any of mine yet.
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I own a 2019 Forester, and it will not populate any of the wheels on the screen until all 4 of them have checked in. I don't know anything about the codes in the computer, but I know when I'm staring at that screen pulling out of the garage, all 4 update at the exact same time. I bought mine in Oct. 2018, has 114, 000 miles, and I haven't replaced any of mine yet.
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jamesmcgraw9570
Seatbelt I had my belt on before I got in the truck. Stood on the floor to see over the dash. My grandpa worked cattle, and we sat on a 1 by 12 plank stuck in the frames. We also road down the road, each with a 22 shooting armadillo. My older brother wasn't even in school yet. So I was 4 or 5. Oh, the inside of the cab was just like the outside all metal.
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Seatbelt I had my belt on before I got in the truck. Stood on the floor to see over the dash. My grandpa worked cattle, and we sat on a 1 by 12 plank stuck in the frames. We also road down the road, each with a 22 shooting armadillo. My older brother wasn't even in school yet. So I was 4 or 5. Oh, the inside of the cab was just like the outside all metal.
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markoliver474
Great vid! You; ve diagnosed my 2018 Subaru Crosstrek issue to a T. I'm having the very same issue. Had one sensor suspect so I kept working the tire pressure to reset the dash warning light. Now my dash looks just like your customers before the fix. Thanks, just wish I was in your area of country to have this fixed. Again, thanks of the great video.
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Great vid! You; ve diagnosed my 2018 Subaru Crosstrek issue to a T. I'm having the very same issue. Had one sensor suspect so I kept working the tire pressure to reset the dash warning light. Now my dash looks just like your customers before the fix. Thanks, just wish I was in your area of country to have this fixed. Again, thanks of the great video.
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