Do I smell ripeoff - Reprogramming TPMS Sensor
 

Ok, I had to replace one of my tires and during the install, we noticed that TPMS sensor on on the wheel because the valve body was cracked. It appears that somebody bent the valve body. The tire shop replaced it with an non OEM part and claims it is compatible with the system, but they did not have the ability to program in the new sensor. So I called the dealer and they are telling me the reprogramming of the sensor is a 1-1.5 hour job, so we are looking at $120. He also thinks that the non OEM sensor can't be programmed, which I think is BS. The tire dealer uses the Bartec system ...


http://www.mitsubishi-tpms.com/

My guess is that their replacement part is also made my Schrader who is the OEM manufacturer for Chrysler and Mitsu. but even if not, it seems like something that could be clone successfully in the aftermarket.


So my questions are:

Is the labor time inflated by the dealer?
You think there are going to be issues with the aftermarket replacement (I wish I got to see what it looked like before they put it on the wheel). ?

Am I going to need the new sensors ID for the delaer to program it or can they just scan for it? If they need the ID. I'll have to go back to thte tire shop and have them unmont the tire so we can read the ID code for the new sensor.



thxs

Just realized, Since they have the Bartec system, they should be able to read the new sensors ID without having to unmount the tire.

Most dealers charge a labor rate of around $80 an hour, so $120 for 1.5 hours of labor seems about right. The thing I question is why it would take 1.5 hours to reprogram the sensor. That figure sounds inflated to me.

sounds a bit long to me. I'd call a goodyear or firestone and see if they'd do it for you. When I got my new tires at firestone, they had no problem reprogramming the aftermarket sensors they use...or so I've been told.

if you go, insist that you watch the tech for the hour and a half...make sure you get what you pay for!! :)

Agreed.

It only takes about 5 minutes to program a TPMS.

Ask them to explain what the other 55-85 minutes are for.

I was under the impression only the dealer could do this. The tire place that replaced it had the Bartec scanner, and the OBD connector, but they did not have the Laptop SW interface to actually program the computer.

...unless they drove it to my local dealership without my knowledge, Firestone did it just fine.

What I don't understand is that this dealer had the Bartec tool and claimed he could not reprogram it. I did a little searching and the only thing I came up with, is the Bartec 400 required the late 2009 SW upgrade to work with the 2007 Outlander. The other problem I see is the 2007 Outlanders either came with Schrader or Siemens sensors. Mine had the Siemens sensor, but it appears they replaced it with the Schrader sensor, and I don't know if that is going to be compatible with the system which was programmed for the Siemens sensors.

I called Bartec and they told me their tool can't program 2007+ Outlanders because Mitsui has not been cooperative about sharing with them the info needed, thus you are forced to go to the dealer for this. He told me their other option is to somehow get their hands on a Outlander and try to reverse engineer it but the problem is Outlanders are not generally available in the rental fleets. I guess Firestone is using a competing tool that is able to program the system via the ODBII. It looks like Ateq may have a consumer tool to do this too, but you need to know the sensor IDs for this.

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/detail.jsp?ID=163

I'm not sure if this tool can work with the Outlander.

What year is your Outlander that Firestone was able to program in the new TPMS sensor?
I wonder what system they are using?

Personally I think this sucks that Mitsui has not made this info available. With a small and shirking dealer network, it's important that they work with the aftermarket.

Just changed over from my winter tires to OEM rims and tires and had the dealer do it as part of my normal service interval (so saved on tire rotation, etc.). Anyways it was explained to me that unlike BMW, Audi, Volvo, etc., when the Outlander CPU no longer senses the wheel/tire sensors it resets itself, so you have to reprogram the cpu/sensor when you take the rim/tire off. The service dept acknowledged it as a PITA. Anyways, they charged a flat/standard fee of $30 to reprogram the sensors. 1.5 hours? You are getting ripped off. Inform Mitsu corporate that your dealer is taking advantage of you.