# TPMS Problems



## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Hey guys, I got a set of wheels and tires from mrwheeldeal.com. They neglected to install the TPMS that I paid for so they sent them to me and reimbursed me the labor to have them installed and everything rebalanced. Fast forward a couple weeks and suddenly I get a "Tire System" message on my center display and the TPMS light is flashing. Scroll through and see that the front right is not reading at all - just two dashes. About 10 minutes later it starts working again.

Then a few days later it happens again only this time it's BOTH fronts. Then a few miles down the road the driver's side starts working again. Then on my way home from work the passenger one starts working again. It does the same thing a few days later. They send me two replacements for the fronts and again pay to have them installed. This was last week. Now today on my way to work the front passenger again stopped working and on my way home started working again.

My next step is to swap the two front wheels and see if the problem follows the wheels or not. If it does I know something is up with the sensors. If it doesn't that means something it up with the car. However the factory sensors never had an issue and the two rear aftermarket ones haven't (so far) had any issues.

This is the first vehicle I've owned that uses TPMS so I have no idea what might be going on. Anyone have any ideas?


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

WillL84 said:


> Hey guys, I got a set of wheels and tires from mrwheeldeal.com. They neglected to install the TPMS that I paid for so they sent them to me and reimbursed me the labor to have them installed and everything rebalanced. Fast forward a couple weeks and suddenly I get a "Tire System" message on my center display and the TPMS light is flashing. Scroll through and see that the front right is not reading at all - just two dashes. About 10 minutes later it starts working again.
> <snip>


I'm not an expert on these, but I'm thinking you have batteries that are going bad. Typically, those are not serviceable and the entire TPMS unit is replaced. 

Perhaps they sent you some old stock. Or maybe they aren't OEM parts and don't match up well. What brand are they?

Swapping the front wheels sounds like a good idea for ruling out the receiver.

Doug

.


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## Maqcro1 (Apr 29, 2019)

Sounds like the batteries are weak or just a cheap sensor. I’ve used off brand sensors in the past to try and save some money... ended up having similar issues like your having and had to buy OEM parts. Haven’t had any issues since I installed OEM.

Also a good idea to buy a TPMS relearn tool. I bought EL-50448 TPMS tool for about $10. The tool will also tell you if the battery on the sensor is weak. What I’ve noticed is that many tire shops either 1. Don’t know how to relearn the tire sensors or 2. Are too lazy to do it for you.

I don’t even bother asking them to relearn anymore I just do it myself after each tire rotation.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

plano-doug said:


> I'm not an expert on these, but I'm thinking you have batteries that are going bad. Typically, those are not serviceable and the entire TPMS unit is replaced.
> 
> Perhaps they sent you some old stock. Or maybe they aren't OEM parts and don't match up well. What brand are they?
> 
> ...


I was thinking they might have been old but I'm having zero issue with the rear ones. It's only the fronts and even then 85% of the time it's only the passenger side. I'm not sure of the brand, they're blue. I have the ones they local shop just took out in the garage, I'll get a name off them.




Maqcro1 said:


> Sounds like the batteries are weak or just a cheap sensor. I’ve used off brand sensors in the past to try and save some money... ended up having similar issues like your having and had to buy OEM parts. Haven’t had any issues since I installed OEM.
> 
> Also a good idea to buy a TPMS relearn tool. I bought EL-50448 TPMS tool for about $10. The tool will also tell you if the battery on the sensor is weak. What I’ve noticed is that many tire shops either 1. Don’t know how to relearn the tire sensors or 2. Are too lazy to do it for you.
> 
> I don’t even bother asking them to relearn anymore I just do it myself after each tire rotation.


I bought one from Tire Rack when I got the wheel/tire set specifically for this and that's how I found the wheel/tire set din't have the TPMS - the tool wouldn't do anything lol. I'm going to put snow's on the stock wheels and it'll be easier to swap an re-learn in my driveway. The shop that did the initial install (when it was found that the company never installed the sensors before they mounted the tires) is a great place, I've been going to them since I got my license - about 20 years now. The owner is a great guy and knows his ****. (They're also the ones that did the BCM programming for my fog lights).

The sensors also weren't cheap - $179 for the set of 4. Looking at GM Parts Direct they're only a couple $ more but they list two different ones: GM Parts Direct: Your direct source for Genuine GM Parts | GMPartsDirect.com

The first ones shown (Tire Pressure Monitoring System Sensor - GM (13598772) | GMPartsDirect.com) list Cruze in the models however the ones that I got sent look like the image in the second picture (but if you click on the second part the image looks nothing like the one shows on the parts list page) an the second one listed doesn't list Cruze for fitment.

No idea which ones I would need. I'm kinda at that point though - just see if they'll refund me for these 4 sensors and I'll just go buy the GM ones and be done with it. Maybe have the shop pull the factory ones from my stock wheels and use those seeing how I'm getting snow tires for them anyways and put the new GM ones back in the stock wheels.

To the credit of Mr Wheel Deal though they sourced out the wheels I wanted when they didn't carry them and also quick about customer service and reimbursing me to get the TPMS installed in the first place as well as sending out the two front replacements and reimbursing me to get those installed as well.


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## Iamantman (Sep 24, 2018)

Yeah they're either using non-oem sensors or the shop bunked the install somehow. Really your only two options.

And if you don't want to deal with the logistical nightmare of all of this installing the factory sensors from your snow tires is a great idea. Just ignore the warnings in the winter months and check manually every couple weeks to make sure you don't have any problems.


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## Maqcro1 (Apr 29, 2019)

well there is a plus side that there is only one frequency sensor unlike other vehicles where there are different sensors for certain RPO codes.

im still leaning towards a bad or low quality sensor.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Looks to me like they just install in the same manner as a regular valve. Just pull em through the hole. 

That's what the dummy on display at costco looked like.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Iamantman said:


> Yeah they're either using non-oem sensors or the shop bunked the install somehow. Really your only two options.
> 
> And if you don't want to deal with the logistical nightmare of all of this installing the factory sensors from your snow tires is a great idea. Just ignore the warnings in the winter months and check manually every couple weeks to make sure you don't have any problems.


Well I'll probably buy the OEM GM ones to put back in the stock wheels with snow tires. The yellow blinking light every time I start the car and needing to dismiss the stupid message is annoying AF. I'm not planning on getting snows mounted until the fall so I have plenty of time.




Maqcro1 said:


> well there is a plus side that there is only one frequency sensor unlike other vehicles where there are different sensors for certain RPO codes.
> 
> im still leaning towards a bad or low quality sensor.


They still list two part numbers though that come up under the 2017 Cruze parts listing: 13598772 and 13598773 .




snowwy66 said:


> Looks to me like they just install in the same manner as a regular valve. Just pull em through the hole.
> 
> That's what the dummy on display at costco looked like.


Yea they just pull through like a standard rubber stem. There's no physical mounting to the wheel.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Looking at Amazon the first P/N (Amazon.com: ACDelco 13598773 GM Original Equipment Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sensor Kit with Sensor, Stem, Bolt, and Cap: Automotive) says it doesn't fit the 2017 Cruze while it says the second P/N (https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-13598772-Original-Equipment-Monitoring/dp/B014VZFQAS) does fit.

4 PC of genuine AC Delco parts for less than $50? I think I'll just get them. 4pc New Tire Pressure Monitor Sensor TPMS 13598772 | eBay


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

WillL84 said:


> Looking at Amazon the first P/N (Amazon.com: ACDelco 13598773 GM Original Equipment Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sensor Kit with Sensor, Stem, Bolt, and Cap: Automotive) says it doesn't fit the 2017 Cruze while it says the second P/N (https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-13598772-Original-Equipment-Monitoring/dp/B014VZFQAS) does fit.
> 
> 4 PC of genuine AC Delco parts for less than $50? I think I'll just get them. 4pc New Tire Pressure Monitor Sensor TPMS 13598772 | eBay


What's the difference between amazon and ebay. Besides $31 price difference each?

Or am I reading it wrong.


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## Maqcro1 (Apr 29, 2019)

WillL84 said:


> Well I'll probably buy the OEM GM ones to put back in the stock wheels with snow tires. The yellow blinking light every time I start the car and needing to dismiss the stupid message is annoying AF. I'm not planning on getting snows mounted until the fall so I have plenty of time.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

snowwy66 said:


> What's the difference between amazon and ebay. Besides $31 price difference each?
> 
> Or am I reading it wrong.


Well looking at the reviews in the Amazon listings there's people claiming they're not genuine AC Delco parts as they come in generic packaging. The eBay ones however seem to be in original AC Delco packaging.




Maqcro1 said:


> I was wrong about the sensors. You have two different types depending on RPO codes.
> 
> XL7 - 315 MHZ
> XL8 - 433 MHZ
> ...


I don't think so because they link up to the car just fine. I would think if they were the incorrect frequency the car wouldn't even see them. They did get make/model info at time of order to make sure the sensors were correct.


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

As someone who used to work for a Chevy dealership, I can tell you that an old issue we used to have with different cars was that after installing new tires (and setting new TPMs) the sensor would typically take initially but would stop communicating within a week or 2. Then they'd come back, we'd set it again and it would stick the second time. Not sure why they did that but it tended to happen more often than I would have expected.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Fireworks234 said:


> As someone who used to work for a Chevy dealership, I can tell you that an old issue we used to have with different cars was that after installing new tires (and setting new TPMs) the sensor would typically take initially but would stop communicating within a week or 2. Then they'd come back, we'd set it again and it would stick the second time. Not sure why they did that but it tended to happen more often than I would have expected.


See these don't straight out stop and need to be re-initialized or anything. They stop for a few minutes or hours then start working just fine again for a few days on their own. The front passenger one quit again on my way into work this morning. 99.9% sure at some point on my way home this afternoon it'll start working again lol. Then in a day or two it'll happen again.

I think I'm just going to order those ones I found on eBay (the set of 4 for a few $ more than the cost of one from GM Parts Direct) and have them installed and get a refund from the wheel place.


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

WillL84 said:


> See these don't straight out stop and need to be re-initialized or anything. They stop for a few minutes or hours then start working just fine again for a few days on their own. The front passenger one quit again on my way into work this morning. 99.9% sure at some point on my way home this afternoon it'll start working again lol. Then in a day or two it'll happen again.
> 
> I think I'm just going to order those ones I found on eBay (the set of 4 for a few $ more than the cost of one from GM Parts Direct) and have them installed and get a refund from the wheel place.


Ok, I gotcha. Yeah definitely sounds like dying/cheap TPMs. Sounds like a good idea to just replace them.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Here's the sensors they sent. 433MHz









I'm just going to get the OEM AC Delco ones and have them refund me for these. Clearly my car has a problem with them lol


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Well I just ordered these OEM take-outs for $40. We'll see what happens.








SET 4 GENUINE GM TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS OEM TPMS 2019 2020 Silverado Sierra 1500 | eBay


SET 4 GENUINE GM TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS OEM TPMS 2019 2020 Silverado Sierra 1500. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope.



www.ebay.com


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Well the sensors arrived yesterday and I got them installed today. Fingers crossed 🤞


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

I agree, it was probably the batteries. A long shot would be the receiver.









TPMS diagnostic information - Chevrolet Cruze


Chevy Cruze TPMS diagnostic information and troubleshooting tips, including TPMS reset information, TPMS tool recommendations, TPMS reset videos, and more.




www.ateq-tpms.com


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

Lol one day I will get mine replaced....I will miss seeing that warning message though... its like a good friend saying hello now...


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Well it's been 2 months now and not a single issue. Those aftermarket ones are just junk


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Makes sense - the OE ones aren't really any more expensive anyway (if you buy them separately).


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Especially not when you score a set of 4 for $40 on eBay that came out of a 2019 Silverado 🤷‍♂️🤣


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Yup - I did that with the sensors for the Volt (don't remember what they came out of) and it worked great. However, I did the same for the Cruze and one or two didn't work, but that wasn't something I could test at the time when I got them. Oh well, I have another set in the basement that came out of the Volt's winter wheels and are the correct frequency for our Cruze. (The Volt needed 433, the 1st gen Cruze is 315).


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