Tpms

[signage]

Does anyone know if the battery life is obtained with a factory scan tool?

I purchased a used vehicle and have all the service records, these records show that the previous owner was getting an intermittent TPMS light flashing. The deal ship changed one of the sensor, so I would like to know which one was changed.

The light is only coming on after driving the vehicle for over an hour. The research I have done shows that the batteries in the sensor are rated for 100,000 miles or 7 years.

[SE95]

Depends on the scanner, depends on the vehicle. Some vehicles have very complex TPMS systems that monitor not just air pressure, but temperature and battery life as well (Porsche for example). Some are very basic and are unable to even tell you which tire is low, just that one of them is lower than the others. But if you buy a scanner or have your local tire shop scan the sensors, if one of them isn't reading because of a dead battery it will be come evident. The scanner will "fail to communicate" to that sensor.

[signage]

We are on a Subaru forum so my question is for the Subaru factory scan tool! I am wanting to know if it gives the battery life of the sensors!

[ntippet]

It does not.

[SE95]

No need to yell. I am not really sure what you are asking then... your post is very vague. Call your dealership and see if they can tell you what has been replaced, see if their scanner works. I can't magically know what the dealership uses. A local tire shop should have a capable scanner, too. Is the light steady on or flashing? You just say it "comes on after driving for an hour".

[signage]

Its flashing which means a loss of communication! The question was not what was the problem the question was weather or not the factory scan tool can give battery level! Ntippet thank you for the answer.

[SE95]

Originally Posted by signage

Its flashing which means a loss of communication! The question was not what was the problem the question was weather or not the factory scan tool can give battery level! Ntippet thank you for the answer.

Flashing means there is a system error, not necessarily a loss of communication. You need an OBD-2 test to find out what is going on, not just a standard TPMS scanner, the sensors may be fine...


...but please, continue. I won't bother to make a suggestion at an answer for you again

[signage]

Originally Posted by SE95

Flashing means there is a system error, not necessarily a loss of communication. You need an OBD-2 test to find out what is going on, not just a standard TPMS scanner, the sensors may be fine...


...but please, continue. I won't bother to make a suggestion at an answer for you again

an OBD2 scanner will not give you this information! That information is Subaru specific, unless the scan tool you have has the Subaru enhancement it will not give TPMS info for Subaru's.

[SE95]

Originally Posted by signage

an OBD2 scanner will not give you this information! That information is Subaru specific, unless the scan tool you have has the Subaru enhancement it will not give TPMS info for Subaru's.

And what do you do for a living? It isn't like I work in the tire industry and have had to deal with this very same issue on a customers car a few dozen times before... oh wait...

You don't have to go to a Subaru dealer to have your system scanned. Any GOOD tire shop should be able to scan it and tell you what is wrong.

You need an OBD-2 enabled TPMS scanner. A scanner that just scans the sensors isn't going to tell you a thing. You need a scanner that will not just scan sensors but go into the car's ECM to detect system faults. There are a number of aftermarket scanners that are able to do this just as well (if not better than) as whatever the dealer has.

But, I don't know what I am talking about, right...

[DrCloud]

Deleted.