Local Tire shop broke my tire sensor changing my tire......

[madcorolla]

I need some help before I raise h ell when I go back to this tire shop. First, I went to a local tire shop, that has an excellent reputation by the way, to get my rear drivers tire changed because there was a bubble in my side wall. The guy working on my car broke my pressure sensor when he was taking the tire off. They had toyota bring out a brand new replacement sensor, that I saw myself when they were putting it on the wheel. The shop did not charge me anything for the inconvenience, but after about 5 miles, the tire pressure light was on, it may have been on when I left the shop, but dealing with my 15 month old child whining and crying, I didnt think to look. I had to come home because of my child, but I immediately called back to the shop, and they said that they would take care of it this evening or better in the morning. Just to get some background info on the sensors before I go back, I called the local Toyota service dept. where the guy there said that all four tires have to come off and all the sensors had to be reprogramed, and that only Toyota service can do that, is that true? I tried to reset the sensor by pushing the button in the glove box, but that did not work. What do I need to know before I go back to the tire shop? Im afraid that if they take all four tires off, they will screw something else up and I wont see my car for a day or two. Help me out with some info, thanks.

[njerald]

Originally Posted by madcorolla

I need some help before I raise h ell when I go back to this tire shop. First, I went to a local tire shop, that has an excellent reputation by the way, to get my rear drivers tire changed because there was a bubble in my side wall. The guy working on my car broke my pressure sensor when he was taking the tire off. They had toyota bring out a brand new replacement sensor, that I saw myself when they were putting it on the wheel. The shop did not charge me anything for the inconvenience, but after about 5 miles, the tire pressure light was on, it may have been on when I left the shop, but dealing with my 15 month old child whining and crying, I didnt think to look. I had to come home because of my child, but I immediately called back to the shop, and they said that they would take care of it this evening or better in the morning. Just to get some background info on the sensors before I go back, I called the local Toyota service dept. where the guy there said that all four tires have to come off and all the sensors had to be reprogramed, and that only Toyota service can do that, is that true? I tried to reset the sensor by pushing the button in the glove box, but that did not work. What do I need to know before I go back to the tire shop? Im afraid that if they take all four tires off, they will screw something else up and I wont see my car for a day or two. Help me out with some info, thanks.

Unless you have the old broken sensor with its number and the 7 digit # on the replacement sensor, all 4 tires may have to come off to record the transmitter numbers and the Toyota dealer then has to program those into the TPMS ECU.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by njerald

Unless you have the old broken sensor with its number and the 7 digit # on the replacement sensor, all 4 tires may have to come off to record the transmitter numbers and the Toyota dealer then has to program those into the TPMS ECU.

That is correct. Your tire dealer probably does not have the needed equipment to perform this.

Ask them if they will reimburse you or if you can bring it to the dealer and bill the tire place.

If they are as decent as you suggest they should have no problem approving the latter suggestion.

Good luck.

[Mike Gerber]

Quote:
Originally Posted by njerald
Unless you have the old broken sensor with its number and the 7 digit # on the replacement sensor, all 4 tires may have to come off to record the transmitter numbers and the Toyota dealer then has to program those into the TPMS ECU.


That is correct. Your tire dealer probably does not have the needed equipment to perform this.

Ask them if they will reimburse you or if you can bring it to the dealer and bill the tire place.

If they are as decent as you suggest they should have no problem approving the latter suggestion.

Good luck.


Have them call the local Toyota dealer's service department and find out what this will cost. Then have them issue you a check. You shouldn't have to be a bank for this tire shop. You are being inconveinced enough as it is.

Mike

[eflw1029]

Read the thread in it's entirety and I am somewhat concerned that as 2007 Camry owners we will all eventually go through a situation exactly like this. Starting in year 2007 and for years foward this is a mandatory safety enhancement but until independent service shops become cognizant of some of these latest government mandated safety features all unintentionally caused damage will be at the expense of the owners. I manually check tire pressures on a monthly basis so this safety feature is probably more of a hindance than blessing. I've emailed both my local dealer and Toyota of Puyallop (place where I make all my toyota parts purchases as it is the cheapest I found on the net) requesting pricing for both a extra TPMS sensor along with one (1) toyota 16inch alloy wheel. My intent is to lose the temporary donut spare,purchase a full sized identical alloy rim, bring a oem tire to the dealer and have them register the newly purchased 5th tpms sensor so in the event I have a flat I can conveniently get the flat fixed at my leisure and convenience. Only other alternative I've read is to remove all the tpms sensors and manually check tire pressures. What galls me is this expense will be on me either way I go.

I like to keep the pressure on each tire around 35psi which normally should be 30psi according to the Camry owner's manual. I can live with the added harshness but from past experience every vehicle I've had always has had tire edge wear versus wear on the center. Besides, the added psi will afford me a "cushion" in the event I forget checking pressures on a month. One tip everyone should be aware of is if you keep tire psi at 35 do NOT hit the tpms reset button near the glovebox otherwise it will use your 35psi as the baseline value to detect lower than normal tire pressure which for example, might trigger the dash lite at 30psi....which is the recommended and safe pressure according to Toyota. Hope this helps!

[onsknht]

Originally Posted by njerald

all 4 tires may have to come off to record the transmitter numbers

I can't rightly remember, I unfortunately didn't keep the car long enough to ever care otherwise.... But I thought I had a card that had the numbers written down, it was provided with all the key tags and other "do not lose" type stuff?

FWIW - I'd bet the new one is written on the invoice?

Seems odd there weren't measures taken to provide the owner with TPS frequency values and need to break the tires down to record them?

[summerwind]

The dealer can read the ID's stored with the Intelligent tester before redoing the registration procedure...Page TW-16 in the shop manual on tires an wheels

IN CASE OF TIRE PRESSURE WARNING VALVE AND TRANSMITTER AND/OR TIRE PRESSURE WARNING ECU REPLACEMENT

(a) Read the ID written on the tire pressure monitor valve.

3. REGISTER TRANSMITTER ID NOTICE:
It is necessary to register the transmitter ID in the tire pressure warning ECU when replacing the tire pressure warning valve and transmitter and/or tire pressure warning ECU.

(a) Prepare all of the transmitter ID data before starting registration.

HINT:
• Read the registered transmitter IDs that are stored in the ECU using the intelligent tester andmake a note of them

[98CamryLE]

Originally Posted by madcorolla

I need some help before I raise hell when I go back to this tire shop.

Raise hell?

Let me get this straight... a tire shop accidentally damages your sensor... so they call Toyota and have them bring out a new sensor at no charge to you...

It seems to me that they admitted that they made a mistake, and then went out of their way to fix it. Why would you raise hell?

You should go back to the tire dealer and try and get them to fix the tire pressure sensor system... But treat them with respect- because they have shown respect for you.

[madcorolla]

Originally Posted by 98CamryLE

Raise hell?

Let me get this straight... a tire shop accidentally damages your sensor... so they call Toyota and have them bring out a new sensor at no charge to you...

It seems to me that they admitted that they made a mistake, and then went out of their way to fix it. Why would you raise hell?

You should go back to the tire dealer and try and get them to fix the tire pressure sensor system... But treat them with respect- because they have shown respect for you.

Well, sorry you disagree, but after sitting in that shop for 3 hours with a small child, just replacing the sensor is not enough, they should have fixed the entire system. They should not have tried to get over on me by not saying anything about the light being on. I mean really, how long did they think it would be before I would notice that the light was staying on. I am glad that you are so nice about things like this, but sorry, they broke it so they need to fix it correctly, and if they don't fix it, what do you think I am going to do? Tell them don't worry about it, it is okay, you tried? Forget that, I work with the public every day in my field of work and when there is a problem with my service, people usually don't tell me "thanks you tried" they threaten me and treat me like pure sh1t. So I get that abuse at my job, and I am supposed to allow a tire shop to get away with half way fixing what they broke, just because they bought the sensor? Bottom line is they broke it, so they fix it.

[eflw1029]

I wholeheartedly agree with your post...you break it, you own it. Like yourself I work in the services field and when I screw up my customers let me know about it. What you experienced has given me a real life scenario what to expect especially 3 years down the road when the oem tires finally have to get around to being replaced. I got a price for one of the oem 2007 Camry LE alloy rims and best I could find is $168 + shipping from Arizona. My assumption is the tpms sensor will set me back $100 along, a oem tire costing $100 so in order to even consider getting a matching full sized replacement tire with alloy wheel will set me back $400 conservatively. This is a huge "mongo" dollar amount just to get piece of mind when I travel. I can wait a year hoping to get a junk yard 2007 rim or even resign myself to using the donut as a real spare (limitation being it's use is limited to distance and speed). Does anyone know if in NYC if a vehicle will fail it's annual inspection if a tpms indicator light is illuminated on the dash? I dread to think if and when all the sensors will finally need replacing when the internal batteries become expended.

[onsknht]

Originally Posted by eflw1029

I dread to think if and when all the sensors will finally need replacing when the internal batteries become expended.

While it isn't exactly a plun-n-play type of thing, I believe the lithium watch-type batteries can be replaced.

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by madcorolla

Well, sorry you disagree, but after sitting in that shop for 3 hours with a small child, just replacing the sensor is not enough, they should have fixed the entire system. They should not have tried to get over on me by not saying anything about the light being on. I mean really, how long did they think it would be before I would notice that the light was staying on. I am glad that you are so nice about things like this, but sorry, they broke it so they need to fix it correctly, and if they don't fix it, what do you think I am going to do? Tell them don't worry about it, it is okay, you tried? Forget that, I work with the public every day in my field of work and when there is a problem with my service, people usually don't tell me "thanks you tried" they threaten me and treat me like pure sh1t. So I get that abuse at my job, and I am supposed to allow a tire shop to get away with half way fixing what they broke, just because they bought the sensor? Bottom line is they broke it, so they fix it.

I just did a new rim & tire swap on my XLE V6 & took the sensors out of the old rims and put into the new rims ... I don't know how you could break the damn sensor ... its part of the valve stem & bolted onto the rim ... but anyways...


Why are you going to be an asshole to the tire place .... they are doing whats right ... they admitted fault and replaced the broken sensor. All you have to do is resent the TPMS system & the light will go away.

Maybe if you didn't drive like you were Helen Keller and hit curbs with the tires, you wouln't have gotten the bubble and therefore wouldn't need to be at the tire place with your little child (Don't see the relevance to the whole situation)!

[98CamryLE]

Originally Posted by madcorolla

Bottom line is they broke it, so they fix it.

We don't disagree about your car getting fixed. We both agree that the shop broke something, and now they need to repair it.

What I'm saying is that if you go to the shop and start yelling, they are going to be put on the defensive and they are aren't going to give you the time of day.

Now, if you go to the shop and calmly explain how you are dissatisfied with the repair, and want your car to be fixed properly, you are more likely to get what you want.

If they refuse the repair, then ask to speak with a manager, and if he/she isn't doing what you need, then by all means, yell all you want.

[madcorolla]

Originally Posted by pillpusher84

Why are you going to be an asshole to the tire place .... they are doing whats right ... they admitted fault and replaced the broken sensor. All you have to do is resent the TPMS system & the light will go away.

Maybe if you didn't drive like you were Helen Keller and hit curbs with the tires, you wouln't have gotten the bubble and therefore wouldn't need to be at the tire place with your little child (Don't see the relevance to the whole situation)!

Man, are you just trying to be a jerk? My Camry was at Toyota for 2 days because of them. 2 days with out a car, and my light is back on as I type this. I have to take it back to that tire shop so they can take it back to Toyota again. Obviously either the Toyota dealership has no clue what they are doing or this entire situation with pressure sensors is bigger than it seems, and just there has not been many Camry drivers that have not delt with a situation such as this yet. Man, you don't know me, just because you might live in a golden kingdom where there are no pot holes doesn't mean you need to down me like that about the bubble in the tire. Are you some type of pro driver or something, you never hit a pot hole? You are just trying to be a comedian. I started this thread for some help with the tire sensors, not to have someone constantly trying to down me. Its easy to sit back behind that computer and talk trash. There are craters in the road all over my town. Of course I probably would not see someone like you in my part of town. The man broke the sensor, and that is that. Who are you to tell me I don't need to be at a tire shop with my child, so what Im supposed to leave my child at home alone? What is that all about? The relevance is that there are people all over America that have taken their children along with them when they have no choice and have to get their vehicle repaired. And through all of this, I have yet to yell at anyone. When this happened I was very upset that is why I made the comment about raising hell. I took the adivice of98CamryLE and chilled out about the whole thing and let the shop do what they can do, even though I have to go with out my car. vbmenu_register("postmenu_1729627", true); Driving like Helen Keller? Come on man.......

[Mike Gerber]

Since this is the second time they have had your car to repair the tire sensor they broke, I would be asking them to provide you with a rental. If you can do without the car for a few days and really don't need the rental, then the very least they can do is to give you a ride home and then pick you up when your car is ready. If they don't agree with you, I would be calling the corporate headquarters and speaking to customer service; that is, if this is a regional or natiowide chain.

Mike