Low-cost direct TPMS programming tools?

[-Pete-]

I'm going to be swapping wheels twice a year on my wife's car* where the ECU needs to be programmed with the TPMS sensor codes. Is there a low-cost way of doing this, I've found tools like the Bartec Wheelrite Tech 300/400/500 or Standard Techsmart tools, £650 new or $250 2nd hand from eBay USA. If I buy sensors I assume they'll come with ID codes, can I use a more generic OBD tool to do the programming? Is there software which knows how to program these TPMS codes, using a OBDII interface? All recommendations welcome. Thanks.

*Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Mercedes, Lexus, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Acura, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Toyota are some of the makes that require a scan tool to complete a relearn.

[ScoobyChris]

Didn’t know that! When I did mine on a BMW, you just put it through a TPMS reset cycle and it pairs with the new sensors and calibrates them. Guessing it must cache the ID details somewhere in the ECU as switching between wheel sets now just does the pressure calibration.

Chris

[-Pete-]

I didn't know that either Chris, my BMW auto-learns when I swap from summers to winters, all I needed to buy was a decent trolley jack
I don't mind spending a couple of hundred pounds, I just want to make sure I'm buying the right kit.

[oilslick]

Which manufacturer?

[Stegel]

You list Mercedes in your opening post - our GL happily adapts to the sensors on the winter wheels, bought from German eBay and not reprogrammed in any way, and back to its summer wheels. It doesn’t give any indication it’s even noticed the swap.

[Oldandslow]

Depending on model many setups now use auto learning/auto location. No need to reprogram for new sensors or swapped wheels. The car recognises the strongest signal from that quadrant of the car and assigns it as the sensor for that wheel.

[-Pete-]

oilslick said:

Which manufacturer?

Hyundai

[E-bmw]

You could always just ignore it & check tyres weekly manually like us oldies have done for decades before TPMS was invented.

[-Pete-]

Agreed, I’ve driven for >35 years without a problem. But the TPMS warning would appear on the dashboard info screen every time my wife starts the car, and since Jan 2015 it’s an automatic MOT failure.

[-Pete-]

Stegel said:

You list Mercedes in your opening post - our GL happily adapts to the sensors on the winter wheels, bought from German eBay and not reprogrammed in any way, and back to its summer wheels. It doesn’t give any indication it’s even noticed the swap.

Same as my BNW then. That list was copied from Bartec’s US site, probably trying to increase sales. It seems most European manufacturers’ cars auto learn, but Asian ones don’t. This is all new to me, not something I ever had to worry about... too much Nanny State, more expense for owners.

[Jaybmw]

I got an obd2 dongle thing from eBay.. cost a fiver and downloaded a free app.. it cleared codes on my mini and bmw. I'm sure it'll do a little tpms.. worth researching

[Liamjrhodes]

Just time the MOT for the period with the calibrated wheels on? or swap them over for the MOT if its in the middle of winter

[-Pete-]

Yes, I could get MOT's in the summer, but I'm not sure she'll tolerate the TPMS warning. It's not just a small symbol, it fills the info screen in the centre of the dashboard.

I can't believe I'm the only person on PH to have come across this new 'feature' of 2014+ cars?
This is a list of vehicles which apparently need OBD2 programming for replacement sensors:
https://www.bartecautoid.com/pdf/bartec-auto-id-co...

Anyone tried a Foxwell NT520 (or Nt510)? Apparently that can do the job - $160/£125 delivered
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Foxwell-NT520-Pro-Diagnos...

[Kings350]

An option I would do is to have 4 'blank' TPMS valves installed into the winter wheels.
Then you can get the info from the summer TPMS valves programmed into the winter wheel TMPS valves.

When I priced it up you would be looking around £40 per valve + tyre fitting/valve programming cost of £28 each wheel.

That was a from a tyre place in Bristol.

[-Pete-]

Kings350 said:

An option I would do is to have 4 'blank' TPMS valves installed into the winter wheels.
Then you can get the info from the summer TPMS valves programmed into the winter wheel TMPS valves.
When I priced it up you would be looking around £40 per valve + tyre fitting/valve programming cost of £28 each wheel.
That was a from a tyre place in Bristol.

Perfect, exactly what I needed to know.

That gives me a few choices, if I buy 17" or 18" used rims and winter or all-season tyres:
1) Buy an Autel TS401 £125 to read my existing sensors and program £24 Autel MX sensors to be exact duplicates, avoiding the need to reprogram the ECU.
2) Buy sensors pre-programmed for the car and a Foxwell NT510/520 £125 which can program the new ID's into the ECU, and do a whole load of diagnostic functions too.

or

3) Use the existing rims & sensors, and get all-season tyres fitted (but not so much choice for 245/45R19).

It's going to cost £1K whichever way I do it, but it's nice to know my options.