My Dealer-less TPMS Tire Change Story

[KuroNekko]

Hopefully they'll just have a software update for your tool and you will be able to access....

And there lies the problem w/ all of this garbage. Software fixes everything Gee, where have I heard that one before? How much time and money is constantly being wasted on all of this unnecessary non-sense? The numbers must be staggering. Look at the length and duration of this thread alone.

The first thing I did was update to the latest software.
I agree about the TPMS being unnecessary garbage. The only problem I have with my Kiz is related to the TPMS system. This expensive, time consuming and frustrating mandatory babysitter with that dam bright orange light on the dash is not going to make any real difference in "saving the planet" by reducing gas consumption. I'm doing all this to stop that orange light. For years I have drove my Kizashi around with 40+ psi in my tires to avoid that bright orange light when I would rather reduce the tires to 32psi for a more comfortable ride. When I checked the sensors on my Toyota Sienna the tires are all at about 30psi. I have never changed the air pressure since I bought the Sienna and the TPMS light has never gone on. How can one vehicle allow 30psi and the Kizashi "lights up" at anything under 35psi?

The TPMS was legislated not for environmental reasons but for automotive safety. It was pretty much what came out of the Firestone/Ford Explorer fiasco where the two companies blamed each other while people died but the common denominator was that underinflated tires were the contributors to the accidents. It was in essence Big Brother realizing that mandating crash tests and seat belts were somewhat pointless if people drove around with dangerously low pressure in their tires out of ignorance. TPMS legislation is annoying but far less so than being a victim in an accident that could have been prevented by such a system. Always keep in mind that not all accidents are single vehicle accidents. You can do everything right yet still be the victim of someone else's negligence on the road. TPMS works to mitigate this. Dealing with an annoying light vs losing my legs in an accident; not a hard choice for me.

Personally, the TPMS in my Kizashi has been absolutely flawless. It only warns me with the orange light when the pressure is actually lower and in most cases, alerted me of a slow leak from a nail in the tire. It has essentially been a very useful, error-free tool for me. Also, the recommended tire pressure for the Kizashi is 38 PSI for all four tires for my FWD model and I believe all Kizashi's. Can you then blame the system for going off if you're underinflating them to the low 30's for comfort? If the vehicle is that uncomfortable, blame the type and condition of the tires, not the pressure.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, this thread and most TPMS topics originate in relation to dealing with issues for a second set of wheels and tires given the factory original sensors are on another set of wheels. In essence, it's dealing with TPMS when you have a winter set and the factory TPMS sensors are on the summer set. This then can't be regarded as some sort of error to blame the automaker for if one is trying to get around TPMS with aftermarket parts and calibration procedures. Sure, it would be nice if the process was simpler but it seems like a non-issue for those who run the same set of wheels and tires all year long which would be the domain of the automaker's concern.

All this being said, would be nice to be able to completely disable the feature if absolutely desired but in American society where we constantly like to legally blame others for our self-caused mishaps and incidents, it's not legally feasible for companies to let people do that. People would go after Suzuki and TPMS manufacturers if one was injured or killed by a Kizashi that the driver deliberately turned off TPMS and the cause of the accident was related to low pressure or emergency handling. Having personally seen the automotive forensic assessment in vehicular homicide cases, believe me that experts carefully check the vehicle's systems and conditions upon a fatality accident to determine cause. It's akin to an autopsy to scientifically determine cause.

Like with many annoying automotive systems required by law, the source of it is often protecting people from themselves and also from people blaming others when things go wrong. It just might be what we collectively deserve.

[Ronzuki]

This then can't be regarded as some sort of error to blame the automaker for if one is trying to get around TPMS with aftermarket parts and calibration procedures. Sure, it would be nice if the process was simpler but it seems like a non-issue for those who run the same set of wheels and tires all year long which would be the domain of the automaker's concern.

Completely disagree. No one is trying to get around anything here, UNTIL, the retarded half-baked system can't be made, reasonably, to work properly. Both manufacturers and the clueless lawmakers' total disregard for exception handling, which is very different to "getting around", is one big fat error. Lack of accounting for real world everyday probabilities, would be, an error by design. Intentional or not. Returning something as utterly simple as wheel and valve stems to functioning condition should not require an act of Congress, a special mega-dollar Suzuki (or other) 'tool', or, require owners to be subjected to the on-again-off-again procedure described within this thread to swap wheels and tires from summer to winter. Nor should it require any of the aforementioned to replace a broken or dead sensor. Corroded aluminum stems anyone? ...brilliant concept in foul weather regions. Sensor batteries don't last forever either. Just think how pissed off you'd be if every time you had to change your ignition FOB's battery if it required a several hundred dollar visit to some special 'guy' (if you can find him) w/ the right 'tool' (maybe) to try to reprogram your FOB. That exception was taken into consideration by design right?
Unless, of course, you've lost both FOBs as someone here had.

All of these nifty driver assist systems will be suffering the same sorts of annoyances, or worse, due to lack of exception handling in their designs. So, get used to it. As things get more complicated, so do the solutions to the problems when these marvels won't function. TPMSs are really just the beginning...just wait and see.

[Ronzuki]

Like with many annoying automotive systems required by law, the source of it is often protecting people from themselves and also from people blaming others when things go wrong. It just might be what we collectively deserve.

This 'we' does not need, desire or require a Socialistic approach to his daily existence...sorry dude, not happening.

[KuroNekko]

Like with many annoying automotive systems required by law, the source of it is often protecting people from themselves and also from people blaming others when things go wrong. It just might be what we collectively deserve.

This 'we' does not need, desire or require a Socialistic approach to his daily existence...sorry dude, not happening.

Maybe, but you're already subject to it. After all, you have TPMS and it's because people were dying and those responsible pointed fingers. It's not that I disagree with you. I can see how TPMS can be a major headache for what should be a simple exception. I think there should be a way to turn it off but I also understand why lawmakers made such a system a requirement.

P.S. My girlfriend's Mazda3 has TPMS and some mechanic cracked the valve stem for one of the wheels. Costco replaced and programmed in a brand new replacement for a whopping $15.

[redmed]

"Personally, the TPMS in my Kizashi has been absolutely flawless."
Soon the batteries in your sensors will be dying and you might have a different experience. With reading our experiences here you may be able to avoid.

"The TPMS was legislated not for environmental reasons but for automotive safety. It was pretty much what came out of the Firestone/Ford Explorer fiasco where the two companies blamed each other while people died but the common denominator was that underinflated tires were the contributors to the accidents. "
The genesis of the SUV's (Ford Explorer) was environmental. The government mandated MPG restrictions on car's and exempted trucks. This caused people to choose between small fuel efficient cars or large pickups. The manufactures seeing a opportunity created a vehicle categorized as a truck with car like qualities, hence the SUV was born. Even still today there are small vehicles dwarfed by large Pickups & SUV's.

[Ronzuki]

Costco, of all places...whoda thunk? So they can solve the Kizashi TPMS sensor pairing mystery for 15 bucks a wheel? Great, I'll keep that in mind when the nanny-minder eventually pisses me off. Unfortunately, modern Suzukis don't get to enjoy $15 fixes that other more popular brands may. Certainly nothing electronic based upon posts on this site alone.

Yeah turning off TPMS would be great. Much like I can turn off most all of the BS in the Mazda that wants to do what it wants to the thing while I'm driving down the road. I'm all for it! Better yet, leave the entire TPMS the hell out of the car, stick a nice Blue-Point tire pressure gauge in the glove box for me, lower the car's price, and call it a day. Plain old rubber valve stems, god (gov)-forbid!

My TPMS has been flawless up to this point as well. I haven't had a wheel sensor break yet due to corrosion (because I haven't been driving it in the winter slop last few years) and I only have the factory wheels. But soon it won't be flawless...the batteries will fail and then I'll be extremely annoyed and aggravated by something I don't need or want, and would never rely on. I couldn't tell you what the techno-nanny's annoying 'warning' (for my safety) even looks like and could care less...I keep my air pressures adjusted in everything I own that holds air for multiple reasons. Doing so requires less time, and money, than going somewhere, and waiting, to pay someone, to hopefully fix some sensor I don't need and then hope they don't screw up something else in the process. History has proven my vehicles' reliability remains highest, and annoyance lowest, when they're not being molested by 'professionals'.

[KuroNekko]

Soon the batteries in your sensors will be dying and you might have a different experience. With reading our experiences here you may be able to avoid.

How will I avoid batteries from eventually dying out? I can't hence the sensors will need to get replaced with time... just like brake pads, a clutch, spark plugs, tires, etc. I see it as part of vehicle ownership. Sure, I wish the whole process was easier but it's hardly something to lament life-saving (and fuel saving) technology for. Also, TPMS sensors employ a number of characteristics to conserve power as much as possible. For many people, they will outlast the ownership of the vehicle.

The genesis of the SUV's (Ford Explorer) was environmental. The government mandated MPG restrictions on car's and exempted trucks. This caused people to choose between small fuel efficient cars or large pickups. The manufactures seeing a opportunity created a vehicle categorized as a truck with car like qualities, hence the SUV was born. Even still today there are small vehicles dwarfed by large Pickups & SUV's.

Sorry, but this is flat-out wrong. SUVs predate any consideration for the environment. Heard of the Chevrolet Suburban? It's a classic example of an American SUV and it originated in 1935.
Traditional SUVs are simply trucks with cabins for passengers and cargo. The original Ford Explorer was based on the Ford Ranger and was not car-based at all. It wasn't a truck with car-like qualities but more a truck with a permanent shell and more seats. It was only in its current 5th generation that the Ford Explorer got a unibody and became a CUV. Even then, the Ford D4 platform used by the current Explorer isn't technically car-based as it was specifically made for CUVs and isn't used by any sedan.

Also, if you are aware of vehicle regulations and taxation in many other countries, you'd know that the US has some of the most lax regulations on fuel consumption and emissions in regards to vehicle classification-based fees and taxes. Hence, millions of people drive larger vehicles than needed in America because vehicle classification-based regulations are so loose here. In America, you don't really get penalized for driving a vehicle bigger and more fuel-thirsty than you really need. Consumers largely choose vehicles here considering only gas and vehicles prices when it comes to the economics of buying a certain car. This is part of why SUVs are so popular and why vehicles just keep getting bigger and bigger in the USDM.

[redmed]

I'm not going to argue with you about dates and specific vehicles. The MPG restrictions caused the car manufactures to start making car like vehicles classified as trucks to get around the restrictions. That is why Ford made the Explorer. As you say it was based on the Ford Ranger (A truck) and was made more car like to be acceptable to car people. Since this is a string about the Kizashi TPMS I'm going to get back to our regular programming.

[redmed]

I recently went with Autel MX-Sensors for my Kizashi TPMS system that Autel advertises as supporting 90% of North American vehicles. It seems that our Kizashi falls in the 10%. I have not been able to get the Autel MX-Sensors to be accepted by my Kizashi. The following is excerpts from email correspondence I had with Autel Support:
ME---------------------
I recently bought a Autel MaxiTPMS Pad and a set of Autel MX-Sensors to clone my existing TPMS sensors on my 2010 Suzuki Kizashi. I used “Copy Sensor” on the MaxiTPMS Pad to “Clone” the MX-Sensors to the original sensors and installed the “cloned” sensors on a spare set of rims for my winter tires. After installing the “Cloned” winter set of wheels with the MX-Sensors the cars TPMS error light is flashing indicating the MX-Sensors are not being accepted as the original sensors. I then tried to program the car’s TPMS system to the MX-Sensors but the Suzuki Kizashi will not program to the MX-Sensors. Is there a way to get the MX-Sensors accepted by my car? I don’t want to go through the trouble of removing the sensors from the rims. Would a TS401 tool allow me to clone the sensors without removing the sensors from the rims?
The original sensors are the same as sensors on some Chrysler products. They are made by Continental with “PA66 GF30”, “S18005201SE”, “43130-57l00” and “R001YUA1057” listed on the sensors.
AUTEL SUPPORT-----------------
Dear Sir,

You can deflate all the tire and make sure the tire pressure is below 69Kpa to reprogram the MX-Sensor.

We recommend you read the original set of sensor IDs and spare set of sensor IDs, then compare those two set of IDs, if the IDs are the same, pls show us the picture of the OEM sensor, since the OEM part number listed in our menu is 43130 57L00, we are not 100% sure the sensor is interchangeable with 43130 57I00, and we can not find 43130 57I00 on the internet.
ME---------------------
All the sensors I want to clone are inside the tires of my summer tire set.  Attached is a picture of a Suzuki Kizashi sensor I replaced a year ago.  Please tell me if this sensor is compatible with the MX-Sensor or if I am wasting my time. 
The problem is I could only program the MX-Sensors with the MaxiTPMS Pad when the MX-Sensor was physically laying on the MaxiTPMS Pad.  The MX-Sensors are now installed inside my winter set of tires.  That is why I'm asking if the TS401 would be able to copy a TPMS info and program that info into a MX-Sensor that is inside a tire.
AUTEL SUPPORT---------------------
Dear sir,

The OEM part number of the sensor is 43130 57L00, same to our database. MX-Sensor is compatible with it. Since the signal of MaxiTPMS PAD is not high enough, so, possibly you can not re-program MX-Sensors while they were install in the tire, but we recommend you try it first, we have a pressure restriction while sensor programming, so, do not forget to let the tire pressure below 69Kpa while you are trying to program the sensor. 

If you found MaxiTPMS PAD can not reprogram the MX-Sensors, then, you can buy a TS401 to clone the OEM sensor ID to MX-Sensor, signal of TS401 is high enough. BTW, TS401 has pressure restriction too.
ME---------------------
I purchased a TS508 tool to allow me to do the “TPMS Diagnose” function on my Suzuki Kizashi to allow me to connect to the ECU and read the DTC code that is causing the TPMS light to flash. When doing the “TPMS Diagnose” function I can read the sensors but do not get the “Please connect OBD and turn ignition on” screen. The reason I purchased the TS508 was it’s ability to interact with the ECU. This would allow me to see what problem the MX-Sensors are causing to my Suzuki Kizashi and give me the ability to do the “TPMS Diagnose”and or “Copy by OBD” to clear the error. It appears that the TS508 cannot access the ECU of the Suzuki Kizashi. I have tried using the TS508 on my Toyota Sienna and it connects to the ECU and reads the DTC’s when doing the “TPMS Diagnose” function. I just need it to do the same on my Suzuki Kizashi.

To be clear after reading the sensors the TS508 shows each sensor is working fine (with a green check mark) but the MX-sensors are still causing my TPMS light to flash. I purchased the TS508 to clear this problem but I still have the same problem.
AUTEL SUPPORT-----------------------
Dear sir,

As for this Suzuki Kizashi, OBD relearn is not available. You can clone the OEM sensor IDs to MX-Sensors only.

Are you sure you can read the IDs that store in the ECU, could you pls show me some pictures? Which menu did you used, could you pls show me? Thanks a lot for your time.
ME---------------------
I cannot read the IDs in the ECU of the Suzuki Kizashi.  That is why I bought the TS508 to clear the trouble the MX-Sensors are causing to my car.  The TS508 can do nothing for me but read and write to the MX-Sensors.  I can do that with the MaxiTPMS Pad.  Purchasing theTS508 was  waste of money for  me.  The MX-Sensors have  not been compatible with my Suzuki Kizashi and neither has the TS508.  My trust in Autel products have caused me considerable problems with no solutions. 
AUTEL SUPPORT---------------------
Dear sir,

The vehicle doesn't support OBD functions, that why you can not read IDs from ECU. You can clone the OEM sensor IDs to MX-Sensors to have MX-Sensor works.

Have a nice day

[Ronzuki]

Damn redmed, I'm exhausted from just reading all that! Must have been worse to experience it and then to type it all out. I think I've figured it out for you though...you failed to stand on your head, spin counter-clockwise three times all the while chewing gum and rubbing your groin...that's why it didn't work.