Just wondering if anyone else has continued with a functional TPMS system and OEM sensors and has RECENTLY gone to a Chrysler dealership to have a relearn procedure done after getting new sensors.

I called at least 4 local dealers and all but one quoted me an hour labor. One of them originally said it would be 1/2 labor when I first called and then quoted me an hour when I called back to make an appointment. After I pointed that out they said they would do it for 1/2 hour charge earlier, they agreed to do it for 1/2 hour charge. Anyway, this dealer is one that I don't particularly like or trust though I had never conducted any business transaction with them before. Their labor rate is $140/hr probably because they offer extra frills (lifetime oil changes, loaner cars, lifetime engine, etc.) to their regular customers (i.e., the ones that buy their cars there). So I'm thinking $70 is more than the service should really cost, but cheaper than paying $120 or more somewhere else. So I had them do the service, which seems to have done the trick - no more annoying TPMS light.

However, my visit was still a little annoying because the dealer had to borrow a part from another dealer (I am assuming the DRB III Crossfire software card?) which they didn't have when I arrived and told them that I had informed them when making my appointment that I would wait for my car. It was two hours until the car was ready because they actually had someone drive 10 miles each way to pick the Crossfire-specific item up. When I got my bill it was actually for approximately $87 which was a little irritating but I didn't comment. It turns out they charged for various bogus extras ($1 electronic storage fee?,$7 documentation fee?, $8 supplies fee?, and $1 environmental fee?). Kind of ridiculous, no?

I'd be curious to learn what anyone else has recently paid.

Also, since my Crossfire had not been to a dealer's service center in close to 10 years, I was disappointed by the extent to which Chrysler and its dealers are seemingly abandoning the Crossfire when they no longer even own the tools specific to the car. I can't really think of anything other than TPMS relearning that would require my return anyway, so at worst it's once a decade, or until I join the TPMS disable crowd.

 

I would love to be able to capture the signals that trigger the TPMS in the homelink console to go to relearn. I am a big fan of the system, but only when end users can actually use the system. And now that since 2008 it is a Federal law for all cars to have it, they should be standardized eventually. I have some plans which looked promising, but no luck so far.

 

Thank you for your very detailed post. I'd be curious to have you share what you feel your total expense was to restore your TPMS system to working condition . . . ie:

Cost of 4 replacement TPM sensor units (please tell us which brand and part number units you bought)
Cost to have the 4 new TPM sensors installed in your wheels including trip to / from the tire store and time there
Your Time / effort / expense to phone the stealership, make the appointment / take your car there / wait / go back home
Actual charge at the dealership

 

I bought the original equipment - Schrader 20028. The 4 new sensors were a closeout of manufacturer's older stock at Rock Auto so instead of a one year warranty they only had a 30 or 90 day warranty (I forget which). They were a total of around $80 for all four. I expect that they will still provide around 8 years of service. If I'm lucky, I will be able to replace them preventatively next time I replace tires (my original Michelin PS2s lasted 11.5 years, lol, though they looked pretty ragged the last few years).

I did not pay anything extra to have the new sensors installed; it was part of the mounting and balance charge ($30 per wheel) by the tire installer. However, since they left a couple scrapes from their mounting machine (a modern one that is fully capable of mounting large diameter, low profile tires), I let the owner know, and ended up paying $60 for all four. I can live with the scratches vs. needing to have them fixed right away. I did not leave the Crossfire at the installers location. Instead, I removed one wheel a day, cleaned it up real well (so they would see how well I care for the car and hopefully be more careful), and dropped it and the new tire off in the morning on my way to work (driving my other vehicle). In total, I spent maybe 30 minutes at the tire shop over a three days, half of which was talking calmly with the owner about the scratches his kid left on the rear wheels. I also spent close around 1/2 an hour total driving the 3 mile repeated trip to the installer.

Making an appointment at dealership only took a few minutes. It was 15 min each way to get there and back. I waited two hours for the TPMS relearn procedure - though much of the wait was because they had to have a courier go get the crossfire software from another dealer. The actual charge for the TPMS relearn was $87 (within a few pennies - i don't have the receipt in front of me).

So my total cost (within a few dollars) was;
4 Bridgestone Pole Position S-04 tires (including shipping from tire rack, and including $70 rebate Visa card) = $660
4 Schrader 20028 TPMS sensors = $80
4 Tire mounting/balance, sensor installation = $60
relearn TPMS = $87

Total cost ~ $897

 

Thank you for sharing your information on the TPMS. Most of the dealers in Boston area don't know how to get them to work. Probably don't have the equipment that you mentioned.

 

As a side note, I may have more information on TPMS after this weekend. I need 1 more trip to the junk yard, or an eBay purchase.

 

Just a little note here, the 20028's were not OEM parts, they are actually after market parts made by the same maker that came out some time after the Crossfire ceased production but do replace the some of the OEM parts, namely the '04, '06, '07 and '08 years.
The '05 years seemingly had a different part which appears to be the 20066 part.

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I guess it would be more accurate to say OEM-style.

 

I had mine done by tire rack !

 

Ed, please explain how Tire Rack was able to perform a relearn procedure on new TPMS sensors for your Crossfire.

 

I pulled the wire off the upper console and never have looked back. Dont have it on several cars, just a PITA to me. WW

WDY

I have had 4 different sets of wheels / tires for street and autocrossing and swapping them around served to cause the light on all the time, Not going to play that game.

 

I thought about doing that myself, but figured I would keep everything operating per spec this time around.

One question I would have for anyone who has disabled the TPMS is what do you do if you sell the car? Do you disclose it verbally or in writing to the buyer? Pay several hundred $ to have new sensors installed and relearned? Just reconnect the malfunctioning system so that the MIL is illuminated? Do nothing?

The last one could potentially open the seller up to some serious liability in the event of an incident where the TPMS sensor may have provided warning, but is determined to have been disabled. Do state inspections check for a properly functioning TPMS system? Just curious.

 

I live close by so drove there so tire rack put my tires on & used their computer to hook up & reset my new tpms that I bought from them

 

They also did my Toyota truck when I bought new tire & rims they sold me new sensors & reset them so I didn't have to go to Toyota dealer !! Thanks tire rack !

 

TPMS is triggered by a magnet or by a 125kHZ signal. The tough part is getting the car into "learn mode."

 

If you replaced the sensors did you use the ones known to work on the Crossfire?

 

'05s were VIN specific and Chrysler has poor records. By my VIN I was told I needed the 20066 part but by triggering them I knew they were the 20028 part. Frequencies are different.

 

Please tell us the part number sensor they used? I ask because NOTHING but the DRBIII has been known to put the cars computer into learn mode. Knowing the sensor part number will tell us if they put programable sensors on. Were they $20-30 each or $50-60 Each?

 

If I were looking at two cars, one with working TPMS knowing the owner maintained them or a car where the light was disabled all else equal I would go with the working system car. The nonworking TPMS car would need to be WAY better priced not to repair the TPMS but as a reflection of potential other lack of maintenance.

 

Ed, so it looks like you live close to the South Bend, IN distribution center which also happens to be the only place where Tire Rack performs installations on vehicles. In that case, I am assuming that Tire Rack must have a DRB III scan tool and the Crossfire-specific software and multiplexer that a Chrysler dealer would have. There is nothing, other than cost, preventing any tire shop from having the proper equipment to interface with the Crossfire TPMS. But it is certainly a rarity for anyone outside Chrysler dealerships to be so equipped.

Did Tire Rack charge you for conducting the relearn? If so, how much? Or was the cost wrapped up in the installation charge?