Rick369

I have a 2001 A4 Vert that currently has 55,000 miles. I recently drove from my home in Wisconsin to my home in Florida where the Vert will reside until May 2015. After driving about 400 miles on the first day of my 2 day drive, I got a warning on the DIC, RR tire xxx tire pressure. Stopped for the night and before starting the car the next morning I checked all the tires with my digital tire pressure gauge. The tire pressure in all the tires were right were they should be (32 psi cold). Started the car and all tire pressure monitor sensors were working fine and registered 32 psi. During the second day of driving after about 400 miles again got a warning from the DIC that RF and RR tires xxx tire pressure. Arrived at my home in Florida and again checked the tire pressure the following morning. All read 32 psi cold. For the last 5 days, the tire pressure sensors in all the tires are working fine.

I don't know if the sensors have ever been replaced. I bought the car 9 months ago with 45,000 miles. Are the batteries in the sensors getting weak and about to stop functioning completely soon?

Choreo

If those are the original sensors, they are due to be changed. About 7-10 years is recommended, but some people report having them last longer. I just swapped mine out for the 2nd time in 14 years, but never had one die on me.

1bdvet

I had the same problem with my C6, with tire registering XXXX, the dealership replaced under warranty.
It's time!

4XLR8N

time for new sensors...

MAC5

I had one sensor doing the same thing on my 98.

My car was built in mid Jan 1998 and I replaced all the original sensors in Nov 2010 when replacing the tires. 3 of the 4 were working fine for close to 13 years.

I'd round up 4 new ones and have them all replaced at one time.

Vetteman Jack

with the others. Time to get new sensors and luckily the sensors for your car are the cheaper ones to buy.

thisMSGgood4me

OP, you're getting warning signs that your TPMS sensors are close to going out completely. Time to replace all of them.

roadbike56

OP, If you buy the round magnet needed to train the sensors, you can do the training job yourself. The magnet cost less than hiring someone to do it. I ordered mine from tire rack. BTW, the right rear was the first one to go on my 04. You might want to look for a thread I started not long ago when I ran into a problem when I only replaced two of the sensors. In that thread another forum member posted an excellent description of how to program the sensors, VERY easy. There's also a youtube video, but it's not as detailed about repeating the programming if one of the sensors doesn't program in 15 seconds (first try, you have three tries). If you decide to only replace one sensor, you'll need to know that your other old sensors may take longer to reprogram. Also, you must go all the way around the car and program all four, even if you only replace one. Otherwise the computer does not recognize the changes because it's waiting for feedback from all four wheels. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Hope this helps.

roadbike56

Don't know who sells the OEM Schrader units. I picked mine up from GM Parts House. The local Chevy dealer, Hendrick, wanted almost double what GM Parts House charged.

Rick369

Thanks to all for your feedback. I will be ordering the OEM AC Delco sensors. The best price I found was from Rock Auto at $43.68 each. I will have all 4 replaced next week. I contacted a local auto repair shop that I trust and they provided a labor cost of $80.00 to replace all 4. I don't have the equipment or capability to replace them myself. I will take the instructions for programming the new sensors with me in case the shop isn't familiar with the process on the Corvette.

roadbike56

One more tip that I forgot. I preprogrammed my new sensors before they were installed (tip from another forum member). That way you can be sure they work before you install them. The only catch is, you have to remember which one goes into which wheel.

Rick369

How do you pre-program the sensors?

Rick369

Is it recommended or necessary to also order and install new sensor nuts when replacing the TPMS units. I noticed that the AC Delco sensor nut #15234846 is listed separately from the AC Delco #25773946 TPMS unit.

Lee DeRaud

They're on Amazon for $35 each...caps yes, nut no. Going price over-the-counter is about double that out here too.

thisMSGgood4me

You sit in your driver's seat with the 4 sensors and a magnet, and go through the learn routine. As to remembering which sensor goes to which wheel, simply take a pen and write LF or RF or LR or RR on them, and when the DIC tells you to learn a particular wheel, the one appropriately labeled is the one to learn in that step of the process.

thisMSGgood4me

There should be no reason for having to replace the sensor nuts. Unless the ones on the old sensors are corroded (or otherwise damaged in some way), you should be able to reuse them. They're just nuts, and it's not like they're heavily torqued on that they need to be replaced.

Lee DeRaud

Yup. And the worst that can happen is a couple of them end up installed on the wrong wheel and have to be reprogrammed. The point of the exercise is to verify that all four of them actually work before they get installed.

Rick369

Thanks. Once you put the new sensors through the learn process with the process you provided, I assume you don't have to go through the learn process again once they are installed on each wheel.

Rick369

Do the new AC Delco TPMS come with new caps? If they don't, do you know if Amazon sells OEM chrome metal caps? And thanks for lead on the TPMS units from Amazon. They are cheaper than from Rock Auto.

thisMSGgood4me

Lee is exactly right. If there's a mixup by the installer, no biggie. Just go through the learn process again. And as Lee said, the important thing by "pre-programming" is that you know for a fact all 4 sensors are working before they are installed instead of after (when you could discover one or more may not be working properly, and that's just a PITA when that happens which could have been avoided).