I asked my local Chevy dealer to install 4 new Michelin Pilot Sport ZP tires that I purchased from Tire Rack on my 04 Vette with 34k miles on the original tires. 3 days later I'm told the car is ready. Pay the bill and start the car to leave, but I'm hit with warnings from the DIC that the tire pressures are LOW. I reset the warnings and drive the car a short distance but the L P warnings still persist. I leave the car with the dealer thinking maybe the installer didn't air up the tires correctly, or maybe they had a leak of some sort. I'm told later that all 4 of my TPS's had bad batteries at the young age of 4 years old. Giving the dealer the benefit of doubt, I agree to buy 4 new sensors. I'm called on day 5 of this ordeal and told I need a new remote control module. For some unknown reason it is not reading the TPS units.

What gives? Did this dealer break my original TPS units and install the wrong part? or is there another reason for this failure right after installing new tires?

 

Did your key fob work when you picked up your car?

The key fob and TPSs share the same receiver.

But, your didn't have to pay for new TPSs, correct? Series II sensors should last 10 years.

 

Everything was in working order when I left the car. No issues with the sensors before now. The Door remote did work when I picked up the car because I had to use the memory function to reset the seat and steering wheel so I could get behind the wheel.

The dealer told me they tried a new sensor before installing it by connecting the reset tool to it while standing next to the car. They claim it worked in the test mode, but after installing the new TPS in the wheel it no longer communicated to the car's computer.

 

I had my PS2s installed at the dealer. In the process one of my TPS sensors was "broken". Technician DID NOT follow the Service Manual procedure of deflating the tire, REMOVING THE TPS SENSOR by unscrewing the nut and allowing it to go into the wheel and tire BEFORE using the tire mounting machine to break the rim. Had GY EMT runflats on the wheels. Technician sheepishly said that he would NOW remove the TPS sensor and if it looked good I would have to BUY an new one. I said I needed to talk to the Service Manager.
When we met in his office I told him the mechanic broke the tire beads without following the procedure in the Corvette Service Manual. He had a computer display and a digital phone on his desk. I looked at them and said that if I dropped them on the floor, with less force than it took to break the berads on my tires, they MIGHT WORK or MIGHT NOT. He said he was convinced. The dealership ATE the cost of the TPS which listed for about $135.00.
I DID pay for the mounting and balancing not for ANYTHING ELSE.
They would NOT have to relearn the TPS sensors if they had not wrecked one of them.
If they BREAK something NOT broken when you go in then THEY are responsible to FIX it and return your vehicle in the same condition as when you brought it in. If the DIC wasn't displaying error messages which would pop up right after starting the car and driving it even into the service area then thats PROOF that the system and the TPS sensors were operating when you came into the dealership.
DO NOT PAY for someone else to WRECK YOUR CAR.
If he refuses to fix it for FREE (I am not saying you shouln't pay for the mounting and balancing) have them contact the Zone manager or Detriot. Take legal action thru small claims court if that fails.
Any corporation appearing in small claims court MUST have CORPORATE LEGAL COUNSEL at the trial. It will be cheaper for them to return your car to the same condition it was BEFORE they wrecked it.
BIGHANK

 

Let me get this straight ....

It took them THREE DAYS to mount a set of tires ???????? Are you out of your mind .... that's a 1 hour job, maximum, at Joe's Tire and Hair Styling Shop ...... How could you possibly accept that it took that long ???

Then they give you the car and you leave the dealer with TIRE PRESSURE WARNINGS ?????? You walk back into the dealer ... grab the moron Service Manager by the scruff of his neck ... sit him in the car and show him he has IDIOTS for Service people and you expect a job done right the first time.

Now you've let the dealer convince you to buy 4 new sensors .... at this point I'm starting to wonder who's the idiot in this scenario ......

THINK ABOUT IT ...... IF THE TPMS WERE SAYING LOW PRESSURE .... THEY WERE WORKING ........ They would show an air pressure of XXX and you'd be seeing "SERVICE TPMS SYSTEM' when you first started the car if they weren't working or the RFA was not working.

GET YOUR CAR BACK FROM THE DEALER .... REFUSE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING .... They owe you a car with a working set of tire sensors .... at no charge to you ... they OBVIOUSLY damaged the sensors and/or RFA.

DOCUMENT NOW what is happening ..... Call the dealerrship and ask for the OWNER and politely but firmly explain what has happened. If you get no satisfaction, look into your local TV stations and/or newspaper and see if they have a "consumer hotline" to help you.

YOU ARE BEING RIPPED OFF BIG TIME .... and you're an idiot if you continue to put up with this BS.

Post here the name and location of this "stealership" .... that is one big bunch of scumballs.

 

Sounds like the dealer is giving you a colonoscopy.

 

Your letting them take advantage of you

 

I'm willing to bet the dealership broke your TPS sensors either when they dismounted the old tires or mounted the new ones. Not all GM vehicles have TPS. If the Tech is not use to changing tires on Corvettes, its easy to break or damage them - giving you a false reading.

They should replace them at their expense. If they're not familiar with TPS sensor mounting procedures, then they likely don't know how to reprogram the new TPS sensors after installation and mounting of the new tires, which again would give you false readings.

Sounds like you need to find a new dealership. If the TPS is missing or not working (dead), you would see XXX on the DIC. If new TPS sensors were properly installed but not programmed, you would see some air pressure reading, but inaccurate.

 

I thought all 2006+ cars are required to have TPS?

 

You may be right - probably comes down to lack of attention to detail and care by the tech.

 

Nah, Congress could NEVER do something that simple .....

From this website - these are the guys that make the TPMS for our Corvettes ( http://www.schrader-bridgeport.com/ )

Congress passed the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentations Act, also called the TREAD Act, in 2000 in response to a major recall of defective tires that created unsafe driving conditions.

The TREAD Act mandates that new vehicles less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, sold in the United States, be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems, or TPMS, beginning with the 2006 model year.

The TREAD Act requires vehicle manufacturers to equip 20 percent of their 2006 model year vehicles with TPMS. The number increases to 70 percent of 2007 model vehicles, and to 100 percent of all 2008 model vehicles.

It is still inexcusable that a dealer has employees who don't know how to mount/dismount tires that have rims with TPMS in them ....