Hey guys I am in the process of putting on a new set of wheels after selling my old ones. Long story short I ended up with 8 brand new GM tpms sensors, part number, 25773946 for 01-04 Corvettes.

I go to get my tires mounted and balanced grab my tpms magnet, scan the first one when doing a tpms relearn it scans in. Go to do the second sensor it won't scan.

I grab one of my loose sensors that I didn't install, it scans in. Go to my next wheel it scans in, go to my last wheel it won't scan. So I end up picking up another loose sensor that I didn't use and it scans in.

I go to discount and the two I couldn't get to scan from home wouldn't scan for them. Dead batteries in two of my new sensors. I go back home grab my 4 loose sensors like I should have done from the start and test all of them. 1 out of 4 of them has a dead battery. Out of 8 brand new GM sensors 3 had dead batteries the sensors are probably God knows how old.

My PSA is that if you are buying new wheels and tpms sensors. Save yourself some headache and do the tpms relearn process with the sensors while they are loose and record which wheel/tire goes to which sensor. If you have a dead sensor you will catch it then and spare yourself from having to pay for mounting and balancing twice, not to mention reduce the risk of damage to your wheels from mounting and balancing more times than you have to.

 

Looks like the sensors were made in 2012 according to the stamp.





I saw home Depot has a 95lb magnet in Stock, think I will drive over there in the vette and give it a shot in hopes it's just a stuck valve then that needs some more power.

 

I gave the 95lb magnet a shot no luck, also went to chevy and discount tire to have them try. No luck.

Going to have to have discount swap in two of the sensors I was able to scan I had lying around. I have recorded which wheel they are going to.

Discount said they shouldn't need to re-balance the tire they just have to separate the top bead and pull the sensor out and put the new one in.

Moral of the story for myself and for others is that if you are using brand new tpms sensors on wheels, do yourself a favor and try the tpms relearn process with the TPMS not installed first. I bought a schrader magnet to see if that made a difference before going to discount but got the same results I did with a speaker magnet. If the sensors scan in, record each wheel the sensor goes to and when you get the sensors installed on your wheels you should be good to go without having to do the relearn process after the wheels get mounted. If you can't get the sensors to scan in loose, I would swap them out for different ones you can scan in.

 

Struggling with this problem myself. Wish I saw your PSA before! Right now I can't get any of the 4 new sensors (aftermarket Oro-Tek units with 2016 date codes on each) to scan in and they're already mounted and balanced. Tire shop tried with no luck after they had mounted the tires. The local Chevy dealer tried also, claiming they got 3 to work but one was not responding, but the DIC still indicates none of them are working. Still at square one. I'm going to attempt to relearn the old sensors in my other set of wheels and see what happens. If they sync up, then I know something is wrong with the new ones.

 

Aren't cars fun ???

 

I've done enough modding over the years to know never underestimate the simplest of tasks. Just hate when it comes to tires and alignment. I don't have a balancer or alignment rack and never will to do the job myself.

Like I said in my original post, the sensors I purchased were all brand new OEM. 3 out of 8 sensors would not turn on, part number 25773946.

Whether you buy new OEM, used OEM, or aftermarket TPMS sensors, verify you can perform the relearn process with them prior to getting them installed. Takes 2 minutes and will save you time and money from additional trips to the tire store if they don't work.

 

My mistake, for those type of aftermarket sensors I guess the only way to know is to have them mounted and balanced, then let out 10psi of pressure. In that case I would not recommend purchasing those type of sensors.

On ebay you can get a used set of OEM for 40$, if I could do it again, I would have just purchased those, verified they worked and called it good.

For reference this is how you perform a TPMS calibration...

 

The saga continues regarding my sensors. Just took my car for a short 5 mile drive after having sensors swapped out from discount, one of my new sensors on the rear right will not read over 14psi despite checking with two mechanical gauges showing 34psi.

On my front right the sensors refuses to display over 2 psi. All sensors scanned in via magnet/horn.

At this point I have no choice but to take my car to the stealership for the first time since owning the car to get them to swap in two new tpms sensors and do it to the tune of 250$. So pissed, have built my own motor in the car but can't overcome this issue.

Any other suggestions for me to try given the sensors all scan in with a magnet?

 

I've tried doing the relearn process twice to no avail, every tire triggers the horn to honk during relearn process but I haven't been able to get Front right to show over 2psi and rear driver to show over 14psi.

Couple of strategies I'm planning to try is to disconnect battery negative, plug back in. Perform relearn process. Jack up front right wheel and let all air out of tire. Start car, with car running, fill up tire to 35psi. Lower car, drive for 20 minutes. See how it goes.

Will then try to doing the same in the rear passenger side wheel and see how it goes. Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

Glad you posted this, although I wouldn't wish to be the guy figuring it out for the rest of us.

I had been waiting to buy sensors with new wheels, and figured to just eat the tire rack cash vouchers I purchased at a charity auction. It didn't seem worth the trouble , since tire rack is presently short on stock c5 size wheels , I will probably buy somewhere else.

Now I see trouble might not be avoided, and buying uninstalled is a more solid choice. I was concerned about the balance, so a package deal had some advantages. In theory only, it seems.

Thanks for the heads up, had this problem come up for me , I would have had to figure it out from a point of no clues, where do I start. Thanks.

 

After performing the steps I suggested. One of the two sensors has actually gotten worse, instead of reading 14, it's now reading 2....

To add insult to injury I didn't know there was a date stamp on the sensors until 8V enlightened me. On two of the sensors that I had pulled yesterday that wouldn't scan in, they were made in 2004, that means all 4 sensors I initially had installed on the wheels came from 04...

Currently on my car, the front driver side front wheel and rear passenger wheel have sensors on them from 04. The front driver side wheel currently is working, I can't imagine that is going to last very long. The front passenger not working has a sensor in it made from 2012.

I'm going to call chevy and find out if they have a way to ensure I'm getting sensors made from this year.

 

Called two Chevy dealers and they said they would not know what date the sensors were made until receiving them. Any proven aftermarket sensors I could be pointed to?

 

After doing some research I found that Amazon has a lot of negative reviews on the part number I ordered by people who ran into the same issue I did. I believe 20% of people who bought the sensors from them gave it 1 star over receiving 10+ year old sensors that don't work. The majority of people with negative reviews on Amazon said that Amazon did not fulfill the order that it came from 3rd Party. Sure enough both of my orders were 3rd Party, One came from Germany and the other the states.

I found that Schrader makes the sensors used by delco and have the date stamp on them as they are the same parts. The schrader part number is 20117. Also found autozone carries Schrader 20117 locally, called and asked what the date stamp was, one was made in 2013, the other 2016. Definitely going to pick up both.

Amazon is fulfilling a back order tomorrow of Schrader 20117 sensors. Ordered 3 of those, and am hoping they are stamped 2016 when I get them. My plan now is to make sure to have 3 of the newest schrader sensors I can find, ideally all stamped 2016, then give the merry go round another turn.

 

I gave the deflation method a try and it was a no go. I'm going to try a few other things and if I find something that works I will post it up. I've had one dealership quote me $115 per wheel to program. I could probably buy the scan tool and do them myself at that price! Another service manager told me that '98 Corvettes didn't have TPMS, and another tech standing nearby "confirmed" his statement. I quickly turned around and left.

 

Very good advice about programming the sensors prior to having them installed in the wheels. It sure could save a lot of frustration. Hope you get a set of sensors that will work right on your car.

 

Blackmachdown suggested that if I can find someone or purchase a tech 2 knock off I can turn the flag off on my 01 BCM to not use TPMS. Only 01-04 have ECUs with the parameter to allow the deletion of TPMS. I was initially concerned about this because I thought TPMS were used for active handling but that is only the case when it detects you have a flat tire, AH will attempt to limit your top speed.

In addition to that found a thread where someone made a small PVC canister with a cap on one end, and drilled holes to fit their tpms sensor valve stems through on the other end. They then sealed the canister. The person, then synced the sensors with the car, pressurized the canister to 35psi and leaves it in a storage cubby in the trunk. Would be a way to test the sensors in action to definitively know if they will work if you wanted to try it, or be a permanent solution if you don't want to mount tpms.

Lastly the sensors in 01-04 transmits at 315hz. That is all the data/options I have collected while researching this issue thus far.

Given I can pick up a knock off tech 2 for not much more than the costs of tpms sensors and mounting them and I don't have to risk damaging my wheels by going through this mounting process again, deleting the TPMS sensors with a tech 2 seems like the front runner option.

Best part about using the Tech 2 is that I can do this myself and not have to rely on a shop damaging my wheels mounting the sensors to them.

If there are any other options/concerns on traversing the recurring issue for many members, which is putting in working TPMS sensors or getting their BCM to recognize them I'm all ears.

Comically for the last week now I have a top speed of 55mph with my 700whp+ vette on drag radials, nicest looking moped on the road. Couple pics of the wheels I'm trying to get squared away on the road....

 

Talked to my tuner, he did not have a tech 2 in the shop. He said that if I did find one to borrow, the flash from the tech 2 for tpms delete onto my BCM would also blow away the tune he gave me and go back to a stock tune.

Given my custom tune is scaled for larger injectors and I have the cam, on a stock tune with my hardware I may not be able to limp over to his shop without getting towed. He would then have to reflash my ecu and put my car back on the dyno to ensure it took the tune and was running safely, making that option cost prohibitive.

Next option I'm going to try is buying the schrader sensors, re-learn them with my bcm and making a canister to put them in and hope the tpms warning goes away after pressurizing to 35psi, then leave them in the trunk. Assuming this works, in a couple months I would ultimately take the tpms sensors out of the canister and get them mounted to the wheels.

 

Awesome info 8V, thank you! To confirm, with tech 2, I could grab my current PCM map and save it so I have a backup of my tune, which I would want to do first just in case. But it can't change the the PCM map or flash any version of the map or just a different version?

Is the file format of the PCM saved from tech 2 compatible with hp tuners? Then I could make the BCM change and disable the TPMS flag on that map, save that setting and my PCM map will be unadultered. It would be obvious, after starting the car if the fuel was not scaled for my 60lb injectors.

 

Sigh... https://tpms247.com/
Just put 4 of these in, Discount Tire had them all programmed within 45 seconds. Don't spend that extra $$. Magnet doesn't work on them, required Discount Tire's handheld scanner but worked perfectly and they funtion perfectly. Hope this helps.

 

In 2014 when I had my 2001 Navy Blue vert, 2 of my TPMS went dead. I figured the other 2 weren't far behind. I ordered 4 new AC Delco TPMS from Amazon. When I got them, I checked the manufacture date on each of them. The oldest was 6 months old. I took them to a local tire shop and they charged me $20.00 per tire to install them. I also ordered the Schrader donut magnet and had all 4 tires programmed in 10 minutes. Easy process and never had an issue with the new AC Delco TPMS.