OK. How do I get the tire sensors to go into the computer? The left rear tire is reading zero and I don't know how to reset it.........and before you tell me that the sensor is bad- it's not. It just needs to be reset. So, how do I do that? Or, do I have to take it to a dealer for special gauges? Thanks.

 

The dealer (or tire store) has a tool that sets up the tpms. I recently had a defective tpms replaced in my 2010 ZR1, and watched them do it. You shouldn't have a problem getting this done, and I'd be surprised if there was any charge for it.

 

When they put my two new front tires on last week the front right tire read zero when they pulled the car out of the garage. They got that one working, but then the front left read zero.They finally got that one reading but the left rear started reading zero and they didn't even touch that tire to begin with. So, they worked on it for about 30 minutes and then gave up on it and told me to take it to a dealer. It has read zero since.......Paragraph......I didn't have time to get it to a dealer before I left for vacation. So, I was wondering if there was anyway I could do it- or if a dealer had to do it. So, I guess I'll have to take it to a dealer. I know that the car (traction system) will not go into the COMPETITION MODE if it senses a tire failure. So, thanks.

 

Do you have a "Discount Tire" store near you ? They have the reset tool. In fact, any good tire store should have the reset tool. Unlike some cars, our tpms does not reset simply by driving it.

 

with Mikey!!

It's a simple one minute procedure to register all the sensors into the TPMS computer.

However, I looked in your profile and it says your C6 is a 2005 - is that correct???

If so, when was it built???

If it's an early '05 built prior to about Sept 2004, then you may have tire pressure sensors that can be triggered by a magnet.

Take a look at the video below - if your sensors can be triggered by a magnet you would put car into the learn mode just like in the video (ignition to ACC, push and hold both the "lock" and "unlock" buttons on the fob until you get a honk of the horn), then use a STRONG magnet (a refrigerator magnet won't do it, but a speaker magnet or the magnet on the bottom of a shop parts bowl will) to trigger each sensor in the order shown in the video (Left Front, RF, RR, LR). You need to get a honk at each wheel (double honk at the LR) or it didn't work - the honk is confirmation that the sensor was triggered, sent out its data, and that data was stored properly in the memory of the TPMS computer in the car.

You must trigger the first (Left Front) sensor within one minute of putting the car into the learn mode or it will time out, so don't put the car into the learn mode until you're ready to start triggering the sensors.

Also, be careful - you can lock the fob in the car if you leave it in the cockpit and close the door!!! I always just leave the door open.

You can try it - you won't mess up anything if it doesn't work.

If it doesn't work just take it to Discount Tire and they can use their TPMS tool to do the programming. I wouldn't bother with a dealer - they'd probably put you in line behind 5 other cars in for service and charge you to do it, so it would take half a day and cost you $10-$50!!!

Bob


Here's a video where I'm using a TIP Tool to program the sensors:




And here's a video that shows a magnet being used to trigger sensors on my early 2005 C6:

 

J Willis,

Please let us know how everything goes at the dealer!

Evan, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

My 07 does this when I break it out from mothballs every year. I don't use a charger as I like to simply remove the batter - cable. The sensors reconnect and display the right PSI for me once I drive a short distance. Not sure if that would work for you.

 

Mine was built in October of 04 (on the door). #5300. I remember the guys who installed the two front tires tried all of this. At first the right front tire needed to be set, then the left front. But then the left rear kicked out and they couldn't get it set. Maybe they were not doing it in the right order. I remember the guy was pushing both buttons on the FOB and they had to use a magnet on the left front to get it to work. But the left rear went out and they never even worked on it or changed it to begin with. All they changed were the front two tires. I have a really strong magnet, so I'll try this today and see what happens. I'll let you know. Thanks.

 

OK. I tried this and it would not work. I turned on the ACC mode, hit the two buttons on the FOB- got the horn honk, but when I held the magnet up to the first (left front) valve- the horn wouldn't honk. My 6" long magnet should be strong enough because it grabs onto a 32" metal door and won't let loose. So, it must be something else. All of the tires read pressure (on the dash) except for the left rear when I start the car. I still get the "monitor sensor mode" message when I start the car. All of the tires were working before I had the two front tires put on. So, I don't know why all of a sudden the left rear tire quit. They did not even touch that tire, or the other rear tire to begin with. So, I have time now. I'll take it somewhere and get it fixed. Thanks.

 

I wonder what would happen if I disconnected the battery for an hour or so and put it back on. Maybe they might reset themselves??

 

If your car was built in Oct '04 then I suspect you have the newer sensors that must be triggered with a TPMS tool.

You say "they had to use a magnet on the left front to get it to work" - does that mean that they got a honk of the horn when attempting to trigger it with the magnet??? If so, then you do have the early sensors that will respond to a magnet.

The procedure will work no matter in what order you trigger the sensors - but the DIC display of pressures just won't correspond to the the actual location.

The first sensor triggered is logged into the TPMS memory as the LEFT Front, the second as the RF, the third as the RR, and the last one as the LR.

If you replace one sensor, you have to do the entire programming procedure - you can't just do the one new sensor.

Once the car is in the learn mode and you trigger the Left Front and get a honk indicating its ID# was logged into the TPMS memory, all other sensor ID #'s for the other locations are wiped out of memory. You must continue and do all 4 of the sensors and get a double horn honk at the left rear to complete the procedure so you have all 4 sensors in the TPMS memory.

If the shop put the car into the learn mode and only triggered the 2 front sensors, yes - the rear sensors Will have been wiped out of memory and won't show any pressure in the DIC.

Once in the learn mode you have 1 minute to trigger the first sensor or the learn mode will time out and you will be unable to register any sensors until you put the car back into the learn mode. The entire procedure must be completed in 5 minutes.

I would go back to the shop and get them to use their TPMS tool to trigger the sensors. The newer sensors that you probably have will not respond to a magnet.

Whether they can be triggered with a magnet, a tool, or buy changing air pressure (as sensors in the 2010 and early 2011 can be triggered), you MUST DO ALL FOUR every time you do the relearn procedure.

The early sensors that I have will respond to either a magnet or the radio frequency transmission from a tool.

If your sensors are 8 years old now, I would suspect that you just have one or more in which the battery in the sensor is getting weak or is dead, and you probably should consider a new set.

Disconnecting the battery won't do anything. Sensors do not "reset themselves" in GM vehicles - you must put the car into the learn mode and trigger each and all sensors and get a honk at each wheel (double honk at the Left Rear). The honks are confirmation that the sensor ID #'s were properly logged into the TPMS memory.

BTW, in your original post you said the left rear was reading zero and that it just needed to be reset. Actually, when a sensor starts reading zero when there is pressure in the tire, it DOES mean the sensor is on its way out. When it's totally shot you'll get an "xx psi" reading, but when the battery is getting very weak you start to get "0 psi" readings and probably need a new sensor

Good luck!!!

Bob

 

The magnet procedure doesn't work for C6's.....trust me, I have an early '05. You need to have a dealer service dept. reset the sensors.....they have the proper tool & can do the job in 15 minutes or less for all four wheels. I had it done when I swapped wheels & tires....no cost from a very accomodating service manager (Konner Chevrolet in W. Caldwell NJ).

 

They did use the TPMS tools to reset the tires. When they first pulled the car out of the garage, the right front was reading nothing, so they reset it. Then the left front said nothing and they used the TPMS meter to reset it. But for some reason the left rear tire started reading zero and they could not get a reading. It still says nothing. They didn't replaced any of the sensors. All of the sensors that are in the tires now are the ones I drove into the tire store with and all off them were working before they replaced the two front tires. They did not touch the two rear tires. I remember they did use a magnet on the left front tire. Whether it made the sensor start working, I don't know. But they did have two TPMS meters and a magnet that they were using. They also plugged in a meter under the dash and they still could not figure out why the left rear tire was still saying nothing. The screen is blank on that spot.

 

Any good tire shop should be able to reset them within 3 minutes tops. Skip the dealer. I have a tire sensors that sometimes reads 0 when I start up the car. It goes away after rolling for a while. I think this is indicative of a low battery in the TPMS.

 

If I get a chance, I'll just take it to a dealer sometime and see what they say. Sorry, for being such a pain, guys. Thanks for the help.

 

Did you watch my second video post #5???

If so, you can see me programming sensors on my early 2005 by using a magnet to trigger the sensors!!!

And you could also see that the procedure actually takes only about 60 seconds!!

If you look at that video you can see me triggering the sensors in my 2005 C6 with a magnet.

As I've said in that post, those sensors only came in a C6 that was probably built before September 2004.

In the beginning of that video you can see two sets of sensors on the ground before I start the programming procedure - 2 are square black sensors, and 2 are gray peanut shaped sensors.

The black square sensors are the ones used in the 2004 and early 2005 Cadillac XLR as well as the early 2005 C6 built before about September 2004.

If your C6 was built before about September 2004 and the sensors won't respond to a magnet, then they were probably replaced with the newer ones sometime throughout the years.

Here's another video where I recently got a couple sets of the magnetically triggered sensors. My old 2005 (which is in that video where i use a magnet to program the sensors) is now owned by my brother-in-law and he was having trouble with a sensor and wanted to replace it with a similar one that would work with a magnet - so I hunted around and actually got 2 sets.

I sent him one set, and I have the other set of 4 sensors available if someone wants them. Here's a video I made last month when checking the sensors that I got - and you can see me programming the sensors into my 2009 ZR1 by triggering the sensor with a magnet:




So, bottom line......

• The sensors in an early C6 can be triggered by a magnet
  
  
• The procedure takes about 1 minute to program the sensors into the TPMS memory
  
  
• I have a set of 4 of those magnetically triggered sensors for sale (one of the sets in that video above - and all the sensor batteries check "Batt OK")
  
  
• I also have a couple of those TPMS tools available if anyone needs one

Bob

 

I can see that you are doing it with a magnet. But mine won't work with one. Maybe they were changed over the years. I just bought the car last October. Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

Well, I finally got tired of my tire sensor warning kicking on and my service traction control warning coming on every time I drove my car- so I took it in yesterday and they fixed it. I took it to Rose Automotive (it used to be Rose Chevrolet) in Hamilton, Ohio and they reset the left rear tire sensor that kept reading zero. They did a fantastic job and I was tickled to death. A lot of the dealers who lost their dealership but stayed in business and continue to do good business should be commended for the great work they do..........

 

I had this same problem. I had to take mine to the dealer's too. They finally had to put two of mine back in that the tire dealer messed up.