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There are two types of Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors (TPMS) in the automobile market: wifi type and bluetooth type. Wifi TPMS is always used as original equipped in all brands except Tesla.

Bluetooth TPMS first appear in Tesla Model 3 and new Tesla Model Y in the year 2020 and later. It was supposed act as low energy which indirectly implies TPMS batteries should last longer. But it seems it’s not the case. Tesla (year 2021) owner, especially Tesla Model 3, had one to three TPMS ran out of juice recently (and getting more)

5 years of usage. This is surprisingly faster than the Wi-Fi TPMS which most of them can last for more than 8 years and above.

How to check if your Tesla TPMS is not original Tesla TPMS?

One day, a Tesla vehicle owner brought two TPMS sensors (possibly from Taobao) for replacement. One of them does not work. He questioned me about the misplacement the technician had done as he saw one of the TPMS (taken out) does not have Tesla logo imprinted on it.

One easy way is to check your color of the nozzle. If it is black, I am sure it’s already being replaced before. Brand new Tesla vehicle normally comes with grey or silver tire nozzle (refer images below).

If you believe your TPMS is not replaced by the new one, check the old one if the nozzle is clean or dirty. White color powder (caused by oxidation) usually appear on the nozzle.

How to check if your TPMS needs to be replaced?

Your tire pressure warning light is on. Your monitor shows your tire pressure last update date possibly 1 – 2 days ago or longer. Yes, it’s time for replacement.

Can I replace the battery of the TPMS instead purchasing a new one?

No. TPMS is tightly sealed such that it is waterproof and dust resistance. Though, it got a small hole to detect psi of the tire. Hence, adding liquid like tire sealant highly likely destroy the TPMS.

Why my new TPMS brought from Taobao does not work?

Not all Bluetooth TPMS are created equal. I have heard a person replaced his TPMS on another store, and none of them work.

I had this experience one time where the sensor works at the beginning, and it stops working after sometimes. Then it starts working again. I refunded that TPMS at the end. That is the only time when I got an issue with the TPMS. The reason? The factory I cooperated with did not have any discovery. Afterall, all others are working.

How much is a new Tesla Bluetooth TPMS cost in HK?

According to my customers sharing, Hong Kong Tesla offers $600/sensor under vehicle warranty, and $1200/sensor for original price.

Taobao offers around HK$70/sensor. Installation may cost around HK$150 for one. Total HK$230.

Since it’s getting more Tesla drivers in need for Tesla TPMS replacement, I am going to offer a promotional discount for HK$300/sensor (include installation*), with one year warranty* (Tyrehood existing customers with 2 years warranty*). If the TPMS does not work, I will replace a new one for free.

*Terms and conditions apply

I wonder if Tesla offer warranty for their TPMS.

Even the original Tesla bluetooth TPMS cannot last 10 years…..

Do you need an original Tesla TPMS?

Short answer: No.

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The technology behind Bluetooth TPMS

If you study electrical engineering or play with Arduino/Raspberry, you can skip this.

Bluetooth TPMS is no different from your everyday IoT devices. It is served as a media to send and receive signal. For Tesla TPMS, it only “sends” data to the car computer (ECU) to reflect psi on the monitor.

Bluetooth has a unique key that can set such that receiver and sender will only show the data on the monitor if the sender key matches the receiver key. (like your house key and door lock).

If the new TPMS does not reflect data on the monitor, either the bluetooth key is not working, or the battery does not work at all.

If the TPMS works only for a short distance and down, then it activates again, it is likely that the Bluetooth chips not working.

Either way, you need to get another new one as these two cases cannot be resolved directly.