TPMS learning

2007 Cayman S / 40k miles about three weeks ago my left rear tire caused my system to go inactive. So took it off and went to the tire place that had replaced the RR one in March. at the time i figured i would go ahead and change my plugs while pulling the wheel anyway. ended up changing the plugs and the original coils. (small cracks showing) anyway after the sensor was replaced i could not get it to read. So took the car up to the tire place. the changed the sensor for another new one and coded, etc. but again they could not get it to show on the screen. (before i took it up there i had used my icarsoft to erase the fault code) decided to bring the car home since they had no clue what to do and do a relearn of the sensors. Now on the way home i still had the other three wheels showing up. when i got home and did the relearn of the wheels, i got nothing from any wheel. came home and did some searches on the issue. says i need to drive the car for up to 30 minutes... So did that. i did get an error saying the system was inactive as i was pulling back in to town. So then read where i might try letting air out of the tires (about 8 lbs) and refilling with the car running. So let the car sit over night to cool the tires. then i started the car this morning, let air out of each tire and refilled to the proper pressure. Still nothing... is there any other tricks i should try? or anyway to test where the issue might be? i have pulled out the module and reinstalled. i have unplugged the battery from the car for a minute or so. So far since these last attempts all i get is the system is leaning on the screen. Thanks for any suggestions TL

I never understand why anyone would replace a single TPMS sensor when they are most likely all the same age. Any of the ones not changed could also literally stop working on your way home after changing just one. If changing sensors, particularly if they are over 5 years old, it should be done all four at a time. Having shared that opinion, I would first determine from the tire place if the replacement is 433 mhz because that is the only type that will work in the US. And if it is, you need to make sure they are specific to the 987 because 981s are different, then, you need to reset the system again. Try changing from summer tires to winter, 17, 18 or 19 to an alternative size, and then change back to your real configuration, and then go through the learning steps again. And yes it does take about 10-20 miles or so for it to learn and start working. Good luck.

My first thought is the wrong sensor type and/or freq as suggested by Budman. Age of the sensor is a big factor, being a 2007 replacing all may be in order but not a must in my book ( and my opinion only , not founded in fact )

Just try having three sets of wheels /tires and all have those TPMS. I was changing these tires monthly, sometimes twice a week depending on the weather (rain tires vs slicks). Now its just one set that I routinely use. Just waiting for TireRack to stock the RE71RS in my size.

Thanks all. the problem i am having started with the new sensor. So age is not the problem there. was reading another post that suggested maybe if you have an issue with a sensor, the learning process may be a problem. i may try swapping the rear wheels and see if that wakes up the system. did i also read somewhere that these tire places have a reader that can read if the sensor is putting out a signal and can also tell at what mhz it might be sending the signal without having to remove the wheel? i know the sensors these guys are using can be set to different signals. And the first one they put in back in March worked fine. i did go back and check thru the icarsoft and i am getting a different reading on the right rear... So want to swap the wheels and then see if reading moves as well. if it does, i may go back and see if the tire shop can read that wheel.

Someone may have set you the wrong frequency sensor. Like you suggested is swap the back two tires to see if your instrument panel then reflect the failed sensor on the other side. You cannot change the frequency of the sensor, just buy another one with the correct frequency. I would start using tirerack for all your tire stuff, So if you can show the seller that you did change tires and the new one is not being pickup by the car radio reciever on that quarter of the car, can you get a refund or replacement?

APEX1- thanks. No tire rack close to me. i used a local guy who actually did the RR tire before and it has worked fine. i think he is stumped. he says that it is reading properly. plot thickens: tried swapping tires - no help. tried swapping back wheel antennas - no help before the above, i hooked up my icarsoft and read the info it provided. made notes so i could compare changes. So i started letting air out of each tire and then checking the icarsoft readings. what i found was the reading for the front left wheel was actually the right rear. the left rear had a reading which was actually the RF. the RF reading was actually the left front. the right rear gave me no reading at all. not sure if this means the car is messed up or the icarsoft reader. So thought i would try to clear out all the readings by unhooking the battery. while it was unhooked, i remembered reading somewhere that a weak battery can cause some issues. So i checked the car battery. it was only showing about 12.5 volts. Lower than i expected and kind of surprised it would start the car. So put it on the charger. It is an AGM battery and not sure if the original batteries were AGM or not. either way i charged it up but no help. the car still shows the wrong wheels for the three wheels it is reading. at least according to the icarsoft . At this point the system just shows learning and never puts any numbers on the screen for either wheel. So not sure where to go from here. i am wondering if the reason the car won't learn is that it does not have all four wheels with a signal... or if the signal is stuck in the memory... i think i will run the car over to another tire store here in town and see if they have a reader who can tell me if each wheel is sending a signal at the proper 433 MHZ. all out of other ideas. if i thought i could remove the sensor myself, i would buy more and put them in. but not sure i could break the bead on these wheels. right now i have the warning on the dash and it drives me crazy...

Just as a point of information, Tire Rack is not a physical tire store. They are an internet tire/tpms/etc. seller who has gone to the trouble of finding and certifying a nation wide list of independent tire shops that they recommend as installers. You put in your zip code and they'll give you a list of reasonably close, recommended installers. Tires etc. bought from them will typically ship free of charge overnight to the installer of your choice. Now unless you live beyond civilization, they are an excellent choice. The fact that your TPMS sending units are now confused as to which tire location they belong to has to do with the learning process. They learn where they are on the car along with any additional info required. Switching tires and antennas has confused the heck out of the entire system. If it were my problem, I would start all over. Make sure everything is where it belongs, install 4 new TPMS units and go through the set up/learning process all over again. The only alternative might be to contact your nearest Porsche dealer or independent mechanic who has experience with Porsches. Otherwise you're just banging your head against a wall and even causing more system confusion. Good luck.

Dronedoy, Really what are you using the Tire Pressure info for. Are you actively racing or autocross? If not, buy a good heavy duty pressure gauge like from Griots garage. Once you have that air pressure gauge, check your madeup code you have made as to which wheel is which, then check the actual tire pressure. You will find the Porsche system reads a little low by 2 or 3 lbs of pressure, Then check the one that you have no reading for the right rear with your hand gauge. After a while you will see that if you garage your car, these tires lose very little pressure. Before start up, manually check the right rear, then the rest using the dash and your madeup code. You eventually will see a pattern on which tire loses more psi than the others. I like to run my tires at their lowest level before the car goes nuts and tells me I have a tire problem. But I also use Bridgestone RE71R's for my daily use with very stiff side walls. Michelin PS4S I would not do this. The only option I see in your future is to take your car to a Porsche dealer. For maybe $1000, they maybe able to reprogram the system. I would not count on it though. Sounds to me like this should have been taken care a long time ago while under warranty. Not years later. I do check my oil level and TPI each morning before the car moves. So I feel for your loss of one tire's psi on our dash.

I did some reading on the TPMS relearn procedure, and I'm not sure if you followed it correctly? I would recommend trying the following steps (based on various videos and websites): 1) Put all the tires on the corners you want 2) Deflate all the tires about 5-8 psi 3) Reinflate all the tires to the proper levels 4) Turn on the car and go to the TPM menu on the onboard computer 5) CHANGE the tire size/type to something different than what you have now - on my 2010 (according to the manual) I go into TPM, then Set, then select Summer/Winter, then size. When completed properly, it says "Process complete". 6) Change the tire size/type back to what you have actually installed - again, make sure it completes properly. 7) Drive the car - manual says the display should say "TPM is learning" (again, on my 2010) and that it will need to be driven above 25 km/h (16mph). Some videos say their relearn happened within a minute or two... but maybe it could take longer? Admittedly, I have not done this procedure myself, and I am just going through the manual. The reason I ask if you did these (or similar) steps is because some of the steps you described were not performed in order (eg, you reduced and reinflated pressures, but you did this while the car was running? I don't see that mentioned in the steps in the manual. And I don't see that you changed tire size/type in your steps anywhere?). Of course, maybe your process is different on the 2007 ( 987.1 ) versus my 2010 ( 987.2 )... but I would think they should be similar because the references I found say these steps are the same across 2006-2016 Boxster / Caymans .

Apex1: i don't cross the car or track it. just for local weekend driving. i always check my pressure also so i really don't care about the system. other than it leaves a light on, which drives me nuts. having said that, i do like things to work as they should. this past winter i took out most of my interior on the old Alfa because my emergency brake light did not come on. going to try another tire place before going the dealer route. (also no dealer within 1-1/2 hours of me) Schwinn: i don't write particularly well... heck i don't talk particularly well... my mind works at a different speed than my fingers or my mouth. but i think i have tried all the procedures you mention above. Well, except on when the engine is on or off. seems i have read both ways in different places. yes when i did the deflate and inflate it was with the engine running because that was particularly stated on the article i read. don't think my manual lists a lot of this but i am going to try your procedure once just to see how it goes. what the heck... last article i read did say to follow your step #6 with the engine not running. so i will try what you say above with and not start the engine until step 7. nothing to lose at this point but some time. just want to point out, in case i wrote it wrong. i do not get any readings on the dash. just the system is learning until it finally beeps and says the system is inactive. the readings i am showing is on my icarsoft tool.

No problem! I just wanted to make sure steps were followed in the correct order. Computers don't cooperate when steps are skipped or missed, so I wanted to make sure the procedure is sound. I don't expect the engine running or not will matter, but I did see that the car must be "stopped" to do these things. I'm guessing the TPM settings won't even open up properly unless that requirement is met. I have noticed that the car does know when you're "stopped" in general... not sure exactly how it makes this determination, but on my manual I found it may be due to the tach level... because I can do oil level checks while rolling and the engine isn't tached up (ie, idling while rolling) as long as the clutch is pressed in (speed, apparently, is not a factor for "stopped"?!). Yes, I've tried it while clutched and tached, and it says the car must be stopped... haha.

dronedog, Maybe the radio reciever on the right back is out. That's what shuts off your system. Your car is almost a garage queen. Just take it in an have that one item fixed. Then reprogrammed by Porsche . I would estimate less than $400. Then you are back to normal.

@dronedog Do you know the brand of the sensor they used? I know the one they did previously worked fine, but I would definitely find out exactly what brand and model number was used. Perhaps they used a generic TPMS brand that is supposed to work with all cars or a given subset of cars. And maybe it usually works fine. Usually. It might not be the issue, but it’s an easy thing to check versus some of the other possible diagnoses. Just as an FYI, I recently got a second set of wheels, tires and sensors from Tirerack. All worked fine with my 987.2. The sensors I got were made by BHsens and the model is IntelliSens. Parts number RDE048V21. About $70 each.

dronedog changed his rear wheels side to side and the right rear radio receiver did not work with either wheel. The other side did work with both wheels. So, I think the radio receiver is bad.If you had a lift, it would be a 10 minute job to replace that receiver. Maybe a do it yourself job.

@Apex1 Yes, you are probably right about the receiver being the culprit. But he also mentioned that switching the “antennas” didn’t help. And then that the iCarsoft was indicating that the readings he was getting were from wheels in different positions than indicated on the dash. I tend to agree with Budman that replacing all four sensors at the same time is the prudent thing to do. Of course, that would be most economical when replacing tires.

Thanks all. i did swap rear tires and i also swapped the antennas at one point. neither helped. i have done some more tests, including removing all wheels, moving them 50 yds away, and starting the car. Figured i would give it a shot. one thing i learned is that when i set the car to a new set of tires and then back, no codes show for either wheel on my icarsoft . i think that tells me there is nothing wrong with the computer memory. it is clearing. then when i drive it plugs in the three, just not the fourth one. May not be at the right wheel always but it does show the 3. what i have concluded is that when you do the "learn" thing you need all four wheels to be able to connect to the computer. i think with only getting three, it just confuses the computer on which wheel is which. thinking back on my home from the shop the first time, it was reading the three wheels in the right places. just not the 4th. which is why i did the learn thing to begin with. Nothing since then. As far as the shop... went back again and we put a 3rd sensor on the wheel. still nothing. So either that brand is not working or the guy is not setting it up properly. For all i know they may have changed brands of sensors since March. Or gotten a new guy who may not be doing this right. Not a lot of Porsches in the area for him to have experiences with. i surely don't know the procedure so i can't be sure. i really think i need to get someone else to put in a sensor... or probably... as one suggested earlier... just get 4 new ones. just need to find a shop i want to do it. Sometimes when you look at some of the help... well it does not give you confidence. there is a local Firestone store and a MR. Tire. Headed out of town for a couple of weeks. So will get back on it in Sept. i would like to know what it means to activate these sensors or code them. if you buy 4 on line do they come ready to go in the car? or does someone have to turn them on (so to speak)? and do they need coding because they do different frequencies? hmmm, google time... Thanks again

If you buy them from Tire Rack or someone comparable, they ship you ones specifically already coded for your car. Just install and do the learning process. If the ones you use needed more than that there's a good chance they won't work. You need to specify, 433mhz and your 2007 Cayman. Not pushing Tire Rack as there are others equally competent. But I would only buy from a company who has these as a significant product line and not just an afterthought type of product.

You swapped antenna modules, so that's good... I might take a look at the wiring and connectors for the antenna to make sure something didn't go awry there. Corrosion, cut wire, etc. If there's nothing obvious, I would take an ohm-meter and measure out the resistance (be sure the car is off) between a known-working position versus the bad one. Again, these should be consistent across all 4, otherwise it could be a wiring or receiver issue. But it sounds like you're doing everything you can so far... it's certainly a deeper issue. Could just be a TPMS module that "lost" a channel or something. Not something I would expect, but the solution would be to swap it with a working one. That might be hard to do, as you'd need a donor part to test with...

Budman, i think you hit the nail on the head. need specific sensors. was thinking i might even buy a bead breaker and install myself.but need to know if i would need some special tool. one thing i did read on some of the instructions for one scanner was to put the car into learning mode before installing the sensors. i know that was not done nor was i ever asked about it. May be part of the issue. We shall see. when i get back, i will do something.

Other than breaking the bead, it's a relatively simple process, as I think you know. I would think that without air, the bead would be breakable but I've not tried anything similar since tires had tubes, LOL. As long as the tire isn't rotated during that process, they shouldn't even need rebalancing. I would think any tire shop would help for a couple bucks a wheel but don't know. Keep us posted.

A random idea - when you get a new sensor, maybe just tape it well to the inside of the wheel with the problem, and see if you can get that one to "learn" before installation. Once proven out, then you can tell them to install it? Would save you from having to install and remove it repeatedly? Just a thought...

will do on the update. Schwinn, thought you needed to be driving for the computer to pick up the sensor. i know when i was playing with the learning, none of mine showed up on the icarsoft until i had driven the car. i think the procedure will be to do the learn part before i put on the new sensors.. when i get home i am going to pull off a rear wheel and see if i can get to the sensor. i am sure those low profile tires are tough. if i can, i will change. if not, i will take to a tire store with sensors. am going to order two sensors from tire rack for both rears. those tires are only a couple of years old. the front tires will probably age out in the next two years so i will do them when i get new tires. plan for now anyway....

I have a 2007 stock Boxster . I change all 4 wheels/tires twice a year. When the temperatures fall below 45 degrees farenheit in the fall, I jack the car up and put on the winter tires. In the spring, when the temperatures go up above 45, I put the summer tires on. When the swap is done, the car must re-learn the other set of sensors. Fortunately, none of the tire/wheels fit inside the car so it never sees more than 4 sensors at a time. I have been doing this for 11 years (22 swaps) and never had a problem with the system picking up the other set of sensors. The system has worked flawlessly. I have replaced the summer tires twice and the winters are due for their first replacement. I had the sensors changed every time I got new tires. It had always been at least 5 years since the sensors were installed or in the case of my current summer tires, I got new wheels, tires and sensors as a package from Tire Rack . Yes, I now have 3 sets of wheels, tires and sensors for the car but that's a story for another time. The bottom line is that I've done the learning procedure at least 22 times and probably 6 different ways but all of them worked. You don't need to start the learning process before you put the tires on. In your case it sounds like you have a bad receiver that is messing things up If you are really having fun with this go ahead and experiment. I would much rather be driving so I would drive to a P dealer and let them sort it out. By the way, it took me a lot longer than it should have to realize that you can view your pressures when the car is stopped or you can display the pressures as you are driving. The way to get these 2 different displays is in the manual. I found the rolling version by accident when looking for something else. Sorry this is so long...

Yes, I think that's correct... which is why I said to tape the sensor "well" (ie securely) to the inside of the wheel. Basically, tape it to a good location (clear of the calipers!) and tape it securely. Although, now that I think about it, the metal in the wheel may block the signal from there, so this could be a useless idea. Plus, my guess is that the sensor only activates when the wheel is turning/moving... to save battery. I guess you could tape it to the outside of the tire, and keep the wheel jacked up and "drive" it that way, but that's just getting silly now. Nevermind...

Do not allow the tire shop to use generic TPMS sensors, always use OEM (Huf, Beru). I had a tire shop replace the original sensors because the batteries had died. They use generics, and even though they programed them, the car never liked them. They would take forever to sync, the front and rear tires would get swapped during sync causing flat tire warnings, etc, etc, etc. I had the shop replace all the sensors with OEM, and the problems went away.

problem solved...i think. while away, i remembered a box of odds and ends the PO gave me with the car. i knew there were two TPMS sensors in there. they turned out to be the original ones that got replaced. but he had bought 4 new ones and only used two. So there were also 2 new ones still in plastics wrapping. decided i could change this thing out myself. well at least i wanted to give it a go. retired so i got the time. long story short, i was able to get it done. took a ride and within 5 miles the car picked up all four sensors and the light went out. after a couple more miles the pressures were also displayed. Nice driving home with no lights. So it was just that the system was confused trying to learn 3 sensors it could detect. checked the ID numbers for all four wheels and they all show on the proper corner. All GOOD! well till i shut the car off at home while i moved some things around to get the car back in to it's normal parking place. when i went to restart, it told me the RF tire was flat!!! that one had never been an issue. think tomorrow i will start the car and let out about 10 PSI, then set it back. want to do with the tires cold. hopefully it will then be good to go. yes i know it is not worth it to change these yourself when a tire place will do it for 10-15 bucks. but i like to tinker. plus i probably handle the parts with a little more care than someone else. this worked pretty well. see pic. first time always takes more effort and thought. there is a plate on the tire so the round bar is not directly against the tire. pushed down first left of the valve stem, then right, and then right below it keeping the plate as far away as i could from the rim. also put a piece of tape on the opposite side to make sure i did not rotate the wheel in the tire during the process. thanks again all for the suggestions