Installed new wheels and the TPMS is not working

[mngolfer]

Dealer told me it should reset automatically after 15 miles. It did not happen. Does anyone know how to reset the TPMS with the second set of wheels?

[harrison]

I thought/hoped that the TPMS would know itself. Not on my car.

[SDR8]

See your dealer. They need to add the set. Some dealers are clueless about this. For some reason they did not know how to clear the value for the second set of wheels without clearing everything and starting from scratch. They even took a week of talking with Germany to finally do it this way.

[desperado]

R8 TPMS is a very frustrating system. It can learn and remember only two sets of wheels. Unlike other Audi models, there is no user interface to tell it to accept a new set of wheels or adapt to a new set of pressures. In my experience it takes a lot longer than 15 miles for it to accept the second set of wheels. To make room for a third set of wheels, the dealer must erase the first two from memory (per SDR8s post above, we cross-posted!) using his VAS5052A diagnostic computer. Then you have to go for a long drive to get your wheels stored (back) into memory. A real PITA.

On our Audi TT, you hold a button down for 10 seconds and it memorizes the new set of wheels AND their pressure and you are ready to go. Why the R8 doesn't have this same funtion in the DIS menus is a total mystery to me. It would be so easy (for them) to add this ability with a simple software update. And while they are at it, they could add a page to display the current tire pressures for the four wheels. Shame on Audi, Shame for leaving out such basic functionality.

P.S. There are other threads about TPMS on this site if you want more info, but the above is the essence of it.

[harrison]

I put my original wheels and TPMSs back on 100 miles ago.Still no reset. Did do some fiddleing with a laptop to try and disable the warning with non TPMS set of wheels. Warning came back on after about 15 miles.

[desperado]

I get the same results as Harrison. It is so stupid to behave so, on such a fabulous car.

[harrison]

I'm sure the dealer will fix it. By the time I do that I will switch wheels again. I don't want to become a niusance. What do I do. Vag or an expensive computer program. The Porsche race shops use a 40,000.00 computer to do these things. I hear it can work on the R8 too.

[MotherTucker]

The dealer had to do it for me as well. The technician had a lot of trouble - using the computer, going for long drives, doing it all again, etc, and somehow finally got it to work. And they don't use a vag-com, their computer has special programs to do what the factory specifies (in theory at least).

mt

[desperado]

The aftermarket VAG-COM tool (www.ross-tech.com) can be used to view the detailed settings of the TPMS controller (#65), however the TPMS controller is locked with a password and the settings cannot be changed. Additionally, VAG-COM does not have a "label file" for the TPMS module, so the settings are mostly unidentified.

My dealer's technician says that when using their OEM VAS 5052A diagnostic system, the password is not visible to the user. The tech selects "guided" or pre-canned procedures and the data and actions are not visible to him, only progress and result messages. So the dealer isn't being stubborn, its just that his very smart tool acts pretty "dumb" and hides the details from him.

[mgrubman]

Did you purchase new sensors or use the sensors from the original wheels.?? I bought new sensors and they MUST be programmed by Audi the 1st time. After that you can swap them to other wheels without a problem..My original sensors worked fine when swapped to new wheels. There is a tool that Beru supplies to Audi to enter the codes to match up the sensors.....