Question about TPMS

[SebringSilver]

Yesterday, I put my winter tires, which are mounted on my stock wheels, on the car in preparation for the cold season, and after driving for a few blocks, the TPMS light came on.



My immediate thought was that this is an indication of low tire pressure. I pulled into a nearby gas station and checked all four tires and the pressure was correct: 39 psi.

So I called my service rep and he reminded me that when you switch wheels, you have to go in and have them reprogram the computer to recognize the new set of wheels. I guess that makes sense.

But then I also recall not having had to do this when I installed the aftermarket wheels last spring. And at that time, the wheel company (which does have A LOT of R8 customers) told me that the R8s will recognize up to 2 sets of wheels, which is why I don't need to take the car to the Audi dealership for reprogramming.

So I'm puzzled, the stock wheels still have the factory TPMS sensors, so shouldn't the car just automatically recognize it? Or do I just have one (or more) defective sensor from these wheels having sat idle for the past 9 months?

Any insight would be appreciated.

[KfabR8]

It seems that the earlier models, like the 08 I had, didn't have issues realizing there's a new set of sneakers on the car. I never had any TPMS codes show up when switching.

Then came the 09 and the code being thrown each time I switched wheels, even though the one set had been on the car already.

My 11 had to have the winter wheels coded when I put them on a couple weeks ago.

It's an easy enough thing to do - your dealership should be able to program the winter setup in just a couple of minutes or if you have someone with VCDS close by they can do it too.

I have wondered what the shelf life of the sensors is - they're piezo powered, so once they have motion they should start recharging what ever the circuit is that powers them.

How many miles have you put on this set of wheels?
How many times have you cycled the car on/off? - may be more important that distance traveled? - just guessing/thinking out loud...

[SebringSilver]

It seems that the earlier models, like the 08 I had, didn't have issues realizing there's a new set of sneakers on the car. I never had any TPMS codes show up when switching.

Then came the 09 and the code being thrown each time I switched wheels, even though the one set had been on the car already.

My 11 had to have the winter wheels coded when I put them on a couple weeks ago.

It's an easy enough thing to do - your dealership should be able to program the winter setup in just a couple of minutes or if you have someone with VCDS close by they can do it too.

I have wondered what the shelf life of the sensors is - they're piezo powered, so once they have motion they should start recharging what ever the circuit is that powers them.

How many miles have you put on this set of wheels?
How many times have you cycled the car on/off? - may be more important that distance traveled? - just guessing/thinking out loud...

I've only driven the car home last night and then to the office this morning. Altogether, I reckon that's about 20 kilometres. They did say that it's possible that it's just a weak (or dead) battery that's causing the error to appear. I've booked an appointment on Monday to have them look at it, but who knows, maybe with a bit more driving in the next few days the batteries will get enough juice flowing through them again to work properly.

Thanks for the reply!

[M3R8]

My 09 also never manages to remember more than one set...

[SebringSilver]

My 09 also never manages to remember more than one set...

Hmmm....I wonder why my car didn't throw any codes when I installed the ADV wheels last spring.

[KfabR8]

Hmmm....I wonder why my car didn't throw any codes when I installed the ADV wheels last spring.

It must like them!

[achan]

My '11 spyder has been able to remember two sets of sensors. I have since purchased a the vagcom cable to reset sensors rather than bring it into the dealer. But like others have said, could just be the sensors need some juice after sitting for so long... happens in my other cars

[SebringSilver]

My '11 spyder has been able to remember two sets of sensors. I have since purchased a the vagcom cable to reset sensors rather than bring it into the dealer. But like others have said, could just be the sensors need some juice after sitting for so long... happens in my other cars

Thanks, we'll know on Monday!

[tobs408]

go into the menu with the switch on the bottom of the wiper stalk and select tyre pressure and wheel change/ reset tyre pressure. all r8's are capable of reading 2 sets of tpm sensors. it is the only audi capable of that.

[KfabR8]

No so...

That (menu option) was available on the 08 model year, but the 09 and up do not have this. - at least in the North American market.