TPMS Relearn After Seasonal Tyre Changes: A Workshop Checklist
When a seasonal set of wheels goes back on the car, the sensors seldom return to the corners they came off. The module stores an ID against each wheel position, so a change of position sends readings to the wrong corner. This guide gives workshops a checklist for the day of the swap: how to choose between automatic, static and OBD registration, the six steps to run in order, and where to look when the process stalls — before anyone condemns a working sensor.
Scope: this guide covers registration after a wheel-position change. The relearn method, part number and frequency for a vehicle are still verified at /parts/.
1. The car stores an ID and a wheel position
When winter wheels come off the rack and summer wheels go back on, the sensors rarely return to the corner they were removed from. The control module does not remember four sensors in the abstract. It holds a table: this identifier (ID) belongs at left front, that one at right front, and so on. Move the wheels and the table is wrong. The dashboard may light up, or it may stay dark while showing the left-front pressure on the right-rear corner. The customer reports an incorrect pressure; the workshop finds a sensor that is working perfectly.
Two situations are most often missed. The first is a second set of wheels with its own sensors: swapping seasons means swapping a whole set of IDs, not adjusting two of them. The second is a front-to-rear rotation of one set of tyres: all four IDs are still on the car, but every wheel position has changed and the table still points to the old corners. In both cases the last job of the day is registration, not inflation.
2. Three ways to register IDs — pick one and finish it
| Method | What the bay does | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic relearn | Inflate to the specified cold pressure, then drive at the speed and for the duration the vehicle requires until the module collects all four IDs | Workshops without a scan tool or activation tool; allow road-test time and read every wheel back before handover |
| Static trigger | Trigger each sensor in order — left front, right front, right rear, left rear — with an activation tool and confirm each acknowledgement | Bays that keep an activation tool; a wrong order means starting again, so no skipped corners |
| OBD write | Read all four IDs, then write the ID-to-position table directly into the module with a scan tool | A complete new set of sensors, or two full wheel sets being exchanged; the most verifiable option |
Do not mix methods on one car. Running an automatic relearn halfway and then finishing with a tool tends to leave a half-set of old data behind, which shows up as one wheel that never reports. Choose one method, take it from the first sensor to the fourth, and read all four back at the end.
3. Six steps on the day of the swap
- Read every ID before mounting. Read all four and write them on the job card as left front, right front, left rear, right rear. It is far quicker than stripping a wheel afterwards.
- Confirm frequency and relearn method. Look up the part number, frequency and registration method by model, year and market in /parts/, and check the set against it.
- Inflate and leak-check. Set the cold pressure specified for the vehicle, then apply detection fluid to the stem base and the rim contact face to rule out a slow leak.
- Register using one method. Automatic, static or OBD — work through the table above and do not switch halfway.
- Read all four back. After the road test or a standing period, check each pressure against the inflation value and confirm no position has been crossed.
- Clear the light and record the job. Confirm the warning lamp is out, then put all four IDs, their positions and the date on the invoice for the customer.
Registration and read-back take the time, and they are exactly what decides whether the car returns with the same lamp two days later. Writing them into the tyre-change job card costs less than one comeback.
4. Where the process stalls
| What is on the car | Why it stalls | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Only two tyres replaced | New and old IDs are mixed and the module still holds the old combination | Read all four again and register the full set at their new positions, not just the two that were changed |
| Winter and summer sets, each with sensors | A seasonal swap replaces the whole ID set; changing two leaves half the old data behind | Read the other set of four IDs and write the complete set with OBD or the vehicle procedure |
| Used wheels with their own sensors | Their IDs are unknown and the frequency may not suit the car | Read ID and frequency first; replace any unit that does not suit before registering |
| Wrong frequency | A 315 or 433 MHz unit on a car that uses the other one can be read but will not register | Recheck the frequency in /parts/ and work back through the ordering, goods-in and fitting checks |
| Battery disconnected or receiver replaced | The module may have lost its stored table | Read the fault codes, then run the registration procedure again from the start |
| Cold pressure not set | The precondition for automatic relearn is missing, so no amount of driving completes it | Set the specified cold pressure before the road test; if it still fails, use the OBD write |
None of these is a dead sensor. Each is an unfinished registration or a precondition that was never met. Read back and verify before condemning a part.
5. Workshop checklist (printable)
- Read all four IDs before mounting and record them by wheel position.
- Verify part number, frequency and relearn method in /parts/.
- Inflate to the specified cold pressure and leak-check the stem base and contact faces.
- Choose automatic, static or OBD and complete all four without switching methods.
- Read back all four pressures and confirm no positions are crossed.
- Confirm the lamp is clear; record IDs, positions and date on the job card.
6. Advice for distributors
Say at the point of sale that winter and summer sets each carry their own sensors and that a seasonal swap needs registering again. That single line prevents a large share of “the sensor is dead” returns.
Supply the registration method, frequency and cold-pressure reminder with the parts. A downstream workshop then finishes the job in one visit instead of searching for the procedure at the bay.
Submit a model and OE number for engineering verification and sample support — fitment data covers model line, year, frequency, valve type and relearn method.
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OE number, vehicle year, target market, 315MHz / 433MHz frequency, programming tool, sensor sample, activation/read results and relearn conditions.
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