An Update
I figure I own everyone an update.
Late Friday afternoon, I decided to try the
Ask a Mechanic Online from
Just Answer. It cost me $13, and I hope it will be worth the money I paid.
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My Question:
We have a 2005 T&C Limited. It has the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) with the display on the overhead console where the compass and exterior temperature is displayed. About three months ago we began getting the following message:
Service Tire System Soon
It will not go away, and if cleared it reappears in just a minute or two. Today I took it to a local tire shop and they tested each of the tires pressure sensors with a wireless device and were able to confirm each tires sensor was indeed transmitting. They also dropped the pressure in each tire and the system then reported a tire with low pressure. So, the system is working. How does someone RESET the system? What is going on?
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Optional Information:
Year: 2005
Make: Chrysler
Model: Town & Country Limited
Engine: 3.8
Already Tried:
Tested the Tire Pressure Sensors and they are transmitting.
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Posted by Mopar Certified
Answer:
Hi,
The most likely reason for this message is that one or more of the sensors has a battery that is starting to fail.
The life expectancy of these sensors......and their internal batteries......is 5 years. With the 2010's coming out, that pretty much puts your sensors at 5 years old and they will likely need replacing soon.........just like the message says...soon, not immediately.
Thank You
Mopar CertifiedTechnician
22 Year Factory Trained and Certified
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My Reply:
Thank you - I can pickup four OEM Sensors for about $200, and the local tire shop said they will install them for $75, but since they were not able to confirm one of the sensors was BAD, they were apprehensive to go this way.
With the 2005, there is no reset function on the overhead display. If we choose the replace the four sensors (since there is no way to figure out which one is week). Do we need to somehow retrain the system, or will it just recognize the new sensors and reset itself?
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Posted by Mopar Certified
Answer:
Once the sensors have been replaced, Drive vehicle for a minimum of five minutes while maintaining a continuous speed above 15 mph (24 km/h). During this time the system will learn the new sensor ID code and will clear any DTC's automatically.
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My Reply:
Thank you - As an engineer this seems like a poorly designed system. If I had known these typically only last 5-6 years I would have replaced them when I did the tires back at the first of the year. Also, the warning message should not be consistent. There is no way to temporary clear it for more then a minute or two before it returns. I could understand it being constant once it has completely lost the signal, but as long is it is just week, it seems to be an overkill.
Thank you again, and I will get off of my salt box now.
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Posted by Mopar Certified
Answer:
Thank you
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So, now I will order the parts and report back if this fixed the problem.
I did my Ask the Mechanic Question at 3:15pm on Friday. If I had seen MoparChickie's great post I might have been able to save $13, but it helps to have it confirmed before I go off and spend about $250 to fix this problem.
This does explain why when others have seen this message and they take the vehicle in to the Dealership, it becomes a crap shoot as to which sensor needs to be replaced.