About TPMS Sensor Battery

The TPMS sensor battery is a minor and yet essential feature of TPMS. Without it, the sensors wouldn’t work. Ultimately, this could mean nasty accidents while driving. Is it possible for drivers to replace a TPMS battery on their own? The answer is no. We recommend that you contact a local TPMS service technician to carry out a tire pressure monitoring system inspection. The technician can assess the status of the TPMS sensor and its battery by using a properly formatted TPMS scan tool and then recommend the next line of action(s) to take. Let’s get to know why from the characteristic of TPMS battery.

 

Mounted inside a tire assembly, Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors (TPMS) are usually powered by a 3-volt lithium-ion or a 1.25-volt nickel-metal hybrid battery. Some TPMS sensors use a 1.250-volt nickel-metal hybrid battery. For now, though, the batteries – generally round and encased in a sensor’s molded plastic housing – have finite lives, on most applications, the battery is molded into the TPMS sensor assembly, so it cannot be replaced separately. A dead or dying battery requires the replacement of its entire sensor assembly.

 

How To Identify battery issue?

-We need to pay attention to below 2 points

 

1.Battery Life

The battery of TPMS sensor is a tiny part and not so easy to replace. To replace a TPMS sensor battery, it requires some skill as well as a proper understanding of vehicles and electronics. With the skills, you’ll also have to be patient, enough time, soldering skills, etc. Better not to replace the TPMS battery by yourselves, it’s a risky task and it can destroy the TPMS. The very first thing you could do is to estimate the real life of your TPMS battery.

 

-For newly installed TPMS

If the batteries in one or more of your TPMS sensors has malfunctioned or depleted, we recommend contacting a local TPMS service technician or dealership to schedule a tire pressure monitoring system inspection. The technician can assess the status of the TPMS sensor by using a properly formatted TPMS scan tool.

 

-For TPMS used more than 5 years

The battery life of an original equipment tire pressure monitoring sensor is estimated to last about 5-7 years. If you've got a vehicle that's over five years old and have accumulated over 100,000 miles on the original sensors, then We recommend you to replace all your 4 sensors as it will be failed in the near future even if you fix the battery issue temporarily. Replacing all four sensors at once can spare you multiple trips to the auto shop, save labor costs and time for you, it’s economically wiser. Isn’t it?

 

After estimating how long you’ve use TPMS, you find it used no more than 4 years. It’s reasonable for you to assume the TPMS is not old enough to retire. Now it’s time to turn to another point: you will have to observe TPMS icon and identify if TPMS failed caused by battery dead. But how can we know that the TPMS Sensor Battery is Dead? 

 

2.TPMS Icon

There is sign that will indicate that your TPMS sensor battery is dead. As you know, TPMS sensors are designed to transmit tire pressure data to the vehicle ECU at regular intervals. If the ECU misses a few sensor transmissions, ECU would receive error message, then the TPMS icon lights up and blinks to let you know that there is some issue with TPMS. It indicates that either an interference or malfunction has occurred within the tire pressure monitoring system. However, blinking the TPMS icon doesn’t mean that the battery is dead. There could be other problems in TPMS. But in most cases, this means that you need to replace your TPMS or its battery.

 

After learning how to identify the TPMS battery issue, it’s essential to know how to preserve the TPMS battery in the first place. Let’s talk about that briefly.

 

How to maintain the TPMS battery?

The estimated life expectancy of an OE TPMS sensor is 5 to 12 years, with the average lifespan being 7 years. TPMS battery life expectancy is directly related to the number of radiofrequency transmissions the sensors make. Driving habits greatly influence the number of RF transmissions a sensor makes in its lifetime. Knowing that, there are 3 tips to prolong your battery life:

Firstly, you must keep a consistent and constant speed when driving on highways. This will guarantee a longer lifespan of the TPMS battery because there will be a reduction in the demand for TPMS sensors which will allow the sensors to transmit signal less.

 

Another tip would be to avoid start-and-stop driving as much as possible. Drivers who are often start and stop driving will cause damage to tire pressure monitoring sensors and its battery.

 

Lastly, the weather is another element to keep in mind. It can have an unexpected role in hurting the TPMS battery life. For example, warmer conditions can take a toll on the battery while cold conditions allow batteries to last longer.

 

If you treat it correctly, the TPMS will continue functioning in perfect conditions for years. Knowing how to preserve TPMS battery, there won’t be any need to spend extra money replacing the batteries or paying a professional to do it.

 

How Much Does It Cost To Replace TPMS Battery?

The cost is another question you may care about. In the event TPMS sensors need to be replaced, the cost can range from approximately $50-$150 each depending on vehicle type, application, or type of sensor.

 

 

 

Our Notice

Taking proper notice of the signals from the sensor will help you to closely monitor the performance of the battery which will ensure the healthiness of the tires while on the move. This ultimately will guarantee your own safety, as well as others on board with you.

Additionally, knowing about TPMS battery knowledges will save you a lot of money and time. 

We hope you find our knowledge sharing about TPMS sensor battery helpful.