Tire pressure monitoring system on Dodge Ram 1500

[cpaharley2008]

Something new happened to me today. I was taking my Escape cushions to a local upholstery place to have the rear "U" dinette cushions cut in half tor ease of access underneath. I pulled the truck out and my TPMS symbol was on and it indicated my left front tire was -0- pressure. I got out and kicked the tire, it was solid and I drove to my tire place where they checked all tires, all were at 40 psi. They said normal sensors last at least 10 years. Anyway upon reading the manual it states it may take awhile to reset after adding air. It still shows one tire is flat. I called my dealer, they said could be sensor, may cost $200/each. I said Amazon has them 4@ $99. They said to bring it in, they have a battery tester for the batteries and can check them free and try to reset it. I'll do that in 60 days when my yearly inspection is due, which this is not part of. Never have had an issue with any of my tire pressure monitoring sensors, anyone else??

[Brian B-P]

I've never had a vehicle with tire pressure sensors - the ones new enough for TPMS (mandatory since 2008 in the U.S., but not in Canada) have used wheel speeds to infer a low tire. A friend of mine had one reading incorrectly on his Jeep, and a local shop charged $500 CDN to replace a couple sensors and reset the system.

To me, the sensors seem like a desirable feature, but if one died and it didn't cause anything other than a missing reading I wouldn't pay hundreds of dollars to get it working - I still know how to stick a gauge on a tire valve.

[Iowa Dave]

I check the inflation on my two vehicles on Saturday mornings when I’m home and pretty often on the road (every couple days) check the trailer before We take it out and daily on the road.
I have TPMS but I usually catch a tire that’s a couple pounds low, before the TPMS kicks in.
I like my Milwaukee 12v inflator. Works well.
Iowa Dave