# Subaru Tire Pressure Monitor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362 "2022-12-30T23:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/1 "2022-12-30T23:42:55Z")
I’ve got a '19 Subaru Forester that has pressure sensors in the wheels. Work fine. Two years ago I bought new wheels/winter tires from Tire Rack and opted to save money by not getting pressure monitors included. So now I spend December through early March with a low pressure light on the dash. I can buy the sensors from various suppliers, but I’m wondering if there’s more t it that just braking the bead and installing them. Is there some kind of programming required or just put the tire/wheels on the car and all will be well? Any experiences to share? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/2 "2022-12-30T23:47:49Z")
They’ll need to be paired with the car. Whether or not your car gives the end user the ability to do that through the infotainment system, I don’t know. When I see mechanics doing it, they always use a tool [like this](https://www.amazon.com/Autel-TS501-Activation-Diagnostic-Professional/dp/B01LRJ7UD2). Installing them seems to be pretty similar to installing regular valves, though if youtube mechanics are to be believed, you have to be careful breaking the bead. The youtuber I watch always mentions starting the machine just after the valve and stopping before you get back around to it so you don’t break off the sensor. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/3 "2022-12-30T23:49:05Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Is there some kind of programming required or just put the tire/wheels on the car and all will be well? I believe that there is some sort of programming required. I had new wheels put on my Mustang a few weeks ago, and they installed new sensors, as well; they had to use a handheld tool (a lot like the one in @Joey_P 's post) to program each of the sensors and pair it with the car’s electronics. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/4 "2022-12-30T23:50:33Z")
Not the answers I was hoping for, but unfortunately probably accurate. 😥 So rather than buying the sensors and tool, probably it’s likely break even to have my local tire shop do it all. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/5 "2022-12-30T23:51:57Z")
Are you planning to install the sensors (and remount the tires) by yourself? If you are, I’m guessing you could get a mechanic to program them fora few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/6 "2022-12-30T23:53:50Z")
I do have access to a bead breaker, so that’s a plus. Time to check and see if the local auto parts places have the tool. I imagine if they sell the sensors they probably do have it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/7 "2022-12-31T02:56:07Z")
If they do, see if they rent them. Last time I checked, most auto parts places rent out a lot of their specialty tools for free. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/8 "2022-12-31T14:25:30Z")
I know it can be done without the tool on my wife’s GMC terrain. There’s a procedure in the manual. You have to clear the current settings, then you have to deflate the tire in question until it picks out the pressure change, at that point it chirps the horn and moves on to the next tire. It’s a nuisance, but not really difficult as long as you have a compressor handy to reinflate when you’re done. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/9 "2022-12-31T15:14:45Z")
Thanks for all the information. I’m scheduled for service on Tuesday, so I might question the tech and see if I can make a deal while I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![burt-lancaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@burt-lancaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burt-lancaster)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/10 "2022-12-31T16:42:30Z")
I just googled TPMS pairing tool and they have them for $10 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/11 "2022-12-31T17:06:44Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Are you planning to install the sensors (and remount the tires) by yourself? If you are, I’m guessing you could get a mechanic to program them fora few bucks. The tires and wheels will have to be rebalanced too. The sensors weigh only a few ounces which is more than the standard valve stems. That is enough weight to throw a tire out of balance. The guy at the tire shop should also use the same sensor serial numbers as the summer tires. By doing this the sensors won’t have to be paired every time the tires are swapped out. Eric O at the South Main Auto Repair You Tube channel has a couple videos on this. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/12 "2022-12-31T17:49:05Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I know it can be done without the tool on my wife’s GMC terrain. I know that works for things like rotating the tires where you have the same actual sensors, just in different spots. It might not work when adding new sensors to the vehicle. You’d have to have a way to tell the car the serial number from the sensor. I don’t know if cars can do that without, at the very least, a bi-directional scan tool. I know I’ve seen some mechanics reprogram the new new sensor to have the same serial number as the original one so the car doesn’t know it was changed, but that’s not the case for the OP. > [@racer72](#): > > The guy at the tire shop should also use the same sensor serial numbers as the summer tires I actually started to type that exact same idea. My concern would be if the tires that aren’t on the vehicle are stored too close to the car (ie in the garage), it might be able to read them and cause some kind of error. > [@racer72](#): > > By doing this the sensors won’t have to be paired every time the tires are swapped out. Eric O at the South Main Auto Repair You Tube channel has a couple videos on this. That’s my guy. I think I’ve watched every SMA video out there. Some of them because they had some relevance to something I was actually doing, but most because I really like them. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/13 "2023-01-01T01:00:48Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I know that works for things like rotating the tires where you have the same actual sensors, just in different spots. It might not work when adding new sensors to the vehicle. You’d have to have a way to tell the car the serial number from the sensor. I don’t know if cars can do that without, at the very least, a bi-directional scan tool. When I have my summer tires/wheels reinstalled I’ve never had to do anything. They just show up with the pressure reading. But I admit that I’ve never deflated a tire to see if they are reporting the correct locations. I don’t think that’s an issue with the Subaru because the front rear pressures are different and I’ve never noticed any misreporting. If it was only done by the realer as part of a rotation they could have made adjustments of coarse. But since I’m doing it at home I think the car just knows. A sensor at each corner? ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subaru-tire-pressure-monitor/977362/14 "2023-01-01T02:12:54Z")
damn … gets to show how complex our cars have become…