i bought a second hand 2008 vrs a few month ago, and it came with the tpms. when i press the tpms button it will light the sign in the dash and make a sound. so the button actually works. yesterday i went to change my tires and for my surprise there was no sensor in the wheels, also i had low PSI on one of my old tire and the sign didn't light up. so i went home connected the vcds and was no fault code. went to the tpms module and there was no communication. anyone had anything similar? 

 

thanks

There is no sensor in the wheels, the TPMS uses the ABS system to check the rotation of the wheels / tyres.

 

It may or may not notice the difference in the rollling circumference.

Edited 8 July, 201511 yr by goneoffSKi

Remember you need to push and hold it to set it when you inflate them, change tyres etc to tell it what normal looks like - all it's doing is looking for a deviation from normal.

It's only there as a safety net really, you should probably still be checking pressures semi regularly anyway. It helped me out when I had a bad leak from mine though

I've just put the spare wheel on mine yesterday to refurb my alloys and the light flashed on after a mile or so. Now i know that it works i also now know how it works!

You need to reset it by holding till the bong every time you top up your tires.

 

I think, though I'm not sure, you're supposed to do the reset when you're on the move.

 

It's not 100% reliable system, you still need to check your tires. If they all deflate at the same pace it won't pick anything up.

 

Mine worked ok and it definitely picked up a couple of slow punctures I might otherwise not have spotted for a bit. I keep a 12v compressor in the boot anyway so if it bonged I could check and top up until I got it to a fitter.

More info can be found here: http://www.my-gti.com/321/volkswagen-tyre-pressure-monitoring-system-tpms 

thanks everybody for the reply, really really helpful LANGER2K thanks for the link very interesting.

 

i was worry about because on VCDS there was no communication with the control module, i have to refurb my alloys too, so i might check if the TPMS light goes on while the spare tire is on.

 

is there any way to retrofit direct TPMS?

Edited 29 July, 201510 yr by bismarcki

Certainly possible on a FL as I've done it but I'm not sure about the pre-FL.

 

It requires:

- A gateway supporting extended can

- Clusters with maxidot

- TPMS module to sit under the car and receive data from the sensors

- Wiring for the module

- Four sensors, one for each wheel

 

I don't think the software on the pre-FL clusters will be compatible with direct TPMS and I'm not sure if FL clusters can be fitted to pre-FL cars either. Eddie-NL can probably provide more information if you're serious about adding it.

 

A simpler but less integrated solution is probably one of the many aftermarket direct TPMS solutions with a separate display rather than using maxidot.

You need to reset it by holding till the bong every time you top up your tires.

 

I think, though I'm not sure, you're supposed to do the reset when you're on the move.

 

It's not 100% reliable system, you still need to check your tires. If they all deflate at the same pace it won't pick anything up.

 

Mine worked ok and it definitely picked up a couple of slow punctures I might otherwise not have spotted for a bit. I keep a 12v compressor in the boot anyway so if it bonged I could check and top up until I got it to a fitter.

Switch on ignition and press 'tpms' button until 'bong' sounds.  NOT when vehicle in motion.

thanks everybody for you kind answers