TPMS In my Spare or Not? 2020 ORP

I'm sure this has been answered many times, but I am not sure if my spare has a TPMS Sensor or not. I have a 2020 ORP and I happen to have a spare TRD Pro Wheel that I want to use as a spare. If it doesn't have one, that would be way easier, as I could just have DT mount the tire, and just throw it in the back for me. Thanks!

 

From my experience only the limited version does.

 

No

 

I tried on my 2020 Pro. It didn't work.

 

Wife has a 2020 limited and it DOES. Light came on and look on the dash and it was the spare. Aired it up and all is good now

 

I can confirm the Limited does. The display on the instrument panel shows current PSI for each corner tire plus the spare (which is mounted on a stock Limited alloy wheel). On the pictograph on the display, the spare shows up as sitting between and behind the two rear wheels.

 

My 2020 ORP does not have one in the spare.

 

Guess you have pay the big $$$ and get a Limited for that extra sensor?

 

5th sensor should come on all 5. It’s a lame way for Toyota to save $50, and impossible to add to the electronics suite later. I would rather upgrade all 5 tires when I buy a truck, and rotate all 5 twice a year.

 

2018 orp does not its a standard rubber Stem. I do a 5 tire rotation and check pressures weekly just like 1999

 

It would also be nice to know that your spare needs air. I didn’t know that, I guess I’ll have to add one next time it gets serviced unless the soft ware only recognizes 4 wheels. Is that what you mean, Starr?

 

I can tell you that on my wife’s limited, it shows on the dash shows the pressure of 5 tires. That being said, if you only have 4, then I imagine it’s software. Could be wrong though.

 

Yes, my understanding is that unfortunately the software on most T4Rs can only recognize 4.

 

My 2019 ORP does indeed have a TPMS sensor in the spare - when I swapped in my winter tires right after I bought it last November I read all 5 of them when I reprogrammed the new sensors.

I can't say for certain if my 2019 ORP has the OBD software for all 5 since I can only get readings from 4 in real time using the OBDLink MX+ - see https://www.4runners.com/threads/obdlink-mx-for-realtime-tpms-psi.12521/ for that post.

 

Interesting, I wonder why some ORP spares have it and some don't.

 

I went to reprogram my TPMS on my 2016 Limited with my Autel 808 diagnostic computer today and after it auto read my VIN it told me I should have a sensor in the spare.
My sensor reader told me that there was no sensor in the spare but it has exactly the same valve, Steel, as the other tires. I think I have a bad sensor but regardless I am going to put a new one in the spare so that the TPMS system reads it. Its a pain to put air in the spare and you don't want to find out its low when you go to use it.

 

Swapped wheels on my 2020, no sensor in spare for me

 

Easy enough to put one in for $60.00. Assuming your model can monitor 5 sensors which I am pretty sure it should.

 

I've got aftermarket wheels/tires on my truck and am waiting for a spot to open up at my local Toyota dealer so that they can pair them to the on-board computer. Dying to see if they can pair the spare as well.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

Old post resurrection

To date, what I've come to learn is if you move the spare without TPMS to the ground, the tire not having TPMS causes the system to not show ANY of the 4 tires pressure. Not cool if you're doing 5 tire rotation, because you'll spend more time without active TPMS than you will active. And as noted in the quoted post above, adding one to the spare of a Pro is said to not work....kinda crazy....if ya ask me

I know the Limited model has 5 tire monitoring but it comes from the factory with all 5 wheels identical and each has TPMS installed(meaning > the spare wheel is identical to the four on the ground) not steel and minus TPMS, like the Pro.

Wondering if anyone found a workaround, or if they know, if Toyota can reconfigure the software to enable TPMS, like the Limited.

That's all........No, wait! Is it possible the Limited has exclusive software? Scratches head

 

Called Toyota Corporate and they could not answer my question(they could only site what's in the OM - which reads - if equipped). So they've referred the question to my dealer for follow up. Corporate doesn't know, but the dealer does? Been down this rabbit hole before and it's seldom rewarding. More to come.

 

So is what you're saying that if you have the spare on as one of the four tires on the ground, and one gets low, no TPMS light will come on at all? My 2019 does not have individual pressure monitoring for each, just the low pressure warning light if one is low.

 

2021 gives a readout for each tire Left front to right rear. I have read if a sensor-less wheel becomes 1 of the 4 on the ground, it causes all 4 to not show pressure readings(just ---). Yet, on the Limited model, it will read all 5, 4 on the ground and the spare. Hope this makes sense

 

Email from corporate after my call.

Dear Mr.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact the Toyota Brand Engagement Center. We are dedicated to providing superior service. Your case is filed at our headquarters office under your name and file # xxxxxxxxxxxx.

The dealer rep called and stated Toyota corporate rep notified her of my inquiry, which said - I needed to know how much air to put in my tires.

Once I explained the reason for my inquiry the dealer rep said she had no clue but fully understood my question/concern, concerning 5 tire rotation and will attempt to get an answer from a tech, and will get back to me today.

 

Hi all

I also do a 5 tire rotation, this spring had my Toyota dealer install a TPMS sensor with the new mag I bought for the spare. The fifth tire did not show up on my display, so they re-programed the CPU on my 2020 TRD Pro and since then it shows on my display.

 

Thanks for your post. Very timely.

Was just contacted by my dealers service manager whom told me they had no idea whether it would work or not, and couldn't tell me until the vehicle was in their shop. I asked, you mean no one has ever done this before? At which point he basically told me I was one in million that would even do such a thing.

Hello rabbit hole! Damn.

Thanks again, @Didz

 

looks like there are a few needle in the haystack folks in here. It only makes sense to be able to monitor the spare tire pressure.

 

It makes sense, but not sure if it applies to pre-2020 4Rs that only have a TPMS low light, and does not monitor each wheel separately (with the exception of the Limited).

What's weird is my TPMS light came on this morning. It knew we were talking about this...

 

My understanding of the way the TPMS system works for the non-Limited 4Runners is as long as the 4 tires (that have the TPMS sensor installed) are in the vicinity of the truck, the TPMS display will work. The tires don't need to touch the ground for the system to get a reading. The TPMS sensors are each assigned their own unique code and this code tells the truck which tire the sensor corresponds to. When the truck receives the code, it knows which tire and the tire's pressure reading. If you use the spare tire, the TPMS display will still display all 4 tires as long as all 4 tires (the ones with the TPMS sensor) are nearby.

When it's configured like this, the problem with doing a tire rotation comes when the tires are moved to new location (for example: Front Left goes to Rear Left and vice-versa). Because of their unique codes, the truck's TPMS display would show the reverse of what is actually on the truck - a way to get around this is to update the TPMS/wheel pairing information whenever a tire is moved to a new spot on the truck (I have a 2019 so unsure if on the newer 4Runners they have any option for the owner to configure this). There are TPMS devices on the market that will update the TPMS/wheel pairing info too.