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Roadster Tire Pressure Monitor Reset Tool Group Buy

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As most of you are probably aware, Tesla sells the TPMS reset tool for $550. What do Roadster owners think about 20 or so of us pitching in $27.50 to buy one of these for group use? The moderator of this forum could take custody of this unit permanently and ship it out to Roadster users who need to use it. The user would have to pay a shipping charge and be responsible for shipping the unit back to the moderator. It would be a huge boon to have unrestricted access to this reset tool.

Roadster Tire Pressure Monitoring System Tesla Motors
 
As most of you are probably aware, Tesla sells the TPMS reset tool for $550. What do Roadster owners think about 20 or so of us pitching in $27.50 to buy one of these for group use? The moderator of this forum could take custody of this unit permanently and ship it out to Roadster users who need to use it. The user would have to pay a shipping charge and be responsible for shipping the unit back to the moderator. It would be a huge boon to have unrestricted access to this reset tool.

Roadster Tire Pressure Monitoring System Tesla Motors

I would buy into this but I don't think the moderator should be the person to take custody and send it around. One of us could volunteer. I was involved in a similar situation and it all ended when one person never sent the tool to the next person. So there would have to be a refundable deposit each time someone borrowed it. I would be willing to pay $75 if we had 8 people. I also want to start a coop to get their diagnostic software but have no idea what they would charge for it. I think by law they have to sell it to an independent garage but they might charge $10,000 plus $$ per year for updates and support.
 
It might be a better idea for groups of Roadster owners to band together with a repair shop to purchase one. Some areas will have enough roadsters that having a place which regularly does service work - tires, breaks etc. - on Roadsters would reduce the worry and education factor for the shop and provide customers (high value possibly). Rather than shipping the tool around, driving to your regular repair place for a quick reset would be easier - though it might cost a little more.

My last annual service on my Roadster was delayed a month because Menlo Park staff were transferred to Fremont to get the Model S production crunch over. IMO, spreading out the Roadster service knowledge would be a good thing. Tesla should endorse this also IMO.
 
Although I heard my 1.5 doesn't have this issue much, I'm still interested in the possible solutions. Since it seems like an easy job and that its problematic enough that Tesla sells a tool for it for you to take care of yourself, it would seem to be a gesture goodwill if the service center would just do it for free. I mean, if we take the time to go to their center, they should have the decency to just reset it for free.

Or else its like those shady shops that charges $100 diagnostic to plug in an OBDII reader. Just rambling and a bit of wishful thinking.
 
In 2 and a Half years my 2.5 Roadster has needed four TPMS resets and has had the 'antenna' for the TPMS replaced twice. Menlo has reset it with out doing the paperwork of a full service visit once - I needed a reset just a week after they put new tires on. Took just a couple minutes to do but driving to Menlo Park is a bit of a drive for me. And when the warranty expires if I still need frequent resets that could get pricy fast.

If I purchase one of these tools, I'll announce it on the forum and make it available for other owners near me.
 
I am likely game but in 14,000 miles and three sets of tires have not seen any need for it.

I think the need arises when you have two sets of wheels - I've got one set for summer and one for winter, and I swap them myself. Every time I swap wheels, I need this tool. I've been just ignoring the warning until the next service visit but it is really annoying. So... I'm in if we can get the price down to $50.

Alternatively, this could be done via the OVMS by the look of it. You need the serial number / ID code of the TPMS transmitter in each wheel, and the Tesla Motors device sends it over the CAN bus to the car. Someone with CAN watching abilities could probably intercept the signal and decode it. Currently this is beyond me.
 
I have been getting an intermittent TPMS failure the last couple weeks. It'll come on for a day or two and then go away. I have had the antenna replaced once already. Assuming the tool can make these errors go away I'd be down for going in on a group buy.
 
I noticed that the TPMS reset tool has vanished from the teslamotors website, so I called my local service friendly folks to find out what's up. Long story short: because Tesla is not having any more made for sale, they have taken the tool off the website. To be on the safe side I just got the last one they had since it was a last chance purchase, so if anyone in SoCal needs to use it, PM me and you can come by my home in the South Bay or my office downtown. Or if anyone wants me to mail it to them so they can use it and send it back to me, that's fine too. Obviously you would be expected to pay the round trip shipping, and if anybody wants to chip in to defray the $595 price for the tool (including tax), that's fine too, but entirely optional.

The good news is that I was told that the charge for a TPMS reset is a half hour of labor, or $82.50, so no bleed test, etc. required. So having it done by Tesla service is a reasonable option. But for those wanting to use the one I bought, PM me.
 
As a new owner (car coming friday) of a 2008 Roadster I was concerned about not having the device so I called the service center in Queens, NY. The service tech told me that he could probably order it but that they are expensive and hardly used. The main purpose was for owners that live very far from any service center. The plan (of course if realized) is to have more service centers around the country which should minimize the need to have the TPMS. He could be BS'ing but it sounded logical.
 
I opened the box in which the TPMS tool came, and in so doing I noticed that the tool is for 2.0 and 2.5 Roadsters only. I know that the sensors are different in 2.0/2.5s from 1.5s, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise.

I followed the directions and it took about three minutes to perform the operation, and my fifth grader could have done it. I'm not sure about my eighth grader, though, as it probably wasn't cool to stoop over to the wheel stems like I did.