"New" 2010 VW Sportwagen TDI with TPMS ??

[goiffd2]

Hi everyone,

I hang out in a C3 ('69-'82) Corvette Forum often, so I know how helpful a forum of car owners like this can be.

Our 2010 VW Sportwagen TDI was just delivered from Texas yesterday. We also have a 2006 Jetta TDI with Package 2 and more, so TDI's are not new to us but TPMS is new.

I know it has TPMS valve stems:



However, there is no TPMS Reset button in the glove compartment or console:



My first question is, how can I determine if the TPMS is working without deflating a tire and see if the tire pressure warning comes on? (If I did that and the TPMS light came on, I'd have to re-inflate the tire and reset the TPMS...without a Reset button.)

My second question is, can the TPMS sensors be added to aftermarket wheels?

My wife has two sets of 17" wheels on her '06 Jetta TDI, one set with snow tires, the other with UHP tires (not all-season tread). We want to put the 2010 JSW 16" wheels on the 2006 Jetta to sell and put the 17" wheels from the 2006 on the 2010 JSW.

If the missing TPMS Reset button means the TPMS has been removed or disabled, then we can simply bolt the 2006 wheels on the 2010, right?
If not, then can we add TPMS sensors to the 2006 wheels?

[Keithuk]

Welcome to the forum.

I was reading a TPMS thread the other day and they were saying that 2011 models don't use the pressure sensors in the wheels they use a "leveling" to tell if your pressure is low or not. Leveling or not the direct TPMS shows the pressures in each tyre on the radio display so without sensors how can it do that?



Obviously your is 2010 and the picture shows the sensors. Yes you can buy a set of new sensors for your winter wheels but at £70 each sensor it isn't cheap. You could have the TPMS disabled while your winter wheels are on.

Sorry I don't know why there is no Set button in the glovebox there is on mine.

According to VW the 2011 Jetta has a Set button in the glovebox.

How to activate, reset, or swap the TPMS system on your VW Jetta or Golf

[chittychittybangbang]

Yes TPMS sensor can be added to aftermarket wheels.

Can you restate which has what?

2006 - doesn't have any TPMS
2010 - does have valve stem sensors

[Aseras]

On most of the 2010's the tpms sensors are in the wheels, there is no need to reset or calibrate them. They report the pressure as they see it and the settings are stored in the CECM. You can do a adaptation to change the pressure triggers. There is a high setting and a low setting. The tpms light goes off when you are in the correct range. No reset is needed. Just add or remove air.

On 2011 and later and some 2010's use an indirect tpms that is based off the antilock braking system and needs to be calibrated. It measures the speed the tire spins and when a tire gets low the tires spins faster as the diameter decreases. So this is why there is a reset button. There's no real measurement of tire pressure, only speed of the tire. So anytime there is a change to the tires you have to recalibrate the system.

The advantage of the indirect system is there are no sensors, and any tire will work with it.

[Keithuk]

Maybe its only the indirect TPMS that has the Set button.

Tyre Monitoring Indicator

Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

[goiffd2]

None of the tires LOOKED low, but I check them with a tire guage. The tire pressure sticker on the drivers doorpost specifies 35 psi for front and rear. The lowest (right front) was 27 psi and the left rear was 44.5 psi (!!). The other two were pretty close. I filled them all to 35 psi for now. The TPMS light went off when I started the car after correcting the tire pressures just as Aseras said would happen.

Thanks to chittychittybangbang, I know we can install the TPMS sensors from the stock 16" 2010 wheels on the 17" 2006 stock wheels with Blizzak winter tires and put the 16" 2010 wheels without TPMS sensors on the 2006 (no TPMS in 2006). We will then buy a set of 4 TPMS sensors for the aftermarket 17" wheels with the summer tires.

FYI, we really liked the '06 Jetta TDI with Package 2, but the 2010 TDI Sportwagen is even better.

[momeara]

Interestingly enough, it appears that TPMS is not an option on Canadian spec'd Golfs.

[golfTDI1]

Doesn't look like anyone mentioned this to you goiffd2:

Although you have the direct TPMS system in your car, and you now know about the indirect system, you should know that your car ALSO has the indirect system fully capable though the ABS system controller. The only thing missing is the reset from the glove box.

For example: I have winter wheels installed and was not interested in paying $60-$80 per wheel to get the sensors. I used my VCDS cable interface (which I felt was a more prudent use of roughly the same funds for a would-be purchase of the sensors) to DISABLE the direct system and ENABLE the indirect system. The VCDS has the reset function within, so you don't need the reset button in the glovebox...BUT you can buy one and plug it in if you like, then you have the fully functioning indirect system, without all the hassle of sensors and replacing sensors when the batteries fail.

[goiffd2]

Originally Posted by golfTDI1

Doesn't look like anyone mentioned this to you goiffd2:

Although you have the direct TPMS system in your car, and you now know about the indirect system, you should know that your car ALSO has the indirect system fully capable though the ABS system controller. The only thing missing is the reset from the glove box.

For example: I have winter wheels installed and was not interested in paying $60-$80 per wheel to get the sensors. I used my VCDS cable interface (which I felt was a more prudent use of roughly the same funds for a would-be purchase of the sensors) to DISABLE the direct system and ENABLE the indirect system. The VCDS has the reset function within, so you don't need the reset button in the glovebox...BUT you can buy one and plug it in if you like, then you have the fully functioning indirect system, without all the hassle of sensors and replacing sensors when the batteries fail.

Now THAT is useful information. Now I need to search the forum for info about "VCDS". (It sounds like a communicable disease. )

[chittychittybangbang]

FYI, the forum search can't search the FAQ pages since they are static pages: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a...em-vw-golf.htm