Universal TPMS sensors not working on 2018 LEAF

[Jerther]

Hi!!

It seems like TPMS sensors are quite a pain to get to work when they don't on the first try... Anyway, I have these sensors on my 4 winter tires for my 2018 LEAF SL:

RiteSensor, Dual Frequency (315 and 433), Model RS-2000R

Long story short, I couldn't program them into the car myself using LeafSpy so I went to the tire shop to have them do the job. They set up their tool for the 2018 Nissan Leaf and then used it against the sensors one by one, starting with FL then clockwise. Then they connected the tool into the OBD port and the tool reported success.

I then noticed the IDs of the sensors changed in LeafSpy, but ultimately that didn't work. The car reports no pressure and the tire pressure warning comes on after about a 10 minute drive.

I'll go to the tire shop a third time next week, but before I do, I (and the tire shop...) really need some informed advice. I spent coultless hours on the internet trying to find reliable information on the TPMS system of the 2018 LEAF and I couldn't find anything other than speculation and dead ends. The sensors need to be 433 MHz, that's all I know, and even then, I'm not even 100% sure.

Now I'm well aware of the electrical tape fix, and other workarounds that all revolve around giving up. But that's not the point. We're all shooting in the dark here, and there has to be good a way to diagnose what's going on. It's getting very frustrating, and the tire shop did the first programming for free but I had to pay for the second, and most propably will for the third when I get there next week.

Please, any help is welcome.

 

[goldbrick]

LeafSpyPro has the ability to register the TMPS sensors, once they are entered into the car's computer (somehow). On my 2017 Leaf, I had to have an external tool to originally input the TMPS sensor numbers but once that was done, I can switch tire sets back and forth and then have LeafSpyPro detect the tires and have them work.

Sorry if that is vague but I don't know the details. I'm also not sure how similar it is to how the 2018 works but if you have LSP it might be worth the effort to try to register the tires first with that before going back to the tire shop.

 

[Jerther]

From what I gather, LeafSpy can set the sensor ids into the leaf. LF can remember sets of sensors that you can select from, and then set them into the car (again, speculation...). But In my case anyway that part was done (twice) at the tire shop with a pro tool, but the LEAF just doesn't read anything from them.

I know for a fact that the TPMS works on my LEAF because I also have a set of summer tires with working TPMS sensors on them.

So now the problem is either:
1- Wrong universal sensors, even though the pro tool has the 2018 leaf
2- Wrong wheels or tires (interference?) My winter wheels are not OEM.
3- Wrong settings set in the sensors (multiple protocols or frequencies for 2018? see #1)
4- Karma or something.

I have absolutely no clue how to diagnose this, and I fear the tire shop doesn't either... The lack of clear and known facts doesn't help

 

[goldbrick]

LeafSpy does the ability to save and restore a set of TPMS sensor ID numbers but what I was referring to is a 'learn mode' where each tire is set to a different pressure and then driven until the LeafSpy can detect which tire is in which position (by reading the various pressures I assume). This is a mode of LeafSpy that is not part of the normal TPMS as far as I can tell. Once LeafSpy has all the tire information it will remember them but once again, I think this is independent of the car's TPMS controller since it will turn on the TPMS warning light to indicate that the tire pressure(s) are low - or not, depending on how fast LeafSpy learns the tire IDs and how far you drive. Ie, it is possible to finish with the LS setup and re-inflate the tires before the car sets the TPMS light, although if you drive too far the TPMS light will come on.

I can't remember the exact sequence to run this mode but I think there is an option in one of the LeafSpy modes to go into learn mode. Once you get the learn mode screen up (it may require restarting LS) there are instructions on the screen for how to run the test. The tires are set to 4 different pressures 3 psi apart so you will need a good tire gauge and ideally a way to re-inflate the tires once it is done. I think the lowest tire pressure is in the mid-20's PSI so you don't want to drive too long without re-inflating the tires.

 

[GerryAZ]

If the 2018 is like my 2019 SL Plus, the TPMS system learns the sensor positions after a few minutes of driving (after rotating tires). There is no need to use the position learning procedure. It sounds like the tire shop's tool was able to communicate with the sensors and with the LEAF's computers, but the computers are not recognizing the sensors after driving a few minutes. Since the universal sensors are intended to cover a wide range of vehicles, I suspect there is some set up issue with the sensors that needs to be completed before the LEAF will recognize them.

 

[Jerther]

@goldbrick LeafSpy shows similar instructions, but eventually shows this (sorry for the unecessary censorship):

This was before I went to the tire shop. I tried various things, including buying an "activation tool" and following instructions on how to activate the sensors while the car is in learn mode. But nothing happens. No beep, no honk, no blink, no nothing. At that point I thought the sensors were bad but then I went to the tire shop a first time. I was there with the technician, and the sensors were obviously registering correctly into the tool and he actually managed to change the IDs to this:

Drove the car 10 minutes only to have the warning light come on again. I went to the tire shop again the next day, and the same thing happened, except my wallet is a bit lighter now.

Also I believe the procedure that involves different tire pressures has been removed from the leaf in 2018.

@GerryAZ I recon the 2018 is most likely to be the same as the 2019. Unless Nissan changed the frequency halfway into 2018? Anyway, I agree there's something wrong between the sensors and the car.

Also, your 2019 was able to detect a tire rotation, not a whole new set of sensors with different ids, right?

I'll visit the tire shop a third time next week. I'm quite pessimistic though...

 

[goldbrick]

It sounds like this doesn't apply to the 2018+ models but FWIW, on my 2017, the ID numbers go from FFFFFF to whatever number is right once the system connects to the sensors. But since it looks like the 2018+ models are completely different that might be a red herring at best.

 

[Jerther]

Yeah I've read somewhere that FFFFFFF is the default value for when there's no ID stored in the car. Also, according to the LF manual, 6 digits codes are for 315 MHz sensors and 7 digits are for 433 MHz. But does that include leading 0s? Are 315 MHz sensors detected by the 2018+ models but send no pressure? No idea...

 

[GerryAZ]

My 2019 SL Plus senses the new sensor positions after rotating tires. I have not yet replaced sensors so do not know whether it will recognize new sensors, but have my doubts.

 

[Jerther]

So I went to the tire shop this morning and this time they cloned my OEM sensors, and programmed them in the LEAF, and it worked. Same sensors. Here's a recap:

1- Changed my wheels to my winter set. These have new sensors. Noticed there are no pressure readings, and sensors IDs in LEAF are those of OEM sensors. Tried various things to program them myself but absolutely nothing worked (see previous posts)
2- Went to the tire shop, and they programmed the sensors into the LEAF. New IDs in the LEAF but Still no readings.
3- Went to the tire shop a second time, they did the same thing, and still no reading. One ID changed though.
4- Went to the tire shop a third time, and this time with my summer wheels and they cloned the OEM sensors, and it worked! Notice there are readings next to the IDs in LeafSpy now. A placeholder or a "N/A" would've been nice when there's no reading but oh well.

So I'm quite happy now with cloned IDs as I won't have to visit the tire shop again next season. I'll just have to rotate the sensors, which the car should do by itself according to GerryAZ.

The tire shop and I have no idea why the first two programming attempts didn't work. Maybe the LEAF doesn't like the two leading 0s and take them as gen1 sensors? Who knows... The technician told me he had that happen once before with a Mitsubishi.

Anyways, I hope that's useful info.