Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) have been on the market for close to two decades, but the ‘new’ technology continues to pose challenges for several shops and tire stores.
So much so that several TPMS manufacturers have come together to urge shops across North America to make sure their tools are up to date. At AAPEX 2023, representatives from Continental, Schrader TPMS Solutions, Bartec TPMS and ATEQ TPMS Tools held a press conference to raise awareness about the lack of software updates being performed by shops. The urgency behind the call revolved around ensuring vehicle safety, maintaining vehicle performance and boosting a shop’s bottom line.
As Yanick Leduc, head of training and tech support at Schrader, pointed out, current TPMS technology is becoming quite advanced, offering Bluetooth low energy (BLE) transmission capabilities, high-pressure and high-temperature warnings and even tire burst detection warnings.
“These advancements are crucial because maintaining proper tire air pressure is directly linked to vehicle handling and braking performance,” said Leduc. “The more sophisticated our TPMS systems are, the safer our roads become.”
Scot Holloway, CEO of Bartec, said that although the introduction of TPMS presented significant challenges to tire service companies, it is vital that shops do what they can to maximize their return on investment.
“If your TPMS tool is not up to date, you are certainly missing out on vehicle coverage which leads to lost sales,” said Holloway. “If you use programmable sensors, you could be missing sensor coverage as well. If you don’t have the coverage, you cannot fix the vehicle and that is a lost sale, or worse, a TPMS that is not functional.”
One of the keys to ensuring shops are getting the most out of their TPMS tools is making sure the software is up to date.
“The best-case scenario is to have the tool update itself during off-hours so as not to interfere with business,” said Holloway, adding that his company will soon be launching the ability for its TPMS tools to power on, download the update over Wi-Fi and automatically install the update. “This new feature will go a long way in making sure our customers are always up to date and enjoying the latest features and best coverage.”
Mike Rose, OEM and industrial TPMS sales manager with ATEQ, says most shops and owners don’t realize how simple it is to keep their TPMS software up to date — the latest generation of tools have Wi-Fi included for easier updating.
“Some users think TPMS doesn’t change, and don’t understand the importance of proper coverage until they can’t fix the car and end up calling support, only for it to be fixed by updating the tool,” said Rose. “If you are not updating regularly, you are missing out on features and coverage, and that could be costing you money in vehicles you could service or having to update while the vehicle is tying up a bay.”
Leduc also stressed the importance of not just having a TPMS tool with Wi-Fi connectivity, but for manufacturers to improve the updating process, making it faster and more efficient.
“Unfortunately, we see too many times users having to repeat the update multiple times because the Wi-Fi connection was lost or the update process failed at 70 or 80 per cent completion,” he said. “Getting notifications on tools when new software is available, or even a push software update, which is already available in some cases, would be the next step.”
Leduc says cost is rarely a factor when it comes to shops updating their TPMS tools, as many offer free software updates for three to five years. Instead, he says it’s a combination of factors.
“Not knowing how to do it or not receiving the training, being unaware that updates are available, not finding the time to do it, not registering the tool, or not downloading the computer program needed to execute the tool’s software updates, which again comes down to time,” said Leduc.
“Proper tire pressure has always played a role in stopping distance and other traction-related issues and is critical to having all the systems around braking to work as well as they were designed.”
Holloway agrees that awareness plays a role when it comes to software updates, but added that the notion of “free software” can be misguided.
“Tool software development is complicated and costly. Tool software development is engineering and research, it is vehicle and sensor testing and validation,” he said. “All of this is a huge undertaking that must be done in order to make sure the tool, the sensor and the vehicle are working according to specifications.
“My advice is always to be wary of ‘free software.’ If it’s free, do they really owe you anything? Bartec TPMS charges for software, and as a result, we produce three to five updates per year.”
Although he doubted that a standardized relearn procedure across all vehicle manufacturers will happen in his lifetime, Leduc noted that BLE technology looks promising.
“BLE TPMS offers so much more: Stronger communication between the vehicle and the sensors, more flexibility for advanced security features and more data can be exchanged between the vehicle and the sensors through bidirectional communication,” he said. “This allows the sensor to be updated with new software and features without the need to dismount the tire or reprogram the sensor with a TPMS tool.”
While TPMS tools continue to evolve and shops try to keep up with recurrent changes and updates, the importance of maintaining correct tire pressure cannot be overlooked, from both an efficiency standpoint and safety.
“Proper tire pressure has always played a role in stopping distance and other traction-related issues,” said Rose, “and is critical to having all the systems around braking to work as well as they were designed.”
This article originally appeared in the August issue of CARS magazine
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