Re: 2016 Outback 3.6 dashboard

TheSeeker <[email protected]> wrote:

> Like I said: "None of my Subarus track TPMS and tire _position_, so I
> can rotate positions without causing problems." 
> 
> I have a 2014 Forester and a 2017 Legacy. I can swap the set of
> summer tires for winter ones and vice-versa (even putting tires in
> different positions on the car), without doing any programming at
> all.

For you, yes, perhaps you don't have TPMS (or the batteries are dead, or
the dash light won't show when they are missing or dead), yet you also
mentioned the use of TPMS in your same post.  I also don't have TPMS in
my old '02 Subaru Legacy.  That's a side issue not relevant to
discussing TPMS, and doesn't obviate the TPMS discussion.  I was staying
on-topic to the OP's thread, especially since the OP does have TPMS.

The 2007 THREAD Act that required TPMS on new cars since 2008 was USA
legislation.  Don't know the location where you bought your Subies.  The
2014 Forester, in the USA, did come with TPMS; else, no one would be
selling TPMS sensors for that year and model, yet such sensors are for
sale.  That year and model fell under the TREAD Act.

https://www.ateq-tpms.com/en-us/article/diagnostic-information-subaru-forester/

Sure looks like the 2014 Forester had TPMS.  Also, a manual I found at:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjAnPyA_qXrAhWRPM0KHVKOCg8QFjAAegQIERAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.dealereprocess.net%2Fcdn%2Fservicemanuals%2Fsubaru%2F2014-forester.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2yFQ1SakZeJ2LTzwsoy0eS

mentions TPMS; however, it also says "U.S.-spec models".  If you bought
somewhere other than in the USA then the 2007 TREAD Act does not apply
to your vehicles.  It was USA legislation.

If your wheels don't have TPMS sensors installed in them, how could
something that doesn't exist transmit data to the car?  The sensor
reports tire pressure below some threshold (25%).  They cannot report
they are missing, and I don't know the car will bitch if the sensors
don't transmit to the car, especially if their ID wasn't synchronized or
they are missing.  I've read where dead sensors (battery is dead or
sensor is damaged due to corrosion) don't show up on the instrument/dash
panel, so the same would be true for missing sensors.

You don't have a vehicle that falls under the USA's 2007 TREAD Act, so
TPMS is not required.  Or, the batteries in the TPMS sensors are dead,
or they are missing, and the car won't tell you that and the indicator
stays dark.  You can't tell if the car should have TPMS by looking for
the indicator cutout in the dash plate since the same plate gets used
regardless of which market into which the car eventually gets sold.

From what I've read, the 2014 Forester was supposed or did come with
TPMS.  If you bought it new in the USA, and you know, at least, one set
of tires you use don't have TPMS sensors in their wheels, well, the car
isn't going to bitch to tell you the sensors are missing or their
batteries are dead.  I would've suspected the indicator light stays on
constantly with no data coming from the sensors.  One 2015 Forester
owner says the light stays on all winter when he swaps his tires+wheels
winter set onto his car that don't have the sensors.  That's one
year-model older than yours.

It is illegal to disable TPMS in your car; however, it is not illegal
(again, only in the USA where the law applies) to not bother replacing
them when you get new wheels or swap in other wheels, nor are US
citizens mandated to replace them when the batteries die.  They are
required in new vehicles manufactured since 2008 sold only in the USA.
Owners aren't legally required to maintain them.  While illegal (in USA)
to disable TPMS, you could add a switch inline to the wiring that goes
to the indicator light (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlijXStqauA).
Another solution is to fake out the car by using a bogus TPMS
transmitter which pretends to be the sensors in the wheels (e.g.,
https://tpmsbypass.com/tpms-bypass-shop/).  A lot more expensive than
black tape, but less techy than dismantling the dash cluster.  I didn't
see any USA bypass transmitters listed for Subaru, but I didn't look
elsewhere.  Considering the price of tires these days, and having to
replace all 4 in an AWD car, I consider TPMS will save my tire(s) from
me driving on them flat or severely underinflated, like a valve stem
started leaking (because it was bad, not just because it got loose).