Re: 2016 Outback 3.6 dashboard

On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 7:47:39 PM UTC-5, VanguardLH wrote:

Dear Sir,

Somehow, our part of the conversation on TPMS got distorted.

For me:
I have two Subarus (2014 Forester, 2017 Legacy) both US models, both with TPMS.
Neither vehicle tracks tire location: a single warning light comes on if any tire is low, it is up to the operator to find which one.
Both vehicles will light the TPMS warning light if a tire is low.
Both vehicles will light the TPMS warning light if a tire does not have a TPMS sensor (or a TPMS sensor battery is dead) I have tested this.

I bought a set of 4 winter tires for them, after buying the vehicle.
I bought programmable _TPMS_ sensors for the new winter tires, and _cloned_ the summer tires TPMS sensors.

I can now replace all four summer tires with winter tires and I do not have to do any re-programming of the vehicle, or sensors in the tires. If the tires are properly inflated, I have no TPMS warning light.

I hope this explains how I have my vehicles/tires/TPMS set-up, and lets people know what options are possible.

Sincerely,
Duane

> TheSeeker <> 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).