TPMS Not Re-Pairing After Sitting 1.5 Years...

[FerkinBlonco]

Hi All, sorry if this TPMS question has been answered half a dozen times already and I'm just not savvy enough with the search function.... here goes...

Backstory:

I own a base and upgraded my wheels / tires some time ago. I think it was the Fall of 2022 the last time I ran with 'em. I switched to Badlands wheels / tires. I had no issues with the Badlands wheel TPMS getting automagically detected. So I'm reasonably confident that my Bronc is doing the auto-relearn thing just fine when presenting it with different sets of OEM sensors.

I also own a 3rd set of winter beater wheels and tires that I pulled off of my old 4runner. They don't have the TPMS in 'em, and for THIS winter I deactivated TPMS in the BodyCM in FORSCAN to keep my Bronc from reminding me of that fact every time I started my car.

Well, I never got around to selling my base wheels and tires and I thought I'd slap 'em on for fun now that the snow is starting to melt over here. They look better than I remember when mounted. It's awesome. Anyway, I reactivated TPMS using FORSCAN, but the TPMS aren't being picked up. It's been a few days and probably an hour of driving at 55mph+ and still nothing.

The timeline goes like this, in other words:

1. Fall '22: last use of base wheels/tires
2. Winter '22 - '23: switched to Toyota wheels/tires (no TPMS) and just lived with the TPMS warning every time I started my car
3. Spring-Fall '23: used my Badlands wheel/tire set with no TPMS issues
4. Winter '23 - '24: switched to Toyota wheels/tires (no TPMS) and disabled TPMS in FORSCAN to kill the annoying warning
5. Spring '24: switched back to base wheels/tires, re-enabled TPMS in FORSCAN, so far no TPMS detected on base wheels/tires (have not tested with Badlands set yet). TPMS warnings on the dash are again present.

So I'm wondering:

Was the ~1.5 years for some reason too long of a time to let my base wheels sit around / did that somehow put the TPMS on that set in a funky state? Like, maybe the sensors went into a deep power saving mode and need a special procedure to wake 'em back up? Possibly do I just need more road time for the bronco to pick up the sensors?

OR

Maybe I royally screwed something in FORSCAN? I don't think I did, but ya never know - I'm pretty sure I twiddled the same bit to re-enable as when I disabled... certainly I'm getting the no-TPMS warning again after re-enabling. I suppose I could test whether I screwed up something in FORSCAN by switching back to my Badlands wheels and tires (used a mere 7 months ago) but I haven't worked up the energy to go that route yet.

TL;DR

Has anyone had similar experiences with letting a set of wheels sit for a while and then not being able to re-detect the sensors?

Alternatively, has anyone disabled and then re-enabled TPMS using Forscan and had that lead to previously working sensors no longer being detected?

Thank ya!

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[pillar406]

Most likely your TPMS batteries are dead. The estimated life expectancy of an OE TPMS sensor is 5 to 12 years, with the average lifespan being 7 years. TPMS life expectancy is directly related to the number of radio frequency transmissions the sensors make. Driving habits greatly influence the number of RF transmissions a sensor makes in its lifetime. For example: sensors usually transmit when the vehicle is stopped and transmit more often when in motion. Maintaining a constant speed, such as when you're on a highway, reduces the demand on TPMS sensors and allow the sensors to transmit less often. Drivers who often find themselves driving in start-and-stop type traffic will have a greater impact on the vehicles tire pressure monitoring sensors. Most of the time if you remove them and do not use them for a long time it can cause the batteries to deplete quicker. That being said you did use Forscan so there could be something funny going on there. PM your VIN and I'll see if I see any weird DTCs.