Since the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act passed in 2000, requiring all vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2007 to be equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), automotive shops across the country have seen an uptick in tire and wheel services over the years.
“There’s a demand for TPMS tools,” Cornwell Quality Tools dealer Frank Orphey states. “Shops are finding it’s best to invest in TPMS tools because the first time they have a vehicle leave their shop and there’s a liability issue or concern, it’s going to cost them way more than the tool ever would have.”
Orphey has been a tool dealer for over 11 years, covering the Arizona white mountains, the Gallup area in New Mexico, and the southern part of Navajo Nation. His stops range from truck shops and body shops to tire shops, dealerships, and ma and pop shops.
For Orphey, TPMS sales come weekly.
“I’m selling something once a week, whether it’s a full on bidirectional $3,000+ scanner or a $200 handheld – or somewhere in between.”
When selling TPMS tools, one might think tire shops would be their biggest customer. For Orphey, it’s his body shops that have the highest demand for TPMS tools.
“I bet half of the TPMS tools that I sell go to either body shops or guys that do bodywork in some form or fashion,” he says.
Mainly for two reasons, he notes. One, insurance companies now require pre- and post-inspection reports and having a TPMS tool to provide adequate readings covers them. And secondly, a lot of times tires and wheels come in bent, cracked, or trashed and must be replaced. Therefore, body shops need to put in new TPMS sensors.
Although body shops may buy more TPMS tools, that’s not to say his other shops are not interested.
“There’s a market for them,” he says. “No good shop only has one TPMS scanner. Even if a shop already has one, I’m finding more and more shops like having two different ones.”
When the light goes on
When a tire’s air pressure drops below 25 percent of the recommended pressure of a TPMS system, the TPMS malfunction light on the vehicle’s dash will illuminate.
On some vehicles, not only will the light turn on, but it may turn another system off.
“What we’re starting to see in the last five years is that some vehicles – mostly higher-end vehicles – will have some sort of a restrictive security system that will be enabled when their TPMS light comes on,” says Yanick Leduc, global technical training manager at Schrader TPMS Solutions.
“To give an example, when the TPMS light goes on, some vehicles might deactivate traction control,” he says. “It’s not just tires anymore. TPMS is part of the whole vehicle diagnostics.”
Offering TPMS service may no longer be an option for shops.
“If a shop services passenger cars and/or trucks, they will, no doubt, at some point have to reset or recalibrate the TPMS,” says Scot Holloway, CEO of Bartec USA.
Even for shops that handle basic tire operations such as tire rotations, having TPMS capabilities is necessary and not only adds another potential revenue stream but aids in the customer’s safety and ensures the car is functioning properly.
Difference in TPMS tools
The only way to check whether the malfunction light turned on because of the sensors within the tires is by using a TPMS tool.
Direct TPMS tools range from a very basic handheld to advanced, high-end scan tools.
There are really two main functions of a TPMS tool, Holloway notes. One is to test the sensors wirelessly inside the tire to see if it’s functioning properly, whether the battery is good, what the tire pressure is, etc. To do this, the tool emits a low frequency signal that turns the sensor on and then the sensor transmits a signal back via radio frequency, either 315MHz or 433MHz (depending on the vehicle).
The other main function is to do a relearn. Whenever a sensor has been replaced, whether the battery dies or a technician puts a new tire on, the last thing the technician needs to do is a relearn, or pair the new sensor to the vehicle’s TPMS.
Then from there, additional features come into play.
One feature that some tools offer is the ability to reprogram the TPMS itself, not the sensor.
If you want to put bigger tires on a truck, for example P tires to LT tires, you’ll need to tell the truck that the new tires have a higher recommended inflation pressure (no longer 35 psi), Holloway notes.
“You need to change that same number in the TPMS system,” he says. “If you don’t, the light won’t come on until the tire is half deflated. If you’re plus fitting, you have to recalibrate the recommended inflation pressure.”
Other features include being able to program a programmable sensor, having the ability to read and clear diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) related to TPMS, having the ability to capture tread depth, sensors IDs, and images of the tires, as well as the ability to generate a report to show the customer, adds Dennis Flanery, sales manager of Americas at ATEQ TPMS Tools.
The ST-1 TPMS Tool from Schrader TPMS Solutions offers ID-Sync, a proprietary feature that compares IDs on the wheels and the sensor IDs that were saved in the vehicle’s computer.
“You see the charts next to each other and you’ll see right away if there’s one that doesn’t match,” Leduc says.
The ST-1 also displays sensor data such as pressure, battery, temperature, ID, and frequency as well as provides TPMS ECU relearn procedures and retrieves TPMS DTC information.
Bartec’s Tech600Pro is wireless. By featuring a wireless VCI, technicians are no longer tethered to the car, making the process quicker. Pair that with the company’s VINDicate function and Rite-Sync process, technicians can also automatically determine the vehicle’s make, model, and year as well as combine sensor programming and vehicle relearning in one step.
“Getting the make, model, and year right is critical,” Holloway says. “[With VINDicate] you just connect the tool and connect to the control module. [Then with Rite-Sync], you program the sensor and do the relearn on the same operation. It’s one time around the car, one time at the sensor, and the information is based on VINDicate. It makes it almost impossible to get it wrong.”
ATEQ’s latest TPMS tool, the VT67, is an Android-based tablet that offers over 30 features and functions, including generating and sending customer reports via email and has a built-in camera to document any wheel issues. The tool is certified by Chrysler and is authorized to utilize AutoAuthority to handle Chrysler’s secure gateway.
The VT67 is also able to connect to ATEQ’s new TPMS Cloud platform which shops can access securely and remotely from anywhere if there is an internet connection. The platform is ideal for multiple location shops and was originally developed for General Motors, Flanery notes.
Selling TPMS tools
Generally, tire shops and dealerships have a good idea on what they need to buy, Cornwell dealer Orphey says.
Oftentimes, TPMS tools are supplied by companies who visit tire shops on a regular basis such as for wheel weights, tire balancers, and so on. So, when they visit Orphey’s truck, it’s usually to buy a backup.
Dealerships tend to be forced to buy into a specific brand, so they’ll also come to Orphey to buy a backup, when needed, or one to read a random vehicle that comes through their bay, Orphey notes.
But for body shops, fleets, and ma and pop shops, these shops rely more on Orphey for guidance since it’s not their main service.
When selling TPMS tools, here are a few important factors for technicians and shop owners to consider.
Ease of use
“The biggest thing that I’m asked about is how hard is the tool to use,” Orphey says. “Not how easy is it to use. A lot of times, these guys don’t have the time to figure out a new tool, so they want it to be easy.”
For this reason, Orphey finds TPMS tools with “nice big intuitive screens” sell better over smaller handhelds.
“It takes a lot of the guesswork out for the techs; the instructions are right on the screen,” he notes.
Bartec’s Holloway agrees that TPMS tools need to be easy and that’s why their Tech600Pro is graphical now and offers more instructions on the screen.
“If you’re following the screen, you can’t go wrong,” he says.
Many other manufacturers are also taking this into consideration, including Autel’s MaxiSYS MS906 Pro-TS, a favorite with Orphey’s customers, and ATEQ’s VT67.
Coverage and flexibility
When selling a TPMS tool to a customer it’s important to know the type of vehicles (Domestic, European, and/or Asian) they work on to understand what coverage is required – not only for the tool itself but for sensors as well.
“Make sure [the tool] offers them the coverage they need for the type of vehicles they work on, and not to get locked in with one tool that only has limited sensors,” Schrader’s Leduc says.
“What we’re seeing in the last year or so are people looking for flexibility. Manufacturers are starting to sell unlocked TPMS tools. For example, our S57 tool is unlocked, so if a tech is working on a vehicle that is part of the 1 percent that the sensor doesn’t cover, the tool will open a different database to show the different sensors that it can program. They don’t need to go out and buy another tool or sensor package.”
Productivity
Depending on the size of the shop, having one TPMS tool may not be enough. To keep jobs moving, multiple tools may be necessary.
“My rule of thumb is for every four to five technicians you need a tool,” ATEQ’s Flanery says. “So, if you have 10 technicians you need two tools.”
If you have any less, you’ll end up having somebody stand around waiting for the tool, slowing down productivity, he notes.
If a shop has multiple tire machines, Bartec’s Holloway recommends having one TPMS tool for every machine, so technicians are not always looking for the tool and holding up jobs.
Keeping up with the demand
If a mobile tool dealer is not stocking TPMS tools on their truck, they’re missing out on a revenue stream, Orphey says.
“Every vehicle has this system now, so every one of them is in the market,” he says. “It’s a wide-open market; every technician has to take a tire off a car at some point and will need a TPMS tool whether it’s the shops or their own.”
If a mobile dealer can afford to keep the basics on their truck (hand/specialty tools, power/air tools, etc.) they can afford to keep TPMS tools as well; it pays for itself, he adds.
Orphey, himself, likes to always keep three to four on his truck, usually a handheld and a couple of TPMS scan tools.
