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I had my 2012 GMC Terrain serviced:

  • Tire Rotation
  • Brake System Flush
  • Wheel Alignment

Before taking the vehicle in, there were no outward signs (alerts, false-positives or otherwise) of any problems with any of the tire pressure sensors. During the service, the rep from the GMC dealership called and said we are now getting a fault in tire monitoring system and they quoted me $250 to replace the sensor. After explaining to him that we didn't have a problem before we brought the vehicle it, he said that the sensor was probably going out and having the vehicle service revealed the problem.

We declined to repair the sensor due to the price, but now the dashboard throws up all kinds of persistent and annoying warnings.

So my question is, during the course of having these services performed, is it more likely that the sensor was damaged by the technician, or is the claim that we brought it in with a bad sensor, and the act of servicing the vehicle made us aware of it?

Thank you.

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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Swisher Sweet
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2 Answers2

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Welcome to the site. To be honest, there is no real way for us to know how to answer your question. I know the sensors do go bad occasionally. There isn't a way for the technician to damage it unless they take the tire off. So, who really knows?

My advice...go somewhere else. Tire service companies replace these regularly for a fraction of the price. I looked up the replacement sensor for your vehicle and it was only about $43 USD.

My opinion...dealerships are know for marking up prices because they sell "genuine OEM parts", then charge outrageous labor.

CharlieRB
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It's possible the car maps tire sensors to a specific location (front-left, front-right...), and by rotating the tires and changing the pressures accordingly, the car's computer thinks there's a problem with the tire pressures since the sensor the car is looking for won't have the right pressure. For example, if the front tires call for a higher pressure than the rears, and after rotation, the tires that were on front are deflated, it's possible that the TPMS will think they are underinflated. If this is the case, the TPMS system in the car will need to be re-programmed accordingly. For some cars, there is a procedure to reset that doesn't involve a dealer or a shop. For other cars, it will require a special tool. Re-programming these cars is a trivial task for the dealer and most tire shops, or if you have a suitable tool (generally will run $100USD or more).

Shamtam
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