[joybhowmik]

Dear TBHPians,
I thought to pen down my thoughts on TPMS and TyreProbe's product after nearly 6 months of ownership experience.
Hopefully this will help you to make an informed choice.

Incorrect tyre pressure may cause you to crash and burn (a hole in your pocket)
Right, I am not kidding you. Here's some food for thought...

A new AA Roadwatch survey shows that women are more likely to neglect their cars than men.
The poll of more than 12,300 people indicated that a huge number of motorists neglect to check their car's fluids, tyres and lights.
A third of those surveyed said that they rarely if ever check their tyre pressure - with 37% of female drivers compared to 32% of men saying they failing to carry out this check.
“Under-inflated tyres means that your vehicle’s rolling resistance will increase, making your vehicle more fuel-thirsty.” said Noel Keogh, Head of AA Rescue.
“You also increase the likelihood of sustaining a puncture which means even more expense. Most importantly of all, under-inflated tyres reduce your vehicle control, increase braking distances and increase your risk of skidding.”

^^^ Source (AA women more likely to neglect cars):

While I did not mean to start a war of words between the genders due to the article's title, the content about under-inflation of tyres is what I wanted to focus on.

Habitual driving with under-inflated tyres, can cause early suspension damage and impaired fuel efficiency. Further, under-inflation can cause serious damage - such as losing control of the car under hard braking conditions, cause skids and in general put you in the path of danger.

For most of us, who have a full-time job at office and at home, setting the tyre pressure correctly is often a matter best left to the pump "hawa walla" which we do religiously once a week. After all he has been topping up the air with his digital read-out air pump for years. So we can rest assured. Right? - WRONG!

The case for continuous tyre pressure monitoring.
For some of us, who do want to take matters into their own hands, you may have already invested in a tyre-pressure guage and an inflator. And you may be regularly topping up the tyres even at home.
But in this age of slow leaks in tubeless tyres, how do you get to know when your tyre got a puncture or the valve malfunctioned?

1) Well for some the steering feels hard or heavy depending on how one wishes to describe it and the car feels unresponsive. That's when they glance at the tyres and observe its flatness.

2) For others, the problem appears in their morning check of tyre pressure with a tyre guage.

3) For still others, who may have fitted tyre pressure valve indicator caps, there's a visual indication waiting, if one chances to look at the tyre.
See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs5rSNvetLU

Well to each his poison.

For me , none of the above seemed right. And here's why:
By the time option 1) happened, it was too late, and I would have to change out the tyre. I wish the car would have given an early warning.

For options 2) and 3) to work, one needed to do a walkabout around the car with a tyre pressure guage (2) or visually check (3). In fact, given the multi-coloured indicator (3) , one is prone to having the caps nicked by vandals - not unlike the infamous Magpie attracted to shiny jewels. Finally (3) does not offer a "continuous tyre pressure" reading, neither is there any guarantee that it would come pre-calibrated at the recommended psi level for my tyres.

Now, I do have a very rushed day, and I would not put it past me to forget to measure the pressure in the tyres. The only time I get to check the car's workings, is when I am focused on driving during my morning commute (the evening commute is usually spent wrapping up the day's business - God bless bluetooth) .
And how great it would be, if I could get some timely input about the tyre's condition when I am focused on the car - at least then I would be in a position to do something about it.

That's when I read the news of legislation mandating TPMS in both USA and EU.

In the United States, the United States Department Of Transportation (NHTSA) released the FMVSS No. 138, which requires an installation of a Tire Pressure Monitoring System to all new passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses that have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs.) or less, except those vehicles with dual wheels on an axle, as of 2007. In the European Union, starting November 1, 2012, all new models of passenger cars must be equipped with a TPMS, with even tighter specifications that will be defined by the UNECE Vehicle Regulations (Regulation No. 64). From November 1, 2014, all new passenger cars sold in the European Union must be equipped with TPMS. On July 13, 2010, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced a pending partial-revision to the Korea Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (KMVSS), specifying that "TPMS shall be installed to passenger vehicles and vehicles of GVW 3.5 tons or less, ... [effective] on January 1, 2013 for new models and on June 30, 2014 for existing models". Japan is expected to adopt European Union legislation approximately one year after European Union implementation. Further countries to make TPMS mandatory include Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia and Turkey.

^^^Source: Wikipedia.

That was sufficient reason to start looking for a TPMS for my vehicle.

To be Direct or Indirect? that is the question...
Direct TPMS systems measure the tyre's pressure using pressure sensors inside the wheel. Some units also measure the tyre's air temperature. This pressure/temperature reading is then converted from analog to digital format, and transmitted using R/F to a Receiver unit inside the cabin.
Indirect TPMS systems use the vehicle's ABS system, to compare the RPM of each wheel against the others. If a specific tyre has lost pressure, then due to the alteration of its circumference, it will spin a little slower than the other three. This difference in RPM is measured, and the onboard computer lights up the appropriate dashboard light to warn the motorist.
Originally developed by manufacturers as a way to comply the law, indirect TPMS have found less favour with most motorists complaining about its lack of accuracy, the need to drive substantial distance before it can generate a warning, the need to reset the system and setup exactly the same correct pressure on all 4 tyres not to mention driving the car always in the most optimum conditions (e.g. no rough/off-roading).

So , it had to be a direct TPMS for me.

Which one to buy?
I like to invest time before investing money in any product I buy. Researching with websites, asking friends are all par for the course. This time was no different.
Direct TPMS retails on ebay for approximately Rs 10,000/-. Bridgestone Select stores retail a TPMS and GPS package for approximately Rs 13,000/-
I also came across the product I eventually bought: TyreProbe
(More on pricing later)
I am not aware if there is any other mainstream channel available for buying aftermarket TPMS in India

Why did I buy TyreProbe?
For me it was important that the product had some customer service which could actually take care of a potential (later real) product failure situation. Why? Because this accessory was important enough to me that it merited being a permanent feature of the car. It would definitely not be use and throw.

So, buying something from overseas, or from ebay was an absolute No-No. We all know most ebayers are traders, who would only go so-far with regard to providing customer service, definitely that would not extend years into the product ownership experience.

Buying from bridgestone, was a possibility for others -not for me. The reason ? The GPS and the TPMS share the same display unit. The two functions converge on one display unit - thus representing a single point of failure for both. Besides I already have a GPS that integrates well with my ICE (low coupling high cohesion), and I dislike any product that is obviously poorly designed (high coupling low cohesion).

TyreProbe on the other hand, had its own display unit. The product is manufactured by Orange Electronic, Taiwan and marketed in India by Triton Valves Limited. By most accounts it represents Triton's steps to be first mover in the Indian TPMS market.

The pricing was a reasonable Rs 7000/- when I called up Tyre Probe's local dealer. He also mentioned, that the company was in the process of replacing stock with a new model that would cost Rs 9000/- - but that he did not have the new model in stock yet.

The old model differed from the new model in terms of the receiver only. The old model's receiver had 4 led lights placed around the 4 corners of a white picture of a car stuck on the black receiver unit. When tyre pressure was okay, the light would show green. If pressure fell below a certain limit , it would show red and beep audibly. I was told the new model actually displayed the psi/temperature readings.

I was not too happy that there was nothing better than a indicator light to show something was amiss. Not too different from the valve caps. But at least this was real time.
And then it was cheaper than other alternatives, and at least there was some assurance of product service from Triton valves, I went ahead with it and bought the product on October 25, 2013.

What's in the box (new model)


A) 1 receiver/display unit
B) 2 velcro adhesive strips for affixing the receiver/display unit on the dashboard.
C) 12 V adapter that plugs into the 12 V socket, and the other end plugs into the receiver / display unit.
D) 1 sensor for each corner x 4.
E) 4 aluminium valves with caps
F) 4 nylok screws


^^^Picture courtesy: TyreProbe

G) A 28 page fairly detailed TPMS Manual (see this picture). It is in English and easy to follow (quite unlike and a very refreshing change compared to some manuals from the Chinese Mainland).



The installation process
There are two different steps.
1) Setup display unit in the cabin
a) Unpeel the backing of the 2 velcro adhesive strips (both sides) and affix them at the back of the display unit.
b) Affix the display unit at a convenient spot, where there is line of sight for the driver.
c) Plug the power adapter into the 12 V socket, and plug the other end into the display unit.

2) Install the sensor in the tyre
a) Take off tyres and bleed out air. Then take the air valve out of the
tyre.
b) Set up the given aluminium valve on the wheel. Use a torque wrench to fix the valve, and then tighten the nut to 40 kg
c) Use the nspecial Nylok screw to tighten the transmitter sensor into the valve on the wheel (on the inside of the wheel rim).
d) Adjust the transmitter sensor angle so that the transmitter fits tightly on the wheel, and then tighten the screw of the transmitter’s sensor such that it is fixed on the wheel.
e) Clean the inside of the tyre to prevent it from damaging the transmitter’s sensor.
f) Fit the tyre on the wheel, ensuring the fitting machine does not damage the sensor.
g) Get the wheel balanced, and fit the wheel back on the car ensuring that the wheels go into the right corners (ie the corner is the same as the sensor installed in it).
f) Turn on the ignition, after sometime the display will provide the psi reading of all 4 tyres.

Installation steps

^^^ Picture courtesy: TyreProbe
Pressure reading:

Temperature reading:

Bright orange valve cap- to suitably warn people who may be taking the tyre off in your absence.




The company experience (my perspective of customer service)
The first failure incident
The product (old model) did well... for 2 months. Come December 16, and the front right tyre sensor failed.
As I was planning to leave for my first real long distance drive , I raised the issue of the failed sensor with Triton valves directly and with their local dealer. As it turned out, although they agreed to replace the unit, I had to wait for a week for the unit to be shipped to their dealer.
When I went to the dealer for installation, I was told that the old model had been discontinued, and as only the new model was currently available - could I pay the price difference (Rs 2000/-) for the replacement. Not being in a position to argue about it, I agreed. The new unit was installed on December 22, 2014.

The second failure incident
The new unit also did well, for about 3 months and on March 22, 2014 the front left sensor failed. I had the sensor removed, and was shocked to find that the nylock screw had rusted and broken, causing the sensor to come free of the valve. This is how the display unit shows after the first sensor failed.
Failed front left sensor:


Rusted screw:



I raised the issue with Triton and sent them photographs of the valve, the sensor and the screw. Triton's response was that the dealer had messed up, and had not installed the original aluminium valve+nylock screw combination that ships with the new unit, but the old rubber type valve instead.
They shipped out 4 new aluminium valves and one sensor.

The Third Failure incident
Before all of them reached , on April 12, 2014 - the front right sensor additionally failed.
Display unit showing both front sensors have failed.

I raised it again with Triton, and asked them to ship a new replacement set (just in case the unit installed in December had any manufacturing defect).
They promptly agreed. I have since installed this latest set, and returned them the items they shipped together with the remnants of the December 2013 unit.

What worked
1) Phone calls and emails to Triton marketing office were responded to, and escalation mechanisms worked.
2) The company was open to constructive criticism and make amends for the botched up installation at their dealership.

What could have worked better
1) Would be good if the company offered a helpdesk. After all, one can assume the company is here to stand behind the product for better or worse. And the first thing that one expects for a company which stands behind its product is a 1800 number which is monitored 24x7.
The customer instead has to carry the names and phone numbers of 2 to 3 marketing office staff in his phone, and depending on their availability, can expect a real-time response or a delayed response. In my case since one of the incidents happened on a Saturday evening, expectedly the response only came on the next Monday.

2) During the service calls, there were times, when I had to explain the circumstances of the problem/issue several times to a certain gentleman at Triton. Not wanting to blame a specific individual for not getting things right the first time. However, I felt that perhaps it would be easier for the customer if Triton invested in training the existing marketing office staff who perform the product support function, in the area of customer services.

3)The company does not appear to have anything more than an arms length relationship with its dealers (at least in Delhi). If that is indeed the case, it would be difficult to establish a brand, forget about being a Maruti Suzuki for the Indian car market.

Clearly the company has relied on dealers who already specialize in some other products to push its own TPMS product.
The dealer is probably not incentivized enough to really care about customer service or product sales.
The reason I can say that with certainty, is based on my own dealership experience. When I had gone for buying & installing the product first time, the majority of my conversation with the dealer was about changing my tyres (not that I did not want to have the conversation- but that's the way it happened). It appeared to me, that TPMS was a secondary (in importance) product being sold by him. Further the dealer blamed the lack of stock in the new model on the company, rather than apologizing for its absence and offering to call me back when it was available (October 2013).

4) In line with the relative nascence of the product in India, the company has not yet been able to bring in dealers to support channel sales pan-India. Current dealer channel presence is only in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi. But the company does acknowledge this, and offers to ship the product directly to the consumer, and insists that the consumer can get the product installed very easily at the local tyre dealer (which is true).



The product experience
Function
What works
1) The product (new model) displays pressure (psi/kPa/bar)/ temperature (ºC/ºF) in a green letters that are easy to read. When the pressure dips below 26 psi (limit changeable) or over 50 psi (limit changeable), the warning beep is audible, and the colour of the psi reading (for that wheel) changes to red.

2) One is expected to rotate the tyres throughout their lifetime. The display unit can be easily reprogrammed for such changes.

3) Installation is a breeze and can be done at most tyre fitters provided one sets expectations with them in advance. By corollary, never get the tyre taken off without telling the tyre fitter that a sensor is fitted. One can end up damaging the unit when the hydraulic bead breaker goes to work on the wheel.

What could have worked better
1) There is no spare wheel sensor. Competing products offer this additional flexibility. Imagine a situation, when someone has a flat on a long journey. He takes out the stepney and installs it. Only to find the display unit continuously keeps beeping about the corner whose wheel was just replaced. How irritating is that?
Instead, the product needs to be extended for the spare wheel. This would involve physical layout changes on the receiver/display unit , as well as a programmatic way to swap the readings of the spare wheel/other wheel.

2) As my experience has shown the sensors are the weak link. They have to operate in what can best be described as really tough conditions. What with driving over Indian roads with more than their fair share of potholes, and puddles, I think they can easily malfunction (as has happened in my case). Maybe, they won't malfunction in Taiwan. I have never driven a vehicle in that country, so can't really say if the product works well there.
- IMHO, Triton Valves Limited really needs to go a long way to stand behind the product. It's one thing to be the Indian distributor of a foreign company. It's completely another thing to indigenise the product to suit local conditions, and then win market share. At a minimum it involves either a transfer of technology, and/or developing/updating the technology itself. Both require investment. Triton Valves needs to make this investment before someone from Ministry of Transport wakes up and makes TPMS mandatory in India. If that happens, and if by that time Triton Valves does not get its product right, it can bid goodbye to this segment.

3) The technology to power the sensor is still being perfected. Triton Valves/Orange Electronic claims the battery inside the sensor lasts for at least 7 years under nominal conditions. However, as my experience has shown what is considered as "nominal" is not explained. If nominal means driving the car in areas where there is zero moisture and zero shocks, perhaps those who buy the product have too high expectations from it.
Hence I fully expect the replacement unit to also fail well before the 7 years are up - if nothing else, because the battery gave up due to the higher humidity/condensate inside the average Indian tyre.

Aesthetics
The only part of the product that is visible is the display unit.
What works
1) The colour/size combination of the font suit the purpose of the unit.
2) The plastic display unit is well made, the adapter wire is strong and can withstand sudden jerks. But advisable to clip it to hold points on the dash.
3) The unit itself is in a neutral black colour so won't offend the colour scheme of most car interiors.

The Verdict
It's not a question of "if" TPMS sensors will become mainstream here in India. It's more a question of "when".
And to that end, Triton valve at least has the first mover advantage. It has strengths in making valves for automobile applications. It needs to acquire capabilities in TPMS product, and show some seriousness if it wants to capitalize on the latent market opportunity. It seems to me, they are able to get by, because there is no real competition - i.e. no organized market for the product category.
Other things being equal, would I buy the product in its current form again say for my second car? Absolutely. There can be no doubt of that.
Why? More because of the product features and what that means to me rather than the company that sells it or the company that made it; and yes it helped that there is a company in India to reach out to when in trouble.
Note: The product only works with tubeless tyres.

[mobike008]

Note from Mod : Thread is moved from Assembly Line to Technical Section. Thanks for sharing

[SS-Traveller]

Thanks for sharing such a lot of detail about your experiences with the Tyreprobe TPMS. Apparently, either it isn't that rugged, or the dealer installing it isn't doing a good job. Too many incidents of failure in a short time.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Which one to buy?
I like to invest time before investing money in any product I buy. Researching with websites, asking friends are all par for the course. This time was no different.
Direct TPMS retails on ebay for approximately Rs 10,000/-. Bridgestone Select stores retail a TPMS and GPS package for approximately Rs 13,000/-
I also came across the product I eventually bought: TyreProbe
(More on pricing later)
I am not aware if there is any other mainstream channel available for buying aftermarket TPMS in India

Do you remember the brand being sold at the Bridgestone Stores?

Incidentally, M&M use a Schrader TPMS system for their vehicles (Scorpio / XUV500 / e2o etc.) - seems to be pretty robust, from what I can see after over 4.5 years of use. Was this brand available when you researched before buying your TPMS system?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Thanks for sharing such a lot of detail about your experiences with the Tyreprobe TPMS. Apparently, either it isn't that rugged, or the dealer installing it isn't doing a good job. Too many incidents of failure in a short time.

I think it is a combination. The first time the unit failed (old model), one can pass the failure as a poor product design. Apparently the manufacturer had received market feedback and had improved the product (aluminum valves et al).
The second time (FL sensor) plus third time(FR sensor) that the new product failed, was in all likelihood a dealer issue. He had not bothered to install the aluminum valves that had shipped with the new model. Instead the old model's rubber valves were fastened to the sensor using the old steel screw. Now after the screw caught rust, it was a matter of time before it just disintegrated leaving the sensor free inside the tyre. In next to no time, the battery went dead, and the sensor was useless. Now that the third unit has been installed at the Tyre Emporium (not a dealer of Triton) and under my watchful eye - I think I can safely remove the dealer variable from any subsequent product failure. Though am keeping my fingers crossed.

Do you remember the brand being sold at the Bridgestone Stores?

IIRC, it was Bridgestone branded or co-branded - can't recall the name of the manufacturer.

Incidentally, M&M use a Schrader TPMS system .... Was this brand available when you researched before buying your TPMS system?

No. I did not come across this name. Maybe, they sell only as OEM to M&M.
There's not enough secondary demand yet in India that, retailers /e-tailers will stock world-class products such as Schrader. Most car-accessory shops in Delhi dont even have a catalog of TPMS to show the customer. e-tailers at ebay sell unbranded or relatively unknown brands. Triton seems to be the only indigenous seller in the market -but like I said still a long way to go before they can vertically integrate from manufacturing to distribution - like they do with their core products. I think that once they start making the parts themselves, the qc will be much better as there will be more internal accountability.

[Wanderers]

Dear JoyBhowmik,

Thanks for sharing the details on Tyreprobe.
I know how important it is to monitor tyre pressure, specially on NH or Expressway like Baroda-Ahmedabad.

I lost my Swift tyre on Baroda-Ahmedabad Expressway due to falling tyre pressure as a result of valve leakage. We only realized it when the steel wires from tyre started making sound on hitting the mud flap & fender but we had lost the tyre by then.

Mahindra realized its importance for Indian condition and having Tyretronics in XUV has helped us keep the costly tyres well maintained.

You now gave me the idea to have it in our Fortuner as well.

[fine69]

While any kind of monitoring system that can warn a driver in advance is good but 7-10k on a TPMS doesn't make sense to someone like me. I keep a close eye on the tyre pressure, refill air every 2 weeks without fail and on long trips I check all tyres whenever I take a bio or snack break.

In city driving TPMS wouldn't be missed at all by me and may be on long drives when I'm in the hills and the next puncture-wala could be miles away is when this could make sense.

However, once my wife starts keeping a dedicated car then I think I'd definitely want to get this installed because she wouldn't be much careful with checking the tyre pressure every now and then. Of course I hope that by then this TPMS would be more robust and not go kaput at this frequency as OP mentioned.

[Inquisitive]

Great to know the inside out details of the TPMS system. It is sure to get you a real time idea about your shoes and having one less thing to worry about on a long drive. Somehow I have a feeling that this technology is going to be standard OEM initially in high end cars and then trickling down where the dash would show if any particular tyre is losing its pressure. I also expect that to happen sooner than when the cars in India would boast of airbags and ABS.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Dear JoyBhowmik,
Thanks for sharing the details on Tyreprobe.
I know how important it is to monitor tyre pressure, specially on NH or Expressway like Baroda-Ahmedabad.

Very true Wanderers. I have myself lost tyres this way.

Originally Posted by Inquisitive

... where the dash would show if any particular tyre is losing its pressure.

It is already here. As an example see this link

[Inquisitive]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

It is already here. As an example see this link

Hmm.. I think the manufacturers would find this feature very handy and of course, it will add to the safety aspect of the occupants.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Inquisitive

Hmm.. I think the manufacturers would find this feature very handy and of course, it will add to the safety aspect of the occupants.

On the contrary, it's the TPMS manufacturer, who is taking a leaf out from the principles of good design. Low cohesion and high coupling.
Essentially, by conforming the display output to well defined RCA standards, they are able to offer TPMS at a slightly lower cost, while at the same time appeal to those who don't want an eye-sore of a separate display on their pristine dashboard.

[Inquisitive]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

..while at the same time appeal to those who don't want an eye-sore of a separate display on their pristine dashboard.

It could be designed within the MID like we get the door ajar warnings. Without providing such elaborate information as you get with these TPMS displays with individual tyre pressures and their respective temperatures, they might simply indicate which tyre needs attention.

[vinodbollini]

Here's an Indiegogo Project that looks interesting:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/f...oth-smart-tpms



From the site:

FOBO Tire is an advanced Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) using latest Bluetooth 4.0 that works directly with your Android and iOS device. It also comes with an intelligent In-Car monitoring unit that works simultaneously with your smart phone. So that you will still get an alert in the absence of the smart phone.

Retails for $149 + $20 shipping from Malaysia. Might have about $25 in Custom Duty also. Early backers get a kit at $75 + Shipping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=006cYt94N2c

[WasavaTyres]

Not practical in our country, even if it is rendered useless as claimed in the ánti-theft deterrent feature, thieves would still steal them.

[Dry Ice]

How is better than other TPMS systems that are available aplenty already (~7/8k)? The only unique thing could be the Android app.

[joybhowmik]

Screw on type of external sensors are probably not really viable options in Indian urban centers. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the sensor will never be usable with any other FOBO cloud account. The sheer potential for simple vandalism is too great to ignore - and people are likely to nick it just as a curio... not to mention, the possiblility of losing the sensor in case one forgets to tighten it up on the tyre-valve.