Hmmmm...the plot thickens. Not sure I wanna start playing eenie meenie minee mo. Lol
Also not sure if I'm ready to spend $150 on a diagnostics device and then more on the sensors. What to do......

 

Thanks! I'm leaning towards getting the Schwaben just because it would be good to have.
The replacement procedure is starting to make me apprehensive though as this is Japan and I don't have a nice garage with all the fixings.
Thinking for the time being I'll see if I can get it to pass inspection with the lights on. If I can then I can do the repairs sometime over the summer. If it doesn't then I'll need to do it sooner. Hehe

 

Well, this isn't my brake pad sensor light. That was on a little while ago but I replaced all the pads and it went out. This is the ABS sensor.
Can't imagine a realignment would make a big difference as, A. it doesn't feel out of a alignment, and B. as old as this car is and with the run flats being replaced with regular rubber, I'd say there's a much better chance one or more of the sensors is no longer working.

 

This will have absolutely zero to do with the functionality of the ABS system or the sensors within.

 

I don't believe that's entirely true. First of all, it's very possible that one of the sensors may have been damaged during the swap. Secondly, depending on the dimensions of the replacement rubber it could certainly set off the sensors.
As mentioned, I was told by the previous owner that the problem presented at the time the tires were changed. I have no reason to doubt him as he's a friend.
In any event, I think it's clear (not absolutely, as I don't like to speak in absolutes) that the problem lies with at least one of the sensors.
So my choices are to either start replacing them one by one and hope it's the first one and not the last one, or drop around $150 on a diagnostics tool that can identify exactly which it is.

 

No. The TPMS system, as explained already in this thread, uses the ABS sensors to detect a ~10% rotational difference. At that point a TPMS light is illuminated. If anything else was done while simply swapping tires, whoever caused the fault should never touch a wrench again, or at the very least hit the books and learn a little first.

Swapping tires from runflat to not-POS will not, and can not, directly affect TPMS on these cars. If the reading wasn’t reset / renormalized after swapping the tires and properly setting the tire pressures, see point 1 about finding a competent mechanic / source of information.

 

It wasn't actually explained to that extent, and while I might agree that if the problem occurred during the swapping of tires the "mechanic" should have caught it, I was told this by the previous owner so I do not know the whole story, as explained already in this thread.

It still sounds like I have at least one bad sensor, as already mentioned, since the standard method of resetting the lights using the button next to the parking brake didn't work. So I guess since you haven't really added anything to steer me in a different direction, I'll go with my aforementioned plan and either start replacing them one by one or get a Foxtrail NT510 and see about either resetting the codes or identifying which sensors are bad.

 

Dude, get the scanner. It will come in handy many more times and help you learn to troubleshoot your vehicle.

 

Wait, it's been two weeks and you haven't scanned it yet? Get NCS Expert and start poking around.

Regardless, swapping tires doesn't intrinsically have any ability to cause a functional failure of the TPMS system, which was somehow mentioned as a possible cause.

 

Oh yeah, that sounds like great advice for a newbie. Lol

As mentioned way back in the beginning of this thread, I do not have a scanner/diagnostics tool.
The Foxwell NT510 seems pretty user friendly. NCS Expert not so much.
While at some point I'd certainly be interested in learning some of the coding aspects available, for right now my only concern is getting my car to pass the mandatory 2 year inspection as mentioned numerous times.
I've still got about 6 weeks til it has to be done so I'm not in a huge rush. Just trying to weigh whether it would be better to bite the bullet and fork out close to $150 on a diagnostics tool which will probably only confirm what's wrong but not actually fix anything,
OR start replacing ABS sensors starting with the easier ones in the front and hope I get lucky and find the right one sooner rather than later. Not sure how NCS Expert and "poking around" really helps. Perhaps you could expound on that.