Nissan and Infiniti TPMS Relearn: Register Tire Sensors Yourself
Put on a second set of wheels and the TPMS light won't go out? You can register the sensors yourself in a few minutes with a phone running Canfiti, an ELM327 adapter and a TPMS activator.
Your TPMS unit only listens to sensors it knows. Every tire pressure sensor has a unique ID, and the unit accepts signals from the four IDs stored in it and nothing else. Bolt on a second set of wheels with their own sensors, and as far as the unit is concerned they’re strangers: no pressure readings and a TPMS light on the dash.
Some vehicles pick up new sensors on their own. The author of Canfiti saw that on his previous Nissan. His Infiniti never did. Units like that expect the sensors to be registered in a service mode called ID REGIST, which the dealer runs with a Consult tool. There was no dealer in the author’s city, and the nearest appointment elsewhere was ten days out. So Canfiti does the same thing through a regular ELM327 adapter and your phone.
What you need
An ELM327 adapter. BLE, Bluetooth Classic and Wi-Fi all work. For TPMS work the author recommends a dual-board adapter built on a PIC18 microcontroller, because those hold the connection more reliably. One FX35 owner with a cheap single-board v2.1 adapter got an initialization error in the app. On an iPhone, stick with BLE or Wi-Fi: iOS doesn’t support Bluetooth Classic adapters. More on the adapters page.
A TPMS activator. This is a separate handheld tool, not to be confused with the adapter. It sends a 125 kHz wake-up signal, and the sensor answers with its ID. The author uses the EL-50448: orange case, one button, TX and LOW BAT LEDs. Without an activator, registration won’t work.
Sensors on the right frequency. US-market vehicles use 315 MHz sensors; Russian and European ones use 433 MHz. The frequency is usually printed on the sensor body. A sensor on the wrong frequency is invisible to the TPMS unit even if it works perfectly. Choosing between OEM and a cheap copy? The author prefers OEM because the battery lasts longer.
Where it’s been verified
According to the author, registration works on the Infiniti QX56 and QX80 (Z62), QX56 (JA60), Q70 (Y51), EX25 and EX35, FX35, FX37 and FX50 (S51), G25 and G37, plus the Nissan Patrol (Y62), Quest and Elgrand (E52), and Murano (Z50). The routine was later adapted for the Nissan X-Trail (T32) and Serena.
Owner reports:
- 2014 Q70: the whole job took under 10 minutes;
- QX70, G25, G37 Coupe and second-gen FX, including with aftermarket sensors;
- M25 (Y51) with OEM sensors from an FX;
- a US-market Murano Z50 with 315 MHz sensors.
It doesn’t work yet on the 2017 and 2018 QX50 or a 2015 QX60. Their TPMS unit is newer and uses a different registration procedure, which the author is still looking into. On one 2011 EX25, registration mode opened but the sensors never registered, possibly because of the sensors themselves or a previously repaired unit.
On other Nissan and Infiniti models with a CAN bus it may work too: connect and see. The full list is on the TPMS page.
Before you start
- Set the tire pressures to the placard on the driver’s door jamb. A QX70 owner who got it working recommends it.
- If it’s below freezing, pull the car into a heated garage or a car wash bay. In the cold, the sensor’s signal is too weak.
- Plug the adapter into the OBD2 port under the dash on the driver’s side and turn the ignition on.
Step by step in the app
- On the main screen, tap “Connect” on the “OBD2 Device” card and choose your adapter on the “Scanning devices” screen. A Wi-Fi adapter works differently: join its Wi-Fi network on your phone first, then open the list and wait 10–20 seconds.
- Tap the TPMS card. On the “TPMS unit” screen the app finds the unit and shows its number on the “ECU part number” card. If it says “Not connected”, there’s no link to the unit: check the ignition and the adapter.
- Under “Work support”, tap “ID REGIST”. The app warns that the operation may erase information about the current sensors. Tap “Yes”.
- The status line reads “Waiting for signal from sensor on front left wheel”, and the number 1 on the diagram starts blinking.
- Hold the activator against the tire sidewall right next to the valve stem; the sensor is mounted on the valve on the inside. Match the angle in the picture below the instructions and press the button.
- In about 5 seconds the activator’s light goes out and the wheel on the diagram turns from red to green.
- Repeat for the front right, rear right and rear left wheels. Seen from above, that’s clockwise, and the order can’t be changed.
On the Q70, the car answers each registered sensor by flashing the turn signal three times on that wheel’s side. If yours does the same, you’re on track.
How to tell it worked
All four wheels on the diagram are green and the status reads “TPMS sensors registered successfully”. With healthy sensor batteries the whole thing takes a few minutes. After a seasonal wheel swap, the author gets it done in two.
Go back to the “TPMS unit” screen: every wheel now shows its pressure. This is verified on the QX56. It’s handy on vehicles without a per-wheel pressure display, and where there is one, the app is more precise because the stock gauge rounds the numbers. Pick psi, bar, kPa or kgf/cm² under “Options” → “Pressure unit”.
One M25 owner saw green wheels and a success message, yet the pressure read zero. He sorted it out in the end. If it happens to you, ask in the DRIVE2 discussion linked at the bottom of this page.
If a wheel won’t turn green
The author lists four common causes:
- The activator battery is low. The signal gets weaker and the sensor doesn’t wake up.
- Wrong activator model.
- Wrong sensor frequency, for example you ordered 433 MHz and got 315.
- A dead sensor. Try waking it on another wheel position: if it stays silent there too, it’s the sensor.
If only one wheel fails and the rest go through, its sensor is almost certainly to blame: the battery is dying or the sensor is too cold. Sensors with weak batteries sometimes won’t wake up at all.
If the problem is the connection rather than the sensors:
- the adapter shows up but won’t connect: another app such as Car Scanner, another phone, or someone nearby is already connected to it;
- the Wi-Fi adapter isn’t in the list: join its network before opening “Scanning devices”, and turn off your VPN;
- an initialization error: usually the adapter, so try a dual-board PIC18 one.
Newer models and cloning
The QX50 and QX60 aren’t supported yet. On a 2018 QX50, registration works differently: an owner’s scan tool has you type in the sensor IDs, then drive for 10 minutes at roughly 20–60 mph (30–100 km/h).
Canfiti can’t clone sensors. That takes programmable sensors and a separate programming tool. One QX56 owner did exactly that, copying the first set’s IDs into the second, so he no longer registers anything when he swaps wheels. With OEM sensors you register them again every time.
Leave the TPMS system on
The “Body control unit” screen has a “TPMS system” switch. It turns tire pressure monitoring off completely, and the light goes out with it. The author strongly advises against touching it: TPMS warns you about a puncture in time, and that can save your life. Treat it as a last resort for when there are no sensors or no way to register them yet.
The rest of the unit’s settings are on the hidden BCM settings page.