Digital TPMS retrofit ?

[Sootchucker]

Saw a video on Youtube last night of a guy that had retrofitted the full digital TPMS system to a new Seat Leon (same platform as the Golf). This is the system with sensors in the wheels that send a signal to a receiver that's then sent to the dash and you see on the dash center display as well as the headunit that actual tyre pressures in bar / PSI etc.

The system even has the ability to note tyre sizes, as well as if the car is fully laden or normally laden. Looks really cool.

Anyone know if this is doable on our cars and what's involved from a cost  / complexity point of view ?

[fredgroves]

The Leon has this as an option from what I can see.

Adding the sensors and enabling the display on the car is easy with some VCDS style tinkering.... But on a Golf how are you going to magically add a function and display from scratch on a computer system without it from the factory?

Basically, you can't.

[Gnasher]

But was it designed to be on there and removed for cost reasons? It (apparently) was on some pre-production cars and I'd heard some other markets still get it?

I could be wrong though, it's been known.

[fredgroves]

TPMS was the magical "sixth button" next to the gearstick... that never actually got used.

[JoeGTI]

It's definitely possible.

http://forums.ross-tech.com/showthread.php?5328-TPMS-(Tire-Pressure-Meter-System-Direct)-for-VW-Golf-MKVII-MQB

kevinm might be along in a bit with more details 

[fredgroves]

Wow

I wonder though if that will only work with early MIB1 units.

I can't see that they would carry the code over to MIB2/3? Unless it is common code used on vehicles that do use it.

[Talk-torque]

Wow

I wonder though if that will only work with early MIB1 units.

I can't see that they would carry the code over to MIB2/3? Unless it is common code used on vehicles that do use it.

US cars used to have a tyre valve system for TPMS. Not sure it was that sophisticated, though.

[I wanted a GTi]

Don't do it, I had TPMS on my CC and I spent so long trying to sort out the false readings from the spare wheel in the boot and the wheels on the car I turned it off with VCDS

[mcmaddy]

Could be easily fitted but you'll need at least two control units fitted with cabling to ecu, new valves for wheels and then coding with vcds. Is it worth it as a retrofit? I'd say no when it's only a £150 ish factory option yet about 3 to 400 quid as a retrofit.

[kevinm]

This is the newer single control module system used in most modern cars. Dont confuse it with the older tpms system with receivers in each wheel well. As the mk7 has the skinny spare wheel, you would only be fitting it to the 4 main wheels. The sensors only power on and transmit when they sense rotation so I dont understand how the guy above was having issues with the spare wheel sensor.

It's quite a cheap retrofit:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/VW-Passat-3G-B8-Golf-7-Steuergerat-RDK-Reifendruckkontrolle-5Q0907273-/352009794932?hash=item51f56b3574:g:OFEAAOSwjDZYgeEt

http://www.ebay.de/itm/NEU-4x-Original-VW-AUDI-RDK-Sensoren-5Q0907275B-/391739327940?hash=item5b357bc5c4:g:VyoAAOSwOgdY0uCk

You then need a loom made up. The trickiest part is the coding. I didnt retrofit it to my mk7 as I'm soon selling it but my next car will have it. I am currently fitting it to my caddy.