Posted on by Mike

TPMS light on my F250

Replacing a TPMS sensor on a 2009 F250

When I bought my F250 the TPMS light was on.  However, when I got it home and filled the tires to correct pressure the light went away.

But after about a month it was back on again.  I checked all the tires and they were the correct pressure.  I looked in the glovebox for the TPMS relearn tool, but it was not included in the stuff left behind.

So, I ordered one from Amazon. TPMS Relearn Tool Super EL50448 for GM and Ford 

I followed the procedure in the owner’s manual to get the truck into Learn mode. (see below)  This involves turning the key and pressing the brake pedal. It took me a couple of times to get it right.

Once in learn mode the horn honked once, and the display told me to go to the left front tire.  I held the box opposite the valve stem and near the rim as instructed and pressed the button.  The horn honked, and I moved on to the next wheel.

The last one was the driver’s rear.  This one did not respond to the learn tool.  I assume a dead battery as these are ten years old.

I found that the band mounted sensors like my truck came with have been superseded by the valve stem type.  I ordered the VDO brand as the reviews on the cheaper ones looked sketchy.  I decided to just change the one bad one for now since I was not sure this was the whole problem.

VDO SE10001HP REDI-Sensor 314.9 MHz/315 MHz TPMS Sensor

The new sensor arrived with all kinds of warnings about it having a lithium battery in it.  Funny since I have gotten several other packages with much larger lithium batteries that did not have this warning.

I dismounted the tire and replaced the regular valve stem with the VDO unit.  I then removed the original sensor from the band. I left the band installed in the wheel for now.

I leaned the wheel up against the hub and ran through the relearn procedure.  I was very happy that I got a beep from the horn when I got to that last wheel.  It turned out to be a simple fix.

I then balanced the wheel and reinstalled it on the truck. No more TPMS light!

  1. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position. Then, press and release the brake pedal.
  2. Cycle the ignition switch from the OFF position to the RUN position three times, ending in the RUN position.
  3. Press and release the brake pedal.
  4. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position.
  5. Turn the ignition switch from the OFF position to the RUN position three times, ending in the RUN position. The horn will sound once and the indicator will flash if the training mode has been entered successfully. If equipped, the message center will display “TRAIN LF TIRE.”
  6. It may take up to six seconds to activate a tire pressure sensor.
    Press and release the test button on the TPMS tool. The horn will sound briefly to indicate that the tire pressure sensor has been recognized by the vehicle.
  7. Within two minutes of the horn sounding, place the TPMS tool on the correct position for the sensor and release the test button to train the right front tire pressure sensor.
  8. Do not wait more than two minutes between training each sensor or the SJB will time out and the entire procedure must be repeated. Repeat Step 7 for the right rear and then left rear tires.

The procedure is completed after the last tire has been trained. When the training procedure is complete, the message center (if equipped) will display “TIRE TRAINING COMPLETE.”