Direct TPMS Retrofit Guide

[VeryBadman]

It seems there are a lot of RS3 owners who want direct TPMS option that would show tire pressures and temperatures on virtual cockpit screen but don’t want to eat up the cost of dynamic plus package. The good news is that direct TPMS system can be retrofitted and it’s not too difficult to do so I think I want to share the instructions on how you can install the system to your car. This retrofit has been confirmed and done on my TTRS which is the sister car to RS3 so I believe most parts would be the same in RS3 to do this.

Here are a couple of pictures to demonstrate that the system is really working on my TTRS.





And here are the parts you will need to retrofit the system:

1. TPMS Antenna (P/N: 8S0907273)
2. RDKS Tire Pressure Wiring Harness
3. 4 TPMS Sensors of 433 MHz frequency (P/N: 5Q0907275B)
4. Antenna Holder Bracket (P/N: 4E0810675B) - This is optional

Or you can cut all hassle from chasing after all parts and get the TPMS kit from this seller on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202335867045

I also recommend you to get a mini fuse tap adapter and 10A fuse to tap power wire to fuse panel but you can improvise your own method as long as it works.

Once you have the parts ready in hand, follow the following steps to retrofit the kit!

1. Take off the lateral cover from the driver side and remove the first bolt (marked in red circle in the picture) on the side behind the cover that holds the big cover under steering wheel, the fuse panel is behind that cover making it a fuse panel cover and a big one at that.



2. Remove the second bolt above the gas pedal.



3. Remove the last bolt next to OBD2 port, now all 3 bolts are off and you can remove the fuse panel cover.



4. In the process of remove the fuse panel cover, there are 3 connectors that are plugged to light switches, LED foot light, and wireless key antenna, make sure that you unplug them before taking the cover off. Please check the pictures below for better understanding.





5. With the fuse panel cover out of the way, remove the top plastic trim cover next to where the lateral cover was.




6. Move on the remove the plastic trim cover next to the door sill, this piece is held tight so you may need a bit of force to remove it.




7. The 2 plastic trim covers hold the trim cover between them in place, with those removed you now can remove that piece but you will need to remove hood release lever first.


8. To remove the lever, there is a lock behind the joint and you need to release that first to be able to pull the level out. Please check the pictures below so you get the idea how they come together and how to take them out.





9. Once the lever is off, pull the plastic trim cover out to expose the CAN bus.




10. Now that the covers are removed and we have access to both CAN bus and fuse panel, let move on to work in the trunk. You have to remove cover to expose the tools tray and remove the tray as well.


11. Install the TPMS antenna in the trunk next to battery and run the wires, we need orange/grey wire, orange/brown wire, and red wire to CAN bus and fuse panel in the front and we need to tap the brown wire to body panel for grounding. I picked to secure the brown ground wire with bolt in the middle as you can see in the picture.



12. You can secure the TPMS antenna however you want but I simply use 3M industrial grade double side tape to do so.



13. Back to the front, look for black connector which is extended CAN connector. We will tap orange/grey wire from antenna to grey wire in black connector and tap orange/brown wire from antenna to the wire of same color in black connector. Please check pictures so you know what I'm talking about and don't mess up.




14. Move on to tap the power to fuse panel, look for 6th fuse from the left which is 10A fuse and take it off.



15. Connect red wire to fuse tap adapter, insert 10A fuses to the adapter, and insert the adapter back to where we removed the fuse in the step earlier.




Now the parts installation part is done, put everything back in place. There is also a trick to put fuse panel cover back that you better tighten the bolt above gas pedal back first or else you will never be able to tighten it.

I will explain for the coding part in the first comment.

[VeryBadman]

Now we move on to coding part to make this work:

1. Enter 03-ABS Module, you need to do this first thing to disable passive TPMS system.



2. Enter Coding - 07 menu, select Long Coding Helper.


3. Open Byte 12, make sure that Bit 7 and 6 are Inactive.



4. Open Byte 23, make sure that Bit 0 and 1 are Inactive.



5. Exit and Save the change.


6. Enter 19-CAN Gateway, you need to enable CAN bus to recognize the direct TPMS system.



7. Enter Installation List menu, look for 65 - Tire Pressure, select and Save Coding




8. Enter 17-Instruments, you need to tell CAN to not look for passive TPMS signal and look for direct TPMS signals instead.



9. Enter Coding - 07 menu, select Long Coding Helper.


10. Open Byte 3, make sure that Bit 7 is Active.



11. Open Byte 4, make sure that Bit 0 is Inactive.



12. Open Byte 11, make sure that Bit 2 is Active.



13. Exit and Save the change.


14. Enter 5F-Information Electr, you need to enable Direct TPMS menu in the Virtual Cockpit from here.



15. Enter Adaption - 10 menu.


16. Look for Car_Function_List_BAP_Gen2-tire_pressure_system_0x07, make sure that it's activated.



17. Look for Car_Function_List_BAP_Gen2-tire_pressure_system_0x07_msg_bus, make sure that Databus extended is selected.



18. Look for Car_Function_Adaptations_Gen2-menu_display_rdk, make sure that it's activated.



19. Look for Car_Function_Adaptations_Gen2-menu_display_rdk_standstill, make sure that it's not activated. This option is for making TPMS functions under Service menu accessible when the car is moving.



20. Look for Car_Function_Adaptations_Gen2-menu_display_rdk_over_threshold_high, make sure that it's activated.



21. The coding is done, reset the MMI and clear the error codes that might happen in the process. In the case you don't know how to reset, you have to push the 2 buttons forward and press the MMI touch know at the same time.



22. After MMI is restarted and the error codes are cleared, you should be able to see TPMS menu in the sport display and in the Service and Maintenance menu.


23. The last step is contacting the tire shop of your choice to have the TPMS sensors installed in all 4 wheels.



That's it! Now the direct TPMS system retrofit is done. One thing you should know and don't freak out is that the pressures and temperatures won't show up right away, you only need to drive a bit for the information from sensors to show up on your virtual cockpit screen. If the car complains about TPMS malfunction, make sure that you tap the CAN bus signal wires to extended CAN bus, power wire to fuse panel, and ground wire to car body frame properly.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[S3DUDE]

Great feedback

[BenLaz]

Great work! I'll definitely be using this in the future!

[saxon]

awesome! i know quite a few guys were wondering how to do this!

[2Germans]

Glad this is going to be a standard feature for 2019.

[keninblaine]

@VeryBadman: That is an excellent, comprehensive and very clearly presented DIY. Thanks for taking the time to document this for others. It is these types of threads that make these forums so helpful and useful. I was OK with everything up to the coding part, which I have no experience with. What equipment did you use for the coding, and what is the cost of it?

PS: FWIW, I think I'd rather source the parts myself rather than buy them from someone in Russia. You didn't include a part number for the RDKS wiring harness. Do you happen to know the part number?

[VeryBadman]

@VeryBadman: That is an excellent, comprehensive and very clearly presented DIY. Thanks for taking the time to document this for others. It is these types of threads that make these forums so helpful and useful. I was OK with everything up to the coding part, which I have no experience with. What equipment did you use for the coding, and what is the cost of it?

PS: FWIW, I think I'd rather source the parts myself rather than buy them from someone in Russia. You didn't include a part number for the RDKS wiring harness. Do you happen to know the part number?

Codings were done through VCDS and with RS3/TTRS on new MMI, you would need the Hex-Net/Hex-V2 cable from Ross-Tech for the job. The cost is running from $199 for the most basic Hex-V2 cable that works with 3 VINs. It may not sound much but it's plenty for home use.

For RDKS wiring harness, I really can't find the part number but you can search for the cable to buy from that name. I think it's a common cable used in multiple VW/Audi models. Probably even the super pricey Bugatti Chiron uses the very same cable too.

[larbel]

I got the whole package for less than $300 from my supplier, it came pre-wired to hook up directly to the Gateway so I didn't have to tap any wires except for getting power from the fuse box. And was told specifically the TPMS module must be installed to the inner right side of the rear bumper fixture coz the module picks up the distance from the sensors, and that's how it identify the location of the sensors...

[VeryBadman]

I got the whole package for less than $300 from my supplier, it came pre-wired to hook up directly to the Gateway so I didn't have to tap any wires except for getting power from the fuse box. And was told specifically the TPMS module must be installed to the inner right side of the rear bumper fixture coz the module picks up the distance from the sensors, and that's how it identify the location of the sensors...

That's cool. Would you mind to run a group buy for people who might be interested to do a retrofit since you have connection to source the parts at cheaper cost?

The best place to place antenna is in the rear bumper for sure but it's not quite worth the effort to take the bumper off when it works just fine from the right side of the trunk.

[larbel]

That's cool. Would you mind to run a group buy for people who might be interested to do a retrofit since you have connection to source the parts at cheaper cost?

The best place to place antenna is in the rear bumper for sure but it's not quite worth the effort to take the bumper off when it works just fine from the right side of the trunk.

I tried getting a group buy for ROW dynamic taillights but was told by the admin I'm now allowed to do that LOL... And you don't have to take the bumper apart, you run the wire from the trunk to the outer taillight grommet then you can get underneath the car to reach in the bumper, but yeah, as long as it's working fine...

[SkyDude]

I got the whole package for less than $300 from my supplier, it came pre-wired to hook up directly to the Gateway so I didn't have to tap any wires except for getting power from the fuse box. And was told specifically the TPMS module must be installed to the inner right side of the rear bumper fixture coz the module picks up the distance from the sensors, and that's how it identify the location of the sensors...

Wow, you are the best! Can you share the supplier and and parts details please?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[VeryBadman]

I tried getting a group buy for ROW dynamic taillights but was told by the admin I'm now allowed to do that LOL... And you don't have to take the bumper apart, you run the wire from the trunk to the outer taillight grommet then you can get underneath the car to reach in the bumper, but yeah, as long as it's working fine...

That's sad. I guess you have to "pay" audizine to be official sponsor to run a group buy lol

[whyzkid99]

Thank you for going through the hard work and putting this into a thread for others to emulate. Any chance someone in the PA, NJ, NY, DE area has experience doing this and could do this for my RS3 for a fee?

[BaltimoreCaesar]

Fantastic! Been waiting for this :)

[Canvasoso]

Great work! Thanks for doing this. Need to do this on mine.

[dazed1]

Been in touch with the ebay seller for the last few days. He got a few in stock today and i've ordered mine: https://www.ebay.com/itm/202421336255


Will do a writeup with VeryBadman to see differences between his TTRS and the RS3, if any.

[dazed1]

Bump!
So, we ( @veryBadman) and I did the install on the RS3. Everything worked, except for the coding. The issue we're running in to:

When the VC shows the TPMS (displays the temp & the pressures correctly), it only displays it for a second or two before the option goes away. It keeps coming back and going away. We believe we need to change Bit 7 to 0 in byte 12 of the ABS module. However, both, rosstech and obdelevn will not let us save the changes to the car.

Anyone else run in to this issue?

[5bngr]

Bump!
Did you guys ever figure this out? Very interested in doing this.

[Veneeringman]

I did this very retro fit earlier this year on my UK RS3.

Had the issues described above of the Tpms display constantly flashing off then on and not showing on the mmi screen either.....

The only way to get a brand new ‘virgin’ TPMS module working was to ‘parameterise’ it by finding a car that had Tpms from the factory, unplugging the module and connecting up the ‘virgin’ module, then I had a chap I know with Odis add the module to that car as if it was a replacement one.
Odis then performs the parameterisation and once done it can be installed on a car without Tpms from the factory.

TPMS has performed perfectly since installation.

My module is in the boot (sportback) below the left hand tail light cluster.

[5bngr]

Thanks for the info. Very interesting indeed. Would explain the issues the OPs on this thread ran into with the RS3 retrofit.. Has anybody tried this on the US RS3 version?? I'm assuming Odis is the equivalent of VAG-COM/VCDS/OBDEleven..

[Diversion]

Great guide and great work figuring this out!

[5bngr]

I know! Hoping to hear back to see if anyone has done what Veneeringman posted above (or something else for that matter) to solve the issues with the US RS3 retrofit.. To sum up, the retrofit guide was done successfully on a TTRS but didn't quite work for the RS3, where the TPMS MMI display info would flash on and off.

[andrios]

Any US RS3s get this to work yet?

[dazed1]

It works, in the sense I can get a reading. But the display does not stay on all the time. It will show the pressures & temps and then go away. I've not had a chance to try what Veneeringman stated above. Need a car in the SF Bay area.

[Veneeringman]

It works, in the sense I can get a reading. But the display does not stay on all the time. It will show the pressures & temps and then go away. I've not had a chance to try what Veneeringman stated above. Need a car in the SF Bay area.

Exactly the scenario I had when first trying the ‘virgin’ TPMS module.

Odis is the dealer tool that was used to parameterise the new module, this had to be connected to a car that had active TPMS from the factory, Odis then treats the virgin module as a replacement for the existing one, so uploads the relevant parameter set to it.

We did try the same procedure first on my car but whilst Odis recognised the 65 TPMS module it would not upload any data into it, because it wasn’t ‘built’ with it at the factory.

Your only other way is to get a second hand module from a crashed car, which once coded in with VCDS will work.

[hckymstr19]

Exactly the scenario I had when first trying the ‘virgin’ TPMS module.

Odis is the dealer tool that was used to parameterise the new module, this had to be connected to a car that had active TPMS from the factory, Odis then treats the virgin module as a replacement for the existing one, so uploads the relevant parameter set to it.

We did try the same procedure first on my car but whilst Odis recognised the 65 TPMS module it would not upload any data into it, because it wasn’t ‘built’ with it at the factory.

Your only other way is to get a second hand module from a crashed car, which once coded in with VCDS will work.

But why wouldn't it be the same for the OP? Aren't the ttrs and rs3 basically identical in terms of modules and such? Wouldn't the OP need to use Odis to parameterise the new module as well? I feel like we are missing something here.

[Veneeringman]

But why wouldn't it be the same for the OP? Aren't the ttrs and rs3 basically identical in terms of modules and such? Wouldn't the OP need to use Odis to parameterise the new module as well? I feel like we are missing something here.

The original way I tried involved changing some ABS long coding, however some of the Bytes I needed to change with VCDS wouldn’t be accepted.

In the end I found out through a retrofitter I know that it was always down to the module I bought brand new having no parameter set in it.

[andrios]

Check out what last post in this thread did.

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/view...73521&start=30

Maybe that’s why it wouldn’t accept?

[VeryBadman]

To disable stock passive TPMS system you need to change two bytes in 03-ABS module coding:
1) Byte 12 --> disable bit 7 and 6;
2) Byte 23 -->disable bit 0 and 1;
Both bytes should be changed simultaneously, otherwise the coding won't be accepted.

In RS3 I tried to change those bits on both bytes at the same time but no luck while the same procedure worked just fine in TTRS, not sure why.

[hckymstr19]

In RS3 I tried to change those bits on both bytes at the same time but no luck while the same procedure worked just fine in TTRS, not sure why.

Hmmm that's interesting. Now do you think if I just went to the dealer and said the tpms is flickering on and off they would just fix it free as if they assume I had tpms from the factory? Haha

[VeryBadman]

Hmmm that's interesting. Now do you think if I just went to the dealer and said the tpms is flickering on and off they would just fix it free as if they assume I had tpms from the factory? Haha

I don’t think so since they have the build specs for the VIN so they know exactly what options are or are not on your car from the factory.

[Veneeringman]

Hmmm that's interesting. Now do you think if I just went to the dealer and said the tpms is flickering on and off they would just fix it free as if they assume I had tpms from the factory? Haha

No because Odis has the cars exact build spec when it starts the connection procedure.

We even tried putting in manually a chassis number from a car we knew had it from the factory, however Odis was having none of it I’m afraid.

The only other way would to be to find someone who can extract the firmware / parameters etc from a known working TPMS module and flash it onto a virgin module.

Or as I said above buy a used Module from a breakers yard.

[ProSkier]

Anyone know where to source the RDKS wiring harness from? A cursory search on Google and eBay didn’t reveal anything... What does RDKS stand for anyway?

[PeteJ]

13. Back to the front, look for black connector which is extended CAN connector. We will tap orange/grey wire from antenna to grey wire in black connector and tap orange/brown wire from antenna to the wire of same color in black connector. Please check pictures so you know what I'm talking about and don't mess up.

Trying to do this on my 2017 RS3 and noticed that the wiring colors are different. I have an Orange with Brown stripe and an Orange with Grey stripe. Anyone with an RS3 notice that there is not solid grey wire in the third pin up from the lower right in the bottom picture above?

[PeteJ]

For those with an RS3 I was finally able to get the display to stay on constantly. The trick was to do the following in the 03-ABS Module

BYTE 27, BIT 4/5/6 OFF
BYTE 28, BIT 7 OFF

Without these set it would stay on for a few seconds and then go off like this:https://i.imgur.com/EBCIItv.mp4

[VeryBadman]

For those with an RS3 I was finally able to get the display to stay on constantly. The trick was to do the following in the 03-ABS Module

BYTE 27, BIT 4/5/6 OFF
BYTE 28, BIT 7 OFF

Without these set it would stay on for a few seconds and then go off like this:https://i.imgur.com/EBCIItv.mp4

Thanks for sharing! This will solve the issue that has been lingering for months!

[dazed1]

For those with an RS3 I was finally able to get the display to stay on constantly. The trick was to do the following in the 03-ABS Module

BYTE 27, BIT 4/5/6 OFF
BYTE 28, BIT 7 OFF

Without these set it would stay on for a few seconds and then go off like this:https://i.imgur.com/EBCIItv.mp4

Thanks for sharing! This will solve the issue that has been lingering for months!

Yup!! Thanks to VeryBadman for PM'ing it to me! This absolutely worked!

What do those 2 bytes and 3 bits do?

[PeteJ]

Yup!! Thanks to VeryBadman for PM'ing it to me! This absolutely worked!

What do those 2 bytes and 3 bits do?

The make it work

[SolarRS3]

With these 2 bytes, will the code for pressure be gone as well?