TPMS

[zzvyb6]

I have summer and winter tires on my Vibe (Toyota), my Tahoe, and my CTS. I bought the winter tires at Costco (Blizzaks). I bought extra wheels for each, too, (eBay) so I needed extra sensors for all 3 vehicles. I change the tires over by myself and the guy at Costco resets the TPMS on the cars for free. I give him a tip for the excellant service. Each car behaves differently if you don't reset the sensor maps. Some count rev's per mile as well as pressure. That's another way to determine whether a tire is slowly going down by comparing it to the other tires on the car.

On the Tahoe, there are aluminum valve stems. I had put a stainless steel valve cap on the stem and after a year it BROKE when I tried to remove the cap. I bought a new one from eBay and replaced it myself. On the Caddy, I also rotated the tires front to rear and it caught the change. You can reprogram the system using the car's controls. You bleed down a tire until the horn toots and that tells you it has matched the sensor with the wheel position.

Done.

 

[kenmac]

i remember going thru this a few years ago when the valve stems corroded so bad they needed to be
replaced, i took the sensors out of the truck and put in standard valve stems and lived with the
light on the dash. i did read that there was an easy fix, something about finding the right wire under the dash
and grounding it to the body to make the light go out.


i don't plan on keeping my trucks long enough to deal with them any more!

I read about unplugging a wire from under the dash somewhere.I've been driving since I was 14 .I'm now 55.I think I'll be ok without this stupid system telling me if I have a low tire or not. I know how/when to check tire pressure.Been doing it for yrs

 

[herringchoker]

I read about unplugging a wire from under the dash somewhere.I've been driving since I was 14 .I'm now 55.I think I'll be ok without this stupid system telling me if I have a low tire or not. I know how/when to check tire pressure.Been doing it for yrs

Amen to that!

 

[schmism]

Remind me again what year they started mandating this?
I'll have to add that to my list of cars not to own "newer than this year"

 

[Peacock]

2008 and newer.

It's a really nice thing to have when you are driving home from vacation at 2am and the system alerts you to a low tire before it becomes a serious issue.

I work on the things everyday, and other than people who bring them in for low tire lights because they are too lazy to check the pressure themselves, I have no problems with the system.

I really loathe some of the Fords that have the stupid $30 clamp holding the sensor to the wheel.

 

[kenmac]

Well,The auto makers tell us that tires are made much better now days so, there's no need to carry around the weight of a spare tire in the trunk so, you can save fuel. We,ll put these tire sensors on so, you'll know if your tire is going down and can get it repaired. For the cost difference. Take the sensors off and give me a spare..

This reminds me of all the stuff I get from sales people to keep my customers calling me for service. Tell the customer how it will benefit them for adding this to their plumbing system or their a/c system. They will have to call you every year to keep the system serviced and you'll make XXXXX$$$$$$. I'm not about trying to take customers $$$ to sell them things on their plumbing or HVAC system they don't need

 

[Peacock]

I'd bet it's got as much to do with packaging that spare and weight savings.

Cars are just getting heavier as they get safer.

 

[Bob77064]

The TPMS are good for people that never check air pressure. These are the people that would have only 10 or 12 lbs in their tires and never knew it until something happened.

 

[MyJoBota]

There are aftermarket tire sensors out with significant cost savings over oem. .Some come in the "learn mode" and others can be cloned to match your sensors you are replacing including Toyotas. Both of which you just bolt on an go. Check with a reputable tire dealer or a quality auto parts store.

 

[Peacock]

The TPMS are good for people that never check air pressure. These are the people that would have only 10 or 12 lbs in their tires and never knew it until something happened.

Or when you hit something and don't realize it.

That can save a tire. Or prevent you from being late to work by alerting you the night before of the slow leak.