Have a dash monkey remove the TPMS warning light and drive on…The chances of anyone noticing the missing warning light are remote…You may have to become your own dash monkey…A likely access point may be had by removing the radio and reaching in through there…A “mechanics mirror” can be helpful for locating the correct bulb or wiring connector… Be warned, todays dash lights are likely to be LED’s that are built right into the instrument cluster circuit board… In that case, disabling individual lights may be a little more complicated, involving cutting a trace on a circuit board…But for $900, extra effort is justified…
There will never be another “economy car.” Who would manufacture an automobile that is worth less than the high tech gizmos attached to it? Better yet, if someone built such an economy car who would buy it?
That Traktor might look like a reasonable alternative in a few years.
Is there still room to climb on the wagon? If so, allow me to climb on and suggest you send your letters of complaint directly to the feds. Those ****oles.
And, as already pointed out, $900 is highway robbery.
George, car repair is a business transaction and if you treat it as such, you are far less likely to get ripped off. Even an experienced mechanic can be ripped off by a con man posing as a mechanic, ANYONE can be conned.
As a business transaction, you simply take the quote and go to another shop and get another quote, repeat as needed until you get a satisfactory quote from a competent mechanic and then get the work done.
The batteries are supposed to last 10 years, that is why they are soldered and epoxied in, to keep corrosion from shortening their life. If yours are factory sensors and they are not 10 years old, you should see the dealer, and if you don’t get some sort of satisfaction, then push it up the ladder to the corporate CSR for some resolution.
But $900, these guys should become the target of your local consumer investigator on the nightly news.
It seems to me that it’s a bit premature to state ripoff when there are zero details known about this job other than the basic repair and the price.
Maybe knowing the type of car, type of tires/wheels, the locale, and having the bill broken down into exactly what it entails could spell the difference between ripoff and entirely legitimate.
Right now, this is equivalent to a plumber stating 900 dollars to fix a leaky pipe. Ripoff? Maybe, maybe not.
Just get it done the next time you get tires. Usually something like 20 bucks a wheel then since they already have the wheel taken off and the tire dismounted.
And yeah, $900 is robbery.
I have repaled tire pressure sensors on 2002-2005 Lexus SC430, they retail for $179.14. These cars usually have no spare tire so the owners like having a functional tire pressure monitor.
I have also replaced sensors on Chryslers that were $40 each, prices very greatly.
Usually something like 20 bucks a wheel then since they already have the wheel taken off and the tire dismounted.
Sounds like a good deal if a shop will sell the sensors that cheap. I don’t charge labor to install the sensor if the tire is off but if the sensor(s) must be programmed to the vehicle there is a 1/2 labor charge.
All the comments here are right on the money. That $900 for pressure sensors is just the tip of the iceberg. ABS/Stability control is mandated in 2012 for all cars and trucks. Anybody wanna guess how much replacing the non-serviceable ABS/ESC module will cost? ABS wheelspeed sensors sell for about $100 a pop without labor to install them. Airbags anyone? At least with seat sensors the right hand bag doesn’t pop if there’s no one in the seat. At least they don’t need battery replacement.
@Nevada_545 if it’s just the battery that’s dead, you don’t usually need a whole new sensor.
@shadowfax Have you replaced tire pressure sensor batteries? I doubt that a tire shop is going to grind the epoxy out of the battery cavity to replace the battery.
@Nevada_545 Heh. Seems I was mislead the last time I talked to the service tech at the dealership about my sensors. Please disregard what I’ve said in this thread. Apologies.
The cost to maintain and repair all of this complexity (that was supposed to make our lives easier) is now coming home to roost precisely when folks can least afford it (see economy now circling drain and about to get flushed). Purchase loan? Hell repair loans are going to be all the rage. By the way, I’m keeping my 94 Suburban forever…
What most of you are failing to focus on is the reality that the Federal mandate for a TPMS did not mandate the type of TPMS system that is used.
GM’s TPMS system–utilizing ABS wheel sensors–results in very little (if any) expense to car owners, whereas the manufacturers who chose to utilize individual sensors with failure-prone battery packs inside the tire are setting car owners up for some significant replacement costs several years down the line.
So…“the free market”, which allows mfrs to decide how to implement the Federal mandate allows you to be raked over the coals by some manufacturers, but not all of them. Hmmm…perhaps “the free market” isn’t sounding quite so good right now…
Rather than being incensed by a well-intended safety regulation, you should be incensed by manufacturers that decide to use a system that costs the consumer much more money in the long run. GM’s approach was clearly superior–from the standpoint of the consumer–than most of the others.
@VDCdriver, GM’s early tpms system used wheel speed input but to the best of my knowledge, by 2007 they were all equipped with active sensors in the wheel that are positional–meaning that the tire positions need to be relearned whenever the tires are rotated.
I don’t think the wheel speed sensors are accurate enough to meet federal requirements for pressure monitoring. I don’t think any carmaker uses wheel speed for TPMS.
@Shadowfax No need to apologize. I think replacing the batteries would make for a fine project, for someone else. I think the batteries are epoxied in place so that the vibration doesn’t turn the battery contacts into dust.
@VDCdriver I have seen very few indirect tire pressure monitor systems on 2007 and newer vehicles. I believe most late model GM vehicles have sensors. Didn’t GM start all this about 20 years ago with TPM on the Corvette?
SO FAR SO GOOD and the only reason to be concerned about fixing the problem.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=214
Send in the “Tweels”-Kevin
You Guys Are Correct.
My Older GM Cars Use ABS Sensors For The TPMS.
My Newer GM Cars Use Tire Transmitters For The TPMS.
In My Opinion The System On The Older Ones Work Just Fine, Especially When Considering The Costs Of Maintenance (They Just Don’t Give Actual Pressure - *Who Cares, You’ll Need To Check It Anyhow)
" VDCdriver says and I agree, "GM’s TPMS system–utilizing ABS wheel sensors–results in very little (if any) expense to car owners . . . "
* If somebody neglects to reteach the TPMS on the newer cars following a rotation then wrong information is provided to the driver, sometimes without them realizing it. That can result in the underinflated tire to be missed and another tire overinflated. Way too much technology and too much infomation - GIGO.
CSA
GM’s ABS sensor TPMS was not accurate enough to meet the regs. GM had it on cars before it was mandated hoping NHSTA would change their minds… They didn’t and GM went the path everyone else did. The Corvette, however has had pressure sensor-type TPMS since 1988, I believe.