Hi!! I recently purchased a 2011 Toyota Corolla and just realized that it had a Tire Pressure Monitor System ( not something I really wanted). My question for all the experts out there is this: when it comes time to replace worn tires, do the tire sensors have to be replaced on each wheel when you get new tires even if there was nothing wrong with them before the tire change??? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
No, they don’t, but I don’t have a good idea how many years they work.
No need to replace them. The originals remain where they are. Just the tires are replaced.
Read your owner’s manual. Many pressure sensors are really just wheel rotation sensors. If a tire gets low, it will rotate faster. They use the same sensor as for the anti-lock brakes. If you change the tires on only one axle, you may need to reset the warning message.
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want them. Why wouldn’t you want to know that a tire is low, perhaps even dangerously low?
Whether you wanted tire pressure monitoring or not is irrelevant. Every new car sold in the US now must have them. They are a battery operated air pressure sensor that will turn on the warning light if a tire pressure falls to more than 3 psi below the manufacturer recommended tire pressure. TPMS is a nuisance and a misguided attempt to save fuel.
After three or four years, you may want to just pay the extra $50 for new valve stems when new tires are needed. The only thing is there will be a procedure for re-setting the location information when tires are rotated. My Acura procedure is different than my Pontiac but the procedure should be in the owners manual. Only takes a few minutes.
I’ll have to vote in favor of the systems. Most people just don’t get down on their hands and knees to check tire pressure as often as they should. Not only can you check the pressure anytime you want while driving, you also get a warning if the pressure falls below normal. It saved me from maybe wrecking a tire and/or having to change it in the rain. I picked up a 2" screw out of state and was able to hobble to a repair facility because the warning went off.
No. changing tires does not require changing sensors. The sensors should be serviced. IE replace the rubber seal, valve core, retainer and cap. They use a small battery to transmit the info to the on board display. The batteries do wear out and at that time the sensor would require replacement. Some are relatively in-expensive and some are rather pricey. A few are now attached to a rubber valve stem and you would want to replace that rubber stem. The system can alarm if the pressure in too high in one tire. The system has a range, normally 7-9 PSI . If your system is set say at 35PSI and the difference in pressure between 2 tires exceeds the range then the light will come on. Also remember that the spare tire on some vehicles may have a sensor. so do not forget to air the spare tire
They aren’t replaced during tire changes. If the station wants to inspect them, that’s fine. I have them on my '04 4Runner, and they work fairly well. Some places will automatically tell you you’re getting new velve stems, etc, and you just have to tell them you have a TPMS system, and they’ll drop that off the list.
It can be frustrating in very cold climates, as the spare will drop pressure, leave the light on and depending on where the spare is, it can be difficult to get air into it.
They were federally mandated in all new cars a few years ago, following all the dangerous blowouts that had the nation mad at Ford (remember the Explorer, and the couple on their honeymoon?). At least a few of those were put to low tire pressure, and partially because of the outrage, these systems became law. It was already in the works due to estimated fuel savings, but that issue forced it to the front faster than it would have happened.
chaissos wrote:
It can be frustrating in very cold climates, as the spare will drop pressure, leave the light on and depending on where the spare is, it can be difficult to get air into it.
I’m afraid this makes no sense to me. If the spare is low, don’t you want to get air into it? I know I would!
Besides, I always fill my spare to the maximum indicated on the tire, knowing that I can easily drop the pressure to the correct value at roadside if needed.
No, I didn’t say that. I do want them all to have the proper presure. But when it’s freezing, and you stop, with frigid air blasting you, put air in all 4, jump back in to avoid frostbite, only to find out that it’s something else…well, freezing is a part of the equation. That’s all. It happened to me, and it was frustrating. I’d never dealt with the system before that, and I didn’t realize there even was on on the spare until that time. It took me a full 3 minutes to get my hands warmed up enough to drive properly again. Of course, that was my fault, I didn’t have gloves with me.
I find them to be a P.I.T A.
There’s a good chance that when the light comes on will be during the winter months…As air temps drop…so does your tire pressure.
I guess these things are OK for people who never check their tire pressure.
I’ve taken to giving the spare a going over when I do the rotation/service at its 5K intervals.
From what I’ve read, the batteries in the tp monitors have a life expectancy of 5 yrs. It should get interesting in 2013. My solution? Black electric tape over the low tire light on the dash.
lion9car, sometimes checking the air on the spare can take a lot longer than the regular tires.
I have a Jeep Compass. The spare is accessed by pulling up the plastic floor panel at the back. Sounds easy so far, right? The problem is that Chrysler, in their infinite wisdom, chose to mount the spare so that the valve stem is down. You have to completely remove the retainer, the jack, and whatever else is in there, and flip the spare over, before you can check the pressure. You can’t reassemble everything the other way round either. As Chaissos says, doing that in the middle of winter sure can suck.
From what I’ve read, the batteries in the tp monitors have a life expectancy of 5 yrs. It should get interesting in 2013
If you’re replacing the batteries (which is cheap) when you get new tires, you’re fine. Tires really shouldn’t be on the car longer than 5 years anyway.
Phillip. Your thought wouldnt apply if the spare is showing low pressure. I know of this in a toyota tundra