I have a 2007 Chevrolet Impala which has sensors in the wheels. Can I buy another set of wheels which do not have sensors and use them for my studded snow tires without damaging the car’s computer. The tire store says no; the car garage says yes. Who’s right?
Damaging the computer? Makes no sense to me. Confuse the computer, yes. I currently have wheels without TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system)sensors on my Pacifica that has TPMS, and the computer is confused and nags me every minute or so, but no permanent damage is being done.
Are you sure they have sensors?
Some vehicles monitor the tire pressure with the same sensors that control ABS and the stability control system. These systems don’t actually monitor the tire pressure. Instead, they notice when one wheel starts turning at a different speed, and alert the driver that the wheel that is turning faster than the rest is low on pressure.
If you have this type of system, you can use any rims of the same size. Check your owner’s manual to see which type of system you have.
You won’t do any damage but consider that the sensors can be bought- all 4 for $144 from Tire Rack. I would assume that if you only need two, the price would drop accordingly. At that cost, it doesn’t seem worth messing around.
I do the same thing every Winter for my RX-8 . . . got a set of snows on custom wheels, without the sensors. The computer thinks that all four tires are low, the low air pressure light comes on, that’s all. Rocketman