Quote:
Originally Posted by 2003S
Any reason I should NOT buy a set of wheels with sensor already installed in them? Can they be removed? Is it even necessary to take them off, or will they cause any fit problems? Never had a vehicle with them so not sure of the implications.
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If you are buying wheels with them in place, but do not actually have a TPMS in the car, they will not cause any problems, and so you can just forget they are there.
TPMS has got to be one of the lamest “federal nanny” items every conceived; you cannot imagine how much unnecessary money is spent on these systems every year.
Basically, each wheel has a pressure monitor under the valve stem that transmits a signal to the system in the car. Because the sensors carry a battery, eventually they will go dead and the TPMS will start alarming because it cannot see the sensor. That will require replacing the sensor (most are not designed for battery swaps), and depending upon the brand, the sensor can cost $100 or more each, plus the charge to break the tire bead, install the sensor, reset the tire bead, and rebalance the wheel. All because a $1.50 battery went dead.
Most manufacturers’ use “proprietary” TPMS components, which typically mean you have to buy replacements from them. Some aftermarket replacements have become available, but only for the most popular cars. When these systems became mandated in 2007, several OEM’s, Porsche included, had so many problems with them that the Feds gave them temporary “Papal dispensation” to turn them off until they could come up with a fix. By far, the biggest issue was that the sensors are wildly inaccurate in their pressure measurements, but that have been mostly fixed by now.
All this because the “average driver” would not spend $5 for a pressure gauge and check their tires from time to time…………