I bought some used wheels with the TPS a bit ago and put Dunlop M3's on them for winter use. Of course the TPS didn't work since the wheels were from another car. I was just going to ignore the idiot light, but that was sort of a PIA. I had the car back to the dealer for a unrelated service and asked them to tell me what it would cost to recalibrate the sensors to my car. $115.00. Not bad, so now I have both sets of wheels set to the car and will not have any issues switching back and forth. It thought it was worth it.

This subject seemed like there had not been addressed before, now there is a answer if anyone is looking to do the same thing.

 

Good post!

 

I wonder if my TPMS is working correctly. I just switched to my winter wheel and tires (no TPMS), and was expecting to see the light come on in the dash. But there's no light. I store the stock wheels far away from the vehicle so the signals aren't picked up by the car. When I cycle over to the pressure gauges, of course they have the dashes but no light at all. Even the dealer told me I would just have to ignore the light while I drove with the winter set on. I guess I'll have it checked on my next visit.

The local dealers in my area charge between $50 - $75 to calibrate the TPMS after wheel changes. It seems to vary by dealership and area.

 

We just put the winters on and of course the TPS doesn't work. But when we called the dealer to inquire about re-programming the new Sensors (bought with a second set of wheels for Winter) We were told that the Car can only have 4 TPS' assigned to it at one time. Thus, in the spring we would have to get the Summer tires re-prorammed again, and then the winter... etc...

Is the dealer wrong?

 

The dealer is correct - every time you switch wheels and tires (assuming each has their own TPMS) you will need to have the vehicle's computer recalibrated. That's one of the reasons I decided not to go with TPMS for my winter set. The other reason was cost -- the sensors aren't cheap!

 

Interesting, that's not what I was told. I specifically asked the tech if I would have to redo that set up in the spring and was told no. I guess we'll see in the spring.

Barmats, where did you get it done for 50 - 75? I go to to Feldmanns and that's where it was 115.

I wonder if there is no signal at all if the system just ignores it?

 

Since I decided not to go with TPMS on my winter wheels, I will do without during the winter and just pop my summer set back on in the spring and TPMS will (hopefully) resume. No need to calibrate. So I haven't actually had to have it done.

I had a really bad experience at Feldmann's and have gone out of my way to NOT recommend them. They demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they lack integrity and honesty. They lied not once but twice to me -- I simply don't trust them anymore, and even though they're closest to me, I will never go there again. I bought my ZR at Walser in Burnsville, and got the quotes from them and Wayzata Nissan. I forget which was which, but it's considerably less expensive than what Feldmanns quoted you.

I've been reading other posts here on TPMS, and think my lack of signal (light) is due to one of two things: 1) One of the posts said you have to drive more than ~ 50 miles before the light comes on. I haven't done this yet since switching to my winter set. 2) It may be that the light comes on only if it initially senses pressure and then loses it. Like if you had a pucture and lost pressure.

 

I got a set of OEM 17" Z rims with winter tires, but no TPMS sensors either ... took about a week, and the idiot light finally came on. Very odd though, seemed like it took a hundred miles or so, before that, no light ... weird.

 

Stepson, Same thing happened for me. I thought I had it beat. At about 100 miles, same thing.

Barmats; Interesting your comments about Feldmanns. I agree they can be a bit higher on some stuff, must be the Benz side of the business kicking in. But I have never had a better buying or service experience - ever. I always look into the better business rating of dealerships before buying and they were the only dealer that had no issues or complaints outstanding. Obviously, we all have different experiences, that's why there is more than one dealer. I have dealt with various Walser dealerhips before and have found them to high pressure and the sales staff have little if any knowledge of the products they sell. I usually know more than they do. Oh well.

 

Unfortunately, all it takes is one bad seed to ruin things. I happened to be paired with a salesman who lied twice to me. Then he lied to his sales mgr, saying he never lied to me. Of course. I ended up losing the ZR I had been promised (it was never held for me), and went to Walser where I found exactly what I was looking for. The most disappointing part was my discussion with the sales mgr afterwards, where he defended the salesman and repeatedly told me, "he's a really good guy". I could only disagree. My experience with Walser has been stellar!

Didn't mean to hijack this thread regarding TPMS. I'm looking forward to spring when I can once again see my F/R tire pressures. The only question I have is: Is the top number the right or left side? Nobody seems to know...

 

There's conflicting info here, anybody know the story? I'm getting ready to buy rims and summer tires, and I'm going to move the TPMS sensors onto the new wheels. When I buy new snow tires in the fall, they'll go on old (stock) rims.

I know I'll need to get the new (winter) sensors programmed in, but will I need to get the existing (summer) sensors reprogrammed then in the spring? If the car can remember all 8, it's worth it to get the sensors ($216 on tirerack), but if I need to pay to get them reset twice a year, it's not worth it.

Anybody know for sure?

 

The top number is the right tire. The arrow on the bottom shows the left tire. Just had my tire sensors re-programmed at my Nissan dealer. Hope this helps.

 

I have been looking for the calibration tool itself. My Brother was able to find one for his Ford Edge and the programming process was simple and only took a few minutes. If I find a tool that works I'll post