[Note: Haven't received a reply over at the Wheels & Tires forum, so I am trying here. It is a technical problem, umm.. technically.]

Those of you who are using aftermarket wheels with cars equipped originally with the tire pressure monitors, are you seeing the Tire Pressure Warning Light come on?

The reason why I ask is that I had to do a Minus-1 to get Bridgestone Blizzaks onto my Touring 6SP with stock 18" wheels. (18" rear tires were not available at the time).

Obviously the aftermarket 17" wheels don't have the tire pressure monitors installed. I wasn't going to spend $220x4 for the convenience of not having to get out of the car to check my tire pressure.

Even though I did the Minus-1 right and did mirror the factory 17" setup (P225/50 (front) P235/50 (rear)), I get the Tire Pressure Warning Light after about 20 minutes of driving. (The "idiot" light, not the trip computer warning - that display shows "----" all around). That light goes off after I pull over and turn off the ignition, but reappears after another 20 minutes. I check my cold tire pressure with an accurate digital gauge every time before I leave, and always make sure its 35psi.

My service department says that the only way they would look at it is if I come in on factory wheels. Obviously that would solve the problem. When I asked them if they would at least reset the sensors to the car for me if I bought them and installed them in the wheels myself, the service manager flat out refused.

Any ideas?

TIA,
G.C.

 

Scirocco,

I appreciate the suggestion, but the way the service manager worded his answer may hurt my chances for in warranty service. He is basically saying that tire pressure monitoring is a function of the OEM wheels. Since the aftermarket wheels do not provide that function, they cannot diagnose a problem with the tire pressure monitoring alert. I don't want to get into a symantecs war with them nor do I want to shell out over $800 for the sensors, just to find out that they still won't service the car.

I had called 1-800-NISSAN1 and opened a case with them. The phone reps are very non-technical and could only promise a call back from someone more knowledgable within a few days. That was two days ago, and I have not heard from anyone yet.

I guess it would be easier for me to argue my point to the service manager if I had a bit more info on what sets the Tire Pressure Warning Light off. I was under the impression that if the sensors in the wheels are not present, the pressure monitoring system is disabled. Is it possible that there is an alternate backup/failsafe system that uses rolling diameter and/or ABS to determine tire pressure? I seem to recall reading about other Nissan vehicles that use this system rather then individual wheel sensors. If the 350z is equipped with both systems then I may have a chance. The manual is very vague on this point.

Thanks for you reply in any case,
G.C.

 

Best thing is when they promise to get back to you and never do, and then 6 months later you get them calling asking to do a survey on how you enjoy your car. And then they are surprised when you say it sucks, the company sucks, etc. Not saying this is Nissan, just experiences I"ve had with car companys in general.

 

Update for those of you who are keeping an eye on this issue.

I have since received a response from a techical support rep at 1-800-NISSAN1 (David Phillips x3857). David has spoken to the engineering team and has gotten the reply that the reason why the Tire Pressure Warning light comes on is because the trip computer does not receive any transmissions from the wheel sensors (obviously, since they are not there). Supposedly that is equated to all of the wheels being flat. It seems a bit strange to me, especially since I don't get the audible warning (the 10 to 15 second tone) that is supposed to accompany the indicator, unless it's just too quite to hear at highway speeds.

Also, I haven't seen the warning light go off as often lately. There were a couple of long trips where it would go off like clockwork at around 20 minute mark, but on the last couple of 45 minute+ trips it has either gone off right at the end of the trip or not at all. Peculiar to say the least.

I am probably just going to spring for the second set of sensors, but I have a feeling I may have to go to another Nissan service station to get the sensors and my car to play nice every time I change wheels from summer to winter and vice versa. It seems like my service manager is very much intent on not reseting the sensors to my car if they happen to be mounted in non-OEM wheels (even if they happen to be the 17" Nissan wheels meant for the same model- Touring, but just for the AT transmission).

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, I am all ears.

Thanks,
G.C.

 

Hi, I work for a dealer in Canada. We recently had a customer put winter tires on his car ( aftermarket wheels) all that has to be done is to remove the sensors from the factory wheels & install in after market rims. BE CAREFUL when transferring but no harm done!! Next spring reinstall sensors ( they are part of the valve stem ) into the factory wheels. Minor extra expense but no more warning light problems & Nissan is happy they have no liability for running on soft tires !! THINK FORD EXPLODER !!!!

 

Good suggestion, but one of the reasons why I had gotten another set of wheels for the winter tires is to avoid removing the tires from the wheels, and reinstalling them every other season. It's a huge hassle, especially since I cannot fit an extra set of wheels into the Z and drive them over to the wheel shop.

I guess I am at a point where I would get another set of sensors, but the dealer had made it quite obvious that they would not reset the sensors to the car for me if the sensors are on aftermarket wheels. I had read posts from others that had no trouble getting their dealers to reset the wheels to their cars. I guess I just need to try another service department.

G.C.

 

i swapped over to volk gt-c wheels, but left the sensors in the stock wheels.

almost 2 weeks later and the light has not turned on in the dash... all i get is the " - - - - " on the trip computer...

like i said before, if it turns on, i will pull the light.

m

 

Where did you get this $220x4 number for the sensors ?

You're telling me that just the SENSORS alone are $880 ?? That sounds like BS..

 

Well aren't you Mr. Johnny-Come-Lately...

And you know what, you are right. They are not $220 dollars a piece they are $260.44! So for a set of 4 you are looking at $1,041.76.

Why don't you tell us how much you think the sensors cost? I got that price from Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, TX (one of the best Z parts shops, IMHO) as well as from two of my local shops. (Northern NJ). If the price is BS, as you say, then I am sure you will make a killing selling them for much cheaper through classifieds on this message board. Heck, I'll even put in a preorder for four from you right now...

G.C.

 

Heheh... I don't know how much they cost.. but I do know how much they should cost... and that's about $200 for all 4, considering Courtesy also sells another pressure monitor kit for just over $200 for all 4 sensors :/

 

IF you are in a Z club, courtesy will give you 25% off list.

 

Sorry, $900 for some sensors is a ripoff.

 

I'm not really sure where you got $900 since $1,041.76 x .75 = $781.32, but I definetly don't see anyone arguing with your end conclusion.

The question is what is your suggestion? I wanted to eliminate the problem with the warning light without having to move sensors from one set of wheels to another every other season change. If I wanted to take the tires off the wheels I wouldn't have even bothered to get a new set of wheels. Also, if it's going to cost me more then 3/4 of a grand then I will just learn to live with it.

G.C.

 

I got $900 since getting off the phone with a Courtesy Nissan rep... who told me the "discount" price for being a forum member is $225 per sensor, instead of $267 or some ****.

$225 x 4 = $900.

My suggestion ? Well personally it looks like I'm going to replace rubber every season without a 2nd set of rims. But if I did get the rims, I'd forget about the sensors. Who gives a **** about warning lights anyway... and a bunch of people who installed this way (i.e - Skidazzle) don't ever get any warning lights to begin with.