Brand New Prius got a flat tire and broke my air pressure sensor but not covered by warranty???

I agree, looks like a system designed to fail. You need the TPMS sensor to tell you the tire lost pressure and you need to stop before you ruin the sensor. What a rotten design.

The TPMS was mandated for the manufacturers, not the owners. No way would I buy a set of overpriced sensors that I have to pay $$$"s to have them programmed just to have a different set of wheels.

 

TPMS protects against slow leaks. Lets say you hit a nail, but it doesn't immediately deflate the tire. You drive home without noticing anything. Next morning, the tire has gone mostly flat to 20psi. Unless you inspect your tires, you won't notice if you didnt have a TPMS. Then at highway speeds the tire with low pressure overheats and the tread separates from the tire- causing an immediate loss of control.

A few hundred dollars or a crash at highway speeds (which will also lead to your insurance company denying your claim due to disabling of the TPMS safety feature)? Which would you rather have?

 

Hysterical much? Your choices are not mutually exclusive. Dare I say 99% of miles driven in the history of mankind have been on cars without monitored tires and it goes without saying that not 100% of these people died in highway crashes from a slow leak they were unaware of. I don't like paying money, which I can unequivocally quantify, for benefits which I unequivocally cannot. Also, unless somebody can confirm one way or the other (and this is not a gray area; there is surely a yes/no) about the insurance impact of this, that may be also inapplicable.

 

I'm not going to ask an insurance company, but the danger is that your tires might be unknowingly underinflated without the sensors. However, as long as you check the tires and maintain proper inflation pressures, I don't see how you could be held liable for not having the sensors.

And if the insurer wants to play that game, I will demand a discount for using winter tires, which provide significant safety advantages in the colder months. Right now, I pay the same as people using crappy "all"-season tires.

 

The Prius has another sensor which tells you when a tire has gone flat:
The MPG gauge.

I noticed that before I noticed the TPMS warning light - and wasn't convinced by the TPMS light until the MPG trend was clear.

Your MPG will drop like a rock - at least 15mpg if not more.

 

That reminds me, Tom, I mean to up my PSI in the tires

 

I have a new set of snow tires and rims on my car. The old tires and rims with sensors are in the garage. When I leave the house the warning light does not come on. It takes 15 minutes before the light starts blinking because it does not detect the sensors. That is a very long time for feedback.

I believe the sensors are worthless. 15 minutes is a very long time. I can tell when my tire is losing air. The card does not ride the same.

 

Had I known at the time what I know now, I would not have even bothered with the TPMS sensors. I would still have purchased the wheels & tires combo from TireRack but would have gone without the TPMS. Apparently, on some vehicles you can update these IDs with a scan tool. If only that were true on the Prius, then I wouldn't have been as upset about the expense.

Currently the winter tire TPMS IDs are programmed into the computer. I tend to walk around the car at least once a day and glance at the tires during the warmer months. I figure that I'm less likely to do this during the winter, and as such, will keep the winter IDs programmed and learn to live with the obnoxious light on the dash.

 

The ABS sensor is a part of the hub assembly, not the wheel.

+1

 

You can demand all you want, but there is no contractual obligation for them to give you a discount for winter tires. No more than people who take the Bondurant driving course or get premium summer tires or other self purchased safety items. You can do what you want, but they won't charge a premium if you are on bald tires either.

 

Flat tires are not covered in any car warranty. That's part of regular maintenance.
Perhaps the tire manufacturer will cover it. Some will cover blowouts--I've had that experience. Replaced the cost of the tire after 5-6K miles of wear.
As far as the pressure sensor is concerned, if the sensor can break with a simple flat tire, then it shouldn't be in the tire. I'd go after Toyota for that. From what I've seen, there are people going after Toyota right now for a lot less.

 

A Bridgestone on our 2008 Nissan Sentra suffered a sidewall failure at freeway speed. I was able to keep control but was forced to limp .5 mile to the next ramp. Tire was totally flat, amazed that it had stayed on the rim. The sensor unit appeared to be the same as that pictured earlier in the thread and after replacing the tire it was reset, by the dealer, and continued functioning as well as before. (no better or worse)
Since that time I was told by an installer at Discount Tire that the main threat to the sensor is from rough/improper handling during tire mounting.
If you have the old sensor there may be an indication of how it was damaged, without it...maybe another dealer would be more understanding.
Nothing but problems with the TPMS on our last car. (erroneous readings) Hopefully the systems have been refined in the last 2 years.

 

Unfortunately OEM tires come sans any kind of warranty from the tire manufacturer...

 

Tires are just a pain. I remember how upset I was when I had to replace a tire because of a flat on my 89 Cherokee with only 5000 miles on it. I was really upset when I was told that I would have to replace all 4 tires if I wanted 4WD...

 

Maybe we're playing semantics. IMO "broken" means "doesn't work at all" yet the sensor works sometimes as the lit is not always on. My suspicion is that the tp is low & the button needs to be pushed to rest the sensors. If I lose a sensor I'd be inclined to add the optional electrical or painters tape to the dash.

 

Well if you believed that and replaced all four I'll bet they are still laughing.

 

If you want to get rid of the light just buy the light removal kit recommended by the Car Talk guys - just go to the hardware store and buy a roll of electrical tape.

If you do actually get winter tires the cars TPMS system has to recognize the sensors - in some cars it is easy for the owner to re-set the system, in others you need a scan tool. I do not know which the Prius is, but this might factor into your choice.

 

Just remember that the mandate for TPMS systems was driven in large part to the Ford Explorer's that flipped a while back due in part to low tire pressure and the high center of gravity of many SUV's.