I just ordered a set of winter wheels for my 08 Prius, and according to TireRack, the pairing between the car and the set of wheels is a one time deal. From that moment on, there is a way to "toggle" the TPMS sensor between my summer wheels and the winter wheels, without going back to the dealer. He said this is the behavior for Toyota/Lexus TPMS system. Can anyone confirm this as a fact? I've read on priuschat that alot of people are going without the TPMS on their winter wheels because of a) cost, and B) the trouble to have to pair up the wheels with the car everytime they switch out wheels. Any Toyota mechanic here who can give an authoritative answer?
assuming the 08 hasn't changed since the 06-07, they have to be re-registered each time the wheels are swapped. the ECU can't hold info for 8 sensors at a time. one of the bigger vehicles... maybe the land cruiser... i don't remember off the top of my head... has a toggle switch. but that's it.
Thanks for the info...I guess the Tirerack guy wasn't so sure after all And re-registering has to be done at the dealer? There's no secret "service menu" screen on the MFD to do it?
Why don't you just forget about the monitors for your winter tires? Many owners do it that way to avoid the high cost of the monitors and the pairing. You'll just have to live with the tire pressure light on your dash for the winter. Just check your tire pressure manually every couple of weeks.
Yes, I know I can just ignore the light, or tape over it, or whatever. I just don't like it, that's all. I just called my dealer's service department and once again they agreed with Tirerack that once I program the code of the new sensors in, I can just reset it. Any one want to be the mythbuster? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(firepa63 @ Oct 31 2007, 12:31 PM) [snapback]533058[/snapback]</div>
yeah. you can be, by going over there and asking them to demonstrate how to program 8 sensors to your car. while they're at it, they need to show you where the main/2nd switch to toggle the sets is located... :lol: hubby was the dealer tech who did this stuff.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Oct 31 2007, 07:23 PM) [snapback]533218[/snapback]</div> Thanks galaxee. I didn't realize your hubby was a tech! In any case, Toyota confirmed it over email to me:
Yet another reason TPMS is a complete and absolute waste of money and time. As galaxee said... Other cars that have a full sized spare have to have the _spare_ tire registered as well and the tire must be mounted in/on the car in a way so that the TPMS sensor can read it along with the other wheels as well. It's a completely flawed system... I'm sorry to hear that you have it.
TPMS isn't a waste of money/time when you catch a tire going soft on the highway and are able to pull over before you shred it. That's why it's mandated for US market cars by now, and if you read some of the papers and patents on the development process you'll see the incredible pain some people went through trying to design a reliable system. Once it becomes more standard/mainstream, everyone will simply assume that it comes on cars as standard as interior lighting, and think nothing more of it until it either malfunctions somehow or saves their nice person on the road. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Nov 12 2007, 11:15 AM) [snapback]538372[/snapback]</div> Sorry all, I'm taking this thread OT. TPMS is a complete waste of time and money. At about $100 per wheel and a minimum of a half hour of programming... Plus rebalancing because now there is this in the wheel: It' a complete waste. It takes no more than five minutes to check the tire pressure and feel around for any bumps or things that are not normal. If you're not competent to do that, take it to the local garage where someone can do that. That shouldn't take more than 10 or 15 min. Having a nanny government policy to monitor your 'tires' is stupid. Not to get political, but don't we have enough problems already?!! Of my friends that have had the mis-fortune of buying new cars with TPMS, all of them have had to take their cars into the dealer two or three times to re-program them because the TPMS sensors/system were faulty; Jeep and Mitsubishi. If a tire shreds, it's generally a rapid blowout that TPMS wouldn't warn about until the tire was already unpressurized. Then, you've got a stability problem along with yet-other-jack-russell-f'n-terrier-light-on-the-dash warning you about something that has already occurred. TPMS is just another word for SCAM.
Note that the TPMS light doesn't go on until the car has run about 1 hour continuously without seeing the sensors. SO if you leave the old tires near in your garage and only drive a half hour at a time, the light doesn't even come on. If it does, next time you park in the garage it goes out again.
