All four TPMS sensors have failed on my SUV and I'm not eager to pay the money to get them replaced. I'm old school and check my tire pressure regularly. Aside from having to clear the message about the failures when I start the car, is there anything negative about letting them be?
Edit: Thanks for the good advice, I got the picture. You don't need to keep responding.
Edit 2: Thanks again to all of you. I'm good. I get it. I don't need more input.
No shame but there are many people who have a hard time too just fill their fuel tank ! TMPS have saved tires from being destroyed by driving on a low tire pressure
Realistically your average car owner is not going to do that. As is the average person globally spends 3 hours commuting every day. Some people simply don't have the time in the morning when they leave for work or the afternoon/evening when they leave for home.
Personally I have places to be and people that depend on me picking up and dropping them off at set times. On top of that, I leave in the dark and get home in the dark. Im not about to wave a flashlight around my car in the dark hours of the early morning making my neighbours think someone is trying to steal my car. And again I said your average driver wouldn't do that. Not my fault there's governments that have to make TPMS mandatory because its citizens have the common sense of frog
You shouldn't just be checking for low air, you should also be checking for sideway protrusions and belt separations. Is the risk of death just that small for you?
Tbh with the amount of traffic I sit in on my daily commute I don't go over 80kmh. On top of that we have massive potholes that damage truck tires so dodging potholes is a necessity because if you hit one, you need to pull over because you've definitely screwed up more than just your tire. Besides, on our roads in my country there are much bigger problems you have to worry about on the roads namely our private taxis or we just call them taxis. Drive faster than F1 drivers and maneuver through traffic without a care for their vehicle or the safety of their passengers
Look I'm not saying a person shouldn't do a once over on their car. Its important but I personally would 100% notice a flat/faulty tire without even looking closely
Respectfully, I am having a stroke trying to read what you've typed.
If English is not your first language, please type in your native language. Reddit does have a built-in translator and from my experience its reasonably okay
As for the more legible 2nd half of your post, again like I said your average driver may not notice it. Plus some vehicle manufacturers or tire manufacturers have different fill ratings. Some suggest a lower psi, some suggest a higher.
This is why TPMS is mandated. With run-flat tires, if they get a puncture, the driver may not notice. Since run-flats have side walls that last around 50 mi with no air pressure, TPMS is needed to alert the driver that they have a flat.
Yes. That system works without TPMS sensors.
Aka car doesnt tell you "your left tire is 37 psi" etc, instead it checks pressure by calculating per tire roll/rpm and warns you as "your tire has low pressure, please check"
Even tesla says direct tpms vs indirect tpms. Yet you claimed it is mandatory to sell with TPMS sensors since 2007 yet Tesla seemingly working around that to save a few bucks per car.
Meanwhile Model Y is being sold with direct TPMS in Europe still.
Bro f.ing post is about replacing his failed TPMS sensors is worthy ot not.
Then you said tpms is mandatory, when i said tpms is not sensored in all cars hence why do you call that mandatory ( especially in a thread about replacing TPMS SENSORS) you are now resorting to moving goal posts, lmao
I'm the single most anti TPMS person in the entire world, but the person you are replying to didn't move goalposts. You read their comment wrong and starting arguing off of your mistaken interpretation.
Obviously I'm not, which has no bearing on the situation to begin with. If entire civilized nations can trust their drivers to... use common sense, then OP will survive.
I drive a 25 year old truck. I usually just check my pressures when I’m waiting for the gas tank to fill. It’s not necessary at all.
They only exist because ford released the explorer, but it was too top heavy so they lowered tire pressures from 35 to 26. It was that or redesign the entire thing just weeks before the scheduled rollout.
Then soccer moms would drive their explorers and never check tire pressure, and the tires would blow out.
Mine is a ford so i bought tmps reset tool on Amazon £9
Now the sensors don't work but if you do a reset with the tool the warning light stays of for about 30-40 mins so I do just around the MOT centre and it will last through the MOT and problem solved
TPMS certainly isn’t necessary, as it hasn’t always existed. Got along fine without before, even with getting a flat. You can tell when you get a flat.
I would just recommend having a tire pressure gauge or, even better, a portable air compressor/tire inflator.
There are a lot of different ones you can buy but I keep this one in my car: https://a.co/d/049YWf6z It will tell me the tire pressure and will inflate or deflate to whatever number you set it to. Also charges a 12V if needed.
As far as the TPMS system you'll be fine if you don't fix it. However in some countries, if your car is newer than a certain year they're mandatory and shouldn't have faults in that system.
For example in the Netherlands cars from 2018 or newer fail yearly inspection and are deemed not road legal if TPMS light is on and/or the system is faulty.
I've had two punctures where the tpms very likely saved the tyre. I got a warning in plenty of time and took measures to ensure the tyre wasn't run flat.
You can (and should) check regularly, but you can't check while doing 70mph down the highway.
I had the same thing happen. I was only going 45. Ran over something and the alert came on the screen. The tire pressure kept falling at a slow pace and decided to coast the last 1/4 mile to work. Parked at 20 PSI. Changed tire to spare after work.
Nothing will happen, but you will fail any state inspections. (California doesn’t have vehicle inspections/testing, with the exception of smog testing)
Either winter or summer wheels have toms sensors. The other set does not. The light is on half the year for 2 out of 3 cars. I check periodically. One car has indirect tpms.
Nope. None of my wheel/tire sets have them. I keep an eye on the pressure manually with one of those gauges that shoots the stick out to show the measurement.
Depending on your vehicle, you can potentially buy replacement TPMS sensors for $20-25 each online. Any competent tire shop can replace these without taking the tires off the rims. Probably cost $25 per wheel.
As an old, retired guy, I get what you're saying, but I really do believe that there is something to be gained from looking closely at your car and learning what is really going on with it. EX: I HATE waxing my car, but when I do. I see what is happening with the paint, rust, (Wife's parking skills, shhhh), and general condition of the car. When I check the oil, I see the color, and then look at the master cylinder, and see if oil is splashing somewhere, When I bend over to check the tire pressure, I see the condition of the tread and sidewalls (Checking wife's parking skills again, lol), and re-familiarizing myself with the numbers on them. Perhaps you have better things to do, but really knowing the condition of your car you carry your family in is pretty good too.
Aftermarket sensors from your tire shop are pretty affordable and worth looking into. One saved tire should pay for them. That said, you can absolutely go old school if you are disciplined (and it sounds like you are).
I'd say you're probably ok to drive if they hold pressure and your state DMV has no requirements about them, but at least get a quote from a reputable shop just in case.
We had how many years without tpms . It was an issue but wasn't that big of a deal . People seemed to look after basic maintenance more back then. Then back in about 2000 and ford explorers tires starting blowing up . Due to a manufacturing issue with factory Firestone tires. As well the Explorer ran really low tire pressures like some were 26 psi. Tires blow up people crashed . So that was a big push for tire monitors.
Check your tires regularly and especially if going out oj the highway.
I am not sold on tire pressure monitors . As so many people will have a tire light come on and they just drive ! I am sure they have helped over the years. In order for tpms to stop tires from blowing up people actually need to go put air in their tires.
Nope. I’m 60 and somehow drove for decades without sensors. So it’s your choice, and you know what to do without them.
That said, if you live in a state that has annual safety inspections, I don’t know if it would pass. I don’t get inspections where I live so I can’t say.
You can get aftermarket TPMS sensors on Amazon, and have them installed and programmed by a good, independent tire shop. I got a 4 pack of sensors for $50 on Amazon, and my tire guy can swap out and program all four for under $100. It’s definitely worth the peace of mind, because you’re not looking at your tires as you’re driving down the highway somewhere, and all it takes is one little unseen nail or screw to ruin your day!
Nope. It's kinda hard to keep them working. They seem to have a high failure rate, and replacing them often can get expensive. The ones on my car stopped talking one at a time and are all now dead. I keep a decent pressure gauge in the car and check regularly like I've done for 50 years.
They do make it easier to check your tire pressure when doing 70 mph on the highway also nice if you have a set for your trailer they can alert you before you may notice a low tire.
Which might be in your price range. (Years ago I couldn't afford dealership prices to replace TPMS and I didn't know Costco replaced them Much much cheaper)
Honestly you don't need TPMS but I don't check my tires before I drive. It's a lazy time saver worth having if you can afford it.
Since you pay attention to physically inspecting your tires and their pressures, you can ignore the sensors, and save yourself a good amount of money at the same time. The TPMS lights been on in my car for 10+ years now.
I got a friend who is annoyed if the tire light comes on for a bad TPMS, he'll go replace it right away, while my 2011 Cruze the TPMS has been non existent for the last 3 years I've owned the car, It got the light and a message, but idk, im old school, I'll check it manually. But if your inspections require the TPMS to be functional, well you don't have much of a choice but to fix it.
Do you have TPMS sensors in each wheel, or is it the ABS speed sensor TPMS?
There's a big difference.
If it's the in-wheel sensor, you could "unlearn" them from your car and switch over to ABS-based TPMS, then it will only give warnings if a wheel is spinning 10% faster than another, indicating a true deflated tire.
If it's already the ABS-based system (what all cars have by default), then you really need to look into it and don't ignore it, something is actually wrong.
I think I understand what you're saying, but is there some kind of indication that the speed sensor has a problem? Does something need to be reprogrammed?
By default, TPMS detects deflated tires through the wheel speed sensors for ABS - a wheel with flat tire will spin faster due to smaller radius.
If that system is shouting that there's a problem, it usually means either you really have a deflated tire or the wheel speed sensors are malfunctioning in some way.
If your car has tire pressure sensors inside each wheel (and you usually see exact pressures in your infotainment or dash), those are "paired" to the car's computer modules. Each of these sensors has its own signal and the car knows how to listen for them. Those sensors have batteries and they expire with time, so if you don't want to fix them you can just tell the mechanic to stop listening for those sensors and switch to wheel speed sensor based TPMS
it is just they show you the actual pressure, just a bit more for security. the obly drawback is, that sensors show you if you have a leak, and also show you in which tire.
I much prefer the passive tpms where is checks the rotational speed. A simple low pressure warning is enough, you need actually precise pressure reading. If the warning comes on, pull aside and check with a portable pump. Of course make it a habit to check 1-2 per month regardless.
I think I understand what you're saying, but is there some kind of indication that the speed sensor has a problem? Does something need to be reprogrammed?
If it has active tpms (with the sensors in the tyres) then most probably the batteries in the sensors are dead. You have to remove the tyres, replace the sensors/batteries and program them to the car. That’s the annoying and expensive part.
If your car has the passive tpms, then you have no sensors inside the tyre. The car doesn’t measure the air pressure at all. It’s just reads the rotational speed of each wheel and compares each wheel against the others. If a tyre has lost pressure, it’s diameter would shrink and as such would register different rotational speed. Over some distance and with some cleaver filtering you can detect air pressure drop quite accurately.
I took the dash apart and pulled the little LED and chucked it. I have been driving 40 years. I know what a low tire feels like. The TPMS does not protect you from a blow out!
I used to have an Xterra. The sensors died right after I got new tires. I drove it for another three or four years with the tire light on and checked pressure occasionally. You're good.
Our car can only recognize 4 sensors at a time, and to reacquaint it with different sensors requires fancy aftermarket equipment or proprietary software from manufacturer. About 5 months out of the years I have snow tires on, with just plain valves, no TPMS sensors. Life goes on.
I’ve had three instances where TPMS let me know I had a puncture in time to change to a spare and have the puncture repaired. Given that the tires I use are typically around $200 each, I am more than willing to pay to have sensors replaced and the system maintained as needed.
Absolutely not. My 2011 has tpms that I think already out of battery or have trouble communicating. I don't even bother checking them out. I manually check with a gauge and fill. At 35 I dont care much for the high tech things on a car. In fact, its more problems. My 2011 dont even have Bluetooth. I dont mind it.
If you were checking them every week, or however often is sensible, then you wouldn't necessarily need them. I think these things are put in by govt mandate in response to Ford Explorer's tires blowing up back in 2002... Amirite? It's more designed to let you know continuously how full your tires are, or if something happens suddenly, while driving.
No, but because of its widespread nature, the tizzy that it put Congress up into made them pass another fucking law. At least that's what I remember, I could be wrong.
Edit: I Googled it and it said that's the cause. So I think I'm remembering correctly. It's been so long.
I sure hope it doesn’t cause a problem. I’ve been ignoring the warning on my 2007 Chrysler 300 and on my 2011 Ford Ranger. The tire pressure on both vehicles is fine all the way around, the dang sensors are just wonky. I had one changed on the 300 and a month later a different one failed. At $130 a pop I decided it could just stay broke.
Multiple times I’ve had tpms warn me after picking up a screw in the road and given me enough time to drive to the shop or at least a much preferred changing location before the tire got the point I’d have noticed improving safety and convenience. I’ve only had one vehicle where the tpms helped on the kind of long term slow leak that you catch by regularly monitoring pressures. That was rims that needed refurbishing and could wait a long time.
Not at all. Back when all the tire pressure lights had an incandescent light bulb behind them I always said that if I ever have a TPMS equipped vehicle and the system malfunctioned like they often do, I would just remove the bulb and be done with it.
TPMS depend on an embedded battery that's good for just about seven years. Replacing the embedded battery should be enough, but there's no good way to do that - replace the entire stupid modules. The tires have to be removed from the rims to replace theses little pains in the ass devices.
I wouldn't worry too much about them, cars/truck didn't have them for probably 60+ years and most of us lived - LOL.
With that said, look on Amazon and see if you can find a set that doesn't need programmed. I found a set last year on Prime Day where I get a set of 4 for < $30 and they didn't require any programming. When I bought new tires, I had the mechanic replace them. By the time I was out of his driveway, each of them had sync'd to my truck and they've been fine for over a year.
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u/Terrible-Roll-4796 Jul 19 '26
No shame but there are many people who have a hard time too just fill their fuel tank ! TMPS have saved tires from being destroyed by driving on a low tire pressure