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TPMS Part Number Question

Discussion in 'Prius c Accessories and Modifications' started by HiC, Sep 19, 2014.

  1. HiC

    HiC Junior Member

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    2014 Prius c
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    Two
    I will be buying steel rims and snow tires for the C and was wondering what TPMS sensors are compatible with the car. Can I buy some generic sensors on ebay? I have read that the factory sensor part number is: 42607-52020.
    Was also wondering if there is a sensor that has a flexible rubber stem instead of the stiff metal ones.

     
  2. Ashlem

    Ashlem Senior Member

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    As far as I know, any TPMS will work, but you need its ID so the car can recognize it, so if you buy them pre-installed and they don't give you the ID's, then you have to take the tire off to read it.

    When I ordered some snow tires from tirerack last year for my c with the TPMS installed and the wheel mounted/balanced already, Goodyear was unable to calibrate them, and Toyota wanted $60 to do it (and told me would have to do it again when I swapped tires in the spring), so I just lived with the light on the dash coming on during the winter time and essentially wasted $200 buying them.

    For my liftback, while I'll still order tires from tirerack, I'm not getting their TPMS this time around. I called Toyota to ask for their TPMS prices, and they quoted me $70 each, but you can't clone them, so you'd have to get the recalibrated every time you swap the wheels (why couldn't they just program the car to remember 9 wheels, for two sets + spare? Guess it makes too much sense...)

    I then called Goodyear, and they said their TPMS was $80 each, but can be cloned, so when my wheels/tires come in, I'm going to have them install their TPMS and clone the ID's from the first set of wheels so that as far as my car is concerned, the winter tires are the same TPMS as the all-season ones. I told tirerack not to mount them, or else Goodyear would have to take the tire off to mount the TPMS and then remount/balance it anyway.

    While it's an additional expense (thanks for nothing NHTSA for not setting some standards for carmakers to follow), at least it's a one-time thing, and afterwards I should be able to swap the tires without dealing with the hassle of recalibrating the TPMS every time spring and fall roll around.

    You can do it yourself too, but you may want to search the site for that info, and it's still going to cost you to get all the equipment you'd need to do it, as well as cloneable TPMS sensors. I'm too lazy to do all that, so I'll just pay someone else to do it (haha, the mechanics must love me).
     
  3. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    As Ashlem said, the best option, when buying a second set of tires is to get "cloneable" TPMS transmitters.

    Either have a Toyota dealer read and print out the TPMS registration numbers already installed on the car or get a MINI-VCI TechStream cable like this one and do it yourself.



    Go to a tire dealer that sells and installs "cloneable" TPMS transmitters, have them cloned, and then install them in wheels and snow tires.

    Then, the TPMS system in your car will recognize the regular and snow tires without further fuss or re-programming with the seasonal change.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You can just skip getting the sensors. Well, hopefully you can: I've heard in the states some tire places are getting sticky about it? Tighter regulation?
     
  5. Ashlem

    Ashlem Senior Member

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    I think it's a case of covering their butts. That way, if there was no TPMS and the tire place changed out the tires, they could be held liable for any damages that result from a tire blowout in that car, even if they really had nothing to do with it (because say the car ran over something that caused the tire to gash open). And with all those lawyer commercials about auto accidents on tv playing nonstop, the less liability the tire store has, the better.

    That said, again, the government could have asked them to come up with a standard so that every car company could use one design, and cars should be able to handle more than one set of tires + spare for TPMS. The way they have it now, it's really goofy and idiotic that people have to pay $200-400 to get four sensors, then an additional $60-80 to get them re-calibrated properly every fall/spring.

    So it's little wonder some people are chancing it by not installing TPMS in winter tires. Folks that live in warm enough areas where you don't need to swap out snow tires are okay. But everyone else gets screwed by this regulation oversight.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yes, and it's a phenomena, deserving of a name. How about "River Kwai Bridge Syndrome"?

    Mike suggests an alternative, that at least evades the spring/fall dance..., but I like to keep it simple, lol.