Tire Pressure Sensor and winter tires

I only have sensors in our summer tires. We do not have any problems in winter driving with winter tires that do not have sensors in them.

 

There may be laws (state or federal) that the dealership has to abide by which make it illegal for them to mount tires to a car without functioning TPMS sensors (i.e. the law states that they are not permitted to bypass or otherwise render inoperative the TPMS system). If you can change them yourself you're under no such obligation, and you can safely ignore the TPMS warning light for the wintertime. I'd rather have good winter tires and check the pressures periodically.

 

One thing: your new tires are 195/65R15, the old ones are? Maybe 185/65R15? Maybe not a big deal, but also: how many seasons have you used the old ones? Snow tires are best replaced much sooner, say when tread depth's down to 6/32", no less.

Hopefully you can find a tire place that'll not having a problem with sensor-less wheels, because they can be an expensive, and ongoing expense/hassle.

FWIW, this is the rim and lug nut I'm using for snows, and no TPMS:

Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2008 model year?)
steel rim lug nuts: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized)

Edit: changed 3/32" to 6/32"

 

Good point. Here when buying new rubber, the tire dealerships are not allowed to physically touch the TPMS.

They bring the rim out to the customer and say "This sensor needs to be rotated 90 degrees to line-up with blah". So the customer twists it by hand, and the tech takes the rim back to the shop where he mounts the new rubber.

The owner of the vehicle can touch them, or the dealership can service them, but anyone else who is not certified can not.

I agree.