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Ditch TPMS Sendors?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by PriusKyle, Jan 25, 2023.

  1. PriusKyle

    PriusKyle Junior Member

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    Three
    Hey all,
    My OEM TPMS sensors (2011 Prius) have run its course and ever since my TPMS warning lights up on the dash as it should.
    I think one of the TPMS is physically faulty as I noticed a significant psi drop after a couple months on that particular tire; to resolve it, I was thinking completely getting rid of all of the TPMS sensors and replacing with regular valve stems since I no longer want to install new replacement TPMS sensors.

    Will this cause any issues with my car if I did that?
    Thx
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Nope I have a 2013 persona just like that the TPMS light stays on forever You can't turn it off I guess you could take the dash apart and remove the LED but my goodness I don't think I'll be doing all that I have the new TPMS sensors they're cheap as all get out like 39 bucks they're made by a company called Pacific they also make the center caps for your alloy wheels the logo's right on the back of the center cap so you know I don't know why you wouldn't put another set on to have the light out or have another set in my glove box I just got to get the tires worn out and take them off and screw them on and then they go about 10 years till the battery is wear out That's all that's happened to your old ones You can take the old ones off dig the silicone gunk out of the back and replace the 2032s in them and generally they'll work again or you just buy a whole set of four for like $37.99 on Amazon the Pacific brand and they will boot right up with your car.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    small piece of electrical tape over the light
     
    Kasra, fuzzy1 and Grit like this.
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Be aware that, while the car owner is allowed to install non-TPMS wheel sets on a vehicle with otherwise functional TPMS, the tire or car shop is prohibited from doing so (in the U.S. only, it is fine in Canada).

    The legal workaround is quite straight forward, provided you have either another vehicle available, or a spare set of wheel rims: Throw the subject wheels into the back of any vehicle rolling on different wheels, take them to a shop, have the shop build the wheel-tire-valve sets the way you want, load them back into the vehicle, drive home, and bolt the wheels to the car yourself. The shop can't legally bolt these non-TPMS wheels to your TPMS vehicle, but you can.

    It is probably better to not tell them that you are installing these on a TPMS car. What they don't know won't legally hurt them. And if you bring them in a different rig, they are generally smart enough to not ask.

    This is the easiest, quickest, and cheapest method to 'disable' the TPMS warning light, and also easiest and most reliable method to un-do if the car is later re-sold.