andysinnh

Just a word about the OEM TPMS sensors. As I said earlier, I ordered a set of aftermarket alloy wheels for my snow tire setup. And I also ordered a set of OEM TPMS sensors. Both have arrived, and I did a test fit of the sensors to the wheels. The first thing I noticed was the OEM sensors have an adjustable angle for the sensor unit to the valve stem. This was unusual for OEM sensors since they're typically a fixed angle. But these allow you to adapt the sensor to the angle of the rim you're using - likely allowing a variance of rim diameters to be utilized. This was a great surprise. The second thing I noticed was that instead of a large rubber grommet on the sensor that fits on the inside of the rim, there's only a small amount of rubber exposed to the rim, with a bit of a metal cup surrounding most of the edge of the grommet itself. I was used to the one with more exposed rubber, which even after tightening, allowed some movement in the sensor/stem assembly. This setup results in you tightening the unit so it's metal-on-metal on the inside as well as the outside, with rubber only on the inside of the stem/hole area. It seems like it fits snugly but it will take the mounting of the tire to see how it holds the air.

Just wanted to share some observations of the difference in the OEM sensors from other Honda/Acura ones I've ordered in the past. Will let folks know once the winter setup is complete!

andy

JACN

Thanks for the info. I'm about to put some winter rims on mine too but i'm debating: TPMS or not.

Once you've got the TPMS installed, how does the RDX know about them? Do you need to reset something in the computer?

Acura604

re: TPMS recognition. most likely similar to other ACURAs.... once installed, go for a short / slow drive and the RDX computer will pickup the TPMS readings automatically...

ceb

If you do not install TPMS then several safety nannies will be disabled.

carbonTSEX

Stuck with the info warning light on if you opted to not run TPMS since the vehicle recognizes the sensors are missing.

Shellee Trossman

thanks for the info!

08RDX13

Tx for the info.
Anyone have any experience of driving 2013 RDX on winter tires without TPMS on steel rims ? Winter is finally here in Toronto area of Canada.

JACN

I'm in Toronto and Winter is *NOT* here. Just becasue we have -2'C doesn't mean we have winter. It'll be 13'C on Christmas and NO SNOW. The factory 18" tires will still work just fine.

I did get some 17" rims with Michelin X-ice2. They came with aftermarket TPMS though. They needed to be programmed for the RDX but only once. Next year they won't require any programming.

rosen39

JACN, I got TPMS valves with tires and wheels from Tire Rack. They did not require programming. Once you drove for a little over a mile, the car recognized the sensors and displayed the readings.

andysinnh

If you run without TPMS it will leave the warning light on all the time. Also you won't be able to disable stability control with the TPMS light on. Not usually a big deal, but if you get stuck in the snow, you need to be able to turn stability control off in order to get real traction (learned this the hard way on my Pilot a few years ago). So just get the tpms sensors and you'll be all set.

andy

Danny Boy

I got my 2016 RDX on Dec 5. A week later I installed alloy rims with 17" Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 and after market TPMS. The TPMS is programmed only once and will be good every season.

The tire pressure reading comes on as soon as the car is started. They can also be accessed via AcuraLink.

Skidoor

Can someone tell me how much cheaper the aftermarket sensors are vs. OEM? And who does the programming on the aftermarket sensors? How is it done?

I am seeing sensors on eBay for 230 bucks Canadian (around 190 USD) for a set of 4. Are these the ones that need to be programmed only once, or are they the ones that auto-pair with the RDX?

Thanx!

Danny Boy

I had a set of TPMS installed for CA$270 including tax at CEO Tires (Midland/Sheppard). With these TPMS you can mount and rotate tires without having to go back to the dealer to reprogram the TPMS - 100% compatible with RDX.

RDX-Rick

I purchased a set of 4 Michelin XI2 tires mounted on alloy rims, complete with TPMS from the local Acura dealer last year. The invoice broke the total price down to the individual components. (all prices in CAD)
$40.00 sensor assy TPMS (list price was shown as $50, so I got a small discount by getting the whole winter wheel package)
$1.85 Washer TPMS valve
3.66 Nut TPMS valve

So a total of $45.51 per tire for the TPMS. So the set of four would be $182.04 CAD, which is cheaper than your Ebay price.

I purchased these tires/wheels during the summer of 2015, and I didn't put them on my RDX until about five months later in December. I had to drive for about 15 minutes, but all four tire pressures eventually came up on the MID without me doing a thing.

Of course there was also a labor charge of $79.00 which included the installation of the TPMS sensors and the mounting of the tires, so about $19.75 per tire in labor costs.

So total cost to install 4 OEM sensors would be $261 CAD at the dealer.

OriginalLucy

I am wondering if it is important to have winter wheels or if it okay to just swap out the tires each season? I know the bead breaks down and it takes longer to have them changed, but, does the expense of a winter set offset the inconvenience over cost?

Skidoor

I would say that getting the winter wheels will pay for itself in about 6 years via lower labour costs to do the twice-annual changeover. If your local garage isn't staffed by imbeciles, there isn't much concern in my head about wear/damage to the bead over time. But overall if you can spare the cash, I'd say yes to winter wheels if you plan to keep the vehicle for at least 5 years.

flex186

I'm looking at a set of winter tires and wheels for my '13 RDX. I was wondering if it's worth it to get TPMS. What exactly happens if you don't have TPMS? Does it give a warning once you start the car each time? Any other disadvantages other than not being able to turn off stability control?

jcross1231

You'll probably get a TPMS Fail message. This is annunciated as the low tire pressure indication blinking for about a minute and then staying on. It's your money. However, for what you're paying for tires and wheels, I'd spring the $200 or so extra for the sensors as well.

flex186

Can anyone without TPMS on winter tires comment? I'm still sitting on the fence about them.

Also, any recommendations on where I can purchase TPMS if I wanted to pay less for them?

andysinnh

Best place to get the OEM TPMS sensors is to go to www.oemacuraparts.com and look up the RDX and see the "Wheels Disk" category. Price for the TPMS sensor is like $26 each, plus the nut and washer. Seems to be a lot less than aftermarket ones.

FYI - I just returned the lease on my '15 RDX Tech and picked up a '17 MDX Tech. Plan was to re-use the wheel/snow tire setup on the MDX, but in Honda's brilliant mind, they changed the lug pattern on the '17's from 114.3 to 120 mm. So now I'm scrambling to figure out how to move forward. In the interim, I'll be putting my existing set of wheels/tires up in the classified section soon to see if anyone in the NH/Mass area is looking for a lightly used set w/Nokian snow tires on them. Ping me if you might be interested - ad will go up soon.

andy

cFoo

For the 2017 I see two TPMS sensors listed. Which one is the right one?

Part Number: 42753-TX4-A51
and
Part Number: 42753-TZ3-A51

Tech

I recently bought 4 of each at my Acura dealer.

442753-TZ3-A51 TPM sensor assembly.
442755-TP6-A81 TPMS valve washer.
442754-TY2-A81 TPMS valve nut.

cFoo

Thanks, Alex. I'll order the TZ3.

Tech

That is what the Acura dealer sold me. They came in Honda packaging like so many Acura parts.

Tech

By the way, stamped into the plastic case of those sensors: Continental PA66GF30

Also, TPMS nut torque: 8 Nm (70.8 lbf.in.).
Source: Acura Installation Instructions of 2014 MDX Wheels using TPMS and also other independent sites.

andysinnh

I just moved my snow tires over to the proper wheels and sensors for my '17 MDX. If anyone's looking for a set of the RDX TPMS sensors referred to in this thread, wander on offer to the Black Market area of Azurazine - only used 2 winter seasons.....

Thermos

I just got a new set of winter rims, tires and I opted to have some 3rd-party TPMS sensors put in (at SimplyTire in Toronto, Canada). This is on a '13 RDX. It took about 80km of driving for the car to realize that the old sensors were gone. There were no warning at that point and the display was showing the old readings. Once it DID realize that the sensors were gone, it started showing the TPMS warning. I've now driven 200km since the change and it's still showing it. Not sure how to go about this. Do I take it to Acura for some kind of re-programming. Did they even put the TPMS sensors in?! I have no way to tell

I may try and use a TPMS app on my phone and see if it even detects them..

Tech

My local Acura dealer told me that they do not need to be reprogrammed as was required in the past. I have a 2017.

Did the aftermarket TPMS sensors that you bought come with the correct frequency.

I bought mine at the Acura dealer, so they are original parts.

cFoo

Save yourself the trouble and go with the OEM sensors. Plug-n-play, no programming.

​Be glad that this is supported on Acura/Honda cars. My Lexus doesn't even recognize the OEM sensors. You have to clone the sensors to be the same as the one that came with the car or reprogram it every winter. It's super annoying. Even with the "Winter" AWD package. Most people don't think it's annoying enough, but it's one of the deciding factors for me to go back to another RDX instead of the RX or NX.

Thermos

My issue turned out to be the absence of TPMS sensors. These fools forgot to install them but they didn't forget to charge me for them. My mechanic had to take 1 tire off to discover this. I went back to the shop for a refund. They apologized and said "It's happened twice already". That was great to hear..

Tech

You didn't check and notice?

The valve stems on a TPMS valve is very different from a normal valve stem.

Now you know why I installed my TPMS myself when I got my new winter alloys. Plus they were torqued to spec. I trust no one.

Thermos

I have trust issues too but this was something new to me and the place I go to has never done anything so careless. I had only looked at the valves later on when the car wasn't picking up a reading. They were rubber and looked just like any regular valve. This made me suspicious but Google searching revealed that TPMS sensors nowadays can come with rubber valves. The only sure way was to remove the tire. Lessons learned

RDX2018

Really... there's not syncing or calibrating by pressing buttons inside the interior like most cars?

hanko

I had the same set of tires installed on Innovation Fast alloy rims, plus TPMS done by my local tires shop in Vancouver Canada. TPMS’ cost $79 each plus taxes installation included, so it looks like we pay more out in the West Coast up here. I hope I made the right choice on the winter tires 😊

hanko

edited.

FreddyBeach

I have a 2016 RDX -Tech. I was fortunate to find a set of 4 brand new Honda 18" 'Diamond Cut' alloys for $600.00 so had my winter tires installed on them. I do not do a lot of winter driving so I could have put up with the TPMS light being on, but the worst part was that I was getting 10 - 15 messages - same one, over and over again. I would no longer clear them all and they would be back. This drove me nuts so I broke down and had the Acura dealer install tire pressure monitors in each wheel. Problem gone. Should have done this in the beginning because now I had to pay to have the tires installed and re balanced again.