Does anyone know how the TPMS communicates with the car? I just bought a 2007 TL-S and bought the A-spec rims online also.... they will have the TPMS sensors How do the existing rims communicate with the car? do u think i will have to have my dealership install the new a-spec rims? or can i put them on myself and sync them?

 

It's wireless and should connect automatically. If you do put them on yourself be very careful because the TMPS sit in a way that they can be damaged when putting the tire on the rim.

I only know this from what I read and was told to be the service tech at the dealer when the did my Apsec rims.

 

thanks for the heads up.... i was going to see if my dealership could mount my new tires on the rims and then mount them to the car.....

but... if they wont do it b/c i didnt get the rims or the tires from them... then i was wondering if i could take it to any tire place that mounts and balances

hmmm...

 

Most tire shops now days are familar with tire pressure sensors. The sensor is connected to the back side of yhe valve stem, The valve stem is not acutally a valve stem in the traditional sense. It is part of the sensor. The sensor from each tire sends a remote signal to the TPMS computer. TAKE IT TO A REPUTABLE TIRE SHOP. Preferrably one with a road force balancer. I am not sure about ACURAs TPMS but most of the systems that give pressures of each tire need to be reacalabrated after the wheels are moved. In other words the computer needs to be told where on the car each wheel is.

 

I didn't get my rims or tires from my dealer, they did it for $98, no problems.

 

If it's like Infiniti's TPMS, you'll need a diagnostic tool that plugs into the OBD-II port to do that. Luckily in Infiniti's case, you only need to do this if you actually replace the TPMS. If you put the old ones back, it'll still work, so long as you don't mix up which positions they were at. (ie, don't put the LF one on the RR, etc)

 

infiniti's tpms sounds annoying that way...

spoke to my service rep at my dealership.... he said he wasnt sure without looking it up... but he believes that each tire sends a radio signal and when i install the new wheels.... and after driving a little while the wheels should automatically sync up. sounds a little hard to believe that u dont have to tell the the TPMS that new wheels are on with new sensors but we'll see....

 

^^^ That's how it worked for me. When new tires and rims were on. TMPS should 59, after a few mintues they adjusted to show correct pessure as I was driving down the road.

It's just that simple.

 

I had winter tires mounted on my TPMS rims without a problem. I just questioned the shop ahead of time to see if they had ever worked on TPMS rims and went to one that did. They also asured me if they damaged the sensor they would replace it.

 

Infiniti's mechanism isn't too far off. I mean, how do you program your keyfob? It's basically the same. With the TPMS, you have to get the car to recognize the code from the TPMS, then you tell it which wheel it's on.

Like I said earlier, you only have to do this, if you buy new sensors... If you're just moving your sensors from one set of wheels to another, you don't.

If you didn't have to do this with new sensors, and it "figured it out" on it's own... Well... Then I hope you don't own two cars parked next to each other with TPMS. Or heaven forbid you have winter wheels on that don't have TPMS, and you park or pull up next to another TL that does have TPMS, and it syncs with those... Or if the power runs down in your transmitters, and the car syncs with whatever car next to you that has stronger signal strength, etc, etc.

The procedure for this was in the service manual, not the owners manual... So if you have the Acura Service manual, it should show the procedure in there.

 

There is no programming needed. I also purchased a set of Aspec wheels (with sensors). I've gone back and forth now between the stock wheel and my Aspecs a couple times. You can just do the wheel swap yourself and the sensors will sync up with the car automatically. The first time I put my Aspecs on it took about 10 min two get a reading in the dash. Don't worry if you don't get a reading right away, it may take some time. When I went back to my stock wheels this past fall I had a reading on the dash pretty much immediately.

 

so, is the TMPS sensor located in the valve stem??

What exactly has to be "specially handled" by a mechanic when changing tires on a factory rim?

What are the prices ranges to mount a new set of tires and balancing for TL w/TMPS?

 

The only thing I would think that might be an issue is if the sensors are not already mounted to the rim when you get them. If not, then you need to follow the instructions for mounting the sensor-stem assembly. It's not like a standard stem than just gets stuck in the hole. IIRC, it's in two parts that screw together from either side.

But the computer doesn't care. Just like when you rotate the tires, the computer picks up the signals (transponder at each wheel well) and displays the result.

 

so, is the TMPS sensor located in the valve stem?? Yes for Acura

What exactly has to be "specially handled" by a mechanic when changing tires on a factory rim? When the tire is being put on the rims, the bar that pushes the tire on the rim can hit the TMPS inside the tire if not done correctly.

What are the prices ranges to mount a new set of tires and balancing for TL w/TMPS? Dealer did it for me, $98