Called the local dealer - they have 76 of them in Denver, but haven't sold one here yet. Only $19, so even if it doesn't work it's not a big deal. Between this and the cheap bands I think I'll give this a try in a few months when the snow tires come off.

 

I just ordered one also. It will be spring before I see how well it works for me also.


I added this thread to the Info sticky above...

 

Well, did that tool work?

I ran into a series of unexpected bills, and just went ahead and had the summer tires put on the OEM rims again. The tire shop busted two of the bands, and charged me $50 for new ones. I'm running out of local tire shops that won't screw me on this TPMS deal here in town.

 

I haven't had a chance to mess with it. Everything is sitting in a box waiting on me. Later this spring/summer I'll get a new set of wheels and see what happens...

 

The little $20 tool worked yesterday. Got my snow tires put on all by myself, trained them, finally. $600 for snow tires, $900 for rims, sensors, tool, mount and balance. Woulda saved $250 if DHL hadn't lost 2 rims; I paid for 6 rims actually. Fought with EBay and Paypal for 5 months.

All in all, a great big hassle.

 

I am embarrassed to say, but mine is still sitting in the same box as the sensors, rings, and everythign else. Time has flown by and other projects kept pushing this farther and farther back. Maybe over the winter I'll pick up the wheels and tires....

 

One way I think you could try to mount them is to use the banding that is used on the cladding over pipe insulation as used in oil refineries, chemical plants, boilers, or anywhere hot pipes are insulated and cladded. They are made to not rust in the outdoors in rain, so maybe it would work in a wheel.
Just an idea.

 

Yeah, on the side of the driver's panel, it said rec 26psi... on the tire, it says max 35 i think... what shouldi fill it to?

 

I HAVE AN F250 SUPER DUTY ASSIGNED TO ME FOR WORK AND WAS GIVEN 18" CHROME RIMS FROM A KING RANCH. HOWEVER WHEN I MOUNTED THEM THE LIGHT CAME ON ALSO. I FOUND THESE KITS

Universal Mustang TPMS Sensor Mounting Band and Bracket (Set of Two) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

TO REMOVE THE BANDS FROM THE ORIGINAL WHEELS AND MOUNT THEM ON THE NEW VEHICLE. YOU MUST REMEMBER WHICH WHEEL THEY CAME FROM INITALLY THEN INFLATE THE TIRES TO THE POSTED PRESSURES ON THE STICKER THIS SHOULD RESET THE LIGHT WITH THE NEW WHEELS.

HOPE IT HELPS

 

I put the summer tires back on the Explorer this weekend. Just made sure the snow tires were far enough away not to interfere with the TPMS reset, used the little $20 tool with the green button, and I'm good to go. Pretty easy when you have the right tools, like alot of car maintenance.

 

Do what the Ford guy's do remove most of the old band then fasten the sensor with a large long Tie Rap, can even be used in the place of a fan belt at times!

 

4 year old thread - way to work the search function!

I would really be leery of using a tie wrap to hold these things on. Plastic will shrink and expand with changing temperatures far more than metal. I don't think you can get tie wraps tight enough (at least by hand) to keep the rim from spinning inside the strap. I'd still stick to a steel hose clamp.

That little $20 trainer with the green button has worked out great for me. I change the snow tires every year and light them up with the tool. Now all I have to worry about is the ~10 year life of the battery in the TPMS sensors. One set is around 8 years old now.

 

The large black Tie Raps have a great deal of Carbon in them which has a reverse coefficient they don't change much with temperature but get tighter with time.

 

I have a 2006 Explorer Sport Trak that I bought in 2010 with factory 18" wheels and Michelin tires and 58K miles. 20K miles later I replaced the tires with Coopers because they were $400.00 less (EACH!) than the Michelins. The Coopers leak down constantly, down to 20PSI twice a week in winter(good thing I have an air compressor). I took the truck to local Ford dealer, he said they could fix it @$50.00 per wheel. Didn't work. Local Goodyear repair center failed several times to fix it under warranty (bought the tires there). Research into replacement rims taught me about the TPS. Cheapest solution (that included rims I could tolerate) I found was a total cost of@2400.00 w/o labor. So I keep a good tire gauge in driver door pocket and go to nearest Casey's for free air if I'm not near home.

 

All 4 tires leak down that fast in less than a week. Something's wrong if one tire does that, but I've never heard of a whole set leaking down that fast. How does the TPMS figure into all this? Do you have the band-mounted sensors or are they stem-mounted? Aftermarket or OEM?