The 2019 F250 I recently brought back from the dealer has been just sitting in the garage. I have about a 2.5 mile drive on a dirt road from my house to the highway. The dirt road becomes covered with solid sheet ice in the winter and there is no way the truck can make it up a couple of small hills with the AS tires between my house and the highway. I'm thinking of getting a set of snow/ice tires and wheels so I can put some miles on the truck without having to wait until spring.

I have a Bartec 400SD tool that I use to reset the TPMS info on car computer when I switch between summer and winter tires on my daily driver car. I have the latest software update from Bartec but it still doesn't list the 2019 F250 model. The question I have is if I set the tool for a 2018 model is the 2019 Ford software pretty much the same and will it be able to reset the truck computer? I guess if it doesn't work I can just let the TPMS error light stay on until a later Bartec software update has the 2019 model in it.

 

Same tool I have - yes.
Put the truck in learn mode (hazards pressed 3x quickly) and go around and zap each sensor (the test before you touch function). Select a 2018 Ford.
If you have to program sensors such as EZ sensors first, 2018 should also work.
Basically, you can use that tool with a 2019 as if it was a 2018 until the update catches up.
I have also found it looks like Ford moved towards modernization a little because when I rotated my tires and drove, the pressures flipped (I run 70 front and 55 rear - I did not use the tool and relearn them as I ran out of time so I just drove it and figured I'd do it later). When I went to change them, I noticed they were reading the correct position
hmmmm

 

Thanks for the info! Does the truck have to be in learn mode? When I use the Bartec on other cars, I just have to hook it up to the OBD port and turn the ignition on. The tool sends the info to the car that way without having to do anything else.

 

This is my experience also. I've rotated by tires twice now and each time they show up correctly.

 

And what's a good studless winter tire for ice? I'm thinking of just getting 17" wheels and tires (Bridgestone Biizzaks?) since they are cheaper and I won't be towing in the winter.

 

Yes - by pressing the hazard button three times in rapid succession puts it in learn mode.....but as I have discovered and others have just confrimed, it appears you don't need to do this anymore. You can always do through OBD port but that is a few extra steps you don't need to take when performing a simple re-learn. I usually only go that route if I am programming.

 

For your truck? Nokian Haka LT2

 

Do the Nokians hold up well to towing? I had a set of Toyo Open Country G-02+ that wore down badly on the right rear when I towed a 6K trailer into the mountains. Great tires in the snow/ice but couldn't handle towing. I think it was the steep mountain passes that did it.

 

Relatively speaking among the dedicated winter tires - yes. Of course as I have previously posted, tire pressure/alignment and rotation play big parts. But assuming one of those is not a factor, they do hold up very well and are durable.
One of the things I have found over the years (25 to be exact I am up to now of doing this) is the Nokians are more consistent throughout their tire life. Blizzaks start off great but show a significant decline at about 50% wear. I sell Blizzaks too (but only when requested LOL) so I have no vested interest to recommend one over the other other than what I know will perform better.
A not very well known fact - Blizzak has purchased tire technology from Nokian in the past to help enhance their tires. Where BLizzak has an edge over Nokian is they offer speed rated winter tires for applications where someone wants to retain the same overall performance year round - my BMX 5 series X drive guys almost always get Blizzaks as I can get them in the same load index and speed rating as the OE spec'd. This of course is not a factor for us.

 

To add to this - one case point, actually two.
I have a guy with a Dodge 3500 with the 6.4 Hemi - he is a landscaper and this one truck is used for his business only so not really casual driving around. None the less, I put a set of LT2 on his factory wheels and never got a call in the spring to switch. Time, laziness, whatever it was, he just ran them all summer towing his landscape trailer, plowed that following year as well and then ran them through that summer - so two full seaosns. Granted there wasn't like 40K on these but two full seasons of year round use towing and plowing.

 

Thanks for the great info. Do the Nokians work well without studs? Are you familiar with the Michelin LTX Winter and if so are they good on icy roads? Thanks!

 

 

Thanks again for the great info and advice. With the sheet ice on the dirt roads here I think studs are the way to go.

BTW, I looked on Tire Rack and it states that the truck will recognize new TMPS sensors after several miles. I wonder if this means I wouldn't have to reprogram the truck with the Bartec?

 

That is correct - the 2019 now apparently self-learn as evidenced by the fact that when you rotate, the tire pressures positions swap automatically after few minutes of driving. Just don't confuse this with programming - the sensors that you put on the truck have to first be programmed for that make/model/year. The learn process is just the programmed sensor being identified to a particular vehicle and wheel position (if your display tells you individual tire pressures - otherwise it does not matter what position the tires on are as you will just get the "tire pressure low" light).

For example, if you purchased Schrader EZ sensors or any other universal blank sensor and put those in, they will not learn as they are not programmed yet. At tire rack, what they are saying is that if you buy sensors from them, they will be pre-programmed as they have always done for you SD but you don't need the second step with the tool to actually learn them to your vehicle. If you went to the dealer and bought sensors (which BTW are Schrader as well), they are programmed as well so you just need to learn them in a 2019 just by driving. You still need a Bartec (or other similar tool) to program any blank sensor. That's what I and many Indy's do - I carry EZ sensors and just program them as needed.

This is new for Ford -- Lexus, Infiniti, Honda etc have been doing it for years, GM still has you re-learn....must be they like having people go to the dealer or purchase a tool. I don't know if the 18 or 17 SD do it, someone else here I am sure does.

I always zap them with my Bartec after service so I know its set before the customer picks it up so it could have been like this for a while and I wouldn't have even caught it.

 

That's good to know. I have a 2018 Subaru and I put snow tires/wheels on for the winter and used the Bartec when I did the swap. I wonder if I didn't have to do that? My 2013 Subaru didn't have the relearn ability. It would be great if all the car/truck manufactures had that relearn feature for their vehicles. That Bartec tool is pretty expensive and so are the license fees for the periodic updates, especially for someone like me that uses the tool for only personal use.

Thank you again!!