Originally Posted by
RED DOG
Thank you for your very detailed post. I'd be curious to have you share what you feel your total expense was to restore your TPMS system to working condition . . . ie:
Cost of 4 replacement TPM sensor units (please tell us which brand and part number units you bought)
Cost to have the 4 new TPM sensors installed in your wheels including trip to / from the tire store and time there
Your Time / effort / expense to phone the stealership, make the appointment / take your car there / wait / go back home
Actual charge at the dealership
I bought the original equipment - Schrader 20028. The 4 new sensors were a closeout of manufacturer's older stock at Rock Auto so instead of a one year warranty they only had a 30 or 90 day warranty (I forget which). They were a total of around $80 for all four. I expect that they will still provide around 8 years of service. If I'm lucky, I will be able to replace them preventatively next time I replace tires (my original Michelin PS2s lasted 11.5 years, lol, though they looked pretty ragged the last few years).
I did not pay anything extra to have the new sensors installed; it was part of the mounting and balance charge ($30 per wheel) by the tire installer. However, since they left a couple scrapes from their mounting machine (a modern one that is fully capable of mounting large diameter, low profile tires), I let the owner know, and ended up paying $60 for all four. I can live with the scratches vs. needing to have them fixed right away. I did not leave the Crossfire at the installers location. Instead, I removed one wheel a day, cleaned it up real well (so they would see how well I care for the car and hopefully be more careful), and dropped it and the new tire off in the morning on my way to work (driving my other vehicle). In total, I spent maybe 30 minutes at the tire shop over a three days, half of which was talking calmly with the owner about the scratches his kid left on the rear wheels. I also spent close around 1/2 an hour total driving the 3 mile repeated trip to the installer.
Making an appointment at dealership only took a few minutes. It was 15 min each way to get there and back. I waited two hours for the TPMS relearn procedure - though much of the wait was because they had to have a courier go get the crossfire software from another dealer. The actual charge for the TPMS relearn was $87 (within a few pennies - i don't have the receipt in front of me).
So my total cost (within a few dollars) was;
4 Bridgestone Pole Position S-04 tires (including shipping from tire rack, and including $70 rebate Visa card) = $660
4 Schrader 20028 TPMS sensors = $80
4 Tire mounting/balance, sensor installation = $60
relearn TPMS = $87
Total cost ~ $897