For those who have a set of winter tires and wheels at home, I have a few Q's.

Do you have TPMS sensors in them? Did you have to worry about manufacturer or codes to buy?

Does the 09 Maxima come with a "2nd set" switch like the Lexus/Infinity do? to be able to switch from one set of codes to another for the winter tires?

Or do you have to go to the dealer and pay a half-hour labor re-registering the TPMS Sensor codes each season?

 

Funny that you ask this question, but I do have a set of aftermarket rims with Nissan TPMS sensors installed and my original stock set of 19" rims with the original TPMS.

The answer is NO to a 2nd set switch of some kind and a big YES to having to go to the dealer and pay for the re-registering of the TPMS codes. What was really bizzare was the cost difference between two local dealers in my area to get it done. I called the dealership where I PURCHASED my Maxima from, where I get all of my maintanence done and they quoted me "$155.00" and I about fell flat on my A$$!! and that it would take about an hour and a half...... The service rep on the phone was trying to tell me that they may have to take the tire off the rim to read some type of number to ensure the coding was succesful.....even though I told him that I had OEM Nissan Sensors installed?

So I called another dealership and they said no problem bring it in $50.00 buckaroos 30 minutes and I am in and out!!! So I took it there and have not looked back. I probably won't be switching back and forth between stock and aftermarket now that I am moving back to San Antonio where the is really no Winter there like there is here in Missouri. Hopefully this helps and answers some of your questions!

 

i just did aftermarket rims, and all we did was take the TPMS out of the stock oem rims and put them in the aftermarket wheels.. no problems at all...

 

Thanks guys. Yes it does help alot.

I got chromes for the summer and kept the OEM wheels for the winter. Now I have to get a second set of Nissan Sensors and some winter rubber.

Tirerack is having a closeout on some Blizzaks and are cheap ( I can't believe I'm saying this.) at $155 each.

But since there is no toggle switch for the two sets like in the lexus?, I guess I have to pay the $50 in spring and fall.

I'll be sure to write and tag the wheels' id numbers before installation of he new rubber.

 

I am planning on buying the same tires but is the TPMS really necessary? For the 4 months or so that the winter tires will be on the car, do I really need to get the sensors? I am getting a set of alloy rims for winter so I don't have to keep mounting and balancing the tires.

 

TPMS is one of the most ridiculous "innovations" in automotive history. It would be one thing if they alerted you to the fact that your tires were a few pounds off of the required range, but they basically tell you that your tires are FLAT. And if you're driving around on flat tires, you probably shouldn't be allowed to have a license.

Just another way for the dealerships to make money.

 

I disagree completely. The other day my TPMS light came on and I went to check/fill the tires. One tire was reading 30PSI rather then the 33PSI spec. Filled it up and it turned off after a couple miles.

 

That's interesting and, if true, changes my opinion. I had the system on my 2007 ES350 and I only saw the (!) light when my spare tire was way down in the wintertime. I was not alerted to several instances where the regular tires were too low. Props to Nissan.

 

Ya, I was pretty impressed and happy to see that they actually are rather sensitive. I guess if you reeeaaally want to find out, you could let some air out of a tire and see how much it takes before they turn on

 

I just which the info screen on the dash gave you a read out of the actual pressure in each tire. My wife has that on her Cherokee and you know the pressure of all four wheels at all times.

 

I'm currently researching this. So far, it seems my options are as follows:

1. Take it to the dealer to be reprogrammed twice a year. Ick.

2. Find a tool that will allow me to re-register the sensors myself. Not sure sure if Nissan's system actually allows this. Almost as ick.

3. Buy sensors that have the ability to copy the OEM sensor ID's, thereby requiring them to be programmed only once. Not sure about this.

4. Fab up a pvc cannister, insert OEM sensors, pump up to 35 psi and leave it in the trunk.

5. Drive with the light on for 3-4 months every winter. I might actually be that tight - I have managed to get by without TPMS for 40 years.

 

see my post on this topic. I will be changing to my stock wheels soon and I will have a chance to test my 150.00 gadget. If it works I will be way ahead. If it doesn't I will have been screwed yet another time!!!!!!

 

I had a similar experience. I carry 36 psi in my tires, but forgot to tell the service guys last time I took my car in for an oil change (free!). That was on a blisteringly hot day, and, unbeknownst to me, they took the tire pressure down to the specified 33 psi. So a few weeks later, on an unseasonably cool, rainy day (for those who haven't heard, we did get 20 inches or so of rain in the Atlanta area a few days ago), my TPMS light came on.

I immediately pulled over, and checked my tires. They looked fine, so I continued on to a service station I know that has free air. The thirty five degree drop in temperature, added to the cloudy weather and cold, wet roads had dropped the psi from 33 to 29. I took the psi back up to 36, and the light was out within a mile or two.

I have been been very disappointed that (as nemesis mentioned) this system does not give separate readings for each tire (PLUS THE SPARE). In fact, until my latest incident, where the system worked perfectly, I had felt about the same as pajaha1, that this was mostly a 'flat tire alert system.' Now I feel better about it.

But it is still my hope that either the 7.5 or 8.0 generation Maxima will have separate psi readings for each tire PLUS the spare (which is almost impossible to check in my car because of a very large cargo system in my trunk)

 

Please keep us posted!!

 

 

^^^That chrome strip on the lower portion of the bumper, is that on the premiums? My sport does not have that.

 

That 'chrome' strip is there on all '09 and '10 Maximas, but comes only in black. Looks like he may have chromed it. Interesting!

 

HAHA, I did it myself. Got you thinking don't I !!!!!

 

Got both nemesis and me thinking. I actually went out to the garage to be sure my bar was black. Nice job!

 

If I were to ever get summer tires, I would combine them with alloy wheels. Given this, I am not a fan of mounting and dismounting twice a year. The preferred solution is to have two sets of tires: summer and winter, each with their own TPMS sensors installed.

The $50. fee to register the TPMS at each changeover amounts to a PITA. Registration is a wireless protocol in which the ECU is reprogrammed by "shaking hands" with each TPMS. Given that there are aftermarket devices to "re-map" engine ignition timing, can't we get one to do TPMS registration?

BTW, I also believe TPMS are very sensitive. In my other vehicle, TPMS alerted me to two situations where a nail was embedded in my tire. By observation, the tire looked OK. But the pressure was down do to the slow leak.

 

Looks nice, how did you do it? It dresses it up a bland lower half of the bumper.

 

Go to autozone or pep boys etc. and get cheap chrome body side mouldlng. Clean area with alchohol first, then measure and peel and stick. THAT"S IT!!!

 

Cool thanks!

 

Right now I'm still leaning toward #5.

 

I probably feel the same way you do about this, in that I wouldn't consider going without the TPMS in warm/hot weather, when I will have high performance tires on the car, and will be flying down blisteringly hot tarmac. But for three or four cool/cold winter months, when there is less chance of tire failure, and when I don't expect to be flying down the highway, I can do without the TPMS just fine. I will just be a little more careful to check the tires more often, knowing the TPMS is inactive.

 

Lightonthehill...Completely understandable. Up here on the northcoast, its bad snow 3-4 months, cold 6 months, and potholes 12 months of the year. The TPMS does help with getting those leaky bruised and damaged tires off before you're stranded.

Though in Florida, I'd almost forget TPMS as changing a tire in nice weather aint so bad.

 

I think our Maxima is going to spend winter in the garage. Ottawa is just too brutal. On our '08 Pathfinder (Nokian Hak 10s on steel wheels), I just lived with this little goofy light off in the upper corner of the control panel. I'm not sure that I agree with TPMS any place where road salt etc. could be an issue. Friend has an 08 XTerra. He "lost" his sensors pretty quick.

 

Has there been evidence of TPMS failing because of salted roads??? Must be nice to "garage" a car for the winter. If I did that over here in Calgary it would be from Oct-Apr probably most of the way into May too.

 

There can only be so many unique sensors. Is it possible to buy a set of TPMS sensors that transmit at the same frequency as the OEM set? This way, the trip to the dealer is not needed.

 

Mreim, you might be surprised how common a practice it is to put up a car for the winter here. Ottawa is the freezing rain capital of Canada. We don't get the Chinooks you guys do and they just pour the salt and crusher fines to the roads. Our black Maxima would not look so hot after a winter or two of that stuff. And with the fabric fender liners in the rear (what were they thinking?).... There are warehouses all over Ottawa jammed with winter-stored cars. We had a 22 year old Acura Legend that never saw snow. It's gone to a good home, clean as a whistle and will probably see a few more years on the road. Put it away on December 1, keep a trickle charge on it, run it up every three weeks to keep the AC bits lubricated and haul it out on May 1. Drive the Pathfinder all winter.

 

Oh I don't doubt your motives by any means. I was just eluding to the fact that I am unable to garage a car over the winter, I really do wish I could garage the Max and drive something else around.

 

Back on topic. People seem to forget that TPMS were mandated by the DOT a few years ago. You can thank the Ford Exploder with Firestone tires for motivating the feds to mandate that these systems get used on every car and truck since 2007.

I'd also vote for alternative #5...

 

I just reset mine using the 150.00 Ateq quick reset tool. PC installation was a little buggy, but other than that , it worked like a charm. If this light bugs the crap out of you like it did me. Get One--It Works.

 

OUCH! I think that combination may also have entered the equation when safety councils began prioritizing problems by 'body count.'

But Firestone survived that fiasco (and the infamous Firestone 500 disaster of the mid-1970s) by merging with Bridgestone, which has a decent reputation.

And Ford not only survived, but was the only one of the American 'Big Three' to not accept a bailout, and is now also rated as a more reliable product line than GM and Chrysler. If I HAD to buy a 'Big Three' product, I would look closely at the upscale version of the 2010 Ford Taurus; quite a big difference from the roomy and reliable, but stodgy 2009.

 

Fortunately, Light, you don't have to make that choice. While I agree the '10 Taurus is a big improvement over its predassessor, it still doesn't hold a candle to the current Maxima.

 

Thought some of you might find it interesting that I put my winter wheels/tires(without sensors) on last Saturday - and as of this morning the TPMS light is not yet on.

 

Just wait...it will! I did the same thing and it took about 2 days until the light came one. Strange but true!

 

I have a question that is related to this whole thing now what if you were just to go to the dealership or somewhere and have them get the TPMS codes on the factory tires and on the new winter tires write down the TPMS codes before they put them on and then that way there is no need for the dealership to search for the codes every year cause you will already have them written down on the rim or tire or something... Would that work and if so how much would it coast just to re-register the codes now that they don't have to search for the codes?