Puttster 2If you don’t have your original wheels and tires on your car, the dealer may not honor the warranty on your TPMS sensors.
This is something I never thought about…and it shouldn’t impact most of us anyway. I took my car in to the dealer last week to check on my flashing TPMS light. Here’s how the conversation went…
Me : I think I have a dead TPMS sensor. My TPMS light just started flashing. Can you check it out?
Service Manager : Sure. Have you had new tires put on the car?
Me : Yes…about 2 years ago.
Service Manager : The warranty won’t cover the TPMS sensors if the original tires have been changed.
Me: Umm…OK. Just have the tech check them and call me.
Service Manager : No problem. The diagnostic fee is $105. I just need your signature here.
Me : Smiling…but in my mind I’m choking the life out of the Service Manager.
So the implication seems to be that if anyone (other than the dealer) has touched your OEM sensors, they are out of warranty. My guess is if you spent $500 on a set of replacement Enasaves from the dealer, they would probably still cover you.
OEM TPMS sensors should last beyond the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. So for most people, this isn’t a big deal. But sooner or later, this is probably going to burn someone. I’ve had OEM sensors fail in under 5 years on other vehicles.
In my case, the sensor that failed was not an OEM sensor (that’s a whole other story!)
Good thing I had an extra OEM Mirage TPMS sensor that I bought on eBay last year. I just had the dealer install that one instead of the new one they offered for $100 + $50 installation + the $105 diagnostic fee
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