Just looking for some quick advice from someone who's done this without the use of shop tire removal tools. I'm replacing my steelies with alloys this weekend and trying to decide whether to put the sensors from the steelies into the alloys avoiding the $100 dealer charge to reset the TPMS or just put the new alloys on (they include new TPMS sensors) and pay the dealer the reset fee. I checked with a couple of local dealers, they all charge the same.

The CollegeHillsHonda video makes it look easy to remove the sensors once the tire is loose from the rim so I'm not worried about that. It's dealing with getting the tire on/off that I need help on. Can I push the tire off the rim by standing on it or using a block of wood to force it off or do I need to go to an auto shop and use the power tire tools? If I'm successful in getting the TPMS swapped, how do I get the tire back on the rim?

Thanks RG

 

You need to use tire mounting equipment. Also, you will need to have the tires balanced, which also requires proper equipment.

 

Like the previous poster said you wont be able to mount/balance on your own, you'd need to proper machinary. That said, the dealership will tell you that you need to program the tpms, this is a load of shit. I was a tech at an Acura store, Hondas and Acuras use identical tpms setups. To reset the tpms all you have to do is mount the tire on the car and drive down the road.

Theres nothing more, nothing less, if it doesn't register right away just keep driving it'll register. (This is all the dealership will do trust me I've done it a hundred or more times.)

 

Thanks yeamans17 and MarkyMark. I wasn't worried about the balancing unless there's a huge variation in the weight of the sensors. It is easy enough for me to try the 'self-registration' angle since all I need to do is mount the tires. I'll post my results after I give it a try this weekend. Other posters on this forum have said the TPMS needs to be reprogrammed for new sensors but I hope yeamans17 is correct.

It looks like all the parts have been shipped and should arrive within the next 1-2 days. DHL moved the wheels/tires from Lubbock to my home town in two days, they just need to get them from the closest DHL handling facility to my house. The nuts/locks are coming in via FedEx and should be delivered tomorrow. I'll mount the alloys on my vehicle Friday evening.

I have access to an autoshop that has the tire mounting tools so I may have to use those if I separate the sensors from the steelies for later sale. There seems to be a small market for just the sensors.

 

1. make sure tires are marked left front etc. (sensors are usually are matched)
2. break the bead away from the sensor (real important you'll break the sensor otherwise)
3.remove the nut on the outside of the sensor and push the sensor in.
4. mark the sensor left front etc. and reverse steps to new rims

 

The sensor location does not matter. This is a myth, just the same as the dealership and other members telling people that these need to be programmed to the car

 

Sorry, I don't know if this applies to non-USDM fits, but what is a TPMS sensor and what does it do, exactly?

Thanks!

 

That's good to know, thanks I got my local tire dealer hooked on that myth. I changed rims twice on my 05 Titan.

 

Tire pressure monitoring system. Make sure the tire stay above 28psi "I think for the Fit" triggers a warning light.

 

It may on non Honda vehicles, basically what the car is looking for is 4 sensors, and if they aren't there it wont register anything missing, but if its there and reading low it'll read it

 

Although I haven't done this, that isn't exactly correct. If you watch the college hills honda video, the guy doing the work actually busts the sensor pushing the tire off the rim so you do have to be careful. The sensor broke because he allowed the de-beading tool to slip inside the tire bead and the tool broke the sensor. The bead will clear the sensor while your pushing it off but the tool will bust the sensor if you let it slip inside the bead. Here's the link to the video. As a joke, they replay it in slow motion at the end of the video so you can hear the tool break the sensor.

YouTube - Episode #85 - Honda Fit TPMS Sensors in Older Wheels

Edit: If you mean the sensors don't care which tire they're on, then ignore the above. RG

 

Thats what I'm saying, of course you need to be careful when removing the tire...

 

Sensors are not corner specific, you can have the one on the front drivers on the rear passenger. Like everyone has said, be careful when removing the tire and putting new tires on. Definitely would recommend taking it to your local shop in case anything happens. Don't go to the dealer, go to a tire store. They've had lots of experience doing this with or without sensors. Also, you will need to get the wheels balanced as well with new alloys. It's not just the TPMS sensor that will cause the wheel to become unbalanced, but also during the casting method of the wheel and tire. Always always always get your setup balanced after you switch wheels or tires.

 

Thanks, my strategy for balance is that these wheels/tires/sensors came untouched and unaltered off another car so they shouldn't need rebalancing. I don't plan on doing anything to them except put them on my vehicle. If I have to play around with the sensors or the tires, then I'll get them rebalanced. If I find some of the wheels weights were knocked off during previous handling or shipping, then I'll get them rebalanced.

 

Yupyup, last thing you will want are unbalanced tires. You'll never hear the end of it from your Fit lol until you fix it! Anytime the tire needs to come off, the wheel should be re-balanced. What kind of alloys did you get? OEM wheels or aftermarket?

 

I got a great deal on 15" OEM alloys/tires thanks to other posters on this forum. I'm upgrading from the base steelies. Almost anything looks better than hubcaps (except maybe missing hubcaps!!) and the OEM alloys are the correct offset for the vehicle. I'll admit the aftermarket wheels folks are putting on their Fits look great, especially on the black and silver. I was looking for an economical upgrade and figured I couldn't do much better than a set of low mileage alloys from a sport owner who wanted aftermarket or the HFPs.

 

I saw the video for the putting the TPMS sensor on a 2007. But what else is needed for you to know when pressure is low on a 07' fit? Some type of electronics on the interior or what?

 

A tire pressure guage and a keen sense to know when your tires feel underinflated

 

Thanks for all the tips and advice. I ended up leaving both sets of wheels as is and paying the $100 for the dealer to register the sensors with the TPMS. The vehicle has to know which sensors are where because the diagram on the dash indicates which tire has a problem. What I don't know is - do I need to re-register the sensors when I rotate the tires? I hope not, seems silly to dish out an additional $100 at every tire rotation. My assumption is the system logs the four sensors once but will track their location without additional resets.

Anyone know for sure? Thanks in advance, RG

 

I was looking to get a set of wheels/tires from Discount Tire. They told me I would need to go to the dealer to get new sensors for the wheels. Anyone else run into this? I'd like to have the system work properly for the rare instance when my wife will end up driving the Fit. Will it be as simple as getting new sensors (don't feel like removing the ones from the factory wheels) then taking the wheels/tires/sensors to a shop to get them all mounted and balanced? Then swap em on and the car should be good to go?