2025+ Maverick, is TPMS necessary?

[icegradner]

I’m in Canada and I use Kal Tire, they have everything for less, but I’ve been a customer for years. Treat you good!

Yeah I get my tires from them too.

Never had them until I got the Mav, they weren’t a thing when I started driving, now at 68, it does come in handy,

Indeed, all weather tires weren't a thing when I started driving either.

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[RyuRonin1977]

I just am curious before i do it, has anyone run without sensors in their 25+ truck, will the dash nag me, or just a simple light on dash situation, your input would be helpful! Im thinking of running without sensors for winter on my second set of wheels

The dash will nag you after about 20 minutes or 25 miles...estimate. Going on 3 months now and Ford has worked on them twice. Left rear keeps going out every other day.

 

[vblythe]

I just am curious before i do it, has anyone run without sensors in their 25+ truck, will the dash nag me, or just a simple light on dash situation, your input would be helpful! Im thinking of running without sensors for winter on my second set of wheels

Last year I was driving to Houston in my old Explorer to see an Astros playoff game. When I was about 10 miles from the park, suddenly my tire pressure gauge lit up and said that I was rapidly losing pressure. Fortunately, there was an exit nearby, and I pulled into the parking lot of a business. In less than 1 minute, that tire went completely flat! I felt fortunate that it didn't happen on one of the long construction stretches on I-45 where there is no shoulder or exit for miles. So I am a big believer in the TPMS! It saved me from a complete blowout on an interstate highway.

 

[Maverick2022XL]

For most people, simple to save money on a second set of sensors.

If you can afford to swap out the rims and/or change tires you can afford $5 for a tpms service kit or $25 - $100 for a new set of 4 of sensors. Prices assume USD.

 

[Maverick2022XL]

To the OP's question no they are not necessary but they do provide usable information in real time.

 

[Robot-Wrangler]

I'll be swapping out my winter tires TPMS to Autel MX PRO in a few days. I'll clone the sensors on the truck then do the position relearn process. My $200 steelies came with '23 sensors in them. I used to run winter tires without TPMS and they work with no issues other than warnings. I have my own Autel programming tool for convenience.

 

[MikeS1942]

I just am curious before i do it, has anyone run without sensors in their 25+ truck, will the dash nag me, or just a simple light on dash situation, your input would be helpful! Im thinking of running without sensors for winter on my second set of wheels

I had a 2011 Ranger with a set of winter tires on steel rims, without the tpms, and all I had to deal with was the dash light. Put a peice of black tape over the light. How did we ever get along before these $200 expenses were invented? I guess we'd add air when our tires looked lower. If I ran over a barrel of nails dumped on the highway, I'd realize without a warning light the I have 1 to possibly 4 flat tires. Thank God that yellow light came on!

 

[icegradner]

If you can afford to swap out the rims and/or change tires you can afford $5 for a tpms service kit or $25 - $100 for a new set of 4 of sensors. Prices assume USD.

Thankfully I have no need for a second set, I use all weather tires.

 

[Ranch]

A few months ago the TPMS system alerted me that my right front tire pressure was low. I had a screw in the tire.

I liked that I got a warning. I got the tire plugged that same morning.

 

[Rentman1225]

I just am curious before i do it, has anyone run without sensors in their 25+ truck, will the dash nag me, or just a simple light on dash situation, your input would be helpful! Im thinking of running without sensors for winter on my second set of wheels

I did this with my previous vehicle. The dummy light on the dash was was always one. If didn't bother me but I have since learned it drives younger people mid/late 20 year olds crazy.

 

[Maggie5618]

Yeah, TPMS is mainly a convenience here in SC, snow tires are totally unnecessary. Even all season tires are overkill for most winters here. When we do get snow or ice everything closes (except Waffle House) so no need to go out anyway.

Have always checked regularly so always add air before a warning lights up. Things are different in newer vehicles but when a sensor went out in my 2008 Forester years ago I just took the alert bulb out of the dash, until I 'got around to it'. About 10 years and 150K miles later a nephew is driving it, still without TPMS.

Do have to add that not long after getting the Maverick I picked up a screw in the tread and upon starting the next morning the TPMS alert was on and I appreciated it then. Probably the first time it was of any use in decades of driving.

Personally, I had a Honda that liked to light up the TPMS on occasion when the tire was three pounds off. It was remembering how to turn off the stupid light that was the most annoying.

 

[dhaskit]

If you want to run a second set of tires, without tpms sensors in them, without the dash nanny nagging you:

Go to Home Depot and get the following.
1) A one foot piece of 2” or 3” pvc pipe
2) One glue on end cap
3) One glue on threaded pipe union that glues onto the pipe
4) One threaded end cap for the threaded union
5) One small bottle of pvc cement
6) One regular valve stem.

Drill one hole in the side or the end cap of the pipe and install the valve stem.
Glue the pieces together, (but not to the threaded end cap).
Throw the TPMS sensors into the pipe and screw the threaded end cap on, making sure it seals.
Inflate the sealed container to 37 psi, or there abouts.
Throw it under the rear seat and enjoy no more nagging light telling you your tires are low.

For your reading enjoyment….
https://www.instructables.com/Tire-Pressure-Sensor-Bypass/

BTW:
This works great if you are off roading and using tire deflators for rough roads.

 

[Toymaster]

.... When we do get snow or ice everything closes (except Waffle House) so no need to go out anyway......

Man I miss Waffle House. I live in remote NW Wyoming and nearest one is 500 miles away. Only been to a WH twice since 2003.

To the OP's question:
The deal with TPMS is better gas mileage for the mass population. Most toaster drivers do not check their pressure and that means millions drive on under inflated tires causing more rolling resistance and wasted fuel. Now, as with many modern things, it is an "easy" button and a convenience. For people like me it is one more OCD thing that I need to keep the numbers the same on a given axle. Long story short, it saves fuel usage on the mass scale, so no they are not necessary or mandatory by any means for an indivdual.

I have multiple modern vehicles and use a set of snow tires for a couple of them and have my own tire mounting/balancing equipment. So TPMS is a part of my life and has been the bane of my existance on occasion. Here is a summary of my findings:

Don't go cheap, the greater chance of any "cheap" TPMS sensors, i.e. ebay or some low end amazon sellers, is that they will either not work at all or have a really short life left. I've wasted more money buying the "deals" than if I'd just spent the $20ea. And buy the part# listed for your specific vehicle. The cheapest you can get out is $20ea and a reset tool (TPMS) ~$15 if you only drive fords, you can buy programming tools for $200ish that gives you more toubleshooting and cloning abilities.


Buy preprogrammed sensors from a reputable source such as rockauto. Either install yourself or hand them to the tire installer.

Mastercraft ones are ~$40ea- I don't buy these but are all but guaranteed to work.

Rock auto sells Schrader brand, which are the OEM supplier, that are preprogrammed for ~$22. These work great and get you a new sensor ID. You can also get unprogrammed Schrader sensors and use a Schrader tool to program them but they are still ~$22.

Autel is a major brand and sensors can be gotten for ~$18-$20 if you look around. None of these are programmed, you can clone your existing set of sensor ID's, either by reading each sensor or by the OBDII port of the vehicle. The advantge is here is they are slightly cheaper and universal if you have more than one brand of vehicle you work on. Most mechanic shops will use this brand due to them working in almost all cases.

The functions of the Schrader and Autel programmers are the same and only program their brand sensors. The Autel senors are universal where as the Schrader sensors are not, meaning you have to buy a schrader sensor that will work for your application. The Autel is chinese and slightly cheaper than the Schrader units, that are more western, meaning company owned but they do have manufacturing in Asia along with plants in USA and Ireland.

I have the Autel setup but if I did it again I'd go Schrader. I like having different ID's vs. using clone ID's.

 

[ScottyC]

The TPMS-117's I got off eBay at $50 for the set are working great. Zero issues with the Dunlops in the snow (been getting a lot if it here in CNY this year) - all is well in the the snowy Northeast...lol

 

[Toymaster]

The TPMS-117's I got off eBay at $50 for the set are working great. Zero issues with the Dunlops in the snow (been getting a lot if it here in CNY this year) - all is well in the the snowy Northeast...lol

The retail price for those are $50ea, if you bought them from an individual great you have a good chance of getting a good set. If you bought them from a "company" then either they are old stock (that means lowered battery life), the are fake, or stolen. Fake mastercraft parts are all over ebay and amazon. I've had bad luck trying to cheap out, just had to replace two on my bronco that I installed the week prior. The programmer would read them but the Bronco would not recognize them, I was hoping running them would work but a week and over a 1,000 miles they didn't.

I just bought the same dunlops myself in a 245/65R17 at $110ea delivered. Going to run them on the factory steelies this season as well. For my all-seasons I went with a 20x9 rim. Next year I'll either paint the steelies black or spring for a set of aluminum.

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