I have a 2007 XK in black and I am looking at getting a new set of 20" wheels/tires for summer driving and keeping my 19" with winter tires just for the winter. I have my eye on the 20" Coventry Whitley's in either black or hyper silver.

I was ready to pull the trigger online and was then told that I would have to buy the TPMS for $125/wheel unless I wanted to have the warning light constantly appear on the dash. That seemed steep to me considering the wheels themselves are $300 each. Are there any other options I can look at regarding TPMS that would be cheaper?

Thanks,
Lee

 

I think I checked the price of a sensor and they were around $30 each. Call Nalley Jaguar in Roswell, GA, and they will also give you a 15% discount - free shipping over $75 purchase.

 

Thanks for that info! Will I be able to install thees myself on the new rims or will I have to have a tire shop do this for me? I am a newb at this but am pretty handy (assuming it doesn't require specialized auto/mechanic type tools).

 

Who's going to mount the tires? I'd have the tire shop do it all.

 

I am buying new tires with the wheels (balanced) and I was going to mount them myself.

 

Those TPS sensors go inside the wheel in place of a regular valve stem. You'll need to have a tire shop do those. Moreover, if it's anything like the Nissans, you'll need to reprogram the cars monitor to pick up the signals from the different wheels. Which means a trip for service somewhere every time you flip the wheels. I think most tire shops can do this though -- I don't think you have to rely on Jag service.

Those prices are right in line with OEM Nissan TPS though. You can get 3rd party generic for about 50 to 60 if you look around a bit.

 

The tire shop will need to put these on. If you are buying mounted and balanced wheels/tires, the tire shop will need to deflate the tire, remove the existing valve, break the bead between the tire and wheel, push the tire down and insert the TPMS valve assembly from inside and pull it up and into place. I would recommend them also putting new o-rings in when they put the TPMS assembly in.

Unless you have the proper equipment and experience doing this I would not recommend you doing this yourself...

 

I think you'll find the Jag will learn the TPMS sensor serial numbers automatically after 20 minute of driving.... I nearly jumped for joy when I read this...

My last car (Lexus) required I take it to a Toyota/Lexus dealership each time I swapped out summer/winter rims. They made a fast $100 bill with each swap (plug a laptop into the OBDC port and press "Learn"). Not to mention adding another $100 to each tire/rim combo I bought for the sensors themselves.
Toyota had the ECU so locked down the only way a tire shop could do any programming was by purchasing Toyota's proprietary programmer. Needles to say most tire shops didn't bother, and sent you to the dealership afterwards.

Personally I dislike the TPMS system as a whole as it adds unnecessary costs and complexity to a very simple task.

BTW, Toyota wanted $120 per TPMS! Yikes! I found generic online for $90 for the set of 4 and they worked great, so hunt around!

Vince
V

 

Oh wow, that's great news that it'll auto learn. But 100 bucks a pop doesn't seem terribly unusual does it?

 

Considering that most cars can be set right there at the tire shop, it was darn annoying to have to go the the dealership afterward. Had to make an appointment, and sit around for an hour waiting for them to do a simple task that takes 10 minute...
They of course play it up as such a "technically complex system..bla bla bla..." I'm sure the speal works on the 80 year old grandmas and grandpas, but please.....
I would also swap wheels as weather dictated. A freak early storm may require the Blizzaks for a week, but then the rain returns and the tires go back on the shelf.... Same in the spring...
Each swap left you stareing at an idiot light, or forking over the time and cash at the dealership.
Many owners were so fed up they simply made a pipe-bomb (a sealed PVC canister with tire valve) and tossed all four Sensors inside, just to not have to deal with it. Others put all four inside the spare tire...

Vince

 

Thanks for all of the great info guys!

CleverName, your experiences are exactly why I want to have 2 separate sets of wheels/tires, one for summer and one for winter. That way I can just make the swap myself as weather dictates.

I did find another online suppler that is only charging $50/wheel for the TPMS so I think I am going to go with them and have them send me the tires/wheels balanced with TPMS installed, ready to put right on the vehicle.

I am going with the 20" Coventry Whitleys with Hankook V12's for the summer tires. Winter set is Blizzak on 19" OEM's. Can't wait to see how the 20" Whitley's look once they are put on. Must.....avoid....potholes!!!