[colin@tirerack]

Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are now impossible to run from when buying a new vehicle. Every new vehicle made for sale in the USA has a TPM system as standard equipment. There are several exceptions though: the vehicle must have only four wheels (so no dual-wheeled trucks or motorcycles), and the GVWR must be less than 10,000lbs.

Lincoln incorporated a TPM system on one of their vehicles from 1995-2002. That vehicle had a SmarTire strap system. By 2003, Ford moved on to using a metal-valved Schrader sensor for their SUV models. In 2005, a Lear strap system was brought in, but all Ford’s will soon be using a rubber-valved Schrader sensor. The 2009 F150 is the first Ford model to run this rubber-valved sensor. We carry every sensor, strap and valve-mounted, and all accessories needed to install them.

The basics of the direct TPMS is that it uses a sensor in the wheel/tire to wirelessly relay pressure back to the driver on some sort of display. Some vehicles have a digital info screen that will show all four tire pressures (five pressures if spare has sensor) all the time. While others might just flash a low-tire-pressure light on the dash. There are also two different styles of sensors for this system: a valve-mounted sensor and a strap/band-mounted sensor. A strap or band sensor is held onto the wheel by a metal strap that wraps around the inside barrel. This complicates the wheel fitments since each strap is fit to each wheel (ie. 18” band for 18” wheel). The OE bands are crimped from the factory so they can not be swapped from one wheel to another since they have to be cut in order to be removed from the wheel. The bands we carry can be adjusted from 14in diameter wheels to 26in diameter wheels and can be swapped from one wheel set to the next.

Ford’s indirect system will not affect the choice of switching aftermarket wheels or tires. The system runs off of the ABS/wheel-speed sensors which “count” the number of revolutions of each tire. If the right-front tire is low (25psi) it will spin faster than the left-front tire (35psi), so the ABS system will recognize this change and alert the driver with a flashing light near the gauge cluster and possibly a loud chime.

Since 1995, the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury line-up has used nine different sensors, so be wary on which sensor is correct for your vehicle. If you have any questions about the TPMS-fitment on a wheel that The Tire Rack sells, I can look up the wheel and confirm if it will work with your vehicle.