One dealer says no, the system simply uses the DSC sensors to detect wheel velocities, and another dealer says that a brand new 07' if it was built in the last few weeks uses a pressure sensor mounted to the valve stem. This second dealer advises that only a BMW dealer mount and balance wheels with the sensor. I am awaiting delivery and putting 166 style M5 wheels on my car. Will it need sensors, and should I only have any such sensors installed at a dealer? I haev already purchased tires from a tire chain and the price included mounting and balancing.

Also, if sensors are needed. How much do they cost?

Thanks,
David R. Peck

 

All 2007's have the TPM sensors. This includes March 2006 production models. You can tell by looking for the metal valve stem with silver cap on the valve stem on each wheel. The cap itself also has an o-ring on the inside. Most shops can install tires with the TPM valve stems IF they've been trained since care needs to be given when mounting the tire as not to damage the sensor inside the wheel. I don't have an exact price but I want to say they cost about $35 each.

 

You can get it from Tirerack.com for $67 per side. Cost includes both the sensor and the stem. If you can't find it online, just give them a call.

 

Did you mean $67 per wheel? Also will they sell sensors w/out wheels? Thanks.

 

Tpm sensors on the 07 is removable and if your going to put them on the m5 rims, they should fit in snug and tight, if you dont want to deal with hassle of removing them because tire shops can damage these sensors easily, just buy new sensors, but i would recommend you buying new ones, because taking them off the old stock rims can be painstaking cause you have to get like new valve stems in them, so its entirely up to you, easier and faster method is just buying them i believe its like 8 dollar per stem per rim and 50 dollars for the sensor, buy them at bmw parts department in the bmw dealer, just as them for a discount and just say your a regular, you should be able to get a good deal.

 

Why have they changed to this method.. What was wrong with the RPA that monitors wheel speed as previously mentioned..? Seems easier than having sensors on the wheels and special valves!

 

The new system will give better wheel information. Rather than giving you just an indication of a flat tire somewhere, the new system can tell you which tire is low.

 

The new system is better because it tells you which tire is low, before the systems just said that you had a flat tire, and now it monitors all tires to tell you if one or more tires are flat. when my tpm on my g35 came on i had to guess which tire was flat, put my ear next to each tire and guess which tire is flat, another time i just waited for the tire to become fully flat to change with the spare because i couldnt tell.

 

monacobmw and I can tell you the whole scope of the TPM sensors...
hehee why don't you do a search (either my username or monacobmw) and you can find the threads that we have that talked about the TPM sensors in details.

In a nutshell, TPM sensors are needed, it may be better to just buy new ones due to the fact that you need to dismount the tire from the old wheel (and you need to remount/balance if you plan to sell the old wheel/tire set). My tire shop did take the sensor off and it doesn't seem to fragile (at least he put it back in and it still works!)

But, the local dealer has no clue and are overpriced, just get them online or from garry at newport. Also, I think the new sensors are needed specifically for the run flat tires, since you can't tell visually which one has a flat tire. The manufacturer of the TPM sensor is beru and you can find the detail part with installation instruction on beru.com

 

this is not a new system, I had this in my 1999 325i in HK