laet

Well, I thought it would be smart to save my 2004 e60 winter tires for my new 2007 e60. I was half right. After the switch from summer to winter wheels, I learned a hard lesson. I noticed that the yellow TPM warning symbol was blinking yellow, so I navigated to TPM in the iDrive MENU pressed the reset button, but later got a message ?TPM malfunction?. After talking with the service technician I learned that the German TPM wheel system was different from the US system. For the new 2007 US cars, each wheel is equipped with something call a ?TPM electronics?. So unless you have winter tires with this TPM system already installed you will get a TPM malfunction message each time you start your car and the TPM yellow alert symbol will stay on all the time. Now if you want to eliminate the message, (on your none TPM electronics winter tires), here is what you do: order the TPM electronic parts one for each wheel, the cost is about $45.00 each. Labor for installing these small stems is about three hours work minimum. Total labor and parts is about $350.00 take note that this price is really in euro, so the dollar cost will be a little bit more the $350.00. The other two choices are, buy winter wheels that have the TPM electronics already installed or put up with the warning chimes and yellow malfunction message.

Hope you don?t make the same mistake I did.
Chow!

nickolas_g

My SA said that most folks "live with the light on". That is what I am doing. Its not all that annoying.

monacobmw

I am a little lost on your quote for installation. The quote should be no more than a quote for rebalancing. The new TPM stems are $40 each in the US. Any tire place can simply deflate your tire, push it to the side, screw the new sensors in, and rebalance.

When I get my new #166 wheels, the wheel place will be taking my old tires and TPM stems off the old replica wheels, and putting them on the new wheels (balanced on a Hunter 9700) for $100 total. Are you sure that there is a $350 Euro cost?

I have heard about others claiming that TPM sensors are "complicated." They are not. They are two pieces that screw into either side of your wheel. If you had a screwdriver, you could put them on yourself.

As a matter of fact, you can take the TPMs off your OEM tires, and move them to the new tires. Thus, you can save the $160. The only cost will be that you will have to rebalance your OEMs when you put the sensors back.

arcleid

Uh, so if I want to change my wheels, I have to buy one TPM for each wheel before putting them on?

monacobmw

You can move your 2007 TPM sensors from one wheel to another. It is just a two piece magnet that screws the stem to the magnet on the inside of the wheel.

Any good wheel place knows this because 1/2 of ALL new vehicles for 2007 will have new sensors to meet the US federal requirement. All cars must have some type of warning system by 2008.

If the wheel place does not know this, then you know that they do not really do a lot of work with wheels. I would not trust them with your E60.

I hope that this email helps.

monacobmw

BTW, I already had my wheel place install new sensors in my replica wheels for $100 (US), but that was because they needed to rebalance my wheels on the Hunter machine (the extra weight causes a small imbalance that needs to be corrected.

There should be no charge for putting the sensors on new wheels.

SergeyM

Who did you buy the sensors from? The only place I know is tirerack.com and they charage $47 per sensor and most tirerack installers in my area either do it for free as a part of rebalancing or charge $5 for each wheel. Total would be around $260-$300. I still ahve not decided what I'd rather do spend $300 or leave with TPM warning. Will probably keep summer wheel/tires as long as I can. There is no garanty that there will we will see any snow in NJ this year.

SergeyM

Nickolas,

Is the warning hidden inside i-drive or it is on the center display overwriting date/time info?

drjochen

Thats exactly why I still have my summer tires on. I am afraid to change to my winter tires (which was not an issue so far on the east coast with the heat wave we had...). How annoying is the message?

my530i

Your car is 2006, so I don't think sensor is needed