Tire Pressure Sensor Lifespan?

[Sir William]

Hey all. I have a 2007 Navigator and am about to put new tires on. I'm willing to bet it's got the original TPMS sensors. Should I be proactive and replace them at 10 years old, or just wait them out and replace as they start to fail?

The truck has 147k miles on it BTW if that matters. If I should replace them, are there any ones to look for and/or any to avoid? I'm assuming OEM are significantly higher-priced than any aftermarket. Amazon has Dorman and VDO at fairly decent prices.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[gixer2000]

The older sensors they claim 5-7 years. The newer they claim 10 years. I did all new sensors on my 07 expedition when I put tires on last year because I knew if I left them one would die shortly after

 

[JExpedition07]

I just had all mine replaced a few months ago. I had one die and one where the band gave out. 10 years old when mine failed for a reference, all new now.

 

[Sir William]

We've only had the truck since June, so there's a chance they were replaced before this. That makes me hesitant to order new ones without knowing. Oh decisions, decisions.

 

[Adieu]

I just had all mine replaced a few months ago. I had one die and one where the band gave out. 10 years old when mine failed for a reference, all new now.

Did its death trigger an alert?

Or was it from its silence despite a significant pressure drop / flat that you identified the issue??

 

[gixer2000]

Did its death trigger an alert?

Or was it from its silence despite a significant pressure drop / flat that you identified the issue??

They will show you a "tire pressure sensor fault" in the information display.

 

[Adieu]

They will show you a "tire pressure sensor fault" in the information display.

In that case imho NEVER replace em unless they fault out... why bother, with a non-essential warning system component that actually informs you when it does die???

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

do it and it will be done since your tires are gonna be off rims for new ones anyway; not that expensive and avoids the repeat trip to the tire shop.

my .02.

 

[Big Brian]

I am a week away from new tires. I am going to have all the sensors replaced at this point

 

[Sir William]

So the other part of the question then, OEM or any particular aftermarket sensor good enough? I can't imagine that we'd be restricted to OEM since most every vehicle out there now has TPMS. But I don't want to get stuck with crap either.

 

[gixer2000]

In that case imho NEVER replace em unless they fault out... why bother, with a non-essential warning system component that actually informs you when it does die???

Keep in mind the wheel needs to be removed, tire removed from the wheel and rebalanced after so imo it makes more sense to replace them all while the tires are being done vs having an issue down the road

 

[sjwelds]

Interested on brand to go with as well. I'm getting the tire pressure sensor fault notification on mine, 08 with 149k. Sucks cause I just had new tires installed by the Ford dealership and they said the sensors were fine. Lol

 

[JExpedition07]

I’d recommend Airtex/Wells, i bought mine on RockAuto. They are exact OEM replacements as they make them for Ford, stamped FoMoCo right on them, and come with a factory “Ford” instructions manual. $12 a piece, OEM quality, no issues. The motorcraft replacement are Airtex/Wells units marked up and resold under ford, so by buying from them your cutting out the middle man.

 

[Adieu]

Interested on brand to go with as well. I'm getting the tire pressure sensor fault notification on mine, 08 with 149k. Sucks cause I just had new tires installed by the Ford dealership and they said the sensors were fine. Lol

If you JUST had any part of your vehicle worked on, especially a straightforward one like this, and it suddenly sprouts an issue.... hmm.

Btw, dealership seems like the least likely place to find someone who systematically mounts tires all day, every day. And since it's a "simple" basic job, they're more than likely to throw it to whoever... "trainee it says here you a junior tech, surely you can damn well figure out how to mount a frikkin tire by yourself"

 

[Sir William]

That's generally true Adieu, but I get all my tires mounted/balanced at the local Chevy/Cadillac dealer. The Corvettes and high-end Caddys all call for road-force balancing when new tires are mounted, so they use that same machine for ALL tire installs. And they have to be done by somebody trained how to do it right on Z+ rated tires. Oh, they also do it for $8 a tire no matter the car type or where you got the tires. WELL worth it to me. They also quoted me an hour of labor max to swap out the sensors while they have things apart. I'm probably going to go that route.

JExpedition07, do you need to replace the bands when you do the Airtex sensors? The other vehicles I've had with TPMS used stem-mounted sensors. The price of the Airtex is certainly better than the same part from Ford at $40+ each.

 

[JExpedition07]

That's generally true Adieu, but I get all my tires mounted/balanced at the local Chevy/Cadillac dealer. The Corvettes and high-end Caddys all call for road-force balancing when new tires are mounted, so they use that same machine for ALL tire installs. And they have to be done by somebody trained how to do it right on Z+ rated tires. Oh, they also do it for $8 a tire no matter the car type or where you got the tires. WELL worth it to me. They also quoted me an hour of labor max to swap out the sensors while they have things apart. I'm probably going to go that route.

JExpedition07, do you need to replace the bands when you do the Airtex sensors? The other vehicles I've had with TPMS used stem-mounted sensors. The price of the Airtex is certainly better than the same part from Ford at $40+ each.

I only had one band replaced because it was broken, the others are the originals still. Probably not a bad idea to do the bands as well while your at it, but not absolutely necessary.

 

[rjdelp7]

Replacing a/all sensors requires the Ford TPMS-19 reset tool. Part # 8C2T-1A203-AB($25) or you pay a shop to do it. I have seen brand new, "OEM" Ford sensors(band type) on Ebay for $7.50 each. I purchased them for a second set of wheels, I acquired. They worked perfect. I was able to switch between sets easily, having the reset tool.