My new Fit base is coming in two weeks, so I called the dealer to get a quote to swap the OEM tires and TPMS sensors onto 2003 civic alloy rims. The service advisor is insisting that the TPMS sensors need to be recalibrated with the car, for an extra $100 on top of the $100/mounting balancing. I think he's making this up, because the sensors are going back on the same car with the same tires at the same original pressures.

Anybody got any documentation/experience with this that I can use on the bone-head service advisor?

 

thats complete bullshit.. i'm a service tech at Canadian Tire and I just worked on a CRV yesterday.. moved the 4 sensors over to another alloy rim that we sell and once i slapped them on, light was off

 

Thanks iDerek--I'll stick to my guns and tell them don't even write up the recalibrate.

 

Screw him.......I mounted a scan gauge in the way of my tpms light. I bought aftermarket rims with sensors in them, tried taking it to a firestone, Goodyear and just gave up. I ain't going to no stealership...

 

I work at Firestone and we can recalibrate them

 

Hey there. Does Crappy have a decent Alloys for the Fit? I am thinking of some 16"s that I could get powered coated white.

bill

 

Sorry for the slight high jack......Firestone pulled out an electronic du-hicky that recognized there was sensors and "activated" them. But that car itself does not see the sensors or I am guessing they need to be paired to the ecu/car.

 

I think I've found my definitive answer in Chilton's database:
You have to connect an "HDS" to the data link connector to do memorize the new TPMS sensors or control unit. But I'm not replacing the control unit or pressure sensors so the TPMS will just work on the new wheels, provided they are seated properly on wheel's that were not designed for them. A big if considering even College Hills Honda in their demo video of swapping TPMS sensors onto after market alloys broke one of the sensors by breaking the wheel directly at the valve stem.

 

i dont like any of them (IMO), but one decent one that i would consider are the akita's..
Find the right wheels and rims for your vehicle - Canadian Tire

check it out, see if you like any~

 

Some dealerships have their service advisors on commission. That is a set up for disaster for the customer because it is hard to trust them. Surprised he didn't offer to rotate the air in your tires or switch to summer air. All for a fee of course!

 

Have you called a tire shop to ask how much they would charge to swap the tires?

 

I paid $149 for Les Schwab (a Seattle tire shop) to swap the tires and TPMS sensors off the stock steelies onto Honda branded alloys. This included unmounting tires from the honda alloy rims and a dozen new lugnuts as well as mounting/balancing the stock tires on the alloys. The TPMS sensors work fine without any recalibration.

 

What they are referring to is in MOST cases you have to reinitialize the tpms sensors. Not always but usually you have to. That does require a HDS/MVCI to do. Some people get lucky and dont have to. Your advisor was doing what he was told, as most managers wont let it be done for free as thats a easy way to generate revenue.

 

Most are on 100% commission these days, or will be soon, they just don't know it. It's a tough position. You do run into really professional and attentive advisors though sometimes, its just getting rarer due to greedy owners/general managers/fixed operations directors/service managers forcing them to sell or be fired. Not that I know anything about the business....

 

I guess I didn't get that memo. Ill try not to be offended by being lumped with the greedy advisors.

You get 500.00 from a customer, 500.00 once or 50.00 10 times..........which would you rather have?

 

No worries Bonylad, reading your help posts makes it obvious you are one of the good ones. So was I, and so is my wife. One of the reasons I left the business as a service manager was the fact that I refused to sell, or have my advisors sell, needless high profit services to customers. Again, there are some really good and honest advisors out there that have to constantly deal with the perception that all advisors are rip-off artists. I have dealt with plenty of aftermarket shop advisors and dealership advisors that have no idea what they are talking about, but thats the same with any business.

 

Thank you sir. Its unfortunate but your correct. My SM actually is now offering something we would have never sold before, but its a sign of the times. Its an easy way to add hours per RO, and make some profit. Personally I am not a fan and wont push it to my customers, but if it comes up?

Its sad that dealers get the rep they do, which in most cases isnt earned. We had a shop call the other way wanting labor to replace a timing chain on a 06 Accord (K24), we told them you dont have to do that..............they sold it anyways. Im amazed how often that happens, and its really nice to earn somebodies business when you tell them they dont have a belt to replaced after they were just quoted almost a grand! Thanks for the words, take care.

 

Sorry for taking a left turn on the thread!

Man, this is a topic that I could literally talk about this for hours. The service business has lost such a huge amount of money from practically maintenance free vehicles, that everyone from the district managers to the service managers are trying to reinvent the wheel to replace the lost labor hours and parts sales. I calculated once that we were loosing over $600,000.00 in lost labor and parts sales a year (in 2005) due to the elimination of timing belts from Camry's and Corolla's alone. At 72% gross profit on labor, and 67% gross profit on parts, that's alot of cheddar. Don't even get me started on surveys.

For the most part, we lost the following in my time in the business with Toyota:

• Timing belts (and everything that goes with it)
• Spark plugs (60-120k intervals now)
• Coolant (Super Long Life lasts for years/100K)
• Trans Fluid (W/S fluid now)
• Valve adjustments
• Fuel Filters
• Front wheel bearing services on 4WD trucks/SUV's
• Any tune-up items (wires/caps/rotors)
• Exhaust system components
• Shocks/struts/mounts (seem to last FOREVER)

We sure fixed alot of cars that other shops couldn't fix though

Sorry to the OP....hope you get someone to hook you up at a reasonable price.

 

I dunno how the hell you guys are paying more than 100 dollars to get your tires re-mounted. When I replaced the tires on my Fit I took it to a wally world and to unmount, mount, re-stem, and balance it cost me just 30 dollars. THIRTY!!

They didn't ding up any of my wheels, all of my tires were perfectly filled, and the unidirectional rubber was actually facing the right way.

(as a slight disclaimer I do work for the same Wal-Mart but no one over in TLE knows me, and that 30 dollars was with no kind of employee incentive or anything.)