What's right with this picture? The TPMS fault lamp is no longer glowing on the instrument panel of our 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport.
I brought the Jeep and Mike's sack full of five sensors to a Just Tires store I pass every day on the 405 freeway while motoring through Carson, CA on my way home.
These TPMS sensors are of the simpler rubber-stemmed variety and they pop into the rim just like any regular rubber valve stem would. Our BFG tires not need be fully dismounted from the rim to make the swap; a broken outboard bead gives the tech enough room to reach in there.
"How much to install these?" I asked William, the friendly guy behind the counter.
"Three dollars and fifty cents apiece," said he.
I'll do the math for you: that's $17.50 for all five. Pretty cheap.
But the sensors do add a little weight where there was nothing before, so I had them rebalance the tires. That brought the total up to $104.85 -- just slightly over $20 per tire for everything. Necessary? Perhaps not, but I didn't want to have to come back.
And it is a lifetime balance -- the tire's lifetime, anyway. That could come in handy later on with big off-road tires like these.
Many TPMS systems require new sensors to be formally introduced to the vehicle's ECU with a special tool that plugs into the OBD port. But a 2012 Jeep learns the ID numbers of new sensors by merely driving for 10 minutes (or less) at a speed of 20 mph (or more).
Apparently "or less" is the operative phrase. The technician's test drive lasted no more than a mile before the lamp winked out.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 7,826 miles
the_big_al says:
08:24 PM, 01/22/12
You mean that Stoke's wouldnt install and rebalance the tires at no cost to you? When they mounted balanced the tires and wheels you they didn't offer a lifetime balance with the install?
banhugh says:
08:22 AM, 01/23/12
Wow, I like the fact that you don't have to drop the car to stealership for TPSM sensors reprogramming!!!
jasond52 says:
08:57 AM, 01/23/12
Inform the ignorant...what's the green arc on the tach for?
s197gt says:
09:25 AM, 01/23/12
re: green arc.
good question.
Wikipedia says:
"In vehicles such as tractors and trucks, the tachometer often has other markings, usually a green arc showing the speed range in which the engine produces maximum torque, which is of prime interest to operators of such vehicles."
"Aircraft tachometers have a green arc showing the engine's designed cruising speed range."
my guess is a cold engine operating range or max fuel-economy operating range.
jasond52 says:
09:54 AM, 01/23/12
The torque curve on this engine peaks at 4800rpm...so it's not max torque.
rioranchonm says:
11:20 AM, 01/23/12
re: green arc
My guess...optimal shifting range for best fuel economy.
jasond52 says:
12:08 PM, 01/23/12
Can someone RTFM?
desmolicious says:
01:01 PM, 01/23/12
The green arc reflects the Wranglers "Eco" mode (!), where it gets the best mpg.
Validated by the owner's manual..
Dan, a completely separate question/point.. Have you driven the Wrangler with the new tires on wet concrete? Today it is raining and I park in an underground concrete facility at work. Cars drag the rain into all the levels. My Rubicon which has similar tires to 'yours' wanted to go in a straight line while descending the circular ramps. I was literally going maybe 5mph and I almost ran into a wall! I never had this issue in the same structure in the rain on my old BFG All Terrains.
It was like I was on ice, but the cars waiting behind me had no issues...
Thanks.
(tires correctly inflated to 37psi as per owner's manual, about 1200 miles on them)
jeepsrt says:
01:25 PM, 01/23/12
My Grand Cherokee has that eco green area, I think I get 12.5 mpg instead of 12.4 when I'm in the green rev range.
actualsize says:
02:45 PM, 01/24/12
I was saving the "green line" post for another time, but you folks beat me to it.
The smart-ass answer is this: anything green on a modern vehicle has to do with fuel economy, or the appearance thereof.
The better answer is this: the green line emphasizes the most economical rev range for upshifts. The green paint is a kind of poor man's upshift indicator.