I have a '08 Envoy, and will be replacing the tires in a few weeks. (...ok I'm prepared for the onslaught...) I find the TPMS a bit annoying (almost as much as 'torque management'...almost
). Has anyone found a way to turn it off? That way I can have 2-dollar tire valves installed, and check the tire pressures myself, which I've done on every vehicle I've ever had since 197x...something.
What do you find annoying about the safety feature of the TPMS? I am with you on the price. I have summer and winter wheels and both sets have TPMS sensors. Just last winter I replaced all (4) sensors in my winter wheels which ran about $130.00 for the sensors alone. Most of the time when these sensors go bad, it is due to the battery failing. Most sensors have a life of 8-10 years. Sadly, due to the NHTSA, there is no battery door on the sensor so you can just replace the battery. Its a completely sealed unit. I assume this would be to prevent a loose battery from banging around inside of your tire if the battery door happen to come open.
Most of us check our tire pressure on at least a weekly basis, especially in the winter months, but for those owners that don't, it will give them a warning to check the tire. More importantly, IMO, the TPMS will alert you when you have a drop in pressure of 25% or more while driving, cant check tire pressures while you're moving. I am pro TPMS as it has saved me before. Traveling from NC to KY at 0200 in the morning and one tire picked up a nail/piece of metal and the early warning of the TPMS allowed me enough time to find an exit and get to a well lit area of a gas station. That's a better scenario than figuring out your tire is almost flat at 70mph and having to change the tire on the side of the highway.
I know disabling the TPMS was talked about a lot with the SS owners with those members running aftermarket wheels or drag setups. A few of them tried to use the TechII and also went to the dealership to have the TPMS disabled and both attempts were unsuccessful. They can see the TPMS on is enabled on the TechII, but does not give them an option to disable.
However, I have also read that SS owners have pulled fuses #3 and #19 from the rear fuse box. This disabled the TPMS for them, but also disabled remote keyless entry. If you can live without RKE, then this would be an option.
I would assume the option to disable the TPMS via the TechII/dealership is not there because this is a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for all vehicle manufactures by the NHTSA.
From what I have read, the TPMS safety standard began the phase-in process in October 2005 and vehicle manufacturers had until September 2008 to fully comply with the new safety standard.