We just purchased a 2008 Prius for my wife from a local dealer. It seems to be in pretty good shape generally, <91,000 miles, and we're only the second owner. But it came with 3rd party alloy wheels (MSW 15's) with no TPMS modules installed. MSW's web site refers all questions back to the dealer one purchased the wheels from, and of course, we did not do that. Does anyone know if it's possible to install the TPMS modules in 3rd party wheels, or does one have to spring for OEM Toyota wheels in addition to the modules? Thanks in advance.
Just about anyone tire shop can install tpms sensors for you. One of the best prices for them around here is America's Tire/Discount Tire Stores ($60-70 each installed) but you may have shops closer by that will do it for a fair price too. The sensors actually are on the inside of the valve stem and not a separate item unique to the wheel. Shops are not allowed to deactivate TPMS but if your tires were owner installed that explains why you don't have them. It may also be that the batteries in them died so they are there and just need to be replaced. TPMS Reminder - Batteries don't last forever | PriusChat
Just remember that the fix for dead batteries is not merely to replace the batteries. The batteries are sealed in. When dead, the entire sensor unit / valve assembly needs replacement, so there is no cost savings.
Prices can vary quite a bit, the best I've found is $30/tire just installation, but that was with me buying the TPMS units at Amazon.com. So be sure to get estimates but it could easily get fairly expensive. A tire place may have the expertise you need to know what TPMS fits in that wheel. I can tell you what fits in a OEM Gen2 wheel and that's on Amazon. The best thing would be if you need new tires soon, to do both at the same time. The other thing you can do is the DIY type TPMS type that reads to your smart phone, but you'll still have the warning light on your dash board as it does not tie into the car (too bad they should have a DIY type with codes you could read-out to the car).
$110 per corner turns me into a supremely testy old guy, lol. Good these aren't mandatory in Canada yet. I would do nothing: you have good tires, rims.
I'm pretty faithful about checking the air pressure near the first and 15th of every month. I have reminders on my pc and phone calendars. We replaced ours because 1. the car was still pretty new to us and we wanted to ensure there wasn't a real problem with the wheels (our previous Prius had a damaged rim) and 2. we have some major cross country trips planned the next few years and want the little bit of extra peace of mind the TPMS will give us on the open road and out of state. Otherwise we might have just put a piece of tape over the warning light and ignored the dead sensors.
