I am planning on getting basic steel rims for our 2013 Prius Two and mounting Blizzak WS-80 snow tires on them. To avoid all of the resetting issues, I am going with standard valve stems and not using the tpms sensors on the rims. I am prepared for the warning light and to check the tire pressure a little more often but I was wondering if there were any other negatives to doing this (like, does it affect the onboard computer at all?) ?
I've been doing this on my 2011 Prius and have not had any problems at all. During the winter, I leave my regular TPMS-tires in the garage where I park my car. I have found that when the light comes on, when I return home and park in the garage, the sensor will read the tires in the garage and turn the light off. Further, if you drive less than 20 minutes, the TPMS light won't turn on at all. Since my commute is less than 20 minutes each way, I can drive to work and then back at the end of the day and the light will never turn on.
Done this for 6 winters now, no problems. Just put the snows back on yesterday The one big negative, you being in the States: a lot of tire shops won't do this, due to legislations insisting you must have TPMS. Hope it works out though.
Sounds like the sensors don't need to be moving in order to send a signal (Subaru needed motion).. back in the day, we would just throw all the TPMS's in the spare tire and set the pressure.. I just seen some guys a few years ago do a "TPMS bomb" with a tube they would pressurize and keep in the car... Could be a safer way to keep the lights off in the dash. But sucks if you need the spare.!
