I purchased new rims to put on my car.. I'm pretty sure my stock wheels/tires (17" flower-looking U shaped wheels - w/ runflats) had metal valve caps (don't remember if the stem was metal or not) -

anyways, I had a tireshop change the stock tires to the new rims.. didn't notice until I got home that the valve caps are now plastic (they are not the ones that came with the new rims because those are metal, along with the metal valve stems that came with the new rims that were not put on my car)
My monitor went off, so I checked the tire pressur (only about 32lbs of air - mini recommends 38 - now that I think about it, the tire guys didn't fill air in the tires) filled them up, reset the monitor...

Does anyone know how the TPMS works and if I'm able to tell if it's functioning properly, apart from letting the air out of the tire and waiting a few days... I'm wondering where my stock caps are.. The stock rims still have a rubber valve stem, but no caps... I'm confused..

Long story short - I want to see if the tire shop screwed me in putting in non-working parts or cheapies to make my TPMS not work correctly, before making an appointment at the dealership...

 

When did you pick up your MINI? If the original wheels had metal caps, it was probably before TPMS. Sounds like they added sensors. Did you notice the bill being about $200 larger than it was supposed to be?

 

I went to the tire shop and pretty much watched them the whole time.. Didn't notice the part about the valve stems..I saw them pulling/pushing them out or on the new rims? ... I called and they quoted me $100 to put my stock runflats on the new rims and I told them I had a tpms and runflats ahead of time..they said no prob..so....idk, i'm almost 100% sure my valve caps at least were metal...

 

Alright.. I just checked something.. my stock rim still has a valve stem on it, but I can see through it (where the 'pin' would normally be to let air out) .. my new rims have a rubber valve stem w/ a 'pin' and a peice holding that pin in the center of the inside of the stem..hopefully i'm making sense... I guess the only real way to tell if it's working properly - I'll drive it this week and make sure the sensor doesn't go off.. Next week I'll let two rear tires down about 5 psi each and see if the monitor goes off....

 

The MINIs with TPMS have plastic valve caps. Metal caps are for the older system that measures wheel rotation speeds. If they added sensors to your wheels, it would have cost $$. If you had them on your old wheels, they might have just moved the sensors. When was your MINI built and delivered?

 

Not really.

5 lbs. might not trip the sensors. You have to have something like >30% pressure loss to set them off. Best to call your dealer and ask which system your car has.

 

Ok..that works, I don't know the build date.. I'll have to find out .. I think I read I can hold the tach mileage reset down to display it..?

and I'm not sure what you meant about Not really when I said about the see through valve stem..would you like a picture ?

 

OK, do you have a good macro lens?

 

actually...lol..
these are the new rims - I'm not 100% sure if they pulled this stem off the stock ones or not, but I did see him use pliers to pull something on the stem...?
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Stock wheel.. this is the stem on it now.. again not sure if this is the original stem or not...




note the see through hole below..

 

hope thats macro enough lol..thanks for any help!

 

The build date is on the tag at the door that also has a VIN number.

Here's a picture of the new TPMS system stem and cap. The person who took the photo (member alicecooper) said the cap is the size of a dime.

 

hmmm...I dont think I remember seeing that.. I thought mine valve stem was rubber and the cap was metal..but I may have forgotten/not paid attention to that...

 

Mine looks similar to the photo that rkw posted (week 36 build). Do I have to reset the TPM after a flat was patched, i.e. tire taken off rim and put back on?

 

Yes, the rubber valve stems are what's used on the old FTM system and the ones shown in rkw's post are what's used on the new TPM system (we have them on our week 34 build R56).

Also, I don't know about on the non-nav cars (as I don't have one of those), but on the nav equipped MINI's the TPM system can easily be reset via the nav screen as shown here:



The system should indeed be reset after changing the pressure in any of the tires.

 

Looks like your car has the indirect system; hence, there are no sensors in the wheels. Only the direct system has the sensors, so if they put those on your tires it's doing nothing but adding weight and lightening your wallet. The ABS sensor won't even detect the internal wheel sensors they installed...

 

So, it looks like you have the older FTM. The shop didn't screw you, unless they charged you for sensors. From the brass in rubber valve stems I would guess they didn't.

You just need to reset the FTM. It's something you have to do whenever you get new tires, or change the pressure.

If you have a NAV, the FTM is reset through the NAV Settings screen.

 

Ok cool.. No, I didn't get charged for anything outrageous.. $100 plus tax to swap tires to the new rims.. Yes, I did reset the TPMS, so it seems all is well... I still may lower the pressure some pounds this weekend, or maybe not...

Thanks for the input guys, it's appreciated as always!

 

You don't have TPMS. You have FTM.

Why would you lower the pressure? What are you running?

 

Because I'm running 29lbs of boost on a GT37R/meth/stroked 2.0 and can't hook up...








kidding ...back to reality..just a quick test to ensure the system is working properly, which I'm sure it is because the dealer (I'm sure) had it set at 38psi as factory tire pressure and when I drove about 30 miles after switching rims, the monitor went off because all four tires were roughly 32~ PSI... But, I'll probably be lazy and not worry about it...

 

I'm rotating my tires this weekend. I have the TPMS (newer system, no nav), and am wondering if I need to reset the system. Or is this only necessary when changing pressure/tires?

 

Check your tires pressure and rotate them .. the monitor detects rotation or the newer system I believe sends a wireless signal..so no..it's only when changing pressure

 

I have newer system and rotated tires last weekend. Had to reset as the little "triangle" appears and stayed next to the odometer reading.

 

I'm confused. Whats the difference between the 2 listed below or are they both on my MINI.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (alerts you if a tire has low pressure?)
and
Flat Tire Monitoring system? (ONLY alerts you if you get a flat tire and not if its low?)

I have a 2007 Mini Cooper S with Rubber Valve stems. Its the "older" build whatever that means.


I am purchasing snow tires and wheels...and they tried to sell me these sensors for the wheel or else the light will stay on all the time in the dash. It asked if I have Rubber or Metal Valve stems.
Where are the sensors located if I have rubber valve stems with metal caps, they are just plain metal caps no sensors in them, and if I didnt get the sensors from Tirerack can they be put on afterwards or should I change my order??

Please help.

 

If your valve stem covers don't look like the picture in rkw post then you have the older system that was used in the 1st gen MINI's and so you don't need the sensors (which are located inside the rim). The newer system seems to be on september and later build cars.

 

YUP I have the older system. So you said the sensors are on the Rim I am getting new rims though, SO I will need to get new sensors for the rims then right?

Sorry I wasnt clear on mentioning I am getting Tires and Rims for them