Here is what I found out....you can actually buy blank TPMS sensors from tire rack, discount tire or other vendors. Those can be programmed to have the same codes as the OEM ones free of charge when you buy them. That way you end up with two sets of sensors with the same codes. No Quicset or reprogramming is needed. The car will simply read the new sensors and think that those are the old ones. You can swap wheels any time without doing anything else. Discount Tire also offered to sync my sensors for free every year with tire purchase if I went with the regular TPMS sensors that need synchronizing every time you swap wheels.

If this is true I will need to cancel an order I just placed for TPMS sensors! I was researching this for hours on end to figure out if I actually "needed" TPMS sensors for the winter. A light won't bother me since I won't be driving the car everyday during winter, mainly a pickup.

However, on another thread there was some discussion about the car beeping and the TPMS light blinking if there are no TPMS sensors on the wheels. The blinking I don't mind, but the beeping

Also, how do we figure out the codes for the TPMS sensors that are on the vehicle now without taking the tires off? Any help is much, much, MUCH appreciated! I came from the Subaru world and this technology stuff is driving me insane! (Jk, I work in the tech field )

Best,

Jason

Haha, I came from a 2011 WRX myself.

The tire shop, Discount Tire in my case, will be able to pull the factory codes. However, they said they will NOT clone sensors unless the OE sensor is there. In other words, you cant give them the codes, the sensors being cloned must be present.

Just to let you know - I'm driving my car with my aftermarket wheels without the factory TPMS and there's no beeping. The only thing that happens is the light comes on after about 40 miles. But for me it always resets when i get home since my stocks are in the garage with the TPMS. So the light goes away each time as well.

but after reading the above I didn't know about the cloning - if it's true and possible I will definitely be looking into cloning my factory TPMS. Currently i have my 2IS TPMS in my aftermarket wheels but was told it cannot be programmed to the 3IS.

They have to be the BLANK tpms sensor tho. I can't remember the brand but it had EZ in the name...

this sounds like it?

http://www.ez-sensor.com

Yes. I believe they could be sold under Bartc or Schrader brand.

I'm interested in a set of these blank sensors so I can clone my OEM set. I don't see anything referencing 'blank' on tire rack and not sure if ex-sensor will ship to Toronto. Anyone have experience with this in Canada?

Thanks

The quickset will pull the codes programmed in the car. As long as you have the new ID's you can just program it into the quickset as the winter tires and you should be good.

No need for the VT30 unless you don't know the second set of codes.

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up. You just saved me a ton of time and money. I was being quoted around $60 a wheel/tire for mounting, balancing and the TPMS connection. $200 for the TPMS sensors and another $240 for the mounting/balancing seemed a bit steep since I'm only going to have the wheels on for about a month until I take them off. I can definitely live with a light. Coming from a Subaru, it's a whole new world.

I believe I read that the 2IS TPMS will not work with the 3IS. Sucks since those TPMS sensors were a hell of a lot cheaper lol.

definitely for only a month i wouldn't go through that hassle! You'll be okay just check your tire pressure every so often during the month. And the good thing if your stocks are where you park your car the car will read them every time your next to them.

Yeah the 2is tpms i bought a oem set on ebay for about $100 - I'm going to be looking into this cloning since I live in Florida and my aftermarket wheels are on 90% of the time. But like the option of going back and forth with stocks without worry about a light and knowing if there's an issue with one of the wheels (tire pressure).

Anyone have the direct link to the blank sensors for the 3IS from tire rack? I need these within the next week or so. Thanks in advance

Hit up AJ from tirerack here on the forum. He should be able to help you out.

You can't program the blank sensors, you need the tooling to do it, you either need the original sensor to get scanned or you need the unique sensor id off of it.

To order sensors, the easiest way would be to call me directly. My phone number is 1-800-428-8355 ext 4066
Otherwise, you would need to add 4 wheels to the cart, click to add sensors, and then remove the wheels.

As alshubcaps mentioned, you will still need to program the sensors to the vehicle. The ID will be on the side of the new sensor, however.