Tire Low Pressure light

[alex_nrv]

I will be switching my tires soon enough but I won't have the electronic valves sensors installed on those other rims. I know the light will come up to signal a problem with the sensors. I don't feel like buying electronic valves for the winter tires set, so what are the options for the light not to bug me? If the valve sensors are not detected by the car's system, will the light turn off after a while and never bug me again? Or is there any fuse I can disconnect to disable the low pressure warning light?Thank you a lot for your input!

[09vGT]

The light will stay on... FOREVER! Some have put black tape on the light covering it up. I don't think pulling a fuse is an option as its grouped together will other major electronics. The tape is probably your only option, or you can just deal with the annoyance.

[vit]

I use a piece of black electric tape.

[tpollauf]

Depending on how far you drive, where the tires with the sensors are stored (hopefully VERY CLOSE to where the Vibe will be parked) and your model year, will determine just how often the light comes on. Example:My 2009 Vibe GT is parked in our attached garage. Directly above the garage is the attic where the summer GT rims/tires are stored. The Vibe sees this as if those summer tires are still on the car. Then every time the Vibe leaves our garage the light will come on ONLY after it has been driven over 20 miles. Then the light stays on until we pull it back into the garage where it goes off. We have several days where it does not exceed the 20 mile range and thus the light never comes on at all. With all this said, just live with this temporary condition

[vibenvy]

This will be my third winter driving with the TPMS light on. It's not that big of a deal at all. It's no different then driving at night and having the headlight/fog light lights lit up.Buying new sensors for the second set of wheels would be silly because every spring and fall/winter when you switched wheels, you would need to go to a dealer and have them re-programmed.

[alex_nrv]

Thanks to all of you! I will live with it then!I didn't knew the sensors had to be reprogrammed, I thought it was some kind of generic close-range signal or something.Thanks again!

[alex_nrv]

Speaking of winter tires, I will be switching from stock original wheels (mag type) to normal steel wheels (still on my Vibe 2009 2.4L). One thing I didn't thought of is the wheel nuts... I have those "chrome-like" nuts that are NOT open at the end, the have a shiny rounded tip... and I don't know if those are deep enough if I install steel wheels.I don't know the thickness of the "mags", but if they are thicker where they bolt down to the hub, then the steel sheels will be thinner, the studs will stick out a lot more and the chrome nuts won't be deep enough to screw the wheel tightly against the hub. If this is the case, I will need to buy opened standard nuts.If any of you switched from "mags" to steel wheels, were you able to keep the nice nuts or did you have to buy new ones?Thanks!P.S.: By any chance, does any one know the standard "OFFSET" of the stock wheels on a 2009 2.4L?I know the bolt pattern is 5x114.3 and the center bore is 60.1... but I don't know what the offset by default.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by alex_nrv »Speaking of winter tires, I will be switching from stock original wheels (mag type) to normal steel wheels (still on my Vibe 2009 2.4L). One thing I didn't thought of is the wheel nuts... I have those "chrome-like" nuts that are NOT open at the end, the have a shiny rounded tip... and I don't know if those are deep enough if I install steel wheels.I don't know the thickness of the "mags", but if they are thicker where they bolt down to the hub, then the steel sheels will be thinner, the studs will stick out a lot more and the chrome nuts won't be deep enough to screw the wheel tightly against the hub. If this is the case, I will need to buy opened standard nuts.If any of you switched from "mags" to steel wheels, were you able to keep the nice nuts or did you have to buy new ones?Thanks!P.S.: By any chance, does any one know the standard "OFFSET" of the stock wheels on a 2009 2.4L?I know the bolt pattern is 5x114.3 and the center bore is 60.1... but I don't know what the offset by default.I used regular lug nuts with my steel wheels for two winters and never had a problem, but eventually I did end up switching to the steel wheel-specific lug nuts because I am eventually going to get OEM wheel covers for my winter wheels.The GM part number for the steel wheel-specific lug nuts is: #88972746. I ended up getting two sets from two different members on here though since they are $3-$5 a piece from GM and unfortunately Toyota uses a different kind of wheel cover (snap on) and thus also uses a different kind of lug nut. If you aren't going to be using wheel covers though, then you could use the Toyota steel wheel-specific lug nuts, but they are esentially the same price as the GM ones so it's kind of a moot point.The offset of my OEM 18" GT wheels is +39mm. It should be the same for your 17" OEM wheels. If you want to double check, the offset is stamped into the backside of each wheel like so (the 'X39'):

[alex_nrv]

Oh, cool! Thanks man! You're being very helpful!Yeah, I called GM and they have those nuts for 3$ each... it'S ridiculous. I'll have them at another autopart or even Canadian Tire for 1.40$ each.I bought some 5x114.3 (from a Mazda 3) steel rims, but I didn't thought about looking for the center bore and the offset (the latter one being the most important).I ended up testing them on my car yesterday before having the tires installed on the rims... and they FIT... but I can see through the holes around the rim that it's reallllly close to the caliper (let's say the wheel is about 5mm away from the caliper).I really don't know if I should still use those. On my GF's car, the space between the rim and the caliper is something like 150mm.It DOES fit, and it's not rubbing against anything. And When the wheel is tightly screwed in place, the wheel won't move, as the caliper... so both parts should be ok and NEVER touch one another.I bought those rims on an ad site, so of course, if I end up not using those rims, I will have to resell them myself and check for another set that will most likely give me more free space between the wheel and the caliper...Your thoughts?

[09vGT]

Quote, originally posted by alex_nrv »Oh, cool! Thanks man! You're being very helpful! YOU JUST CALLED CARRIE A MAN! Lol !

[alex_nrv]

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT » YOU JUST CALLED CARRIE A MAN! Lol ! !!!Really? I didn't know she was a girl!Well, I know a lot of girls being called "man" as an expression... just like calling a good buddy "big".Oh well, I hope I didn't offended you, J_to_Envy!

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by alex_nrv »Oh, cool! Thanks man! You're being very helpful!Yeah, I called GM and they have those nuts for 3$ each... it'S ridiculous. I'll have them at another autopart or even Canadian Tire for 1.40$ each.I bought some 5x114.3 (from a Mazda 3) steel rims, but I didn't thought about looking for the center bore and the offset (the latter one being the most important).I ended up testing them on my car yesterday before having the tires installed on the rims... and they FIT... but I can see through the holes around the rim that it's reallllly close to the caliper (let's say the wheel is about 5mm away from the caliper).I really don't know if I should still use those. On my GF's car, the space between the rim and the caliper is something like 150mm.It DOES fit, and it's not rubbing against anything. And When the wheel is tightly screwed in place, the wheel won't move, as the caliper... so both parts should be ok and NEVER touch one another.I bought those rims on an ad site, so of course, if I end up not using those rims, I will have to resell them myself and check for another set that will most likely give me more free space between the wheel and the caliper...Your thoughts?Quote, originally posted by 09vGT » YOU JUST CALLED CARRIE A MAN! Lol !Quote, originally posted by alex_nrv » !!!!Really? I didn't know she was a girl!Well, I know a lot of girls being called "man" as an expression... just like calling a good buddy "big".Oh well, I hope I didn't offended you, J_to_Envy!LOL! It's okay. I'm used to it from the other car forum I frequent. Most people don't expect a girl to be so knowledgeable about cars I guess . No offense taken .Yes, the 16" steel wheels are the absolute smallest wheel you can fit on an 09-10 Vibe 2.4L Base/09-10 Vibe GT. I too was worried about the caliper clearance when I first installed my 16" steel wheels two winters ago, but they are fine. I have had no rubbing issues or any other issues for that matter and I have driven with them the past two winters for 4-5 months at a time. As long as the wheels are the correct bolt pattern and all, they'll be fine .You're welcome for being helpful. That's what I'm here for !

[alex_nrv]

I was told the X42655 rims were multi fit wheels. I brought my wheels and tires to be installed, but since my wheels had old worned out tires on them, I couldn't read any code/model that is supposed to be marked on the inside of the wheels. So I clearly asked them to put a note and check for any model printed in the metal in the inside of the rims when the old tires would be removed. Today, I went to get the wheels back, and surprise, as usual... no model was taken from the wheels. The guy at the desk told me his man who did the job wasn't here today, so he couldn't ask him if he did look, but he thinks there was NO model inscription inside...Oh well... I will be trying those rims for at least one winter and check out the calipers next spring for any contact. If I'm lucky, I will never have a problem with the clearance and I will have had a great set of winter wheels and tires for really cheap (460$+new nuts)... under 500$!

[alex_nrv]

BTW, you guys who are putting black electric tape on the light... you probably put the tape on INSIDE the cluster, not just on the plastic glass? If you put it on the INSIDE, you have to take apart some parts of the dash to remove the cluster? If so, is there any great tutorial about who to remove the cluster without breaking anything?I always succeeded to remove my past car's clusters, but I always ended up braking at least one plastic part, either a clip or a "screw column"!Thx!

[star_deceiver]

No tape here, I just ignore it. My sensors are in the steelies with the winters... so all summer the light stay on. And as I always have the VSC/TC disabled as well, a few lights dont bother me. Winter:Summer:Summer dash lights that are always on:Stock lug nut for the steel rims (left) Lug from an 05 Sunfire (right). Both fit and work:

Attached files

[alex_nrv]

Yeah, I guess I'll simply ignore the Low Pressure Light then!!I bought a pack of 16 lug nuts and 4 locks (I didn't needed those locks but they were in the pack...) that are covered, I just hope they are deep enough to cover the entire stud without touching the bottom of the lug nut. Else, I will need to use uncovered lug nuts so the stud can get through.For your VSC/SensaTrac lights, how did you managed to disabled the system? Do you simply turn them off each time you start the engine, of did you unplugged a fuse or something like that?I don't like having lights, I like to fix what's causing them, but I mostly have no choice with the Low Pressure one!If anyone knows how to open the dash to access the cluster, maybe I could simply remove the light bulb...

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by alex_nrv »For your VSC/SensaTrac lights, how did you managed to disabled the system? Start car, hold button for 5 seconds, drive away!

[alex_nrv]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Start car, hold button for 5 seconds, drive away!Ok! For a sec, I thought you had the system hacked!I am just wondering though... what does it really give you to have those disabled in everyday's driving?Just askin'!

[star_deceiver]

If I'm at a light and decide to take off quickly any spin of the tires and the car will lurch and hesitate... In trying to merge into traffic, this can be a big problem... If I'm turning right at an intersection with a stop sign and accelerate too fast with the wheels turned too much the TC will come on and the car will hesitate... If I'm coming out of a gas station or such place where I have to drive over the edge of a sidewalk the TC will generally come on when the front tire tries to spin a little coming off the curb...If I take an off-ramp too quickly the VSC will scream at me and try to take control just because it thinks I'm taking the corner too fast... Same with on-ramps, sometimes they're pretty short so rocketing around a corner to keep speed is needed and it's easier when you're not trying to fight the car... The summer tires/rims on the car grip amazingly so it's really not hard to set off the VSC.In winter I don't need the car trying to control itself, I can do that just fine. Besides, controlling the car in a slide is quite easy (and fun)!!!The system has it's place.... but it's not for me!

[alex_nrv]

Cool Do you hav those turned off at ALL TIME? Or do you leave them enabled in the summer and disable them only in winter?If you have them turned off all the time, then you have a pretty aggressive style of driving there! I simetimes like to accelerate quickly, and sometimes I need to go fast in order to merge, like you said. I try not to drive too aggressively and to push the pedal to the floor, but I had to do it sometimes and the VSC never came on, except when there's rain... and when there is rain, I kind of like the system to hold back on power to the wheels because when you start to slip when you try to accelerate, you lose valuable time recovering your traction.I will see this winter how the system is handling the car, I never had to drive it in the winter! I got it in april 2011... It's gonna be a nice experience I think! Maybe I will prefer to turn it off in the winter, but since me and my GF are expecting our first baby late january, I will stick to driving quite passively!

[09vGT]

Dang Star. Your's sounds really sensitive. Mine almost never kicks in. Unless its snowing, which is like 3 times a year, or I'm going down a gravel road and I try to turn fast. But, on dry pavement it doesn't come one.

[star_deceiver]

Always off, all year. It works for me. In the city I drive fairly sane... but Calgary drivers sometimes require you to do things quickly. I could leave it on but everytime I've done that I find myself at a stop sign or trying to turn onto a busy street that requires a good bit of gas and remember, I'm not driving on stock hard rubber! I have no lack of grip When you get some snow, head to a big parking lot. Turn the system off and throw the car around at various speeds and see how it slides. Lots of fun and you get to see the limits of the car at low speed. I'd say take it out to a deserted highway and slide around a bit to see how your tires handle a slide and braking at speed but be careful with that, it would be easy to end up in the ditch or oncoming traffic.Just out of curiosity, what rubber do you have for winter?

[alex_nrv]

I will definitely be trying an empty parking lot full of snow!The funny thing is when I bought the car, I was so glad to finally change my car for a car I really like that I said to my work buddies that I would take really good care of the car and won't be handbraking at least in the first winter. One of them wrote it down as a challenge...! Now that I learn more about the VSC and SensaTrac, I really want to mess around with the car's stability and traction system! I might just try to mess around without the handbrake, but I'm a huge handbrake fan during winter (what guy isn't!).But the highway thing, nah, I'm not that kind of person!LOL... last year in Sherbrooke, I made a U-Turn in a street with the handbrake on since it was not wide enough... one guy on the sidewalk waited for me to get out of the car... and then told me: "Man, did you know your rear wheels aren't spnning? Like they're stuck?"... the guy had no clue, (removed). I was laughing so hard at him!I am not a person who spends a lot on my cars. I never even had an amp/sub in my cars! The fanciest I had in a car was a cool Alpine radio. Now I have the amp and the sub stock from Pontiac, I really like it since it takes NO extra room in the back of the car! I hate those boom boxes because it takes all the room in the back! And like I said, I cannot afford to lose space since a baby is coming! So I am really glad I have that sub integrated to the car!So the tires I use are not really fancy (though I know spending big money on them means better quality tires and better traction in snow/ice). I bought GoodYear Nordic tires. Not cheap, not fancy, not great... just good winter tires.I look around on Kijiji.ca for good used tires with a reasonable price, and I mostly never end up being disappointed with my purchases.I have better quality tires for the price I pay than if I would buy tires brand new for the same price.My summer tires are still the stock tires from the dealer; GoodYear Eagle. I think they're near 6/32 so I will soon need to change them. I probably will be looking for another set of 17" that are good for rain, with the "V" slice in the center. There again, I will be looking around on Kijiji for a deal, somewhere around 9 or 10/32.What's yours?

[star_deceiver]

The summers are Hankook Ventus V4 205-50-17. They're nearing the end of their life but still it's hard to get them to hydroplane.The Winters are fully studded Firestone Winterforce. They're on the cheaper end but work great in all winter has to throw!The summer rims and tires are the only thing I've added to the Vibe. Save up your pennies and next year replace those Eagle's with a good summer tire. You'll be amazed at the difference!