GOOD TPMS SOLUTION

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AL-B

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So I was concerned after reading about an owner's experience with a flat on his new Honda Clarity that I ordered this TPMS monitor from Amazon shortly after reading. Then I was kind of peeved that my 10 year old Mercedes-Benz has this built into the instrument cluster but Honda engineers did not consider putting it into the Clarity which does not have a spare tire. Most of the flat tires encountered will be the sharp objects into the tire such as a nail. The current TPMS installed in our vehicles is good for a blowout when the circumference of the blown tire will be radically different than the other tires. The TPMS I bought is great for catching the slow leaker before it becomes an issue say on a long trip and you suddenly find yourself in the middle of nowhere when, if you had proper indication of a leak, you could have taken care of the problem in that town you passed up an hour ago. This TPMS gives current pressure and temperature of the tire. It will also alarm when tire pressure is above 46psi or falls below 29psi. There is also a temperature alarm set at 158F for when the tire is overheating because of deteriorating tire wall. All of these alerts are customizable. I'm not advocating this particular TPMS but wanted to share with fellow owner's there are a lot of options out there. This one installed in 15 min and does not require rebalancing of tires. Keep in mind that the sensors activate when the car goes above 20mph the first time it is used but indications should be available all the time after that. I chose to go with the solar powered one for ease of placement and my dash cam is currently occupying my DC socket. As always, this board is a wealth of information.VESAFE Universal Solar TPMS, Wireless... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LA9CF8Y?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
 
Thanks for sharing this. Lack of individual TPMS wheel indicators on the Clarity was a disappointment to me, and this looks like it might fill that gap. I've already experienced a tire dropping 5 psi below normal, with no indication on the built-in TPMS system, and this could help with an earlier, specific alert. Lack of a spare on the Clarity really heightens my concern about getting stuck on the road with an inoperable vehicle, and I want to do everything in my power to avoid that.

I'm curious how well the main unit rests on top of your dashboard, and whether or not it moves around from vibration. Amazon mentions that it sits on a pad (presumably non-adhesive). Can you elaborate on that? I don't want to put anything on top of the dash that might mess up the finish of the material.

I also hope you will report back again after you have a chance to use it for a bit.
 
It comes with a sticky pad that it rests on top of. I'm no NASCAR driver but it stays put even when I decide to get aggressive with a corner. After initial charging with the included USB cable, the solar panel seems to keep it charged. I forgot to turn it off and it was still on after three hours when I came back out with about half a battery still left in it. I measured the tire pressure with a digital gage prior to installing the sensors and the sensors had the same reading as the digital gage except I think it rounds up because the left front was 32.5psi by digital gage and because the readout only displays two digits, it read it as 33psi. Tire pressure will go up slightly once the tires get warmed and they stay around 36psi which is the recommended tire pressure on the side door panel. I feel very confident if I had a slow leaker I would be able to detect it through this TPMS.
 
That's good info. Regarding the pressures vs. Temps, though - I think the 36 psi setting is intended for a cold tire, not one that has heated up by driving.

I'll let the experts on the forum let me know that is the case, or not.
 
Is the sticky pad glued to your dashboard or can you move it around easily without leaving any marks?

Any thoughts about how easy/difficult it is to remove and put back on when you have to add air to the tires?

Thanks in advance ...
 
The sticky pad is like other sticky pads in that there is so adhesive required but is a rubber mat with a coating that makes it adhere to surfaces. It comes right off on the black dashboard but I notice it sticks more to the wood trim

The sensors screw on and replace your tire caps. There is an anti-theft ring that screws onto the valve caps first, you then place the sensor on, and then back out the ring until it stops against the sensor. You tighten with an included wrench. This would be an extra step when wanting to add air to the tire. You can also install without the anti-theft ring. In this case, your sensor acts in place of your valve caps.
 
I like to keep my tires tweaked up to 36 psi cold pressure, and since it will be necessary to remove the sensors to add air each time, I think I would just forego the use of the anti-theft ring. The inconvenience of using a wrench to loosen the ring, then screwing the sensors off and on again frequently is not very appealing to me. I also wonder how really "locking" the anti-theft rings would be. It looks like a firm counterclockwise twist of the sensor would loosen it from the ring pretty easily, but maybe it works differently than I think.

With the price of $80 for the whole package, it doesn't seem like a thief would bother with stealing just the sensors, which are useless by themselves, but I suppose it could happen.
 
vicw said:
I like to keep my tires tweaked up to 36 psi cold pressure, and since it will be necessary to remove the sensors to add air each time, I think I would just forego the use of the anti-theft ring. The inconvenience of using a wrench to loosen the ring, then screwing the sensors off and on again frequently is not very appealing to me. I also wonder how really "locking" the anti-theft rings would be. It looks like a firm counterclockwise twist of the sensor would loosen it from the ring pretty easily, but maybe it works differently than I think.

With the price of $80 for the whole package, it doesn't seem like a thief would bother with stealing just the sensors, which are useless by themselves, but I suppose it could happen.
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Maybe worth installing actual TPMS sensors instead?
 
su_A_ve said:
Maybe worth installing actual TPMS sensors instead?
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That would be the most convenient option. The prices I'm seeing for that variety is waaay cheaper than what I paid not too long ago to have the set replaced on my old Odyssey.
 
vicw said:
That would be the most convenient option. The prices I'm seeing for that variety is waaay cheaper than what I paid not too long ago to have the set replaced on my old Odyssey.
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I had one go bad in my old Accord. At the time, I had purchased the tires at Sam’s Club so they would program it for free but could only bring my own if it was OEM. Think I paid about $20 instead of the $50 they wanted.

I may get one of these now and get internal ones, when the time comes to replace the tires.
 
On the Clarity, do these sensors project out beyond the edge of the tires? I'm wondering if they could likely make contact with or be damaged or broken by a curb abrasion.
 
These sensors do not protude out and you would damage your sidewall before damaging these sensors imho.
 
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I just got me one of these. Thanks for the recommendation @AL-B

Question. What is a good temperature limit to set the alarm for? Ambient temperature here right now is 85 and I just drove about 30 miles with it reading in the 90s, so I set it to 120.
 
weave said:
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I just got me one of these. Thanks for the recommendation @AL-B

Question. What is a good temperature limit to set the alarm for? Ambient temperature here right now is 85 and I just drove about 30 miles with it reading in the 90s, so I set it to 120.
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I left mine at the default of 158F. I assume that alert was for catastrophic failure since you're more likely to see pressure steadily going down vs temperature.

I've experimented with various places to put the display unit and I've actually found right in front of me on the instrument cluster hump just above the steering wheel. I thought it might block my view or be distracting but found I don't have to take my eyes off the road to look at it and doesn't block my view at all.
 
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