Spare tire mounted upside down?

I just got a 2017 SR access cab a couple weeks ago. I was crawling around trying to see if I have TPMS (I don't) when I noticed that the spare tire is mounted in such a way that you cannot check the air pressure without lowering it. Is that right? Seems odd to mount that way, I can think of no benefit to it. I lowered it and mounted it the "proper" way and it fits just fine.
Are all of them mounted wrong?

John Z

 

You do have TPMS. Don't know whay you expected to see crawling around, sensors are in the wheels as part of the valve stem assembly.

See if the spare will fit properly when flippped so the stem is down. If not, buy a 12" valve stem extension, install it and route thru the wheel so you can keep air correct. I've had one on my '04 Highlander since new.

 

I was looking for stickers on the wheels that say "caution, TPM sensor" or some such verbiage. There are none that I've found. Do ALL 17's have TPMS? My truck is a base model, with the only option being the utility package. There is no place on my dash display for it either, unless it's just a caution light.

As far as mounting the spare properly, I did, and it fits fine.

 

My 2007 has sensors in all 5 wheels. If my spare gets low the TPMS light comes on. This was changed at some point after 2007.

As far as I know ALL spare tires are mounted that way. My F-150 is as well as all previous trucks are like that.

It is possible to get a tire gauge on the spare. You just have to be a little flexible.

 

No stickers.

No sensor in spare, just in the 4 on ground.

Check out your owners manual to learn how it works.

 

My owner's manual says "if equipped".

 

TREAD act. All new vehicles sold in US must be equipped with TPMS, so your truck has it. Whether or not the spare does....

 

Spare doesn't.

 

You can prove it 1 or more of 4 simple ways.

Look at the valve stem. TPMS are not like traditional rubber stems.

Let 6 lbs of air out of one tire. The light will come on when you meet the driving conditions required

Look unnder the dash and find the reset button.

Turn your key 'on' and the warning icon shown in your manual will illuminate as part of the test cycle.

My 13 base 5 lug, the lowest of the low, has it. And I've never seen a nanny system discontinued once implemented

 

So those with a full size matched wheel spare, are they not using TPMS in that spare?

I'm asking because I just got 5 new wheels for my gen2 but this thread is newish and seems fairly relevant.

 

My old 08 also had a Sensor in the Spare.

 

I just got a full sized matched wheel spare last weekend. Opted for a standard valve since the spare doesn't have tpms.

As mentioned earlier, if you're unsure if your spare has tpms or not lower the pressure down to 20-25 psi and check for a warning light on the dash.

 

the reason spare rims are mounted that way is so the face of the wheel is not facing the ground to damage the face from road debris. this is more for the vehicles that have a nice wheel as a spare.

 

the spare on my 2015 ortdr has a tpms in the spare, found out by light coming on, checked the 4 on the ground, all good, checked the spare, it was low, put air in, light goes out after a short drive. ask dealer, yes it has tpms on the spare

 

pretty much this
but it is so when you drop it, you can get the hook out

if the face of the wheel was facing down, when you drop the tire it's harder
to unhook it or rehook it if it's in the dirt

 

Plus the valve stem is protected by facing up too.

 

It is protected, but also inaccessible.
I've flipped my spare so that I can check/add air to it easily.

 

I've always flipped them around. Why Toyota did that, who knows?

 

Mine was flipped that way after i got a flat and had to use my spare. I didnt know it until i started to hear rattling a day after. Found it to be a bit loose, and i tightened her up. Two days later, same thing... I ended up flipping it back to the way it said in the manual and no more issues with it coming loose.

 

Most all spares come from the factory (not just Toyota, but all trucks) "upside down". And all vehicles sold in the US since 2008 are required to have TPMS. Though not all systems use sensors in the wheels. A lot of European cars use the wheel speed sensors to detect when a tire loses air.