Does my spare tire have a pressure sensor or just the four mounted tires?

I have a 2019 Tacoma SR Access Cab that I haven't driven much since I bought it new, and now my tire pressure warning light is coming on even though the pressure is good in all of my tires. Apparently the pressure sensor batteries are failing, which makes sense since the truck is 6 years old. The tire tread is still good so it looks like I'll have to have the sensors replaced even though I don't need new tires.

My spare tire is the same as the other four but the wheel is different. It's black with several round holes instead of the usual silver color with five spokes, and has a sticker that says "Temporary use only". Is that because the spare has no pressure sensor? If not then what's the reason?

 

No, the truck can only store 4 sensors at a time. The spare is just a regular valve stem.

 

Okay, thanks! I was upset when I found the spare had a different wheel, but since the "TPMS" is considered a safety feature my guess is that Toyota did that to discourage driving on a tire that has no sensor.

At any rate, I have a stock wheel like the one in the attached photo coming from a seller on eBay and I plan to have my spare tire mounted on it, so I'll have two choices: I can have my sensors replaced, or I can put up with the warning light until the time comes to replace my tires. According to research I did, I can't kill the dashboard warning light without taking the dashboard apart and cutting a wire.

 

I would post in your regional forum to see if anyone has a

$219 Autel TS501 PRO, 2025 TPMS Programming Tool Same as TS508, Up of TS501 TS408S, Relearn Activate 99% TPMS Sensors, Program Autel MX-Sensor 315/433MHz, TPMS Reset & Diagnostics, Lifetime Update

Autel TS501 or TS508 (there are others as well but those are the ones I'm familiar with). They can read your sensors and see what one(s) aren't responding. You can break the bead with a jack and replace the sensor in your garage and then fill the tire back up without needing a tire shop at all. As long as both beads aren't broke, you shouldn't need a new balance either. Then use the Autel to re-learn the new sensor and you are out nothing but $25 for a sensor and a beer or three for the Autel rental.

 

My 07 has a sensor in the spare. I'm thinking 2008 or maybe 2009 was the last year.

New sensors run $40-$60 for a set of 4 on Amazon. Most of them last 7-10 years but I've heard of some lasting 12-14. I started buying them and taking them to the tire store before buying new tires. I replace mine with every other set of tires which works out to about every 6-7 years. Any tire store will install them at no extra cost if you're buying tires. They charge $10-$15 to install them if not buying tires. They might last longer than 6 years, but if I let them die on me it's double the cost to get them replaced. It's cheaper in the long run to replace them early.

If you're close to needing new tires you may want to just wait. And it's worth $10-$15 per tire to pay someone else than try it myself.

And I strongly recommend that you keep working sensors. It only costs about the same as a tank of gas every 6-7 years. They don't replace an air gauge but warn you of a sudden tire deflation while driving. I've hit unseen road debris that punched a sizeable hole in tires twice. The warning light gave me just enough time to get to the shoulder and stopped before they went completely flat.

 

Good advice, but I'll still need a tire shop to remove and remount my spare tire on the wheel I ordered from the eBay seller.

And I live in a condo development where I not only lack a garage, I'm restricted from working on my vehicle in the parking lot. So at this point I'm leaning toward having my four sensors replaced and hoping the shop won't charge me more to also do the wheel swap.

 

Definitely harder to do much in those constraints. Make sure you get the TPMS sensors for steel wheels and not aluminum.