2014 Nissan Sentra rim got bent--has tire pressure sensor

[diesel4me]

My sisters 2014 Sentra got a rim bent by a pothole--tire seems OK but its a lease car,and she's upset thinking she has to go to the dealer to get a rim,and get screwed over..otherwise they'll bend her over later when the lease is up..she also lost a hub cap somewhere,probably came off when she hit the pothole--told her kiss it goodbye--even if you found it,most likely it'll be cracked and will never stay on...(and I bet ONE will cost a lot at a dealer--told her a boneyard is cheaper)..

I dont know much about newer vehicles but I do know this car has low tire pressure sensors and I am not sure if you can just get a salvage yard rim and put it on,and have the TPMS system work,I tried googling, and far as I can tell every sensor the car came with is "matched" to the ECM and it can also tell what position the tire is on the car--right front,etc..and you'll have to go somewhere that has a scanner that can "reset" the sensors to allow them to be compatible with the car..OR ,swap the original sensor to the new rim,IF that one isn't faulty or gets ruined during removal....

Geesh...I doubt I'll ever own a car newer than the 90's--screw all this sophisticated electronic bull ...when it comes to the point you cant just put on a rim that fits ,without spending 200 bucks,I guess its time to go back a few decades..it is just getting ridiculous..they think up more ways to screw us every day,I swear..

 

[K85 Octane]

Can you fix the rim?
Also, the TPMS sensor can be swapped to the new rim. Find one on CList with a hubcap (cause who wants to keep rims and hubcaps?) and swap the sensor. Done

 

[diesel4me]

I haven't seen the rim,she lives 70 miles away..
If it were my car I'd just try to bend the rim back with an adjustable wrench and a hammer if its not that bent--or get a boneyard one..and hope I could find one matching hub cap..

I hear the sensors break easily and often though,when tires get dismounted--and you cant really "guess" where its located ,so the tire machine's bead breaker destroys them often..a new sensor is at least 50 bucks--so a simple flat tire on a car like this now can cost 100-200 bucks to get back on the road ?...total ripoff....

I hate this type of un-nessasary BS they are forcing upon us..what was so bad about LOOKING at the tires to see if they were inflated fully before driving away ?..yeah,I know--no one bothers !--but what good are the sensors if half the time they fail to work,or display "low tire" constantly and the tire is full ?...or they come on the minute your tire blows --some "warning"..just more over complication and expense for no good reason..

 

[runamok151]

Was her vehicle disabled and were the police called when it happened? If not, get some pics of the pot hole and make an incident w/ the local police. Get it fixed and bill the municipality. They are responsible for keeping the roads safe for vehicles.

 

[diesel4me]

No,she didn't even realize there was any damage until a passenger noted one hub cap was missing..the rim had a 4" section "squared off" at the bead..tire never lost pressure,and the sensor light isn't on..

She did call a dealer yesterday and the parts guy said a new steel rim is like 70 bucks,and a sensor would be roughly the same--but he suggested as long as the original sensor seems undamaged,she could simply have a garage bend or hammer the rim back into shape and live with it--it'll probably still balance OK and drive smooth by the sounds of it..meanwhile I'll be keeping an eye out for a used rim and hubcap at boneyards..

As far as suing the city for damages--good luck--thousands of drivers try to get reimbursed for damages caused by potholes,construction,etc,and few succeed..you cant fight city hall in most cases,unless your willing to spend more than you'll recover IF you end up winning...