Winter Tyres?

[cgwilkinson]

I decided to fit winter tyres to my Outlander PHEV (UK July 2014 model) in preparation for travelling to the Alps this winter and having researched the options decided to go for a separate set of 16 inch wheels for the winter tyres to make it easier to swap between winter and summer tyres. I plan to keep the car for a long time so it seemed worth investing in a separate set of wheels and it is better than keeping swapping tyres on and off the original alloy wheels. I was aware of the new European regulations regarding mandatory tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new cars from Nov 2014 so checked to see if a TPMS was fitted to my PHEV. There is no mention of TPMS in any of the manuals that came with the vehicle and from online research I understood that PHEVs with TPMS have a software setting in the setting configuration screen to switch between two sets of TPMS sensors and I had no reference to TPMS on any of the settings menu options on the car.

Having swapped over the wheels I now have a TPMS warning indicator displayed! OK drat! So now I will need to go and buy a second set of TPMS sensors and have then fitted them to the new wheels!

Oh if only life was that simple! According to the Mitsubishi service centre the UK model PHEV does not have a system setting to allow you to change between two set of wheel TPMS sensors because winter tyres are not very common in the UK! So according to Mitsubishi UK every time I want to switch between the two sets of wheels I will need to take my car into a Mitsubishi garage for them to re-programme the TPMS system using their diagnostic system at a cost of £50 each time!

 

[jaapv]

I decided to fit winter tyres to my Outlander PHEV (UK July 2014 model) in preparation for travelling to the Alps this winter and having researched the options decided to go for a separate set of 16 inch wheels for the winter tyres to make it easier to swap between winter and summer tyres. I plan to keep the car for a long time so it seemed worth investing in a separate set of wheels and it is better than keeping swapping tyres on and off the original alloy wheels. I was aware of the new European regulations regarding mandatory tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new cars from Nov 2014 so checked to see if a TPMS was fitted to my PHEV. There is no mention of TPMS in any of the manuals that came with the vehicle and from online research I understood that PHEVs with TPMS have a software setting in the setting configuration screen to switch between two sets of TPMS sensors and I had no reference to TPMS on any of the settings menu options on the car.

Having swapped over the wheels I now have a TPMS warning indicator displayed! OK drat! So now I will need to go and buy a second set of TPMS sensors and have then fitted them to the new wheels!

Oh if only life was that simple! According to the Mitsubishi service centre the UK model PHEV does not have a system setting to allow you to change between two set of wheel TPMS sensors because winter tyres are not very common in the UK! So according to Mitsubishi UK every time I want to switch between the two sets of wheels I will need to take my car into a Mitsubishi garage for them to re-programme the TPMS system using their diagnostic system at a cost of £50 each time!

If I were you I would have them remove the sensors to disable the Mitsubishi system and fit a Steelmate system, where you can simply swop the sensors at a wheel change.

 

[cgwilkinson]

Update:
I went ahead and purchased a set of the Steelmate sensors for my other car (Renault Megane CC) which has no built in TPMS. I can certainly recommend this system (Steelmate TP-70 DIY) as being an easy to fit compact system. I had mine fully fitted and up and running in less than 10 minutes!

As far as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is concerned I finally got the confirmation I was looking for from both Colt UK HQ and Celtic Mitsubishi that it is indeed possible on the UK model to switch between two sets of wheels (winter/summer) without having to have the sensors re-programmed at each switch over by the Mitsubishi dealer. The orginal dealer, the one I actually purchased the car through, had given me totally incorrect information. They also could not even be bothered to try to help find the right solution they just attempted to direct me to a 'Colt Technical Team' helpline charged at £1/per minute. A few minutes of googling found me a non premium contact number for Mitsubishi (Colt) UK Customer Services who were really helpful and restored the trust orginally lost by the dealership I bought the car through. Kerry (Ceri?) at Celtic Mitsubishi was also extremely helpful and actually took the trouble to go away and help find the answer to my questions even though the car was not purchased through Celtic Mitsubishi. So I have now ordered a set of 4 original Mitsubishi TPMS sensors from Celtic Mitsubishi, my local independent garage will fit them when they arrive and then I just need to find a competent 'local' Mitsubishi dealer, who knows what they are talking about, to programme the new sensors to the car as the 'second set' of sensors. This is one off process and once done switching between the two sets of wheels is very simply achieved using the combination meter/setting button in the car.

The original confusion was caused by the total lack of any documentation whatsoever in the user manual/handbook that came with the vehicle. Once I had obtained the relevant documentation and I knew what I was looking far I found the relevent settings in the combination meter settings very quickly. As far as I can see this facility is available in all specification versions of the PHEV.

Hopefully the above information is helpful to others grappling with the same issue.

 

[gobiman]

Thank you for that - very helpful and exactly what the forum is for!
I go to the Alps 2/3 times a year (went end-Nov) and I'll still use my old X5 this year but will be winterizing the PHEV for next year.
Do let us know how you get on. Particularly interested in how the car/battery performs (low temps) given some of the comments elsewhere.
When I left 2 years ago in Feb, it was -27. No probs for me (petrol V8) other than one stuck/frozen rubber but lots of issues with some diesel cars similarly doing the return from half-term week.
I hope you find a friendly local who allows you to plug in and do some pre-heating.

 

[jaapv]

If you get under -20 the manual clearly states that you should leave the car plugged in overnight to heat the battery. If it gets to -30 it probably won't start unless you leave it plugged in. Take a long extension cord .

 

[Hunda67]

Hi,

Since I live in the far North and just picked up my new car yesterday I would like to have two sets of wheels for winter and summer tyres.

Does anyone have any advice on where to get a spare set of wheels? Do they need to be 18" wheels as is on the car now? Can I just by a set of TMPS sensors from my Mitsubishi dealer, get him to program the car for them and then have my local tyre fitter fit some winter tyres and the sensors? (I'm not sure how complicated the sensors are to fit to the wheels).

Thanks.

 

[maddogsetc]

Hi,

Since I live in the far North and just picked up my new car yesterday I would like to have two sets of wheels for winter and summer tyres.

Does anyone have any advice on where to get a spare set of wheels? Do they need to be 18" wheels as is on the car now? Can I just by a set of TMPS sensors from my Mitsubishi dealer, get him to program the car for them and then have my local tyre fitter fit some winter tyres and the sensors? (I'm not sure how complicated the sensors are to fit to the wheels).

Thanks.

Take the time to read through this thread fully, there are people who have posted where they bought their winter wheels and tyres on here, but it's probably a dozen or so pages back. I think you'll find the answer to your TPMS questions are here too.

 

[greendwarf]

Hi,

Since I live in the far North and just picked up my new car yesterday I would like to have two sets of wheels for winter and summer tyres.

Does anyone have any advice on where to get a spare set of wheels? Do they need to be 18" wheels as is on the car now? Can I just by a set of TMPS sensors from my Mitsubishi dealer, get him to program the car for them and then have my local tyre fitter fit some winter tyres and the sensors? (I'm not sure how complicated the sensors are to fit to the wheels).

Thanks.

Take the time to read through this thread fully, there are people who have posted where they bought their winter wheels and tyres on here, but it's probably a dozen or so pages back. I think you'll find the answer to your TPMS questions are here too.

maddogsetc is right, you need to read more of this and the TPMS thread but the sensors are just special tyre valves with an RFID transmitter in them to tell the car if the pressure has dropped. They are not as robust as normal ones but most tyre fitters will be familiar with them.

 

[Hunda67]

Been away awhile but re-read the full thread and if anyone is interested I proceeded as follows:

Ordered a set of TPMS valves from my local Mitsubishi dealer - about £100.

Ordered a set of these wheels: http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/msw/19/silver/18-inch along with some winter tyres after sending them my TPMS valves. Wheels arrived with valves and tyres fitted and all for less than £900. They were very helpful every step of the way.

Only thing that was required to fit the wheels is a deep set 19mm socket - the cars standard tyre iron couldn't tighten up the wheelnuts fully with these wheels as the nuts are deeper set.

Will take the car later this week to my local dealer to add the second set of TPMS valves to the cars memory and that should be that.

 

[Bilbo59]

Nice wheels. How about posting a photo?

 

[MHS]

Been away awhile but re-read the full thread and if anyone is interested I proceeded as follows:

Ordered a set of TPMS valves from my local Mitsubishi dealer - about £100.

Are you talking £100 all in?

 

[Hunda67]

For photo: I have taken wheels off again for now - can't get to my dealer until next week now to have the TPMS programmed and the TPMS warning is annoying the wife! Will put them back on next week before going to the dealer and will post a photo then.

For cost of TPMS valves: about £100 for supply of 4 TPMS valves complete from the local Mitsubishi dealer - can't remember the exact price but it certainly wasn't more than a couple of £ either side of that. Programming he is going to do for free - he reckons it's a 5 minute job with the programming thing they have.

 

[user 258]

Ordered a set of these wheels: http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/msw/19/silver/18-inch

Also ordered these exact wheels from the same company but with Nokian winter tyres.

Only thing that was required to fit the wheels is a deep set 19mm socket - the cars standard tyre iron couldn't tighten up the wheelnuts fully with these wheels as the nuts are deeper set.

The company should have also sent you an adapter to enable the Mitsubishi wheel spanner (21mm) to work with the supplied wheel nuts which are 19mm. They forgot to send mine as well.

Also, don't assume the tyres are correctly inflated. One of mine was 15psi, one was 35psi, and the other two were 39psi.

The tyres are Nokian WR SUV 3. They did very well in reviews. They are a little nosier than the standard tyres at speeds below 30mph. They seem to have loads of grip but since I haven't had winter tyres before I have nothing to compare them to.

Picture below.

Kind regards,
Mark

 

[MHS]

Ordered a set of these wheels: http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/msw/19/silver/18-inch

Also ordered these exact wheels from the same company but with Nokian winter tyres.

Only thing that was required to fit the wheels is a deep set 19mm socket - the cars standard tyre iron couldn't tighten up the wheelnuts fully with these wheels as the nuts are deeper set.

The company should have also sent you an adapter to enable the Mitsubishi wheel spanner (21mm) to work with the supplied wheel nuts which are 19mm. They forgot to send mine as well.

Also, don't assume the tyres are correctly inflated. One of mine was 15psi, one was 35psi, and the other two were 39psi.

The tyres are Nokian WR SUV 3. They did very well in reviews. They are a little nosier than the standard tyres at speeds below 30mph. They seem to have loads of grip but since I haven't had winter tyres before I have nothing to compare them to.

Picture below.

Kind regards,
Mark

Hi I do think you should change your profile to say that you have 4 x Nokian WR SUV 3 winter tyres & spare alloys on your car. Otherwise you've got to be an accomplished stunt driver.

We put Dunlop Wintersport 4D on our original rims last week. I've got to have 4 - 6 weeks off work (and maybe driving too) following surgery, and Wendy is used to having winter tyres on our cars. She put her foot down if she was to be doing the driving!!

 

[mckajvah]

Collected my PHEV on friday with 225/65R17 Nokian Hakkapelitta 8 SUV studded tires

The size of this tire is almost 2 cm larger in diameter, making the car 1 cm higher from the ground. Haven't checked, but would think the speedo is fairly accurate now.
225/65R17 is standard in Norway on the Outlander according to seller.

The summer tires are the standard 225/55R18 from Toyo.

 

[Hypermiler]

Hi Mark/avensys

Those look great. Just looking into them now. Presume with our early registered phev we have no factory fitted TPMS so I won't have the problems some others have had with warnings/buying/fitting/calibrating a new set?
Cheers
H

 

[user 258]

Hi Mark/avensys
Those look great. Just looking into them now. Presume with our early registered phev we have no factory fitted TPMS so I won't have the problems some others have had with warnings/buying/fitting/calibrating a new set?
Cheers
H

Hi Hypermiler,
Correct, no TPMS issues. The alloys are £375 plus whatever tyres you want. My Nokian tyres and those wheels came in at about £1100.

What finally swung me over the winter tyres was that since I gave their purchase serious consideration, should I not buy them but subsequently have an accident I would be cursing myself for not buying them. Since I plan on keeping the car at least 3-5 years the cost of the alloys will be saved by not paying twice a year to have the tyres swapped as well as ending up with a spare wheel.

Kind regards,
Mark

 

[cgwilkinson]

Hi Hypermiler,

Just be careful you may actually have factory fitted TPMS on your PHEV without realising it. We got our PHEV in July 2014 and as there is no mention of TPMS in the manual we assumed we did not have it fitted to our PHEV. It was only when I went to get my new winter tyres fitted onto the second set of alloy wheels I had bought that I realised the original wheels did in fact have TPMS sensors fitted. Take a close look at the valve stems of the valves fitted to your original tyres, if the valve stem is metal then you almost certainly have TPMS valve fitted. Even when I tried to scroll through the car settings menu I did not spot the icon that relates to the tyre pressure warning system as unless you know what you are looking for it is not obvious what the symbol represents, but once you know what it is it is sort of obvious. The TPMS setting menu icon represents a cross section through the bottom part of a tyre sat on the ground with a exclamation mark in the middle of it (it also rather looks like a bare bum sat on the floor) with the word RESET beside it. When you are scrolling through the menu settings look out for the driving rest break warning setting (tea cup icon & word ALARM) followed by indicator warning bleep setting (two arrows with numbers 1 - 2 next to it) and then you will see the TPMS reset setting (the bare bum with the word RESET).

Hope the above is of help to you and others with early PHEVs where the manual does not contain any reference to the TPMS.

Best Regards,

Ged

 

[user 258]

Hi Hypermiler,

Just be careful you may actually have factory fitted TPMS on your PHEV without realising it. We got our PHEV in July 2014 and as there is no mention of TPMS in the manual we assumed we did not have it fitted to our PHEV. It was only when I went to get my new winter tyres fitted onto the second set of alloy wheels I had bought that I realised the original wheels did in fact have TPMS sensors fitted.

Hi,
I can confirm that after swapping my wheels for the new alloys I didn't get any TPMS errors. My car was delivered 1st July 2014. I think the original tyre valves are plastic.
Kind regards,
Mark

 

[Hypermiler]

Thanks very much for the tips guys. I have to admit I've never looked at the menus on the MMCS Is that something you access by pressing the start button without pressing the brake pedal? I will take a look at the valves too.
I've not taken the plunge yet - was going to call the garage to check the cost benefit of having the tyres on the wheels as it is a bit more expensive than getting the £375 alloys and then using say mytyres to get the actual tyres - not planning to swap them myself even if they do come ready fitted...
Cheers
H