Replacement tires for 300C AWD, where iarethe pressure sensors?

I'm about to replace the tires on my 300C AWD. Where are the pressure
sensors located? Do I have to be concerned that the tire people will mess
them up or that they will remove them?

Also does anyone have any opinions about brands? I'm leaning towards the
Michelin - Primacyâ„¢ MXV4 because that's what Costco is selling but if
something is noticeably better.

BTW I only have 33K on the car but the Continentals that it came with have
the life expectancy of a mayfly. I got notice of a class action settlement
on them but it was limited to < 30K miles.

 

The Primacy MXV4 is at the top of this list:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS

(Grand Touring All Season)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Primacy+MXV4

It's tied with the General Altimax HP:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+HP

The MXV4 appears to be a relatively new tire (based on the survey
milage).

The Bridgestone Turanza Serenity and Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge are also
highly rated in that catagory.

The MXV4 is a relatively expensive tire (at Tirerack.com). Prices vary
$140 - $180 depending on size (I don't know what the 300C has for
tire-size but I'm thinking 17 or 18"). If I was going to shell out $150
for a tire it certainly wouldn't be for a "Grand Touring" type.

The General Altimax is significantly cheaper ($80 - $100).

What size do you need - and what is Costco selling it for?

 

Costco is selling them for $173 but there is an $80 coupon this week so it
comes to $153, that includes installation, balancing and lifetime services.

What about my tire sensor question?

 

I replaced our 300M's original tires by Primacy MXV4s last November,
just a couple of days before our first snow. They seem a little noisier
and harder than the originals, but they are fine. I didn't have any
problems with last winter's snow and ice, but I wouldn't call myself an
over-enthusiastic driver (the fact that the original Michelin tires made
it to near enough 70K miles should be an indication). Purchased them
from TireTack and had them shipped to a nearby installer.

Costco's current price (with the coupon) is better than the price I
paid. I don't think Costco had the Primacy tires when I needed them.

Perce

 

$150 is way too expensive for a lo-performance, hi-milage touring tire.

Why don't you look at the General Altimax HP?

http://www.300cforums.com/forums/wheel-tire-discussion/19442-tire-pressure-sensors.html

Useful information from that post below. Take-home message:

1) Most 300C's have this tire pressure system.

2) Sensors are located in valve stem.

3) Sensors have integrated battery that will eventually run down.

4) Driving the car without a sensor will cause irritating warning signal
from dash board.

5) Replacement sensors will cost at least $40 each.

Executive summary:

Chrysler 300C tire replacement just got $40 more expensive (per tire).
Extra cost is the valve stem.

Still want to buy those $150 costco tires???

-----------
May - July, 2006

Question: Do you have to have the sensors? Whats happens if you dont
have them? Will it just show up as a check engine light, or just not
give me the tire pressure?

Answer: Yes, you have to have them if your vehilce has them installed.
You can not disable the EVIC to not let you know that your wheels have
no air in them. You will get a display on your left side of your dash
with what kinda looks like the bottom cut away of a tire that is low and
a dinging from the dash that you can not disable, not even with a
StarScan. If want to see what it is let some air out of your one of your
tires below about 27 pounds and take it for a drive and you will see. It
is very annoying.

Question: How much do these sensors cost?

Answer: I purchased mine for Mopar Superstore, paid $29.500 each plus a
little freight. The local 5 star stealerships wanted $49.00 each plus
special order charges. List is only like $42.00 each.

Question: Do all 300C's have these sensors?

Answer: The first half of 2005 production did not have this feature so
not all 300C's need to be concerned.

Question: I have new wheels on order and need to get an extra set. Are
the sensors located in the valve stem or how are they installed?

Answer: Yes, the sensors are an intergal part of the valve stems. The
major part of them goes inside the wheel.

Question: How do these work? Are they pre-programmed to work on a
specific vehicle? Are they keyed to a specific location? I know there
are sensors in the wheelwells but if we rotate the tires, will the EVIC
show the correct readings?

Answer: Rotating the tire has no effect on the sensors. They use a close
distance wireless signal to communicate with the receivers. When I
ordered mine they asked for my VIN# to get the right sensors. They may
have several different frequencies that they use thus the need for the
VIN# to identify the frequencies you car uses.

I had one sensor changed, and the EVIC showed that wheel as 0 when I
drove. However it did see the sensor for it. At a traffic light, I
turned the car off, opened the door (some of the systems don't shut down
until you do that) then closed it and restarted and it took the new
sensor in to the EVIC and reported correctly. Smart system. I have the
sensors in both my wheel sets and the new wheels took just fine.

I was told that the sensors are designed to be replaced when the tires
are replaced. They are sealed units, so the battery will die eventually
and isn't replacable (easily). They are activated when the wheel's
spinning at a certain rate. (Saves on battery)

 

Uuugh.

Driving on snow with hard, high-milage (and expensive!) touring tires.

Nothing beats a set of dedicated snow tires for winter. Save your
factor rims for the other seasons.

I'm very happy with the Yokohama Advan S.4 on my 300m. The selection of
225/55-17 high-performance summer tires isin't large, hence why I chose
the Advan's. Price is about the same as the MXV4.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=ADVAN+S.4.

 

That seems to be what they cost. The NTB store is selling them for $179,
the Goodyear Assurance for $152 and the Continental for $157. Obviously
I'm never going to buy Continentals again, 30K miles on a set of modern
tires is inexcusable. I've always had good luck wit Goodyears so that's a
possibility.

 

I got the Michelin's at Costco, I'm pretty happy with them, the car is
definitely handling better then it was. BTW the Costco price is all
inclusive, it includes putting them on, tire disposal, balance, lifetime
rotation and balancing, road hazard insurance and nitrogen (not that
that's worth anything). All of those things are extra for the tire
dealers. Costco came in at $630 for the set (with the coupon), NTP
couldn't to better than $725 and Sullivan quoted $775 plus $18 a tire for
road hazard insurance.

 

TireRack had only expensive alloy wheels for this car. Mo cheapie steel
wheels for use with snow tires.

Perce

 

You haven't said what size, but you can buy the Cooper CS4 - an
excellent touring tire - all day long for $110 (grand total out-the door
price) in 225/60-16 and similar common sizes.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

No reason why you can't buy winter rims from another source - unless the
300C has an odd wheel size.

I think I've remarked in the past that Chrysler chose a particularly
expensive tire and wheel size for the 300C.

I paid $35 each for steel winter rims for my 300m back about 5 years
ago...

Even though my 300m came with 17" rims, I put 16" steel rims on the
front, and 15" steel rims on the back for winter tires (I wanted taller
and narrower snow tires).

 

To each his own. You could have done better.

After how many miles so far???

5? 25?

When your pressure sensors run down and you need to replace them, will
costco swap in new ones for free?

 

Are you asking if Costco would do the labor on sensor replacements for
free, I doubt it. I can't imagine anybody doing that. I assume that when I
need new sensors I'll have the Chrysler dealer put them in.

The fact is that it was a hell of a deal compared to everybody else. It's
also more convenient for doing the tire rotations since I do all my
shopping there anyway. If you figure that the tires should last 5 years, a
twice a year rotation would be worth about $300.

 

You probably know, or at least found out the hard way, that 15" wheels
will not clear the brake calipers on the front.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

If you are happy with the deal, then that is all that matters. For the
record, I have found Michelin to be expensive, but the best value for my
money since I hang onto cars for around 12 years. The last set of Michelins
lasted 60K+ miles on my Minivan and they still had some tread left after 6
years. The Goodyear Eagles they replaced were completely bald at less than
3 years and 32K miles.

Bob

 

I'm making a sarcastic comment that (a) Chrysler did a bone-head thing
by not allowing owners to deactivate the pressure sensor system, and (b)
that by not installing new sensors that you too will soon experience the
joy of dealing with the system and forking out more money to install
them on your mediocre new tires.

You paid too much for what are low-performance tires.

Getting a good deal on shit still means you have shit.

Wait till you factor in paying for someone having to pop the tires off
the rims to install new pressure sensors. Have you factored in that
cost?

A floor jack and 1/2 hour of my time in the spring and fall and I've
swapped my tires.

Can't change your own tires???

 

No, that's not all that matters.

He may have gotten the lowest price around for installing a set of
shitty tires, but for the same price he could have gotten much better
tires.

Bragging that you drive around on bald tires isin't necessarily
flattering...

 

Not can't, won't. I have no interest in doing any type of automobile
maintenance myself, not even oil changes. In my youth I did my own
tuneups, which was back in the era that you did tuneups every spring and
fall, but I stopped doing that when traded in my 72 Maverick for my 80
Chevy Citation (what a piece of crap that car was). I did my own oil
changes until the mid 90s but with the advent of 10 minute oil change
places I stopped doing that also. The only thing I still do myself is
build my own computers, and I do that for fun not to save money.

 

MoPar Man,

Thanks for sharing your opinions on shitty tires, top posting, quote
inclusion, and your outlook on life!

For the record, I wasn't bragging about getting 32K milers out of my OEM
Goodyear Eagle tires either, just noting my poor experience.

Bob

 

if i were you I'd trust those quick lube places as far as i could throw
them......