I think that the TPS should be on all models. This is a safety feature since the tires can get flat and you cant really tell without experience. I will confess I do worry about this Myself so I do have insurance coverage that allows for towing as well as the roadside coverage. I new when I bought the crossfire there was no spare. (2 different tire sizes so which size is spare?). Also This is not the only sports care that does not have a spare. I know you are mad at the dealer and the car, but actually it was something on the road or a bad tire.

 

Even having a spare may be of no use. I had a Chrysler Conquest which also had a staggered footprint. It came with a "limited use" spare that didn't match either of the tire sizes on the car. If you were desperate enough to use it, you quickly found that it caused one corner of the car to be much lower than the others and the car would drag if you hit any kind of bump. Only really useful if you really liked sparks.

 

I lost a tire (Michelin) on mine in much the same manner as you described. I felt a rhythmic thumping that I attributed to road noise. If the TPS came on I never saw it. My first real indication that I had trouble was when I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that I was trailing a thin wisp of gray smoke. I was on I294 at the time and literally cut the tire off the rim before I got it stopped in a safe place. Road Side Assistance proved to be of no assistance. I just went ahead and dealt with the problem and settled up with Chrysler later. This was in March of '04. At the time it took 5 days to get a replacement tire. In the end all was happiness and joy but it was real aggravation there for awhile.

 

Hmm...sounds like it's definitely better to get AAA or roadside through your insurance instead of Chrysler. Good to know, since I've been itching to get a crossfire for a while now.

 

well, I have coverage from the insurance company, but they just reimburse anything. But the fact that I was over 150 miles from home I don't think even my insurance company would approve the car be towed that far. Also it was my first time having to use the roadside assistance. 5 days? I hope not. I talked to the dealership and of course they don't have the tire. I know I should be able to get a rental, but usually u get the rental from where the car is.

 

I have posted some pics of the tire, in the picture gallery: https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...php/photo/2637

 

A Chrysler engineer in a magazine article said, they tried run flats on the car but the ride was so bad on them that they chose not to go that way. I doubt if you can get the right size anyway. But I would not recommend getting run flats because of the ride issues.

 

The TPS (Tire Pressure System/Sensor) is not going to be able to inform you that you are going to have a blowout... however, it should let you know, after the fact, that you have low pressure and should let you know that you have low pressure in a tire. Low pressure can cause increased heat in the tread and lead to sidewall failure or rim damage.

I tested each of my sensors one Saturday by lowering the pressure in each tire, one by one, and then seeing if the sensor worked and then re-inflating the tire and making sure the sensor reset.

At times it can take up to 5 minutes for the sensor to see a low tire or to "erase" the low pressure after the inflation is corrected. I suspect that the "polling" interval for the TPS system may be in the 5 or 6 minute range for each tire but I am not sure about that.

Has anyone else tried this?

As an aside, I will soon be putting on my winter rims and tires. These do not have the TPS sensors so I will be running blind for the winter... I do have AAA towing and roadside assistance and they are very dependable in my area. Both my Cobra replica and the Crossfire are without spares so AAA fills a need. They also provide flat beds if asked which is important in the case of my Cobra.

 

Last time I filled the air I left the car running and the light went right out?
I did it that way because after trying to fill it up a few minutes earlier, when I restarted the car, the light did not go out and had there not been someone behind me to get air I would have stayed and got it right. I figured after doing my shopping I'd go back to the station and that's when I left the car running, I added 1 lb of air to the station gauge and watched the light go out when I hit the fourth tire. My guess was the pump pressure was off so when I set it for 33 I was getting something less than that.

Pat

 

Yeah the TPMS doesn't detect RAPID TIRE PRESSURE LOSS that is associated with a blow out or sudden puncture. Its stated in your manual. I have a lease and Daimler Chrysler Roadside has always sent me a flatbed everytime I broke down with my XFire without a problem free of charge towing.

As for the extended warranty on tires, well that's CRAP. I was offered the same thing when i got mine and I looked at the fine print on the reverse side and it stated that it will only cover up to a $200 per tire. I looked at the finance guy and asked him are you sure they will cover the tire and he stated, that they would, however I told him that the rear XFire tires are about $300 and that the contract would only satisfy $200. At that point he just got real quiet and that was the end of it. Alot of those extended warranties on tires are not for specialty cars with specialty tires like the XFire they are more designed around for the regular chrysler cars like the sebring and minivans etc... They don't cover blowouts unless its attributable to a faulty design but however they will always classify your blowout as a OVER INFLATED or UNDER INFLATED issue or a HAZARD. And if they cover it you have to pay it up front first and then they reimburse you about 4 to 6 weeks later along with a trail of paperwork.

All I can say is buy a front 18" rim on ebay with a tire and when you go on long trip carry it in the trunk with you as a safety precaution. Reason for 18" not 19" is due to a 19" XFire rim will not properly fit in the front, however a 18" will fit in front or back.

 

That's not true...when I put a gash in the sidewall of my right rear 4 months after I got the car, the road hazard paid for the new tire ($360 on the invoice), mounting, balancing, and alignment for the rear wheels. The only thing I paid for was an alignment on the front 2 wheels because I wanted/needed it.

 

ALL ROAD HAZARD WARRANTIES ARE NOT THE SAME... So i don't know where you come with the statement that it's not true. Your extended tire guard might have covered yours with no problem, but the one that my dealer was offering me was only covering $200 per tire clearly stated in the fine print on the reverse side.

 

Ok. I purchased the road hazard for $219 that the dealership suggested during all the paperwork to get the car. It covers the OEM tires on the car (the continental A/S) and any wheel damage for 3 year/36,000 miles (on the odometer, not tire...it will cover a replaced identical tire as well as the one from original purchase). I believe it is something through "Mr. Tire", but the paper is in the car. I do know that their main place is in FL. It doesn't matter now anyway because I have different tires on the car with their own road hazard.

 

i had a similar problem when i hit a lump of metal lying on the road. it put a big bubble on the front sidewall of my michelin tire. i was also 150 miles from home. i drove carefully at under 50 mph so as not to cause any strain on the tire just to make it back home. this was 2 am on sat night, always the most inconvenient of times.
anyway the tire was replaced. i got 2 goodyear eagles which are proving to be a good choice in the wet and dry. at the time i had many concerns about weather to buy runflats, which are available for our crossfires (see the web) or weather to get a spare. i have gone with the spare off a merc, small, designed to get you home. thats all you need cause there is always some stuff in my trunk (boot). try a breakers yard for one, crossfire stuff is more expensive than the car.
incidentally, anyone got any idea why we have a jack and wheel brace if we don't have a spare wheel to change?

 

The jack is there for if/when you use the tire repair kit with the car. I wasn't really upset with the flat tire, sh*t happens, but the service that I received from chrysler was inexcusable in my opinion. What if I was driving across country, then what? How would I get my car back? Bad enough I had to drive all the way back up and back again just to get my car back. And when I picked it up, it wasn't even washed. I got my car back filthy, looked like mud rained down on the car and dried. That made me pissed too. Yeah I didn't buy my car from that dealer, but come on. Your going to give me my car back dirtier than when it went in? Chrysler should of worked something out to get my car closer to home. And the fact that they said we'll take you to the dealer, but then you'll have to probably find somewhere to stay. Gee thanks. A small town in the middle of Wisconsin, at 3 am in the morning, 150 miles from home.

 

Just ran over a razor blade yesterday, I got home right before the tire went flat. I have 10k miles on my Crossfire. A friend took me to a Chrysler dealer. They told me that a new tire would cost $342.00 and labor of putting it on would make the total of $385.00. The service guy said i would only need one and that it will balance ok with the other tire. I went to tirerack.com and the can do it all for $175.00! Plus they would shave the new tire down to match the old tire. I have to agree with you I do not have good impressions with Chrysler service and they definitely have crappy customer service. I went from Acura treating you VERY well, to Chrysler who acts like it is and inconvenience and bother to talk to you or service your car!!!

 

Shave down the tyre? Never heard of that in the UK. At $175 I would just get both changed - seems cheap, what tyres are they?

 

What is a Tyre?

 

Why on earth would you shave down a tyre (tire)? Makes no sense for it to be equally worn like the one on the car??? Just replace both for the price of one at the dealer.

 

tyre that's the proper spelling of tire.