Changing wheel sizes

[ChrisJohn]

OK.  I have had my reply - well sort of . . .

For the sake of the record I will now post my question and the answer from Toyota CS.  My original post on the blog was removed, presumably because I drew attention to the contradictory advice offered and pointed out by previous posters here.

Q. I have a new Auris TSS Hybrid Excel grade car that was supplied new with 17” wheels that are standard on that grade. I am looking at winter options and would prefer to fit 16”alloy  wheels, – the size that standard on most of the other grades of this car, with winter tyres.

Is it technically acceptable to fit 16” wheels on the Excel grade without compromising the vehicle’s integrity or warranty in any way?  If so, would you please advise the correct Toyota part number for the standard 16” wheel as my local Toyota dealer parts manager has been unable to identify it.  Failing that, would the fitting of any non Toyota OEM alloy wheels affect the warranty in any way provided, of course, they were the correct specification.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer.

 

A. 

The Excel grade is factory fitted with 17" wheels, and approved for driving on UK roads with same, so unfortunately we cannot recommend a different size wheel. We can offer a winter tyre for your 17" wheels which is a Yokohama 225/45R17 91H available through your Toyota dealer.

Jenny Shipley
Toyota Customer Relations Case Manager
 

Draw your own conclusions!  For the record. I have decided not to pursue things further. I would never forgive myself if I let my wife go out in the sort of winter conditions we usually get here in Scotland on the summer tyre fitted on the new car (Dunlop Sport FastResponse) so next week I will be fitting a set of Michelin Cross Climate + tyres which will probably stay on all the time. My Toyota dealer has price matched a much lower quote from elsewhere (as per Toyota's own stated offer). Anyone looking for an almost new set of 17" Dunlops going cheap, I am open to suggestions!  

[Heidfirst]

that is essentially the homologation argument/statement that I expected (I had been there with fitting 17"+55 profiles on my Avensis T Spirit instead of the 18" + 45 profiles that it came/was homologated on - it ran fine on 17" alloys from an Avensis T4 ).

[16_Auris_HSD]

What I find weird is that the homologation is always EU wide, this is because EU mandates that if a car is approved in one member state other member states have to approve it automatically and allow it to be registered without having to go through separate approval tests. They wouldn't do a separate type approval for one specific spec grade for one market. I smell BS, the only way to truly find out is to get Toyota to provide a copy of CoC.

[Heidfirst]

33 minutes ago, 16_Auris_HSD said:

They wouldn't do a separate type approval for one specific spec grade for one market. 

If the market is large enough it would appear that they do (if the parts have been previously approved it's presumably only a paperwork process to get type approval for a different combination).

[Thomas59]

Hi, I bought an Auris hybrid a year ago. Here in Belgium the Lounge varsion was only with 17” wheels :( However, I just checked, to be sure, that other versions, e.g. Comfort, can be ordered with 16”, you can easily checked in the toyota.be site.

Moreover, I have a set of 16” winter tyre set on steel wheels remained from my COV (2005) I “changed” with the dealer to this Auris. 

The only problem that there is no tpms in the old wheels. Now I bought a set of  sensors, the same as in the new car. The seller said, that these sensors are programmed already and good to this car, but there is a need for a teaching process.

My question is whether there is a need for a specific equipment/tool for this process, or a normal mechanican can fit and teach the car?

Or, I must bring the winter set to a tyre service with this specific tool? Thanks.

[16_Auris_HSD]

1 hour ago, Heidfirst said:

If the market is large enough it would appear that they do (if the parts have been previously approved it's presumably only a paperwork process to get type approval for a different combination).

Out of curiosity I checked German forums and they also discuss being unable to go for 16 inch wheels on a top spec hybrid because CoC doesn't list it. And there is no 16 inch option on toyota.de. But if you check toyota.nl all specifications start from 16 inch, that includes top spec HSD.

So I guess we can assume that for certain markets including UK it's not possible to downgrade. Which is a shame since I like the standard 16 inch wheels.

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, Thomas59 said:

The only problem that there is no tpms in the old wheels. Now I bought a set of  sensors, the same as in the new car. The seller said, that these sensors are programmed already and good to this car, but there is a need for a teaching process.

My question is whether there is a need for a specific equipment/tool for this process, or a normal mechanican can fit and teach the car?

Or, I must bring the winter set to a tyre service with this specific tool? Thanks.

Your manual shouldgive you information on how to do this & I believe that you should be able to do it yourself once the sensors have been fitted to the tyres/wheels - no tools are needed as far as I know to pair with the car.

I have just got a new Avensis with TPMS but have winter wheels/tyres without from my old Avensis - my  dealer service supervisor says all that will happen is the car will (obviously) show a warning light but it won't affect it otherwise. I can't see me spending £500 on another set of sensors.

[ChrisJohn]

I am not sure that this is correct.  It is my understanding that each individual TPMS sensor has a unique ID and requires a process to get your car to register these. First you need to ID.  Garages and tyre fitting sensors have equipment to scan the sensors to read the ID and one would also hope that when you buy sensors you get the ID code with them. The second part is to register that ID in the Toyota's memory so that it can read from them.  If you search the web for this subject you will find references from USA Toyota owners trying out third party tools and software to do this but as far as I am aware in the UK you need a Toyota dealer or a tyre fitting centre with the correct equipment to achieve this. The manual for my Auris states:

Registering ID codes
The tire pressure warning valve and transmitter is equipped with a unique ID code. When replacing a tire pressure warning valve and transmitter, it is necessary to register the ID code. Have the ID code registered by any authorized Toyota dealer or repairer, or another duly qualified and equipped professional.

[Thomas59]

Hi, it would be really know whether the pre-programmed sensors can be fixed without specific tools. (some kind of handheld computer as I saw in some Youtube videos)

But the price of these sensors are very different, I don't know whether you can check this item :http://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/172247881385?ul_noapp=true, this is what I bought, and I do hope that after a proper installation will work properly.

[Thomas59]

Yes, and sorry, I just saw Chris your latest comment. I think I will cancel the appointment with my general mechanic and go for a specific one. :(

[Thomas59]

Please find the reply I just received from the seller, so I will go to a well equipped service:

for Toyota Auris you need a programming device for the learning procedure.

1. Make sure that the tire pressure according to air pressure label is filled
2. Read sensor IDs with the programming device.
3, Press the ON / OFF button 2 times.
4, Connect the programming device to the OBDII interface.
5, Reset the control unit by means of a programming device.

[ChrisJohn]

As a final post on this topic, I thought that I would share some advice I have received from the Telegraph's "Honest John".  Over the years I have learned a lot from his column. I posted a question related to vehicle type approval and homologation.

His reply was 

"Cars are Type Approved with specific wheel and tyre sizes. That means franchised dealers can't change those wheels and tyres for a different size, however sensible the change may be. Nothing to stop you changing them. Doesn't make the car illegal in any way and is unlikely to affect the warranty, but Toyota dealers have to stick by a very rigid Toyota rule book."

[16_Auris_HSD]

5 hours ago, ChrisJohn said:

As a final post on this topic, I thought that I would share some advice I have received from the Telegraph's "Honest John".  Over the years I have learned a lot from his column. I posted a question related to vehicle type approval and homologation.

His reply was 

"Cars are Type Approved with specific wheel and tyre sizes. That means franchised dealers can't change those wheels and tyres for a different size, however sensible the change may be. Nothing to stop you changing them. Doesn't make the car illegal in any way and is unlikely to affect the warranty, but Toyota dealers have to stick by a very rigid Toyota rule book."

I'd be very careful with that closing advice, it might not be illegal per se in the UK (it is in some European countries) but that doesn't mean that insurance co's might not use the excuse to avoid paying based on that, in case of an accident.

[Heidfirst]

My insurance company were happy with me running 17" alloys on my Avensis rather than the 18" that it was type-approved with. Obviously it may vary by insurance company & you certainly should notify them of a change from standard spec.