90_Shelby
11-03-2019, 12:04 PM
I'm having an issue with my 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk recognizing the aftermarket TPMS sensors in my winter wheels.
TLDR: Aftermarket programmable TPMS are not functioning correctly and the Jeep has a constant TPMS error with winter wheels installed. Is cloning the OEM sensors the best option to fix this issue? How is this process done with TPMS sensors already installed in the wheels.
Back Story:
I had a set of OEM Trackhawk wheels and like new Nokian winter tires with aftermarket TPMS shipped out from Ontario. The Jeep TPMS system is an "auto re-learn" system where it's supposed to pick up new sensors automatically but I'm not having any luck getting the winters to auto re-learn and every time we start the Jeep it flashes that the TPMS system is not working. I'm looking for suggestions, someone who understands these aftermarket programmable TPMS or has worked with them. Here is a list of what I've tried so far:
- Installed winter wheels and driven the vehicle for 2 weeks to try and enable the auto re-learn process. As per the owners manual this should take place after 15 minutes of driving above ~30km/hr.
- I pulled the winters off, reinstalled the summers and it auto re-learns after 5 minutes of driving. (Summers are stored elsewhere and are no where near the Jeep which can cause the system confusion.)
- I took it to the dealership for them to program / re-learn. Their reply was, we can't pick up the TPMS at all with our scan tool and suggested taking it to a tire shop. They also said that the Jeep has gone into "winter mode" for the TPMS system. I can't get a clear understanding of what "winter mode" is in relation to my Jeep. Some vehicles apparently stop flashing a TPMS error following multiple TPMS system failures assuming the wheels installed have no sensors. My Jeep continues to have the error pop up so I don't believe it has "winter mode".
- I took it to a Fountain Tire near my house and had them try. They also could not sense the TPMS with two different machines and suggested that the TPMS were likely not programmed correctly before they were installed and they said the next step would be to remove the TPMS from the wheels, re-program all of them correctly then reinstall which should enable the Jeep to auto re-learn.
-The following week I removed all 4 wheels, took them to Fountain Tire and had them pull and re-program the sensors. After this process I re-installed the wheels and drove it for a long period hoping for the auto re-learn to work, unfortunately, it did not.
- I returned to Fountain Tire the following day and asked them to do a forced re-learn following the re-program the day earlier. Two different techs and two machines later, they eventually gave up with no further suggestions on what to do. With that being said, they were able to pick up all 4 sensors and the pressures with their machine but could not get the sensors to connect with the Jeep. The dealer or Fountain Tire were unable to connect previously.
- Since then I've tried over filling the tires to see if that would cause a change with no success. I also re-installed the summers to get the system working again before re-installing the winters again to further test the "winter mode" theory with again, no success.
After doing some reading, I believe I have Schrader EZ-Sensors in the wheels as per the Fountain Tire invoice. From what I have determined there are different frequencies that the systems operate at. I believe my Jeep operates with the 433MHz system and I believe the EZ- Sensors can be programmed from 315 - 433 MHz. I don't believe that the sensors are currently programmed to the wrong frequency but I don't know for sure.
From what I understand, sensors have a specific ID which needs to match with the system in the vehicle to properly transmit the data. I'm unsure if the ID's need to match before the vehicle will re-learn the sensors and their position or if the auto re-learn is supposed to automatically sense and learn the ID of each sensor.
I believe the next step should be to have the OEM sensors cloned to the aftermarket sensors in the winter wheels? I believe this should remove potential errors with either frequencies or ID's for specific sensors but I'm open to suggestions on what my next step should be besides buying OEM sensors.
If I have a shop clone the sensors how does this process take place? Do I actually need to remove all of the sensors from both sets of wheels to do this? After some reading, I'm not confident that I needed to have Fountain tire pull the sensors out of the wheels in order to reprogram them.
Regarding the sensor ID, does each wheel and sensor have a separate ID? Or do I only need one of my OEM summer wheels to clone all 4 of the winter wheels while they're on the vehicle?
I'm hoping someone has real world understanding of how these systems work, that goes beyond what I've read on the internet.
TLDR: Aftermarket programmable TPMS are not functioning correctly and the Jeep has a constant TPMS error with winter wheels installed. Is cloning the OEM sensors the best option to fix this issue? How is this process done with TPMS sensors already installed in the wheels.
TLDR: Aftermarket programmable TPMS are not functioning correctly and the Jeep has a constant TPMS error with winter wheels installed. Is cloning the OEM sensors the best option to fix this issue? How is this process done with TPMS sensors already installed in the wheels.
Back Story:
I had a set of OEM Trackhawk wheels and like new Nokian winter tires with aftermarket TPMS shipped out from Ontario. The Jeep TPMS system is an "auto re-learn" system where it's supposed to pick up new sensors automatically but I'm not having any luck getting the winters to auto re-learn and every time we start the Jeep it flashes that the TPMS system is not working. I'm looking for suggestions, someone who understands these aftermarket programmable TPMS or has worked with them. Here is a list of what I've tried so far:
- Installed winter wheels and driven the vehicle for 2 weeks to try and enable the auto re-learn process. As per the owners manual this should take place after 15 minutes of driving above ~30km/hr.
- I pulled the winters off, reinstalled the summers and it auto re-learns after 5 minutes of driving. (Summers are stored elsewhere and are no where near the Jeep which can cause the system confusion.)
- I took it to the dealership for them to program / re-learn. Their reply was, we can't pick up the TPMS at all with our scan tool and suggested taking it to a tire shop. They also said that the Jeep has gone into "winter mode" for the TPMS system. I can't get a clear understanding of what "winter mode" is in relation to my Jeep. Some vehicles apparently stop flashing a TPMS error following multiple TPMS system failures assuming the wheels installed have no sensors. My Jeep continues to have the error pop up so I don't believe it has "winter mode".
- I took it to a Fountain Tire near my house and had them try. They also could not sense the TPMS with two different machines and suggested that the TPMS were likely not programmed correctly before they were installed and they said the next step would be to remove the TPMS from the wheels, re-program all of them correctly then reinstall which should enable the Jeep to auto re-learn.
-The following week I removed all 4 wheels, took them to Fountain Tire and had them pull and re-program the sensors. After this process I re-installed the wheels and drove it for a long period hoping for the auto re-learn to work, unfortunately, it did not.
- I returned to Fountain Tire the following day and asked them to do a forced re-learn following the re-program the day earlier. Two different techs and two machines later, they eventually gave up with no further suggestions on what to do. With that being said, they were able to pick up all 4 sensors and the pressures with their machine but could not get the sensors to connect with the Jeep. The dealer or Fountain Tire were unable to connect previously.
- Since then I've tried over filling the tires to see if that would cause a change with no success. I also re-installed the summers to get the system working again before re-installing the winters again to further test the "winter mode" theory with again, no success.
After doing some reading, I believe I have Schrader EZ-Sensors in the wheels as per the Fountain Tire invoice. From what I have determined there are different frequencies that the systems operate at. I believe my Jeep operates with the 433MHz system and I believe the EZ- Sensors can be programmed from 315 - 433 MHz. I don't believe that the sensors are currently programmed to the wrong frequency but I don't know for sure.
From what I understand, sensors have a specific ID which needs to match with the system in the vehicle to properly transmit the data. I'm unsure if the ID's need to match before the vehicle will re-learn the sensors and their position or if the auto re-learn is supposed to automatically sense and learn the ID of each sensor.
I believe the next step should be to have the OEM sensors cloned to the aftermarket sensors in the winter wheels? I believe this should remove potential errors with either frequencies or ID's for specific sensors but I'm open to suggestions on what my next step should be besides buying OEM sensors.
If I have a shop clone the sensors how does this process take place? Do I actually need to remove all of the sensors from both sets of wheels to do this? After some reading, I'm not confident that I needed to have Fountain tire pull the sensors out of the wheels in order to reprogram them.
Regarding the sensor ID, does each wheel and sensor have a separate ID? Or do I only need one of my OEM summer wheels to clone all 4 of the winter wheels while they're on the vehicle?
I'm hoping someone has real world understanding of how these systems work, that goes beyond what I've read on the internet.
TLDR: Aftermarket programmable TPMS are not functioning correctly and the Jeep has a constant TPMS error with winter wheels installed. Is cloning the OEM sensors the best option to fix this issue? How is this process done with TPMS sensors already installed in the wheels.