TPIM module troubleshooting

[Mcgusto82]

Hey Guys.  Hope you're all well.  

Happy to report, my DJ is 12 years old now.  Very happy with it.  Got it new in '12 and its been highly reliable.  Dodge was even kind enough to replace the front heads at 98k miles for free.  We had that burnt valves on cyl 1 issue.  It used to be our secondary car but its now our primary car since im now in a new job field.  Praise the Lord for helping us out.  

 

Anyways, about 3 months ago, we had a massive coolant blow out from the oil cooler.  The coolant was just pouring out from in between the v.  about 5 miles from home.  go figure huh..

Anyways, after letting it cool down for a bit since it happened on the highway and the temp went up up up, i limped it home by feeding it water, actual water.  i stopped at a tire shop that was close by that i like to use, and they sold me a gallon of coolant, but it lasted about a mile, then a gas station nearby, but this time i also picked up a free gallon of water plus another coolant gallon.  Long story short, i stopped for water every mile to keep it cool.  I even stopped and asked for water at some people's BBQ.  No time to be shameful.  

I replaced the oil cooler, no harm to the car.  Got it running a day later even changed the oil while i was at it.  

 

Since that incident, My TPIM light is on, and the front right wheel does not read.  Just the dots.  The front left reads high, like 250, but after about 30 minutes (at first) it reads accurately, and it's been gradually reading accurately faster after start up.  Now after about 5 minutes, the ront left reads accurately. 

The rears read fine.  I already rotated the left side wheels, no change.  I have not changed the module because i do not want to throw money at it blindly.  i feel its got to be something that was messed up from the water / coolant leak up front.  

i've searched left and right for a schematic of the "antennas" but i cant find anything.  Even a schematic of the wiring system.  

 

So, do any of you have this schematic available?  Im thinking the "antennas" could be covered in dry coolant as the entire engine bay was covered in white dust from the coolant steaming out the oil coolant.  

 

FYI, please Do not place this under the current TPIM threat as this does not feel like its a simple TPIM issue.

[5rebel9]

You stated that there is a liked by you TIRE SHOP nearby. GO TO THEM and have them scan each wheel position to check each sensor in each wheel. This is the cheapest and easiest thing to start diagnosing this problem.`2 years old and sensors are OLD and usually only good for around 8 years IF YOU ARE LUCKY.. As I said, FIRST place to start then dig deeper.

[Mcgusto82]

when i swap the tires from front to back, the "front tire" reads fine, and the rear tire does not read in the front position.  this indicates the battery are fine.  

[John/Horace]

Not really. Like OP said,  scanning is only way to know for sure.  The tpms have a built in lithium battery that gets weak over time/miles.  Some  times the weaker battery will be strong enough to get picked up if it’s moved closer to receiver to pick up radio frequency output signal.  Antenna is in lower dash or A pillar I think,  shouldn’t have seen glycol.  Your failure may have just been a coincidence when oil cooler puked.

 

With balancing cost etc people often opt for new sensors when installing new tires. Lots of aftermarket cheap sensors from Rockauto etc.   Some people pop the bead and pull through a new sensor without removing tire or balancing.

Edited December 10, 2023 by John/Horace

[2late4u]

3 hours ago, Mcgusto82 said:

when i swap the tires from front to back, the "front tire" reads fine, and the rear tire does not read in the front position.  this indicates the battery are fine.  

TPM module  NOT the TIPM module    two totally different  modules  and    NO they are not GOOD ,,,,,,,  the tpms module is remembering the last position and giving false readings, I just went Thru what you are experiencing  6 months ago on my 2014 crossroad   was about to give up on it and not bother to fix it and the wife wasn't happy with that,  so I went to my tire shop and they messed with it a while and then said well the batteries are going bad and I had them replaced cost me around $300 parts and labor for 4 new sensors if I remember correctly,,,, and THAT fixed my problem,,,the TPM module is in your rear left wheel well above the top of the tire well

[smfabac]

Just a question on TPMS:  The transmission in my  2013 Journey crew  was replaced at 206,000  and immediately I noticed a vibration on engine start and idle that was not felt with my old transmission.  When the transmission was replaced, they suggested that the transmission mount and the driver's side motor mount were bad and should be  replaced.  I  authorized the replacement by the transmission shop as  part of the installation of the re-manufactured transmission. Over the following weeks, I continued to feel the vibration and left it at the transmission shop over night so that they can start it up cold.  The next day they agreed that there is an unusual vibration both at idle and when the transmission was moved to reverse.

 

They asked me to leave the vehicle and they worked on it the next day and said the passenger side motor mount also needs to be replaced. I went in and test drove the Journey after they replaced the motor mount and that did reduce the vibration I was feeling to  the point that I'm satisfied.  Driving home, TPMS alerted and the left front tire shows "---" without a reading. I pulled over and read 37 PSI on the left front tire so the tire did not go flat.  My question is it possible that that a wiring harness was damaged when the shop replaced the passenger side motor mount?   I question this as I had a problem with my drivers side turn signal that was traced to a connector in the right fender well

 

I've always bought new tires at my preferred CDJ dealer (buy three get the forth one for $1) and i believed  they were servicing the TPMS units as well.

 

What is the possibility that the transmission shop damaged a wiring harness when they replaced the passenger side motor mount?

[2late4u]

first off have you had any of the tpm in the tire replaced? if not then your journey is at the age that they need to be replaced due to the battery going bad had to have my 2014 replaced about 2 yrs ago, I would advise to just change all 4 of them out at one time, yes more expensive but just get it over with instead of each one going out at different times...other possbi;lies are bad hub bearings,yes its possible they could have damage the tpm wires,good luck and please report back on what you find out for others to learn from.also when your dealer serviced your tires and TPMS that is just the shardervale in the stem NOT the battery and if they had replaced the battery they have to replace the whole tpm inside the tire and they would charge you for it which would cost at the dealership around $50-75 each

Edited August 20, 2025 by 2late4u

[smfabac]

I took it to the CDJ dealership I have used since I bought the car at 13,000 miles. The dealership has changed hands twice over the last 10 years.  Unfortunately, the new owners are in the camp of marking up MSRP on the OEM Mopar parts.  The 68241067-AB was invoiced at $183.63 and labor was $180.00 for "Left Front Tire Pressure Sensor Coded for Internal Failure. Recommend Replacing LF Tire Pressure Sensor. Includes Diag and Programming." I had informed the service writer of the upper engine mount replacement questioning the possibility of wire harness damage affecting the TPMS system (is there a pick-up sensor in each wheel well? ) that may have inflated the "diag" labor. There was no mention on the service invoice for wire damage repair.

 

This is the first time a TPMS sensor has failed and at 12 years since manufacture, is well beyond the 5-10 years expected life for the sensor's batteries. I was under the mistaken impression that the battery's recharged as the wheels rotated. I'll delay replacing the remaining three sensor until I replace all four tires the next go around and will pick up three sensor from their parts department (I was quoted $160 MSRP when I checked while waiting in the service lounge).  I feel that I took it in the shorts on this service.

[2late4u]

first off you can buy the tpm sensor off amazon,don't use the dealership to replace the tpm sensor,,,most tire store can replace them for you a lot cheaper,,I had discount tire replaced all 4 of them on my tires at one time around 2 yrs ago for around$350 if I remember correctly,,,,,,and NO the tpm batteries  do not recharge themselves at any time.........and actually if you are short on money it wont hurt to NOT fix this as of now......also what dealership CDJ dealership are you referring to is it in Cullman Al? just wondering as that is the dealership I use as well