How to tell which TPMS sensor is bad?

I've just had the second one stop transmitting, two years and a bit after the first one.

But the one that just stopped was ok right until the tire it was in got burst by a fallen rock in Yellowstone, and has not worked at all since the tire was replaced. So I can't say for sure whether it was about to poop out from old age anyway, or got killed by the bursting of the tire, or got damaged when the nearby Walmart replaced the burst tire.

 

I vote for "TPMS getting slightly crunched by the tire machine".

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Kinda thought they were s'posed to unscrew the outer part and push the sensor into the wheel before using the tire machine, and I kinda thought that was why.

 

No one does that anymore. It was a suggested practice when TPMS first came out, but when many shops are only interested in getting the most money for the least time...

That, and many shops won't touch the sensor - unless they have already sold new ones. TPMS sensors are pretty good design. Aluminum stems, not so much. Always way more corrosion, either stem to rim or stem to locknut. It's a PIA dealing with seized locknuts.

Really, if one is careful (experienced) with the tire machine, it's easy to place the sensor in a "safe zone" where the tire bead cannot crunch it.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.