TPMS and Shaking Steering Wheel

[bmack1974]

I know I'm going to get some grief once I explain this but I need to get the opinion of people who know what they're talking about. A few months ago I had some tires installed at a local Ford dealership. One of my TPMS sensors was corroded and wouldn't hold air, so I bought a new one and it was installed but the computer wouldn't recognize it. I drove it for a week and it never recognized, so they replaced it with another new one. Same results, the dash light was always on and the warning beeps would go off every ten minutes while driving. So, we tried yet another new sensor and the same thing. These were all Motorcraft parts ordered based on my VIN. I was at the end of my rope and they said there was nothing more they could do without some additional charges.

I had kept my original TMPS sensor and we tested it and found it would still transmit when we put it next to the valve stem of the troubled tire while they were "training" the tires. It fooled the computer temporarily but once it was removed from the tire and the engine was re-started the error codes were there again. So, I suggested something ridiculous, which was to attach the old sensor to the new one inside the rim.

We used a two-part epoxy and electrical tape and mounted the old snsor to the new sensor inside the tire. Voila! The tires were able to be trained and the error codes went away. It's been a few weeks and all has been well, but this morning on the way to work, I noticed a vibration in my steering wheel when I'm cornering. When I'm driving at full speeds, no issues. When slow down to make a left or right turn in to a driveway or parking space the whole front end seems to be in an upraor and the steering wheel is shaking. If I give it some gas in the turn it seems to calm it down.

My two questions are:
1. Could this have anything to do with there being two sensors in one tire?
2. If not, what else could this be? My PS reservoir is full and there's no bubbles when I turn L/R with the engine on.

Sorry for the long post! I've been reading this forum all day looking for some answers. Thanks!

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site

 

[bmack1974]

Update

I decided to do some experimenting after I posted this. I took off the good tire with the dual TPMS inside and roll it around to see if I heard anything. Only heard a little bit of debris, which I'm assuming is the electrical tape the mechanic wrapped around the sensors while we waited for the epoxy to cure. I put that tire to the side and installed my full-size spare and took it for a test drive.

No vibrations, no shakes, nothin'. But then I got to wondering if the "left to right" power steering exercise I'd done earlier has cleared air from the system and it was nothing to do with the tire at all. So I jacked her up again and installed the good tire again and took it for a spin. No vibrations, no shake, nothin'.

So, for now the problem is solved. Might've just been air in the PS system, but there was no bubbling during the L/R exercise, so it gave me some doubts. A little lesson learned...sort of.