The wheel locations for wireless tire pressure monitoring sensors are automatically learned by comparing the timing of sensor message transmissions to directly measured wheel rotation, such as from an anti-lock brake system. In order to synchronize the data to be detected and compared across a distributed electronic system, first timestamps are applied to RF sensor messages upon reception in a receiver. Second timestamps are applied to decoded sensor data in the receiver when transmission of the data and the first timestamps to a control module begins. The control module applies third timestamps upon reception by the control module. The control module calculates sensor message times by subtracting a difference of the first and second timestamps from the third timestamp.