Tire Valve problems of the 2010 Mazda MAZDA3

Within 2 days of driving, my Mazda 3 had two separate incidents, where the valves of the tire pressure monitoring system (tpms) failed, on two separate tires. On Monday, July 18, 2013 while traveling at highway speed on rt. 25 in bourne, MA, the tire pressure warning light came on. I stopped at the nearest gas station. The driver's front tire was very flat. When I attempted to fill it with air, the valve pushed into the tire. Luckily, I was at a gas station and they were able to repair the tire with "standard" (non-tpms) valve and I was on my way. As I was on vacation. I parked the car for a week. When I returned to my car (July 22), I drove the car for about 50 miles. I stopped to have lunch and noticed that the driver's side rear tire was very flat. When I attempted to put air into the valve, it too pushed into the tire. That is two tpms valves that failed in two days of driving. I called Mazda customer service (800-222-5500, ext. 6) explained the situation to jose (ext. 1180). He was sympathetic, but would not commit to Mazda repairing the tpms valve at no cost to me. I am having my mechanic put in non-tpms valves in the remaining two tires on the car, as I feel they are a real safety hazard. I will not drive the car until it is repaired. . Read more...

The documented date above (07/13/13) is my most recent incident with my valve stem/tire pressure monitoring system falling off while driving. In June 2012 with ~34,000 miles, while driving on the highway, my first valve stem/tpms fell out, not being able to drive on that wheel (no air), and the wheel could no longer be used until I had a Mazda dealer replace the part. This was a very dangerous experience for my tire to suddenly deflate while moving at fast speeds. This was fixed under my almost terminated warranty. One month later, the valve stem/tpms on another wheel came off while driving and this had to be replaced like the other one. Most recently, my third wheel tpmsensor went while also driving on the highway, vigilantly maintaining control on my vehicle until I could pull off the highway. This trend shows a huge safety issue/inadequate parts used during construction. There is no prescribed care for these parts in the Mazda owners manual nor is there anyway to know that these would malfunction until they did. 3 out of 4 is unacceptable and unsafe and should show a trend. When I called Mazda, they told me that the cost of this recent repair was mine because the vehicle, now at ~55,000 miles was no longer under warranty. These parts were dysfunctional from the beginning and should have all been replaced at my first incident if this was to happen again, and again. I am nervous that this could happen to my fourth wheel while driving, potentially causing an accident.

Tpms alerted driver to low air pressure in a tire. Checked tire, pressure low (subsequently found screw in tire). Once air nozzle place on valve stem, it snapped in half and all the air immediately went out of the tire. Others checked and are corroded and brittle. Dealer and local auto mechanic both stated likely to happen again without warning. Materials used in the valve stem should be changed to make them flexible, like the older ones without the monitoring system. Replaced valve stem with $5 stem of flexible material to prevent safety issue in the future.

June 9th 2013, vehicle experienced loss of inflation pressure in passenger front tire while driving. Dealership confirmed tpms valve seal failure was root cause of air loss. Check of other tpm sensors confirmed driver side front seal was also defective and leaking small amounts of air. Both replaced under warranty with dealer indicating this as a known issue. September 16th 2013 passenger rear tire experienced airloss while driving vehicle. Dealer investigation confirmed tpm valve failure. Part not covered under warranty or dealer goodwill. Failure of safety-critical part after ~3 years of field exposure is not acceptable.

On or about 4/24/2012, I had to purchase a new set of four tires at the firestone dealership on route 36, west long branch, NJ 732-542-0995. Please also note I had my Mazda 3i for only a little over 2 years at that time. Within the last year, I have already had to replace two of those tires due to leaks/blowouts. Upon taking my car back to the self-same firestone dealership in west long branch, NJ for closer inspection, ed gonzalez, the manager, indicated to me that the tire valve stem on the tire most recently "deceased"� (left rear) had actually fallen out of the tire and into the wheel well without ever being touched by anyone previously (I have photos of defective stems. Upon closer inspection, the tire valve stem in the right rear tire is also defective to the eye. I have both defective stems and [xxx] will attest-in writing-to the fact that they are both defective-and the original, factory-installed tire valve stems that I received on my Mazda 3i in February, 2010. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Tire pressure warning light came on, so I checked the pressure of each tire. One was low, so I asked my mechanic to fix it. He found the leak was a cracked valve stem assembly, allowing air to escape along the valve stem. Fortunately it didn't damage the new tire, but still cost $150 to fix and I found this to be a common complaint for the Mazda3. For me, the safety issue is having this problem happen when my wife is driving this car on a trip, sees the warning light come on, and has to find help to fix it or to change the tire for the spare, or the leak becomes fast enough to give her a flat tire.

Spontaneous failure of tire valve stem resulting in the near instantaneous decompression of the rear driver's side tire. At the time I was attempting to check the tire pressure of that wheel. The stem separated into two pieces without any prior indication of wear.

The contact owns a 2010 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that the front passenger side tire valve stem failed. The contact mentioned that the valve stem cracked in half. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 24,750.

While checking and inflating a customer's tires the valve stem broke causing the tire to completely deflate.