Tire Pressure Monitoring System problems of the 2009 Volkswagen Routan

Was travelling approximately 65 mph on I-90 in nys. Dashboard indicated there was an issue with the tire pressure. Pulled to the side of the road, checked pressure. Tires seemed fine. Drove approximately 4 miles and the tire went completely flat almost instantaneously. Luckily I was in a spot that I could pull over. Placed spare "doughnut" on van and drove directly to dunn tire. Dunn tire professional indicated that the tps was corroded, fell off and popped the tire. The three other tps on the other tires were also examined. The tire professional indicated that they were corroded as well.

The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Routan. While driving approximately 35 mph the front drivers side tire blew out. The contact removed the tire and replaced it with the spare tire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technicians stated the tire sensor valve had corroded causing the tire to blow out. The technicians stated that the repair was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the valve was replaced with a rubber valve instead of the aluminum valve that was originally on the vehicle which had a sensor attached to it. The sensor was not replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 33,000.

While trying to check the tire pressure, the valve stems broke off on two of the tires (one in the front, one in the rear) causing the tires to deflate completely within 10 seconds. Had this occurred while driving the vehicle, this incident would likely have rendered the vehicle uncontrollable with potentially serious consequences to the health and safety of passengers and others. The dealer will replace the valves but has advised me that this issue is not covered by warranty. Since my vehicle is probably not the only one affected I will try to carry this to a higher level through my dealership.