Hi everyone, thanks for your prompt replies.
Yes sorry, it's the pressure valves/tyre valves - at first i gathered i could go to a tyre shop to change the tyres & that would fix the valve. But they told me it has to be done by Mazda them self's.
There is no way anyone done this on purpose, i'm nearly certain it happened over the months as i was pumping the tyres up - but the valves should be a lot stronger than this.
One valve has completely snapped so i cant pump the tyre up & the second one is just now bent, making it difficult but possible to pump up. What will happen to the other 2 in the future, goodness knows.
The only argument i think i now have with mazda is that why would the valves snap if im all doing is pumping the tyres up, as it shouldnt matter if i pumped it 2 times a day the valves should still last?
I will be going to an independent company tomorrow, so thanks for your advice.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/05/2009 at 15:09
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What are they made of rubber or metal?
Tyre shops replace them whenever you have new tyres anyway. If they are metal ones, you can buy them online for a few pound (or dealer parts) and get a tyre shop to fit them.
You could fill in a vehicle defect form and claim that the part is inadequate and send to VOSA to consider a recall to do with the safety aspect of sudden tyre deflation at speed.
mailto:enquiries@vosa.gov.uk
Edited by Hamsafar on 20/05/2009 at 15:16
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They are made of metal. The first reason the tyre place couldnt fix it & told me to take it to mazda was because these valves are tyre pressure monitors & have sensors on them too.
I dont fully understand how these valves work, but on my dad's car VW Golf even though the valves are a lot cheaper & are part of the tyre they have never snapped & its gone through a lot.
The VOSA - good idea! but how would i prove my case that it wasnt my fault that the valves have broke? If this is the case, mazda should sort them self out & i hope this dont happen to other people.
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Sounds like they have to be replaced, as the TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) speaks to the ECU, and there seems to be some resetting jiggery-pokery involved! This might be of interest: tinyurl.com/qh5eh9 Explains the effect of non-standard valve caps - galvanic corrosion, which might be relevant. Was thinking of having similar system on next car, but maybe not!
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Do you use a car wash? If so, then maybe the wheel cleaning brush has damaged the valves.
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I do use the car-wash, but the problem happened before i started using one. So im going to void that one. Thanks though.
The service bulletin is good but am i getting confused when they say "after market" the actual caps that went over the valve were & are rubber & always have been.
I even said to mazda that if its your manufacturer problem and your telling me to replace the valves then the next day i pump my tyre up & it happens again and again this is still my fault? after expenses rising over £1,000. They are talking rubbish.
As far as Mazda customer service is concerned they are putting their foot down & wont let me say anything else, as the case manager said - thats the final decision so get on with it & pay.
Im in desperate need to find out if anyone else has had this problem with their mazda 6 but unfortunatlely i cannot find anything.
You see, the front valve has nearly snapped, its bent to one side - and if i were driving at high speed and it snapped and started letting heavy air out its very dangerous & i would need to get the car towed away as i cant put any air into the tyres (seems like a stupid design to me)
It was mazda dealer who told me the other valve has nearly snapped, if not i wouldnt have known any different and could have gone travelling. Ive only ever pumped the tyres up twice & on both occasions ive never noticed anything or noticed anything had to be forced.
I don't think there is anyway round this?? I'm now more annoyed with mazda because they stated to me its fully due to alloy damage, but as soon as i said one alloy dont have damage they quickly revert to another reason.
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Where abouts are they breaking off. At the junction with the nut half way up, where. Regards Peter
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Have you posted on the Mazda6club.com. Regards Peter
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The first one has broke off to the point where you can press something on the valve which will let the air out. Its a pin type thing you can press. The actual stem has broken off.
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What are they made of ? Aluminium ? this sounds like a corrosion problem as if it was physical there would not be enough force to break it there it would break at the base. Regards Peter
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Morning :)
Yeah they are made of Aluminium, can this corrosion problem occur even though the car is new?
I'm going to speak to a few mazda dealers today & see what different ones have to say. Is it possible to upload pictures on here?
Thanks Again Everyone
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You need to inspect the broken one very carefully with a magnifying glass as it sounds like corrosion when the cap has trapped salt and it has corroded. I would have thought these should have been anodised or at least coated with something durable. Regards Peter
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Is it possible to upload pictures on here?
Upload the photos to a 3rd party imaging website (eg, photobucket, imageshack, to name but many) and then post the link to it here. Remembering of course if the link is very long to 'tinyurl' it first using the sticky at the top of the page.
DD. BR Moderator.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/05/2009 at 11:17
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Hi Everyone, a worse update on this situation.
My first problem was the valve at the back tyre, i have been going to lots of mechanics for reports etc, but last night i had a scare.
I was travelling down a minor road, local to my house at approx 35mph approaching a roundabout, i hear a loud bang and instantly the car lost control and i couldn't do nothing - just about managed to pull into the corner blocking half the road.
I got out to look shaken up!! to find that the front valve has totally blown off! it's gone right down to the base and the air instantly released.
Mazda Head office seem like they don't care so i ended up putting the phone down on them, they ignore how dangerous the situation was and said, Mr. Rafiai you have to wait for the report and fix from mazda dealership before we can find out if it's covered under warrenty. I told the lady i dont care whether i have to pay for it now or not the fact it the situation i was in could have been 10x worse. What do you think the next stage is? If mazda head office are not listening, do i go watchdog?
thanks
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Well this is the first time I have come across this topic and I am not surprised that the valve has finally given up on you with dramatic consequences if it was one of the ones that was already damaged. I'm quite alarmed that you have been motoring around with it in such as dangerous state to be honest, it was only ever going to end in tears.
As for the problems and whether Mazda is liable I couldn't say as we are talking about something that we can't see. But what does strike me through all of this is that you seem to check/pump the tyres up on your new car on regular occassion. Now I realise that in the olden days it was good practice to do this every week but in this day and age with a car equipped with a pressure monitoring system I would have said you are being a little over zealous. They should be pretty maintenance free unless the monitoring system tells you that there is a problem. Maybe the valves are not designed to be used week in week out and this amount of use is wearing them out and breaking them off? I'm not saying that you are wrong in what you are doing and that Mazda's design is right, but maybe it would explain what is happening.
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Hi, thanks for your reply.
I appreciate your comments and maybe i was not explaining the situation aswell as i should have.
The rear valve i knew was damaged and mazda told me it's not going to be covered under warranty, i never accepted that and was disputing it - mazda told me them self because the tyre is still fully inflated and the valve has not broke from the base then you will be ok until the dispute has been resolved.
The front valve, i never knew anything about - mazda told me that it looks like the front one is slightly damaged and that i shouldnt worry. I've had the car 10 months now and have done arouns 10,000 miles on the clock, the important note is that i have only pumped the tyres up 2 or 3 times throughout the time ive had the car.
I'm not accepting this from mazda because what would happen if i got the rear valve replaced and then the front valve started snapping without me knowing? then just blew?
The alloys are in mint condition with no kurb damage on the what so ever, i will try and get a picture posted for you guys.
Thanks.
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I'd take it to a tyre fitting place and get them to replace all the valves.
Then spend time arguing with Mazda over reclaiming payment after the car is made safe.
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Cambridge, thanks for the reply.
I don't think i can because they will say it will void my warranty even though the valves are not covered under warranty?
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Report it to VoSA - change the valves, forget the warranty - The valves are safety critical items and swallow the bitter pill.
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Not an uncommon problem but can't find a direct link with your manufacture but the following links are worth a read! 30million defective valves manufactured
blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2008/06/valve-ste...l
www.dillaircontrols.com/files/Procedure%20to%20Ins...f
safetyresearch.net/Library/PE08036.pdf
Even heavier duty clamp-in valves suitable for Transit wheels are also available and this is the type I chose to have fitted to my Hobby. 'My' valves are made by a German company named Alligator Ventilfabrik (www.alligator-ventilfabrik.de). The particular valve is Alligator's Part No. 512563 and I purchased them from a UK automotive equipment supplier named "Auto4" (www.auto4.co.uk). Auto4's Part No. for this valve is 2563 (shown in the "Metal Clamp-in Valves" section of Auto4's downloadable pdf relating to valves) and the cost is about £3 each.
This is serious and this is a known problem," says Nicholas. Nicholas knows first hand the gravity of the problem. He says, "You're not believing it, you expect your tires to stay inflated." Recently, Nicholas was driving his Ford F-150 on Highway US-1 when two of his tires failed. "The vehicle turned to left and I was able to control it but what if I had a load on my truck it would have been hard to keep control of the vehicle," says Nicholas.
The problem was not a blowout, the problem was two defective tire valve stems.
"One of those things that's a sleeper and it is hard to notice," says Nicholas.
Nicholas had his wheels inspected and discovered that the tire valve stems were cracked and that they were part of a nationwide recall.
He was never notified of the recall.
"So if you bought tires between 2006 and 2008, there's a possibility that these stems could be on your tires," says Nicholas.
The stems were made in China and distributed by Tech International to car care centers worldwide.
Nicholas says "The cracks are very visible if you bend the stem at the base of the stem." Even if there are no visible cracks, a tire repair shop should inspect the valve stems to see if they're among the recalled valves.
"If there are 30 million of these in the marketplace the word needs to get out and they need to be inspected and replaced,"says Nicholas.
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just to add from above
Recall of faulty tire valve stems expanded
The recall of millions of faulty tire valve stems from China we wrote about last week has been expanded.
The rubber replacement valve stems in question may crack prematurely and cause tires to lose air quickly. At high speeds such rapid deflation can cause a serious crash.
Tire accessory distributor Tech International of Johnstown, Ohio, originally recalled model TR-413, which was manufactured for Dill Air Control Products of Oxford, N.C. by Topseal Shanghai Auto-Parts Co. Ltd. in China. The company said at that time the recall involved as many as six million valve stems.
But Tech International has now expanded the recall to include five additional models?TR-413CH, TR-414, TR-415, TR-418 and TR-423?manufactured between August 2006 and November 2006. Tech Int'l did not say how many of those additional models of valve stems it has distributed. Dill said earlier that it had shipped as many as 30 million of the TR-413 valve stems in the North American market.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation of the valve stems on May 15.
Most consumers will have a have a hard time figuring out with any certainty if they have any of the defective valve stems on their tires, however. That's because once a valve stems is installed, the only way to check to see if it is one of the suspected models is to dismount the tire from the wheel and inspect if from the inside.
Eugene Petersen, program leader for tire testing at Consumer Reports, says motorists should conduct a visual inspection of their valve stems to check for cracks. To do this, he says, remove the hubcap (if there is one) and move the top of the stem around, checking for any sign of cracks in the base of the stem where it meets the wheel.
Dill has posted photos online of what consumers should look for when they inspect valve stems.
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yeh! I wondered where mazda get their valves !
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Ive only ever pumped the tyres up twice
Even if I had TPM on a car, I'd still check the pressures myself, weekly. Do you trust the dashboard oil level readout or check it yourself on the dipstick?
Maybe the valves are not designed to be used week in week out and this amount of use is wearing them out
I doubt that very much. Even if you were checking the pressures twice a week, at 9 months old that's less than 80 times. I would be very upset if my tyre valves started snapping off on the move after so little use/maintenance.
Either you're regularly and harshly kerbing the wheels, or you're having it washed by the Incredible Hulk. If neither, it sounds like it's time for Watchdog to take a look....
Dave TD
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Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting these to
yfrog.com/0z22052009421jx (this one is the rear near side valve of which is where the problem started & you will notice one picture with the valve ok, this is the one at the front a week before it blew off)
&
yfrog.com/eq16062009446jx (these are the pictures of the front one blown off, you can compare the size difference to one of the pictures in the 1st gallery) This is where i wish i took better pictures.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks
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Just found your post after searching the net to see if anyone else had the same problem. My dads valve on his Mazda 6 sport snapped off while attempting to fill the tyre with air, the car is less than a year old. With no space saver provided, it leaves you to hope the RAC can do something for you. The RAC person kind of indicated it wasn't the first time he'd seen this because the aluminium was too soft. Someone who lives in our street had the exact same issue with his Mazda 6. As they are company cars, they won't be going down the warranty route (to my knowledge) but I thought I'd let you know you definately aren't alone.
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Metallion, Hi!
You know how much of a relief that was reading your post - i really was starting to think i was the only one with this problem as mazda told me they have never seen or heard of anything like this before!
When it happened to me, i looked in the boot of my car and found that stupid foam pump stuff that they supply to you (mazda, what good is that going to do if the valve has snapped off??) I will emphasise how dangerous this is.
I took my car down to an independant garage when the first valve snapped, but luckily it was the one where it kept the air in, just. They told me without hesitation because there is no curb damage then its impossible for it to be my fault. Mazda say otherwise. I couldnt get the actual fully snapped valve checked because mazda head office stated to me get it fixed ASAP so we can look into it.
The status now is that i have put all documentations together, with photo's, print outs, letters etc and am forwarding this to mazda - no doubt it will still be declined. VOSA and watchdog have both been contacted and i have a feeling watchdog will want to find out if this has happened to others. Is there any possibility i could take an email address for you and the others? We can all work on this together.
I know mazda are being very reluctant in sorting this & tell me, what if your dad was on a motorway, pumped his tyres up 5 minutes ago at the service station and then on the motorway it snapped?
Is there any curb damage? & These company cars, do you know the company?
Thank You Again :)
Edited by Med on 30/06/2009 at 12:06
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There is no curb damage on the tyres. Because the car is a lease its been repaired without going through warranty. Unfortunately they do not want to get involved. I may be able to get you some photos of the damaged valve if that helps.
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Hi Metallion,
That would be fantastic if you could - my direct email address is: contact@modxpc.com
I've filled in all the forms with VOSA and am just waiting to see what they say the best thing to do is before i continue arguing with mazda.
Thanks for your help again :) also to everyone else above.
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The different ways this might have broken will leave their evidence on the pieces & a materials lab. should be able to distinguish corrosion from an impact / kerbing & perhaps other causes. It doesn't have to come down to your word against their's.
Just in case you might get an expert to look at them, its worth taking care of the bits carefully. Also, I guess you've checked the "good" ones out or changed them just in case. It's worth keeping these too in case for comparison or in case there is a fault there, just at an earlier stage of development.
(I've just seen this thread - I was driving one of these recently & I'm a bit shocked...)
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Hi Metals -
I have kept the last valve that snapped off, secured in my safe! :)
I am going to see what VOSA will say, maybe that will suggest a place where i can take the valve to get it checked, the funny thing is that mazda try and blame curb damage - makes me laugh as they are perfect.
I didnt manage to keep the first valve that snapped because mazda changed it & i never thought of asking mazda for it once that took it off. Most probably it's in their bin and on the way to the tip by now.
Are there any independent places like you suggested a material lab that you know of? Maybe i could send it to them.
Thanks for your reply.
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Hi, just to keep this visable. Any one have updates?
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I have recently posted about a tyre valve issue with my Ford Galaxy. Given a connection between Ford and Mazda I thought I would read through this thread.
I see from your photos that the tyre valves you have are exactly the same as mine, however mine are significantly more recessed into the wheel than what yours are. The dust cap is only just accessible. The pictures you supplied does appear to leave your valves somewhat exposed on the wheel. Maybe Mazda's fault lies here ??
The price isn't much different a Ford. (£75 each + fitting) I've had mine replaced when they were damaged by the tyre fitters replacing an old tyre.
Not sure how an independent company can do this job though as the car had to be connected up to the Ford IDS system to code the valves to the ECU. Guess we are stuck with the dealers!
Have you managed to make any progress with your claim ?
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Hi, i thought this post was forgotten about :)
To start, i can't believe how mazda keep trying to blame this fault on me, even VOSA on the telephone said he looked at my photo's and can see there is no curb damage... And mazda yet again, blame it on me.
There is no physical way even if i did hit the curb in the future that it could snap the valve off whilst driving? it would have had to take a huge chunk out the alloy...
At the moment, im in another dispute with my mazda so it all ties into one case & will all be brought up in court if it came to it. VOSA on the other hand said if they get up-to 3 more reports of this happening to different cars then they will progress with filing a recall from their code of conduct. Unfortunately for me, im the only case at the moment thats reported it.
I'm disgusted as it's so obvious this is a manufacturer defect, but they just keep saying nope its your fault so you pay for it.
You could file a report with VOSA, its not that much work as you can print a form off from the internet and just send it to them with all supporting evidence, i.e. yours & my post.
Are you tyre valves stainless steel, and not flexible like all other cars?
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Med, did you read injection docs post above in detail?
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Hey,
I have read it, but as mazda say and vosa is that they can't find anything on their systems to say why it would happen so the blame is on me.
I don't know what i can do as-well as others if both Mazda and VOSA turned me down? What ever i can do will help me with my case of:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=77...5
The more annoying thing is that i know i didnt hit any curbs...... Mazda's word is and will always be stronger.
Thanks.
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I know that every tyre fitter will tell you 50/50 chance of tyre monitoring type valves snapping when putting on new tyres.
A metallurgist would know what the problem is but given how new 10 months my guess is specification of metal rather than corrosion or unreasonable handling on your part. Maybe the tyre fitting trade is where to get information and support.
Good luck but further on my advice to anyone is avoid changing tyres at the weekend when dealer Parts Department closed but regardless changing tyres is also a problem with these systems and only a dealer can hook up to program new sensors.
I seem to recall by law all new cars will eventually have to have these systems and no doubt it will become a potential MOT fail.
Progress!!
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I seem to recall by law all new cars will eventually have to have these systems ..........
Heaven forbid.
Edited by L'escargot on 03/10/2009 at 08:27
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Hoped I was wrong but googled I'm Feeling Lucky button with :- law tyre pressure monitoring systems.
November 2012. A health risk just thinking about it. Say £80+ extra every time you change a couple of tyres and forced visits to franchised dealer. I think not.
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Do we really need £80.00 for tyre valeves?
Come on-
Cant you replace them with standard valves and live without the tyre pressure monitor?
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Agree you could and I would.
Just saying that as this has been passed as a safety law tinyurl.com/yb43us3 potentially I can see that the choice will be taken away from November 2012 with unavoidable cost and inconvenience for the owner.
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hi this probably does nt help you if you've broke the valve off, if you put some grease behind the plastic cap and dont over tighten them when there new they dont shear off, or if the have corroded on cut the cap off with a stanley knife then the cost of a new unit is avoided.
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I have been reading your thread and my jaw dropped. I have the same tire stems and have been getting the same dealership run-a-round.
The only difference is my vehicle is a 2007 GM Equinox and I live in Toronto, Canada.
So far it has happened to 3 stems (luckily only at the air pump... so far). Unlike you, GM has replaced them under warranty. Though the first time it broke when I was filling the tire and my wife took it to the dealership. Big mistake! They insisted that she must of hit the curb, but were "nice guys" and charged her only $50 instead of $200 (I was furious... that is just criminal).
But the most FRUSTRATING part is they keep replacing the faulty aluminum valve with another faulty aluminum valve. I feel like I am driving with mini time-bombs on mycar!!!! GM head-office is in total denial that there is an issue. I keep asking "Why use aluminum when any grade school metal-shop student knows untreated aluminum oxidizes??????"
I have done a lot of research and cannot find anything regarding a recall of DILL's aluminum stems... only the rubber snap-on stems. Have you found anything?
Now what is disturbing is how difficult it is finding information. A couple of forums that had discussions on this have been hacked (I hope honest john has good security). Here is a recent example of a hacked page.
forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?p=5850788
Based on your experiences, my experience, and the experience of others, this is starting to stink like the Firestone/Bridgestone fiasco in the 90's. Except the scope of this is huge in comparison. Who's has to pay? Car Manufacturer (Ford Mazda GM et al), Bridgestone, or DILL?
So far they are trying to make US the consumer pay. Something really stinks here.
I contacted Transport Canada regarding this a few weeks back. I spoke with an investigator this morning and he is coming out tomorrow to pick up a broken stem piece and inspect the valves that are on the car. One of them looks like it will fall off before Christmas.
Sorry for the long post. Let me know how you have made out.
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Hey, i thought this post was forgotton about!
I'm glad in a way that this has happened to someone else, but unfortunately i didn't want it too.
I must have gone blue in the face talking about these valves, with Mazda dealer & head office, all of it was brushed away and said sir, you have hit the curb!! my alloys where in perfect condition & i have pictures to prove it.
The idea of a stainless steel alloy i think it idiotic if they were not going to make sure its safe. My valves stick into the alloy which means a hefty chunk of the alloy would have had to come off before it even touched the valve.
I paid £165.00 + labour to change 2 valves. i was so annoyed of this because there is no way i can prove it.
What i do suggest for you to do, is file a report to VOSA im not sure if they are on an international level, but i have already put this through about my valves and got a response, this response wasnt what i wanted to hear but half good news because they said we will need to wait for this to happen to a few others before they can offer any helpasking for a manufacturer recall.
The website is: www.vosa.gov.uk
If you need to talk to them directly or email them, just tell them of your exact problem also quoting a reference which i'll give to you via email. Give me a quick email and ill give you the reference they gave me, itll make your lfie easier because they will have all my details with my exact problem. My email address is: contact@modxpc.com
If you didnt want to go down that route, i wish you the very best of luck! My fiance is Canadian! :)
Thanks!
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Making you pay for replacements x2 is CRIMINAL. Did they replace them with the same type aluminum stems? Do you still have the broken stems? If you do, look up close you will notice a white colour... that's oxidized aluminum. According to Mazda you will be "hitting many more curbs" as long as they keep installing crappy Chinese made TMPS.
An investigator from Transport Canada came yesterday to pick up one of my broken valve stems for analysis. He also took many pictures of the stems on the car, including one that is so corroded it will snap off before Christmas!!!
Maybe if something happens in Canada, VOSA will take notice. I will post all developments on this thread. I still find it hard to believe that this thread is the only discussion regarding the aluminum valves, because they must be snapping off all over the world!!!
I will forward the links I sent to the investigator yesterday (including a pic of your broken valve because it looks exactly like the first one that broke on me).
Cheers! And congrats on your engagement to a Canadian!!!!
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Reading this thread we seem to have found 1 or two failures like this on a Mazda. Is that right? That hardly points to a manufacturing or design issue does it. Also, I am right in thinking its only on the L/H side of the car? why is that?
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Reading this thread we seem to have found 1 or two failures like this on a Mazda. Is that right? That hardly points to a manufacturing or design issue does it. Also I am right in thinking its only on the L/H side of the car? why is that?
Doesn't matter which side it is on. My right side back stem is VISIBLY corroded and will snap soon (want pics????) The GM Canada service manager at West York Chevrolet (Toronto, Canada) advised that they cannot replace it under warranty until it actually fails/breaks/snaps.
To gain a better understanding, I asked, "So if it blows on the highway and we lose control of our vehicle and write it off, THEN you will replace the valve when I carry the tire back on my lap with my wheelchair?"
He simply shrugged and said, "It's like insurance, its gotta break before they will pay"
How comforting.
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Whether it be a manufacturers design fault or not, this shouldnt have happened - if mazda or any manufacturer were trying to cut costs then this cant be allowed.
How can you even try to imply that just because it's on the left hand side it was my fault? my alloys are in perfect condition & even if i were to hit the curb in the future the valve is tucked in from the allow which means there should be a hefty chunck out of the wheel should there not?
It happened to two of my valved as the alloys are in PERFECT condition, as you can see by the photo's. Any other explination for that?
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Whether it be a manufacturers design fault or not this shouldnt have happened - if mazda or any manufacturer were trying to cut costs then this cant be allowed.
I did some math. Let's say Dill manufactured 30 million of these and distributed them to Mazda, GM, Ford, Honda, et al.
And lets assume a total recall would cost $150 per stem. That equates to a $4.5 BILLION cost to car manufacturers.
With a monkey on their backs like this, of course they are in total denial. But it is disgusting that they blame the consumer and label us as "curb challenged" :-(((((
I have a feeling this thread is going to get busy soon.
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Well this thread didn't get that busy since it was started about 6 months ago. It seems it might not be such a big issue for the members here.
I wonder what is being reported on Mazda specific forums?
Edited by rtj70 on 03/11/2009 at 16:52
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I bet there are quite a few mazda owners who have experienced the same fault but been convinced by the dealer its related to kerbs & taken it on the chin. It won't be until a few are killed by ither tyre valves blowing out or throttles sticking flat out that something will happen.
may be some will remeber the saga with Ford explorers a few years ago. by the time there had been a couple of deaths action was taken.
If my dealer had told me to wait till the tyre valve snaps I would of got a letter from my solicitor holding them entirley responsible for any concequences of a tyre valve failure, whether it be that it fly's off when driving down a high street & takes someones eye out or causes a major pile up on a freeway
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may be some will remeber the saga with Ford explorers a few years ago. by the time there had been a couple of deaths action was taken.
It was more than a couple of deaths... 200 people died and thousands more were seriously injured during the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone "incident" of the 90's.
Let's hope they have learned from history.
A faint hope at best.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 04/11/2009 at 10:16
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yeah Gm sorry I was trying to tone it down a little otherwise some bright spark would of come up with some terse comment.
Tyre's was one incident & cruise control issue with throttles jamming fully open was another I believe
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>It happened to two of my valved as the alloys are in PERFECT condition, as you can see >by the photo's. Any other explination for that?
None, just mentioned that it was curious that its only the L/H side. What are the valves/stems like on the right hand side?
It could be that the garage pump you use is on the right hand side, and the strain of the hose pulls the valves, or it could be that the L/H side of the road is wetter, or it could be that you kerbed them or damaged them in some other way, who knows.
It does seem strange its just the L/H side. Its valid to question why. Its also valid to note that the forum is not boiling with other mazda owners with the same issue,
Edited by Altea Ego on 04/11/2009 at 11:58
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Hi Altea,
Sorry, i perhaps misunderstood what you were getting at - my apologies.
I have pumped my tyres up always in BP stations, not that will make a difference i'm not sure. But i have always made sure the pressure is ok & the pump goes in smoothly.
The right hand side stems are ok, have not caused a problem yet (not that it matters anyway as i cant drive the pink fluffy dice thing because of the ever famous DPF)
The thing is with Mazda, they have a complete cheek to confirm with the head office that the only explination to this is curb damage & when i reported this to VOSA they even confirmed with me they can't see any signs of damage but nothing can be done as their code of practise states they need mroe than one person to report the fault.
It must be a corrosion problem, i have kept one valve that snapped off but couldnt do anything with the other one as mazda had to completely remove it. Is there a website on this happening in the 90's? I've never heard of it :S being 22 don't help i suppose.
I hope i can get in contact with others who have had this problem.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 04/11/2009 at 12:37
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Okay, people count me in.
This is my third Mazda 6, but the first with the TPMS, and the first time I have been truly dissapointed by Mazda.
My TS 2.0 sport is less than a year old so I wouldn't have expected corrosion to be a problem. It appears I made the mistake of topping up the tyre pressures in the colder weather... Having done three tyres I was filling the last and I broke the valve... the thing is it was rediculously easy to break! The movement I made on the nozzle while filling was slight, there was a subtle 'crack', the tyre wouldn't fill anymore so when I removed the air line the end of the valve shot off! Instant flat tyre. (on the far side, not the curb side!)
Of course, the worse-than-useless compressor and can of goo wouldn't touch such a fault, so it was a call to the RAC, a three hour wait, a recovery to the Mazda garage, a wait until it opened three days later (Christmas break) and then another three day wait for the replacement valve to arrive... not acceptable... A car immobilised for many days because of a flat... when a spare would have got me back on the road in 20 minutes... Another beef, for another forum, and another day...
For now, I have been driving and maintaining my own tyre pressures for 25years without having suffered any of the above problems before. The new valve stems are made of solid (cheap?) metal, whereas before they were simple, flexible, rubber stems.
With the metal stems I can see that the amount of metal between the threads on the outer diameter of the stem for the valve cap, and the inner threaded diameter that accepts the valve core, is VERY THIN, and I am not surprised that they are breaking easily.
I asked my Mazda garage if they thought it was acceptable that a car would be totally immobilised for several days because of a flat, and to their credit they did find a Laguna tyre to get me running until the part arrives..
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Hi I know this was a while back now but wondered if you got anywhere with VOSA or anyone else?
i have broke one of these valves on 28/12/09 and now another on 18/5/10 on my Mazda 6 2.2d SL Est. The one i broke tonight i was rinsing car down with a hose (not pressure washer) and noticed the valve cap move so thinking it was loose went to tighten it. It fell apart in my hands like it was made of cake icing. The one that broke last year just fell off when i attached a tyre pump to check pressure.
I can't believe how easy they break. The RAC patrol the first time told me he got these calls regularly and knew people who had broke 3 then had given up and replaced all with normal rubber valves.
Mazda fobbed me off last time saying it was owner abuse but i am not going to back down this time.
Any help would be gratefully received.
Colin
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Hi Mazda6sl,
Ok firstly, with VOSA! I can email you the stupid replies i had from them. In short terms, VOSA would not look into this because of their code of practise. They quoted, the investigation showed there is no manufactuers fault, have a guess what the inspection was?.......Telephone Mazda UK and ask them.
I questioned VOSA, how can you class an inspection as an inspection if you have not come to inspect the car... again they referred to their code of practise. What are they here for?
Ok, back to your problem - the most annoying thing about these is that once they brake, you lose all your air and you cannot change the tyre, the whole valvehas to be changed which you can only get done in Mazda due to warranty reasons. When this happened to me & it happened to 2 of my valves, i was driving when one of them blew off without warning - Mazda dealer & MMUK blamed alloy damage. I have no damage to any of my alloys but they would not listen.
I can go on about this, so drop me an email and we can chat some more so i can at least help you avoid the mistakes i did not know to avoid with Mazda.
When this happened to me, i couldnt find anyone else it happened to! I had no choice but to replace all tyre valves, costly! but if a group was started like this before hand i would have fought it, but still am with all the other problems i have with my 6 SL.
Drop me an email on: contact@mazda-campaign.co.uk i will reply back straight away.
Mehdi.
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Ford have the same problem. The valves are made by schraeder then Ford vastly overprice both the valve and the labour. It took about 20 minutes from arrival to departure and cost a fiver including rubber valve at a local tyre place when my sensor snapped itself to get back on the road.
The sensors are not covered under warranty and the car is only just over 2 years old with a 3 year warranty.
I've had various metal valves over the years on both motorcycles and cars and have never had one snap itself until now. It's that bad I'm scared to pump them up in case they fall apart! And no I'm not joking!
Sounds like we need to get some TV program interested in these sub standard components and unhonoured warranties. Watchdog here we come.
Just checked on the Schrader site (correct spelling this time) and although the part number is different both Ford and Mazda sensors look the same. Coincidence? I think not.
Edited by duffer on 19/08/2010 at 00:13
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Hi Duffer,
I have heard about Ford having this problem but they seem to be honouring warranty!
Watchdog are useless - they take no notice of any of this. And if you try and report this to VOSA they can't find any reason to investigate further because under their code of practice the fault has to occur to more than 1 person and it has to be of a dangerous manner. Complete s***.
They won't even take my engine run-away serious! and there has been a story written on the sunday times online about how VOSA didnt help any Toyota drivers because of their codes of practice and way after they admitted there was a problem but always took the manufacturers side.
Where do we go for help in this country!? I have tried every single avenue and every governing agency and independant simply can't be bothered. Its amazing how no-one has picked up on this. In America they have the "lemon law" which when you read into it protects the consumer a lot more than it does the manufacturers..... maybe our country is getting payouts to shut up until it becomes serious where people lose their lifes?
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Hi,
I have a Mazda6 SL Estate which came with these awful "bling" 18" allow wheels, and therefore tyres with ridiculously low profiles, so all wheels are now damaged by our appalling U.K. roads. Howeve it also HAD (not has) the TPMS valves.
The first valve failure occurred when I was washing a wheel. The valve barrel snapped and the valve was blown across the road. Needless to say, I was stranded - no spare wheel, and the tyre weld will not fix a broken valve barrel.
When I inspected the broken valve barrel, it seemed obvious that the metal alloy was of poor quality, being crystalline in composition. Mazda insisted that I pay to have the TPMS assembly replaced.
The next TPMS valve failure occurred a few weeks later, when the car was booked in for service. The Mazda garage called me to say that one of the valves was leaking, and would have to be replaced. I told them that this was strange since the tyre pressure warning light had not come on in the last few thousand miles. Anyway I paid to have it replaced, but have now totally lost faith in these TPMS valves, and have subsequently had them all replaced with "standard" valves. The dashboard pressure light is on all the time, but is now covered with a bit of black insulating tape !
However Mazda have now offerred to repay the cost of the two valves, and the cost of removing the four valves, and the cost of fitting new "improved" TPMS valves. So maybe, just maybe, there really was something wrong with the original TPMS valves !
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Hi CobraWires,
Your the 4th person this week to have this problem now. Have a look on www.mazda-campaign.co.uk forum and you will see there is a topic on the tyre valves snapping, there are pictures up & i am sure your valves would have looked the same.
In my case, Mazda refused to pay for anything! telling me i had consistant curb damage when my alloys where in PERFECT condition. I couldnt find it at the time because i needed the car, reported it to VOSA which was a waste of time as they said its not a safety defect! which it is because myn blew off whilst i was driving and muct have hit a bad pothole.
Now, because others have complained VOSA have looked at this as a safety issue but not a safety defect and wont do anything about it even though they confirm Mazda are bringing out a whole new stock of the tyre valves.
Crazy how they cover these things up. I am still fighting my case of my Mazda 6 engine run-away!
Glad to see you got a result though :)
Mehdi - Admin
www.mazda-campaign.co.uk
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