Anyone ever heard of this one?

This morning while running an errand, I got a low tire warning light on my brand new JCW coupe with Dunlop runflats.

I head back home, whip out the tire gauge, and sure enough; the left front is reading 25 pounds, while all others are right around 38 (brand new car with only 350 miles on it!).

Can't spot a nail or any other offending object stuck in the tire.

I have a compressor and air hose here in the shop, so I decide to air the tire back up and see how fast it loses, before I decide who to call or where to take the wheel and tire (maybe it's a good thing I bought the tire warranty with the car!).

Anyway, now the weird part. The darn valve stem will not take air! Nothing!

Thinking that I may have a problem with the air chuck, I try another tire. No problem; takes air just fine.
I go back to the low tire and try again; will not take air at all.

Anyone ever heard of a valve stem being buggered-up inside? It's something that I've never experienced in all my 55 years.

 

I'm sure this is possible. I've seen ones that won't hold air but never one that won't take air. Do you have the new fangled TPMS on your MINI? Could be with new tech comes a new variety of failure.

 

Yep, I do have the new TPMS.

I've called the tire warranty company four times already today, and they've been practically worthless. First thing they did was give me the name of a local repair shop that I tried years ago with my daily drivers.
(I stopped going there when I saw one of the mechanics beating on somebody's Jag and cussing.)
I called them anyway, and it turns out that they don't even DO tire work.

Second call, they gave me name of a Goodyear place in town. I couldn't envision the place in the location they gave me, and it turns out that it's the warehouse for the local tire plant, just outside of town.

Third time, they transferred me to Customer Service; and they're closed until Monday.

I'm gonna take the car to a local shop that's been (fairly) trustworthy, and have them check out the valve stem and tire.
I'll report back in a little while. Wish me luck!

 

Good luck. If the tire shop is a good one they should be able to replace the faulty sensor. Worst case scenario stick a regular valve stem in there until you can get the proper sensor for your car.

 

There isn't much in the way of "good" shops in this little town of 20,000 people, unfortunately. Hammer mechanics, farmer types, etc.

I took it in, and the SA came back and told me that the "tech" was able to get air into it without a problem, and that it was originally only a couple pounds low.
I had already told him that it was reading 25 pounds, while the other three were at 38. No response from him at all.

I checked it again, right in front of him, and they had only aired it up to 30.
I came back home, and aired it up to 38. I'll watch it and see how it holds.

It wasn't easy to get air in it; I had to work at it. So I then took a good close look at ALL the valve stems. The plungers on the three "good" ones are all just under flush with the outside of the stem; (maybe 1/32" underflush, at the most).
The offending one is twice that; it's pretty far down inside. That would explain why it's harder to get air into it.

Another weird thing is that the plunger that's way down inside the stem is silver-colored, while the other three are all brass. Sounds like the kind of thing that's really a non-issue; but why is it different-colored, and why is it screwed so far down inside the stem?

 

Holy smoke! Now I drive a mile down the road and boom! it's back to 25 PSI again. Guess I'd better find a decent tire place next week.

 

I had to replace a torn valve stem on my Accord last week. No TPMS but just wanted to let you know that it does happen. Have them dismount the tire and get it checked out...

 

Just took the wheel off, aired the tire up to 40 psi and did the classic "tire in a big 'ole tub of water" thing; not a single bubble.

After removing it from the tub, while drying off the wheel, I inadvertently bumped into the side of the stem; and psssssssssst.

 

Well at least you now know that it is indeed that new fangled TPMS gizmo. Now to get to the dealer & have it replaced since there are only tractor shops in your neck of the woods.

 

I wasn't looking for an excuse to take a 4-hour round trip to the dealer quite so soon, though; especially if I have to haul the wheel and tire in the wife's minivan.

 

Yes I understand. Imagine how pissed you'd have been to find it was only a leak that could have been fixed locally. A 4 hour round trip sucks, especially in a minivan.

Call & make sure they have a TPMS module in stock before the trip.

 

Suppose a "Discount Tire" store can replace it?

There's one about 40 miles away; it might beat driving all the way to the dealer, even if I have to pay for the sensor and shop labor.

 

The local Discount Tire here in town has those & can replace them. Give them a try. I'd still call & make sure they do have one in stock.

 

I'll find out tomorrow; thanks!

 

Success! And kudos to Discount Tire!!

As it turns out, I was right to suspect that TPMS sensor.
Evidently, someone had replaced it, and did not torque the outside nut sufficiently; it was loose, and air was leaking from the rubber seals on the inside and outside of the rim.

Kind of funny that it wouldn't leak at all while the wheel was off the car; I put 40 pounds in the tire last night, and it didn't drop at all by this morning.
But when I put the wheel back on, the weight of the car caused the pressure to drop like crazy, within a minute or two.

The guy at Discount Tire took the sensor out, replaced the rubber seals, grabbed a torque wrench and assembled everything properly; no leaky now!

And no charge at all for the labor!
I've bought a couple sets of tires and a set of wheels from them, but this was the first time they ever saw this car; I would have expected a minimal labor charge, but nope.
Now, that's customer service!!

 

Glad to hear Discount Tire came through for you. The service they gave you is what keeps customers coming back.

 

Just an FYI that if you didn't buy any tire warranty from the dealer (I didn't) I found out after I got a non repairable screw in the side of my 2000 miles runflat tire that Discount Tire will sell you a road hazard policy on your tires.

They sold me a new tire at a very good discount and I bought the road hazard warranty on the remaining tires. I went back for the free rotation at 6000 miles, and found out that if I paid a little bit more it would have included life of the tire free rebalancing. They let me pay the difference and the rebalanced the tires. I would have thought tires would not need rebalancing, but all of the weights on the tires moved (could tell by the brake dust patterns).

Anyway, Discount Tires is great as they also do free flat repair (when it's fixable).

Congrats on the JCW!

P.S. I was the one who said I was born in Freeport. Moved to Rockford in 2nd grade, then Elgin in 6th grade. I still have relatives who live in Freeport.

 

Yep, I did buy a tire warranty from the dealer. I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea; but the price seemed reasonable enough to me, so I went for it.

I didn't know Discount Tire had that policy of free flat repairs without a prior purchase. Sweet!

You're probably fortunate to be out of this area. The place is drying up, pretty quickly. I only hope my cash cow stays around for a couple more years, so I can finish paying off my machinery!