tpms

[bob]

Hi Eric, My wife has a 2010 Yaris 3door hatchback I put these Toyota valve caps on the stems and now they are frozen on .I can`t get them to come off to check the air in the tires. The car has those tpms valves installed from the factory. Is there anyway to get those valve caps off without breaking the sensors? It looks like the stems are made of soft metal. Thanks for your help. I am very great full for what you do to help people like me .

Topic

[Mike]

I’m not Eric but you will want to spray some penetrating oil (Deep Creep/PB Blaster) repeatedly over time and try to remove the caps later, maybe having to use pliers. Don’t be rough with it, the stems are delicate. They’re made of poor quality aluminum, which is why they seem soft and are prone to breaking.

[b]Things you are never told when you buy a car with TPMS sensors that have metal valve stems:
[/b]
-metal caps are very bad. Without grease, oil, or penetrating oil, they will seize. That is why the stock caps are plastic.

-if they are left uncapped, the valve cores will seize into the stems. This may cause complications when replacing tires, depending of the experience/resourcefulness/competency of who is doing the tires. This will also cause accelerated corrosion.

– if the valve stems are allowed to corrode, It will be easier to break/crack the valve stem when trying to check/fill the air in the tires.

-TMPS sensors have internal batteries that are designed to last no more than 10 years. The battery cannot be replaced when it dies. The sensor must be replaced and programmed to the car.

[Author]

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