Were you using them in the winter by any chance??? If not, that's pretty cheap and I guess I'll change them too then...

 

I checked today and I have the gray plastic ones....

 

Great post Heckler.... Thanks...

 

Mine are gray. I will have to check to be sure they are plastic. I can't imagine my cheap Patriot has metal valve caps.

What are the stems made of? I've had metal caps on other tires that don't corrode. Are the Patriot stems not brass? On all stems since time began, the threads have been brass.

 

Grey plastic caps here.

 

Black plastic on mine ---Checked them--easy on , easy off--but thanks for Tip!!

 

mine are silver plastic...and one is MIA!

 

My experience is that early TPMS caps were all metal, & they corrode after winter driving. Usually they are under warranty, & the dealer will change out the valve stems & put plastic caps on. From 08 onwards all TPMS have plastic caps in silver colour.

 

Mine where plastic but i replaced them with after market ones. When i had my TPMS switched to my new rims they would not come off. So i used penetrating oil and a hair dryer to get them loose. The valve steams are made of aluminum.

 

It is common that two dissimilar metals will corrode. The valve stems are aluminum, and the caps are steel. I cannot recall seeing any Chrysler vehicles with TPMS coming with metal valve stem caps from the factory. They have always been silver/gray plastic as far as I know.

 

Aluminium & steel dont mix???? As Land Rover found to their cost many years ago!!

 

Aluminum? Seriously? That is a really poor choice. Aluminum reacts with lots of other materials including salt. How are they made? Can a different stem be installed in the sensor.

(^%##!##&^*&^%%$#^&^$%@!# new cars!

 

That happened to my Honda Pilot, took it into Kal Tire, they replaced all 4 stems, for $180. :doh:

 

The only lousy part is that my TPMS didn't get transferred to the new wheels. Either Jeep or my dealer (so far un-named) installed metal valve caps that have corroded. The tire installer broke one of them off, and we decided not to break the other two that were also corroded.

I'll be going to the dealer and asking them to remove the other two valve caps and hopefully replace the broken sensor. My fourth sensor already has a plastic cap from a tire repair last summer.

If you have these valve caps, take them off! Replace them with properly speced TPMS valve caps, that have a seal and are plastic.

pictures...

 

I put stainless steel ones on last summer. Soon as I heard this I ran out and checked them out. They all turned off by hand. Maybe having a rubber seal around the inside helped. But I sure will keep my eye on them.

They have a hex head which allows me to use a small socket on them but I didn't have to.

The slightest problem back goes the plastic.

 

don't do it william.

mine were fine for a year and a half. I knew about this problem, but figured since they were stock they must be OK. After this winter, they're siezed.

 

don't do it william.

mine were fine for a year and a half. I knew about this problem, but figured since they were stock they must be OK. After this winter, they're
siezed.

I agree, as my Honda was fine for a few years, then this winter with the heavy snow fall, it's stuck. In Canada, the TPMS were mandated by government as of 2007, but some car company, like Honda started early & was stock item since 2005. They use the aluminum caps in the beginning; but i found out from the dealer (after mine were all stuck) that there was a recall (which i never got) & all were changed out? As my car is past the 3 year warranty period, the dealer cannot fix mine under warranty, (And i didn't have the time to speak to the service manager or Honda Rep, as i was going on "Spring Break Holiday" & needed the car.) Long story short, change to plastic caps asap. You will be wise to do so.

 

I had the same problem as "heckler" on my '09. Dealer replaced one sensor under warranty, then removed the remaining caps and changed all to plastic. I do think winter is a contributing factor. Cheers.

 

I had the same problem as "heckler" on my '09. Dealer replaced one sensor under warranty, then removed the remaining caps and changed all to plastic. I do think winter is a contributing factor. Cheers.

really? My dealer's now denying warrantee, because he can't find a record that Jeep ever had chrome valve caps. The service guy was pretty rude about it, but his manager was OK. We'll see what price he gives me for a new sensor before I lambaste them here.

09jEEp, do you have any record you could send me (scan, photo or fax) of your warrantee replacement?

 

Mine are plastic... Just checked.

 

OK here is a machine shop trick for getting stuck things un stuck. Get 2 hammers. Place one against the nut, or in this case the valve cap. Then tap the other side of the cap with the other hammer. Turn 90 degrees and repeat. Do this several times. If it is going to come loose, it will. Obviously you are going to be careful not to bend the stem or squash it. So don't hit too hard at first. I have loosened up a good many rusted nuts like this. If you can get your hands on a product called "rust buster" all the better. We sell it. It is only 2 bucks, but it is a "hazardous material" so shipping it is expensive and not worth the effort. !@#*&@! Rules Use liquid wrench if you can't find Rust Buster. Try to get the stem where gravity will allow some to run in there.

Good luck.

 

or book an appointment at the dealer so they can break off the other two and replace all three under warrantee.

 

I took your advise Heckler and put the plastic ones back on, Thanks.

The stainless steel looked so much better but it's not worth it.

 

Dang sucks they are being tools about it.

Do you have any pictures from when you first got it showing the caps to prove you picked it up like that?

 

I lost my camera when we bought the Jeep. I found an old post here saying that.

 

As a former service advisor for Chrysler-it is not a warranty item, anything that is added to a vehicle that causes a warrantyable part to fail(like aftermarket valve stem caps siezing to the stem) voids the warranty on said part. All you have to do is read the disclosure page in your owners manual-that explains all covered and non-covered items. I also had to inform an owner that the aftermarket caps he had(like the ones on hecklers jeep) caused the stem to break off-he paid, was not happy, but, he paid.
Tom

 

Tom, the problem is that I bought it brand new with these installed. That's what pisses me off.

 

so, i just broke of two of the TPMS valve stems. One I applied heat to, and I thought the cap was coming off, but I just stripped the aluminum threads with the cap. The other just broke in half. yeah jepstr67, I hammered on the sides and top of both of them.

so, that's 3 out of 4 TPMS's I get to replace because Columbia Dodge in Richmond BC sold me an 07 with steel valve caps on aluminum TPMS, and won't admit that they did this and replace them under warrantee. They were going to give me the "good guy" deal (the service managers words) of $10 off, but I'd rather buy them from another dealer.

 

Will these caps be safe to use? It does say it is made of ABS composite materials which I'm not 100% sure what those are. Ebay has a couple more different caps made of plastic which I assume will be safe to use. I was tempted to get metal ones with green jeep logo but figured they are not worth the price of replacing stem valves if they break. Here in this part of CA we don't get snow at all and rarely the temperature hits the freezing point but I'd rather be safe then sorry.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JEEP...tem254bfb4d86QQitemZ160188550534QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories