Did Mechanics break my TPMS?
 

Hi!

I am wondering if you Fit friends could share your experiences with me, im trying to figure out if this mechanic i went to is telling the truth or not.

Preface, im clueless about car things, and had the same mechanic for 15 years. But he recently disappeared, so i had to go somewhere new, and fast, to get my insurance squared away this year.

So I went for a routine inspection at a local place (that has a 4.8 star rating, for what that's worth). This guy said my back tires were balding and would fail inspection, he heavily implied that if i got my tires done by someone else, that it would interfere with my obtaining an inspection in due time, or some such business. so i gave him 300 bucks and, despite feeling a little railroaded, was generally happy to have new tires.

Except after that, maybe a week later, my tire light kept on going on, it seemed like the back tires had a slow leak that i would have to refill once a week, which was discouraging. I put it off because the idea of confronting them made me feel anxious, but eventually i made my way back to them and found the courage to ask what went wrong.

They said the tpms valves (right word/term?) had been broken when the tires were changed. I asked why they would both break at the same time, they said they must have both been so corroded that any tire change would have broken them. They then said it would be 75 dollars each to fix. I must have really gaped at them because they then said, maybe they could fix them for less, they would have to look.

While bringing me back to my car, they showed me two random TPMS valves, one with a broken seal, and one with a hairline crack in the metal. He then said, you know, its where we live, these things are bound to happen. because we live in new england, things corrode ( i am not near a coast or anything, im in Blackstone, MA)

After i was driving away i realized i deeply wish i could have mentioned to them that i had my front two tires replaced just weeks before the back ones, and they are functioning perfectly, why would both the back be so fragile, and both the front be fine?

So, New England Fit owners, is corrosion a credible excuse? I wish i knew where Eli went, he was such a good mechanic. He didnt talk much but nothing he said ever made me feel doubtful!

dealers sometimes break things while 'repairing'. its crazy to see some dealers not having the right tools to do tire swaps and ends up marking the wheel face.

anyway, ive had bad seals on my old GE's tpms. one of them kept leaking despite the tire store putting new seals on them twice. it would be fine for like 4-5 months then suddenly started leaking.

Corrosion issues are typical as these things weather and age.

Leaks happen at the valve stems as corrosion sets in, just like tires can leak around the beads as the edges of the wheels corrode. Again, typical.

Once in a while replacing the rubber gasket can fix a TPMS valve stem leak, but they usually end up needing the entire sensor replaced. Again, corrosion causes multiple problems here.
(Replacement sensors have to be programmed so the car will recognize them)

Removing and installing a tire could have disturbed the sensor and aggravated the leak issue, but the corrosion was already there. The tire guy did not cause the corrosion.




Someone breaking the sensors during tire replacement is also something that happens, most frequently it's due to carelessness--- but occasionally not, breakage can happen to the best of us.
Crap happens and we have to deal with it.

If I destroy a sensor and I know it's entirely my fault, I admit fault and the shop buys it.
Not all operate this way though.

Tpms
 

Everything that ezone has said is correct,

I would also like to add that sometimes an aftermarket/universal sensor might not work properly with your car and cause problems too,
so I have heard that is best to stick with OEM sensors if possible