Valve stems on tires blow out with very little warning. It has happened three times on my vehicle, twice at highway speeds with my small child in the backseat. The sensor for low tire pressure goes on and within a minute the tire is completely ruined. And the most recent incident was with a tire only six months old and less than 10000 miles. There is not enough time to even pull over. This is very unsafe and scary.
2010 Mazda MAZDA3 wheels complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 54, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2010 madza3 less than 40,000 miles. Went to have snow tires removed after winter season. All four TPMS valves corroded and broken into pieces. Tire dealer would not release car with valves in this condition. Have temporarily replaced with regular, non-monitoring valves. Six year old vehicle with this few miles should not be having this issue. No recall issued, but obviously common issue with this model. Why hasn't recall been issued. Could be catastrophic on highway.
Steering wheel locking up while driving, unable to turn the car
[I bought my car used, and it came with the TPMS light on. I was told it was because the passenger rear sensor wasn't transmitting. I check my tire pressure often, and ignore the TPMS light because those sensors are expensive! More on this later.] as I was accelerating from a stop light a few weeks ago, I realized I was getting a flat tire on the driver front. I pulled over and, as I was taking the lug nuts off, noticed the valve stem had disappeared. After I got to the tire shop and they were inspecting the tire, the tech informed me the flat was because the entire valve had fallen out of the tire! They also informed me the passenger rear tire did not have a faulty sensor; the valve had been replaced (by the previous owner) with a non-sensor valve. I found it strange that now two tire valves had been replaced on my car. When I researched this online, I discovered my model year has several complaints of the valves breaking or falling out! And now my driver rear tire is losing air, so I suspect that valve needs replaced, as well. I contacted mazda and was surprised to find their email response included no mention at all of the tire valves - the entire point of my contacting them. I found other owners online stating mazda is aware of this problem, but refuses to issue a recall. At this point, I have one replaced valve without a sensor (courtesy of the previous owner), the $80 valve I just replaced (with a sensor), one valve I suspect is leaking and needs replacedn, and one valve that may fail at any time like the one a few weeks ago. Mazda needs to address this and rectify it. They're lucky that valve failed before my road trip on the 9th, when I would have been going 70 MPH on the highway! And I don't appreciate having to spend $320 to correct mazda's mistakes.
Tire valve stem on 2010 mazda 3 corroding and braking apart. The first valve stem broke off while I was putting air in my tires. Now two more are visibly corroded and the nut that holds the valve stem to the wheel are breaking apart (one of them half the nut fell off).
Tire sensor malfunctions and punctures the tire. I had already replaced tire sensors on all the wheels and it is happening every year. I only had 44,000 miles and I had to replace all the tires and tire sensors. I had the car parked yesterday night and all the tires had good pressure and drove in the morning out the driveway. Within less than 0.5 driving my front passenger wheel got flat. After towing to dealer, I found out it was due tire sensor.
Four new tires installed last summer. Since then two have failed while driving. The first time I thought my daughter hit something when the right front totally failed (replaced new tire under 5000 miles). She said it happened while driving slow thru neighborhood. Then the left front failed a few months later and she had it replaced. She was told the problem is the TPMS, and that the right rear will probably fail too.
Tpms blow out while driving in the highway. Here is an image of my third TPMS that would have blown out while driving in the highway. Good thing I noticed this because I now know to check for it. Http://tinypic.com/r/2pt89cl/8 http://tinypic.com/r/2unwlr5/8 http://tinypic.com/r/o6a64j/8 http://tinypic.com/r/5z2vc9/8
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda 3. While driving 65 MPH, the rear passenger side tire exploded. The tire was replaced with a spare. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic stated that the TPMS sensor was corroded and the nut was fractured. The tire was replaced and the sensor was replaced with regular valve stems. The contact also stated that the dashboard was melting, which caused a glare from the sun. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000. Updated 09/14/15*lj updated 11/01/2017
Today as I am reporting is the 3rd incident of this type since I bought the car brand new, and my car now has only 44 k miles on it. The TPMS sensors on the mazda 3 are connected to the air valve in the tires. Tpms sensors are very fickle and tend to corrode and break with seasonal weather. When the TPMS sensor breaks on a mazda3, it lets all the air out of your tire and gives you a flat, stranding you wherever you are. Tpms sensors are supposed to aid drivers to let them know there is a problem, but in this case, they actually cause the problem. The air valve being connected to the TPMS is unique to the design of this car, and has never been a problem for me with other vehicles. This can lead to dangerous situations, depending on how fast the car is traveling and where. I have lost air on the highway and been stranded on the side of the road. Tpms sensors/installation are 200 bucks each approximately, and if your tire gets ripped up during the incident, you must also buy a new tire.
The valve stems on the wheels are corroding and one completely fell off while attempting to take a cap off of it to add air. These could potentially result in rapid air loss from the tires and an accident. I was lucky that it happened when I wasn't driving.
I have now had two TPMS valve stems snap off while needing to inflate my tires. Both cracked in half at the threaded part or the stem. Cost is $150 each to replace. Mazda corporate says this is "normal". I have driven 500,000 in my life and never had a valve stem crack off. This car has had two. Forums are littered with this issue. People complaining of failure while driving and tires going flat on the highway. Will someone need to die for mazda to change these dangerous monitors?
Replaced 1st of 16 tires to date. Since owning this car, we've had to replace tires 1x/year. This is due to the overly aggressive camber on the car. During this time, we've taken it to 2 separate mazda dealers who deny any defect in the car. As a last resort we've contacted mazda, na, who referred us back to one of the dealers we've dealt with in the past. Their solution was additional rotations and alignments. You can't align camber when it meets the manufacturer's specifications that cause the tires to wear on the inner side prematurely. We have 80,500 miles on the car and have put on 4 sets of tires. Mazda denies any defect, just as they did 20 years ago with a seat belt problem that resulted in a recall after government intervention. The tire issue is a safety issue in that the wear is out of sight. This last pair of tires were purchased due to a blowout on a major road and having to change to the donut while on the shoulder. Mazda will not back their vehicles, so don't buy them!
The tire pressure sensors became corroded. One broke off during getting new tires installed, the second happened while I was filling the tire with air. It just fell apart in my hand.
All four wheels are rusting. Rust is so bad that a flat tire cannot be changed, the wheels are rusted completely to the axles. Car has never been exposed to salt water and was purchased new.
Low tire pressure light came on while driving. Pulled in to the gas station to check tires and noticed a flat rear tire. Went to put air in and saw the valve stem was gone. Had it towed and was told I need to replace all of them. They are all cracked. Just got back from a vacation. Glad this didnt happen on the tunpike. Seems very soon for this to happen. Been driving 40 years. This is a first.very expensive and dangerous.40 ,000 miles seems pretty soon for this.
On 4/19/14, I had a broken TPMS sensor which needed to be replaced. This sensor was on the passenger side, front tire. Then again on 6/2/14, I had the same problem on a different tire - the driver side back tire.
While driving on the highway my tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) light came on to indicate a low tire. I pulled into the gas station near my house right after and check my tire pressures. When checking the driver side rear tire pressure with a tire pressure gauge the TPMS sensor and stem pushed in and air blasted out, blowing several pieces of the sleeve that keeps the stem in place off of the wheel/stem. I picked up the 2 remaining pieces (one third of the sleeve was missing and presumed to have fallen off while driving) and they had cracked length-wise and had a large amount of white corrosion in the threads. The remaining stem was also covered in white corrosion on the threads and the tire had lost most of its pressure. I still have those pieces of the cracked TPMS sensor sleeve if needed to be examined. I took the vehicle and wheel to the mazda dealership where they inspected that wheel as well as the others. They stated that 2 of my other TPMS sensors had cracked sleeves that could come off at any time in addition the one that had failed. If one of those had failed on one of my front wheels this could have caused a loss of control while driving.
In the mazda 3, the TPMS sensor is connected to the air valve. The TPMS sensors break easily, causing the tire to deflate. If the outside part of the TPMS sensor breaks from corrosion or being hit against a curb, the tire will deflate. I have had 3 TPMS sensors break since I had the car, which has only been 4 years (approx 39,000 miles), and is expensive to replace. My tires are less than 3 years old. The part of the TPMS exposed on the outside will corrode, and if the outside part breaks off, your tires deflate. This is a common problem for mazda owners. These things break and then cause a flat, leaving the driver in a possible emergency situation. The reason for the TPMS sensor is so drivers don't have blow outs, but the emergency light is very nonspecific, so the only way you know what the problem is when the flat has already occurred, which is unnecessarily caused by the TPMS sensor. This latest incident involved me stranded in the country, yet another TPMS sensor replacement ($200 approx), a new tire, and an alignment - almost $500 total. If the TPMS sensor hadn't broken, the flat would not have occurred at all.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda 3. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the TPMS light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was experienced multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 51,850.
Tire pressure gauge broke off, resulting in sudden loss of tire pressure and the need to suddenly slow and pull over. After taking it into be serviced, the mazda dealer says all four are corroded, and need to be replaced. At 4 years and less than 40,000 miles, this seems clearly like a potential safety problem with the car in general.
Rear tire was flat in the morning. Could not find visible damage. Pumped it up to 32 psi and by next morning it was 20 psi. Three days later, a front tire was flat. No noticeable damage, but did notice a cracked tire stem on a third tire. Went to a tire dealer to get repairs. Was informed that three of my four tire pressure monitor sensors were leaking. Had all four replaced at my expense. I do not believe this is a safety improvement over not having the sensors which are now required by law.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda mazda3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, she heard an unusual noise outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. The contact noticed the driver's side rear tire pressure monitor sensor was faulty and caused the tire to deflate. The tire was replaced with a spare tire. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for repair. The contact wanted to include that if she were traveling at greats speeds the failure could have been hazardous. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 15,850.
June 9th 2013, vehicle experienced loss of inflation pressure in passenger front tire while driving. Dealership confirmed TPMS valve seal failure was root cause of air loss. Check of other tpm sensors confirmed driver side front seal was also defective and leaking small amounts of air. Both replaced under warranty with dealer indicating this as a known issue. September 16th 2013 passenger rear tire experienced airloss while driving vehicle. Dealer investigation confirmed tpm valve failure. Part not covered under warranty or dealer goodwill. Failure of safety-critical part after ~3 years of field exposure is not acceptable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda, mazda3. The contact stated that while having the vehicle serviced, the technician advised that the motor mount was cracked and needed to be replaced. Also, the contact mentioned that the front driver's side tire went flat with the illumination of the tire sensor warning light. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the tire sensors were corroded and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 76,000.
Within 2 days of driving, my mazda 3 had two separate incidents, where the valves of the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) failed, on two separate tires. On monday, july 18, 2013 while traveling at highway speed on rt. 25 in bourne, ma, the tire pressure warning light came on. I stopped at the nearest gas station. The driver's front tire was very flat. When I attempted to fill it with air, the valve pushed into the tire. Luckily, I was at a gas station and they were able to repair the tire with "standard" (non-TPMS) valve and I was on my way. As I was on vacation. I parked the car for a week. When I returned to my car (july 22), I drove the car for about 50 miles. I stopped to have lunch and noticed that the driver's side rear tire was very flat. When I attempted to put air into the valve, it too pushed into the tire. That is two TPMS valves that failed in two days of driving. I called mazda customer service (800‑222‑5500, ext. 6) explained the situation to jose (ext. 1180). He was sympathetic, but would not commit to mazda repairing the TPMS valve at no cost to me. I am having my mechanic put in non-TPMS valves in the remaining two tires on the car, as I feel they are a real safety hazard. I will not drive the car until it is repaired. I went on to the internet and there are numerous instances of valve failures on mazda3 cars (http://carproblemzoo.com/mazda/mazda3/tire-pressure-monitoring-system-problems.php). I plan to take the failed components to wellsley mazda, in wellsley ma where the vehicle was purchased, for evaluation. I do not trust the reliability of the tmps system in my mazda3, and apparently there are others who feel the same. The failure of the TPMS valves is a serious safety issue and one that the federal safety agency should consider investigating. Tire failure at highway speed can lead to very serious accidents.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda3. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the rear passenger's side tire went flat with the illumination of the tire sensor warning light. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where it was stated that the tire sensors were corroded. The vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
I have a 2010 mazda 3, I have had issues with the tire pressure sensor corroding and causing the tire to lose air quickly. This has happen to me twice within 6 months of each other. I took the other two tire sensors off, which they were also corroded. This issue needs to be addressed as quickly as possible, I got lucky that I wasn't traveling at high speeds at the time my pressure in my tires went out. Also at the time I had two children under the age of 5 in the car which thank goodness nothing happen to them! This could very easily cause someone to loose control and wreck their car and cause serious injuries.
Only owner of a 2010 mazda 3. Issues with car since purchasing. Replaced tires in winter of 2012, few weeks later tire pressure light came on. Filled tires with air. Few weeks later, same occurrence. Brought car to the place were the tires were professionally installed. The inspected over all 4 tires and found that 2 of the 4 tire stems needed to be replaced. Called mazda corp and they stated the car needed to go to a dealership to be diagnosed. ( for leaking tire stems ). Called my local mazda where the car was purchased, they were great and said they wouldn't charge a fee to diagnose leaking stems as it was obvious. They did find that 2 of the 4 were broken. 1 was actually snapped in half. No driver error noted, or damage to rim. If you google this issue there are other complaints out there regarding this, but mazda still wont recognize this as a safety issue. My question being... What if the stems failed at a high rate of speed ????
Tpms alerted driver to low air pressure in a tire. Checked tire, pressure low (subsequently found screw in tire). Once air nozzle place on valve stem, it snapped in half and all the air immediately went out of the tire. Others checked and are corroded and brittle. Dealer and local auto mechanic both stated likely to happen again without warning. Materials used in the valve stem should be changed to make them flexible, like the older ones without the monitoring system. Replaced valve stem with $5 stem of flexible material to prevent safety issue in the future.
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