Valve Stem Warning

gotmark73 · 09-12-2007, 10:28 AM

I have an 07 328 coupe that is 1 year old today. I had BMW roudel valve caps installed before I took the car home. Yesterday I had thr low tire warning and could not remove the caps (no I am not slow). I took the car to the dealer where they said that because the stems are aluminum and the caps are steel they oxodisied together. Took the dealer about 2 hours to get the caps off. Just a warning to check your non-OE caps.

Mark

cycler2 · 09-12-2007, 11:00 AM

Interesting. I have used the Roundel valve caps for several months now on my 2007 328 sedan and have not experienced that problem. If anything, they seem a bit loose when I remove them to top off the tire pressure. I got mine from my selling dealer (a "feeebie") and they are an "official" BMW accessory. I'm surprised to hear that BMW would sell a part that fails this way.

I wonder if others have experienced the same problem as you have.

tintivilus · 09-12-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotmark73

I have an 07 328 coupe that is 1 year old today. I had BMW roudel valve caps installed before I took the car home. Yesterday I had thr low tire warning and could not remove the caps (no I am not slow). I took the car to the dealer where they said that because the stems are aluminum and the caps are steel they oxodisied together. Took the dealer about 2 hours to get the caps off. Just a warning to check your non-OE caps.

Mark

I'm pretty sure they mentioned that in the manual

EDIT: yeah, the steel caps on normal plastic/brass stems are fine. The aluminum stems used for direct-TPMS wheels are the issue. I don't think they need to discontinue a long-selling accessory when they come up with a new product that's incompatible, but the dealer should know better than "throwing them in" with a vehicle they'll mess up. Maybe there are new plastic ones?

ezatnova · 09-12-2007, 11:30 AM

It's also scary, the lack of knowledge about this that some stealerships have. I went to my closest one from work to pick up some roundel caps and asked them for the ABS plastic, chrome painted ones rather than the standard metal ones since I had the TPM stems. The parts guy thought I was nuts and asked me "Why would there ever be two different materials for valve stem caps, and what does it have to do with your ABS brakes?!"

Idiots. After that I sucked up the 20 minute longer drive to my dealership (Otto's, west chester) and the lady that runs the shop there knew EXACTLY what I needed and we had a good laugh about the other clueless dealer. She was even on-the-ball enough to have the TSB taped right to the counter next to the stems!

HyperM3 · 09-12-2007, 11:52 AM

This wouldnt happen if you check your tire pressure on a weekly basis.

Food for thought.

Gort · 09-12-2007, 01:03 PM

This ones been posted a few times before. A little dab of Vaseline on the threads will prevent it in my experience.

halB · 09-12-2007, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyperM3

This wouldnt happen if you check your tire pressure on a weekly basis.

Food for thought.

....but the corrosion still takes place continuously, just that you keep removing it by opening it. It will get worse a lot faster in the winter when salty water gets into it. Eventually the aluminum thread on the valve stems will dissolve away (aluminum is more active than iron) then you will have to replace them. At the very least you should put a barrier compound such as anti-seize on the threads if you really want to keep them.

Chowbow · 09-12-2007, 01:10 PM

Or a tiny bit of anti-seize is good practice on metal-metal parts like that.

HyperM3 · 09-12-2007, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by halB

....but the corrosion still takes place continuously, just that you keep removing it by opening it. It will get worse a lot faster in the winter when salty water gets into it. Eventually the aluminum thread on the valve stems will dissolve away (aluminum is more active than iron) then you will have to replace them. At the very least you should put a barrier compound such as anti-seize on the threads if you really want to keep them.

Maybe a good idea would be to go back to the OEM valve stem nuts in the winter. I thought the roundel nuts were plastic. Everytime I drop them on the ground they sound like plastic.

09-12-2007, 10:28 AM	#1
gotmark73 Enlisted Member 1 Rep 40 Posts Drives: Waiting for Coupe Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Munster IN iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 328 Coupe [0.00]	Valve Stem Warning I have an 07 328 coupe that is 1 year old today. I had BMW roudel valve caps installed before I took the car home. Yesterday I had thr low tire warning and could not remove the caps (no I am not slow). I took the car to the dealer where they said that because the stems are aluminum and the caps are steel they oxodisied together. Took the dealer about 2 hours to get the caps off. Just a warning to check your non-OE caps. Mark __________________ 2007 328, sport pkg, 6spd. manual, RED, black leather (heated), no front plate mount. I am not saying we should kill the stupid people, we should just remove the warning labels off of everything and let nature take it's course.
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09-12-2007, 11:00 AM	#2
cycler2 Second Lieutenant 8 Rep 283 Posts Drives: 328i Sedan Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockville, Md iTrader: (0)	Interesting. I have used the Roundel valve caps for several months now on my 2007 328 sedan and have not experienced that problem. If anything, they seem a bit loose when I remove them to top off the tire pressure. I got mine from my selling dealer (a "feeebie") and they are an "official" BMW accessory. I'm surprised to hear that BMW would sell a part that fails this way. I wonder if others have experienced the same problem as you have.
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09-12-2007, 11:30 AM	#4
ezatnova Colonel 97 Rep 2,188 Posts Drives: C63 AMG Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: West Chester, PA iTrader: (5)	It's also scary, the lack of knowledge about this that some stealerships have. I went to my closest one from work to pick up some roundel caps and asked them for the ABS plastic, chrome painted ones rather than the standard metal ones since I had the TPM stems. The parts guy thought I was nuts and asked me "Why would there ever be two different materials for valve stem caps, and what does it have to do with your ABS brakes?!" Idiots. After that I sucked up the 20 minute longer drive to my dealership (Otto's, west chester) and the lady that runs the shop there knew EXACTLY what I needed and we had a good laugh about the other clueless dealer. She was even on-the-ball enough to have the TSB taped right to the counter next to the stems!
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09-12-2007, 11:52 AM	#5
HyperM3 Too many Alex's, from now on, call me Beaufort 342 Rep 6,188 Posts Drives: See Sig Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Lawrenceville, NJ iTrader: (8)	This wouldnt happen if you check your tire pressure on a weekly basis. Food for thought. __________________ 13 HD FatBob 17 A4 Glacier/Black 1st Edition/Pre+/Sport/EurocodeTMD/Racechip 16 S6 (gone),14 S6 (gone),14 S6 (gone),13 S6 (gone),10 S4 (gone) 07 335i(gone)
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09-12-2007, 01:03 PM	#6
Gort Klaatu Barada Nikto 30 Rep 1,169 Posts Drives: 2017 X3-35i Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: A Bipolar Planet iTrader: (0)	This ones been posted a few times before. A little dab of Vaseline on the threads will prevent it in my experience.
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09-12-2007, 01:10 PM	#8
Chowbow pew pew 166 Rep 6,781 Posts Drives: 三三五i Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CA iTrader: (6) Garage List 2015 BMW 328i wagon [0.00] 2007 BMW 335i sedan [10.00] 1997 BMW 328i track ... [10.00]	Or a tiny bit of anti-seize is good practice on metal-metal parts like that. __________________ CSL replicas are now CSL counterfeits. Jesus saves, like Valentine1.
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