While driving in the passing lane to go around a semi truck on Interstate 71 North in Medina County, the nut on the valve stem broke off due to corrosion. The balance of the stem falls into the tire and the air is immediately released. This happened at 12:20 AM on Saturday morning. When my 19 year old daughter called, she was very upset and shaken. She had managed to get to the side of the road safely which is the good news. This could of been a tragic story.
We put the replacement tire on and took the flat to Monroe muffler for what I thought was a simple tire repair. That's when I was informed the stem was bad due to corrosion. The tire had been damaged while she moved off the road to safety. It was a weekend and I did not have time to take it to a dealer. I replaced the stem with one that does not have an aluminum nut that will not corrode for about $100 plus a new tire. The service rep had a drawer full of these corroded stems. He advised the others should be replaced.
I will call a dealer on Tuesday morning. This is another effort at making cars more safe but creating other issues by using inferior parts. These small aluminum nuts should be a better alloy that will not corrode due to conditions here in the north.
While driving in the passing lane to go around a semi truck on Interstate 71 North in Medina County, the nut on the valve stem broke off due to corrosion. The balance of the stem falls into the tire and the air is immediately released. This happened at 12:20 AM on Saturday morning. When my 19 year old daughter called, she was very upset and shaken. She had managed to get to the side of the road safely which is the good news. This could of been a tragic story.
We put the replacement tire on and took the flat to Monroe muffler for what I thought was a simple tire repair. That's when I was informed the stem was bad due to corrosion. The tire had been damaged while she moved off the road to safety. It was a weekend and I did not have time to take it to a dealer. I replaced the stem with one that does not have an aluminum nut that will not corrode for about $100 plus a new tire. The service rep had a drawer full of these corroded stems. He advised the others should be replaced.
I will call a dealer on Tuesday morning. This is another effort at making cars more safe but creating other issues by using inferior parts. These small aluminum nuts should be a better alloy that will not corrode due to conditions here in the north.
- mluichoh, Lodi, OH, US