I was driving on the highway when I had a complete loss of air pressure while traveling at approximately 60 to 65 mph nearly losing control my my vehicle. I was able to safely pull off the highway and examine my tire, and saw that my valve stem was completely missing from the front left wheel. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the wheel threads shows signs of corrosion which may have resulted in the TPMS monitor and valve stem breaking off.

- East Northport, NY, USA

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.

- Chicago, IL, USA

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.

- Oakland, NJ, USA

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?

- Elkridge, MD, USA

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.

- Kansas City , MO, USA

It is now March 2014, and 3 of the TPMS valve stems have corroded and are falling apart. The first one was discovered during tire replacement. Now 2 more are falling apart. All components are the original, so the claim about galvanic corrosion due to using aftermarket valves with brass is irrelevant. Mazda has a serious safety problem and is doing nothing about it. For reference I also own a Toyota rav4 and the TPMS are still perfect.

- St Helena Island, SC, USA

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.

- Madison, WI, USA

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.

- Oak Ridge, NC, USA

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.

- Mt. Juliet, TN, USA

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 (). 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 NHTSA should consider investigating. Tire failure at highway speed can lead to very serious accidents.

- Chelmsford, MA, USA

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.

- Sterling, OH, USA

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 "??"

- Port Jervis, NY, USA

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.

- Winthrop, MA, USA

The documented date above (07/13/13) is my most recent incident with my valve stem/tire pressure monitoring system falling off while driving. In June 2012 with ~34,000 miles, while driving on the highway, my first valve stem/TPMS fell out, not being able to drive on that wheel (no air), and the wheel could no longer be used until I had a Mazda dealer replace the part. This was a very dangerous experience for my tire to suddenly deflate while moving at fast speeds. This was fixed under my almost terminated warranty. One month later, the valve stem/TPMS on another wheel came off while driving and this had to be replaced like the other one. Most recently, my third wheel tpmsensor went while also driving on the highway, vigilantly maintaining control on my vehicle until I could pull off the highway. This trend shows a huge safety issue/inadequate parts used during construction. There is no prescribed care for these parts in the Mazda owners manual nor is there anyway to know that these would malfunction until they did. 3 out of 4 is unacceptable and unsafe and should show a trend. When I called Mazda, they told me that the cost of this recent repair was mine because the vehicle, now at ~55,000 miles was no longer under warranty. These parts were dysfunctional from the beginning and should have all been replaced at my first incident if this was to happen again, and again. I am nervous that this could happen to my fourth wheel while driving, potentially causing an accident.

- Wakefield, MA, USA

Tire pressure monitoring system sensor failed causing the tire to blowout and go flat on the highway. The stem of the sensor was corroded which caused the incident.

- Quincy , MA, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Mazda Mazda 3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the tire pressure warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear passenger's side valve stem and sensor was corroded. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the valve stem was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Bayville, NJ, USA

My tire pressure light was on, I stopped at the gas station to put some air in and as I removed the plastic valve cap the valve cracked and broke off leaving me with a flat tire.

- Pawtucket, RI, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that the rear tire pressure sensors failed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and it was found that the inside of the valve stems had rusted. The dealer determined that the valve stem needed to be replaced with a rubber stem instead of a metal one to prevent rust. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was not available. The current mileage was 27,000.

- East Hartford, CT, USA

On or about 4/24/2012, I had to purchase a new set of four tires at the Firestone dealership on route 36, West long branch, NJ 732-542-0995. Please also note I had my Mazda 3I for only a little over 2 years at that time. Within the last year, I have already had to replace two of those tires due to leaks/blowouts. Upon taking my car back to the self-same Firestone dealership in West long branch, NJ for closer inspection, ed gonzalez, the manager, indicated to me that the tire valve stem on the tire most recently "deceased"' (left rear) had actually fallen out of the tire and into the wheel well without ever being touched by anyone previously (I have photos of defective stems. Upon closer inspection, the tire valve stem in the right rear tire is also defective to the eye. I have both defective stems and [xxx] will attest-in writing-to the fact that they are both defective-and the original, factory-installed tire valve stems that I received on my Mazda 3I in February, 2010. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Neptune, NJ, USA

Checking tire pressure in driveway and TPMS sensor - tire valve cracked and failed in 3 of 4 tires/wheels. Two today, and the first approx. 3 months ago. Imagine what could happen if one of these valves failed while. Driving down the highway.

- Milford, MI, USA