VictorGX

1) Can anyone confirm that the valve stems/TPMS sensors are covered under the CPO warranty?

2) Has anyone else had their valve stem caps fused to the stems due to corrosion?

It appears that my valve cap corroded and became adhered to the threads of the stem. The cap was impossible to loosen with my fingers. When I tried to remove the valve cap using a socket wrench, the valve stem broke off (with the top half of the stem and the air valve core still fused to the inside of the valve cap). The tire went completely flat in seconds.

To make matters worse, whoever put my lug nuts on last time tightened them way too much. They are so tight that you can't deliver enough force to the locking lug nut via the "key" to loosen that nut. So now, since I can't change out the flat tire with the spare, I get to have the truck flatbed towed to my dealership tomorrow.

Even though the wheels are covered under the warranty, I'm afraid that since I broke the valve stem the dealership will try to shift the blame to me and charge me for the parts and labor to address this issue. I guess we'll see on Monday...

Bob GX

If you just recently bought the car and it is a certified previously owned I would insist with the dealer that you should be able to do normal things like adjust tire pressures or change a flat. I would question whether they really went thru the car even - the CPO is supposed to mean you were buying a car in very good condition - it sounds like they didn't do any of the inspections they are supposed to do before selling you the car as a CPO. Politely insist that they run the car back thru the CPO inspection and ensure you that they sold you a car that is worthy of being CPO. I would call them and ask them to come with their towing service to retrieve the car. I'd be worried that they sold you a car at a CPO price without making sure it is up to standard. Just my opinion - good luck! The GX is a great car - you just need to make sure they sold you one in good condition.

If you've had the car for a long time or had it serviced elsewhere (like the over tight lug nuts) it might be a different discussion.

mann777

TPIS sensors are not covered under any warranty by the Manufacturer. As most of the TPIS sensors defects can be solved by the The Lexus Diagnostic Tester and CAN Interface Module. Now here in your case its broken, I guess they would charge for the replacement , anyway worth trying, good luck

VictorGX

UPDATE:

My valve stem caps were not the original caps so I couldn't argue that the repair should be covered under warranty. Turns out the caps were easily identifiable as "non-OEM" caps since each one had an "N2" on them. Apparently the previous owner had filled up the tires with Nitrogen at one point and put these caps on. At any rate, the caps were likely a dissimilar metal than the valve stem which lead to galvanic corrosion (e.g., brass caps and aluminum stem). The new TMPS sensor cost about $120 to replace and then some additional labor to program the ECU.