NHTSA Complaint #10897434 — 2010 MAZDA MAZDA3

TWICE NOW, WHEN I WAS ALERTED VIA MY TPMS THAT I HAD LOW TIRE PRESSURE IN ONE OF MY TIRES, I STOPPED AT A SERVICE STATION TO ADD AIR TO MY LOW PRESSURE TIRE. AS I APPLIED THE AIR HOSE TO THE VALVE STEM, THE VALVE STEM (AND THE ATTACHED TPMS SENSOR, DISAPPEARED INTO THE WHEEL AND TIRE AND THE TIRE WENT IMMEDIATELY FLAT. . I BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE RESULT OF FAULTY DESIGN OF THE TPMS ASSEMBLY. THE MATERIALS USED IN THE COLLAR AND NUT THAT SECURE THE TPMS ASSEMBLY TO THE WHEEL IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (EXPOSED TO ROAD SALT, DIRT, GRIME, BRAKE DUST, ETC.) IN WHICH THE TPMS ASSEMBLY MUST FUNCTION. THE COLLAR AND NUT CORRODE AND EVENTUALLY FAIL DUE TO THAT EXPOSURE. FORTUNATELY FOR ME, I WAS STOPPED AT THE TIME OF THOSE FAILURES; HAD I BEEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE COMPLETE FAILURE (NO AIR PRESSURE REMAINING IN TIRE) COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THE FIRST ASSEMBLY FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 36,500 MILES AND THIS MOST RECENT ONE FAILED AT 61,800 MILES. BOTH TPMS ASSEMBLIES WERE OEM PARTS AND WERE INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE WHEN WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW FROM MAZDA. I HAVE SEEN MANY REPORTS ONLINE DESCRIBING SIMILAR FAILURES. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, MAZDA HAS NOT YET RECOGNIZED OR ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS A PROBLEM WITH THE DESIGN AND FAILURE OF THEIR TPMS ASSEMBLIES. I WOULD LIKE THEM TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM AND TAKE ACTION TO ADDRESS THEIR FAULTY DESIGN, BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT OR DIES FROM AN ACCIDENT RESULTING FROM ANOTHER TPMS ASSEMBLY FAILURE.