Tire valve stems fall out of the tires: My tires have been leaking air periodically for about a year. I noticed one of the tire valve stems was missing the outer nut cover. When I went to add air to the tire, air came out around the valve stem. I carefully drove to my garage and before I got there, the entire valve stem had blown out of the tire. The mechanic says the threads on the valve stem were all oxidized and the nut rotted off. After inspecting the other tires, we noticed another one was missing the outer nut also and heavily oxidized. I had the mechanic pull off all 4 tires and install new valve stems to all tires. I believe this to be a major issue with Mazda and see people complaining all over the internet and a recall should be considered.

- Thomaston , CT, USA

The first time this happened, I was driving on the highway at approximately 75 mph in the center lane of an express road. While driving, the TPMS sensor warning light/sound came on and the tire went immediately flate - total catastrophic failure. I was able to pull off to the side of the road without further incident and when we looked at the tire, the TPMS sensor had fallen out causing the tire to go flat (it is attached to the valve stem) the treads were corroded and the nut cracked causing the sensor fall out and the tire to go flat. This one was replaced. 8 months later, the same thing happened but this time on the driver's side front tire. The nut cracked and the sensor fell out causing the tire to go flat. Thankfully this time it happened just after I had pulled off the highway for a bathroom break and was not driving at speed when the second incident occurred - although if it had happened a few minutes prior, I would have been driving at approximately 75 mph in wet road conditions. Upon examination we found that the thread were again corroded, causing the nut to crack and the sensor to fall out. This is a very dangerous situation - catastrophic failure of a tire at highway speeds is a recipe for disaster. This situation should be taken very seriously by Mazda.

- Stanhope, NJ, USA

While driving at the full speed limit on the highway in traffic, the front right tire pressure sensor blew off and the tire immediately went flat. I was able to avoid hitting cars while veering across 3 lanes to get to the breakdown lane and call for roadside assistance. Took the car to the dealership where they confirmed that the remaining 3 tire pressure sensors were corroded & partially broken, and were in jeopardy of blowing off. Called Mazda's customer line, argued that this is a safety issue and Mazda agreed to replace all 4 sensors at no charge, even though my car was past warranty. I believe they knew that this was due to design flaw. I was disturbed that no alert has been issued to warn consumers and car repair service to specifically check for wear - this is dangerous. I could easily have caused an accident or the sensor could have caused injury or worse when blowing off at high speed. Mazda dealer said that this design was used on many makes and models in 2008 (not just Mazda), which is even more disturbing. Please consider issuing an alert at a minimum.

- South Boston, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda Mazda 3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the tire pressure warning light illuminated. After moving off the roadway and inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that the front passenger tire was low. The contact tried to add air to the tire when the valve stem fractured. The vehicle was later taken to a dealer where they advised him that the TPMS system needed to be replaced due to rust. The vehicle was repaired for the front passenger TPMS. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. The current mileage was approximately 56,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The tire pressure monitoring system is unreliable. Specific incidents: 1. warning light flashes or lights when the tire pressure is within the specification limits. This has been an intermittent problem for at least a year. 2. one tire pressure sensor fell apart on inspection, after warning of a leak. Dealer replaced it at no charge. 3. one of the tire valves (and hence pressure sensor) was leaking air when the valve cap was removed, replacing the valve cap held the air in the tire. Dealer adjusted the tire pressure sensor at no charge. 4. one of the tire pressure sensors failed. Dealer stated it was no longer under warranty and charged me for replacement. Car is not driven off road. Sensors seemed to be more irregular after driving on rough highway roads, where a layer of asphalt had been removed.

- Hudson, NH, USA

Since I have purchased my vehicle I have to get the alignment done as often as I get the oil change done. When you are going over 45 mph the steering wheel shakes like you are driving a 4 X 4. there is also a horrible roaring once you get to 45 mph. The roaring and shaking goes away right after I have my car aligned, but, after a couple of weeks it starts coming back. I have changed the type of tires that I put on my car thinking it may help, but, it does not seem to be any different with the different type of tires I have put on my car.

- Seven Springs, NC, USA

At approximately 55 miles an hour the in-tire pressure monitoring system's rim attaching nut corroded off of the valve stem on the tire. Tire pressure dropped immediately and had to stop and pull off the road. The valve stem fell into the tire once pulled over and inspected. All 4 tires all corroded evenly and need to have the stems and nuts replaced. I've opted for a rubber valve stem whilst submitting complaints. I still have not had the 3 other tires fixed. Replacement non-aluminum TPMS are 35-50 a piece + installation. 1. cheap nuts that crack and fall off tire stems. 2. aluminum stems that corrode completely removing the threads. 3. high speed crash hazard.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The contact owns 2008 Mazda Mazda3. The contact was traveling 40 mph when the tire sensor illuminated and the rear driver's tire went flat. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer stated that the tire valve stem needed to be replaced along with the sensor. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 27,750 and the current mileage was 27,795.

- Canton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda Mazda3 grand touring. The contact stated that the driver was driving 60 mph when the tire pressure sensor light illuminated. The driver stated that the rear passenger tire was flat. The driver then replaced the tire. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 38,100 and the current mileage was 38,109.

- Kinnelon, NJ, USA

I was driving down the interstate when all the sudden the pressure sensor light went off for no apparent reason at all. I had assumed that is was just some kind of electronic malfunction and continued to drive for a bit until I noticed the tell-tale signs of a flat tire. The was odd since I had recently purchased new tires with less than 1000 miles on then and the was no debris in the roadway that would account for the rapid deflation. When I pulled over the tire valve and was gone and there was a hole in the interior sidewall. When I brought the car into the tire place he pulled the tire off to try to find the sensor to no avail. He said in his 35 years of experience he had never seen anything like this. On closer inspection we noticed a crack in another one of the valve stems. The dealer claims this is due to environmental conditions and not due to component manufacturing, but it seems odd that it would happen to multiple valves likes that. As an addendum, the only other time I have to call road side assistance was when I random got a flat tire and when I tried to refill the tire the valve pushed in. I took it too the dealership where they promptly replaced the valve and sensor without charge. I am glad I had new tires with run flat technology. It this had happened with the old tires I can only imagine how much worse the situation could have been.

- Bloomingdale, IL, USA

Tire sensor came on during drive into work. Made to call dealership to have it checked out by lunch time the rear passenger side tire was completely flat and the stem of the tire pressure monitor had completely snapped off. When I got the car to a dealer they state 3 of the 4 monitors had corroded to the point they should be replaced. This added nearly $400 dollars to getting the tires on the car replaced. How is it a tire sensor can't last as long as the tires on a brand new car? if a tire sensor is added to a car to make it safer and more efficient maybe it should last more than 3 years and not cause the car to become unsafe.

- Grandville, MI, USA

Factory tires (Goodyear rsa) wore out in <15K, excessive inside wear. Replaced with Bridgestone potenza grid G019 205/50/R17. Started showing inside wear around 45K, and extremely loud road noise at 50K. All need to be replaced again. Tires have been rotated as per warranty requirements. Alignment is factory specifications. Car has never touched a track and is used as a commuter vehicle. Online reports have blamed the camber which is not adjustable on the Mazda 3. so this issue will continue throughout the life of the vehicle. Serious defect and dangerous.

- Washingtonville, NY, USA

2008 Mazda 3 5 door hatchback. I am the original owner, vehicle was purchased new from dealer. The nut that holds the valve stem to the tire became corroded and cracked and fell off. This resulted in a rapid deflation of the tire while traveling at highway speeds. After inspecting the other 3 tires, I noticed that 2 of the remaining 3 nuts were also severely corroded and cracked all the way through. This occurred after I have owned the vehicle for 20 months. When taken to the Mazda dealer, they replaced the valve stem where the nut had fallen off, but not the other 2 stems that were corroded and cracked.

- Buffalo, NY, USA