Is it true that brass tire valves last the life of the vehicle?
Jul 07, 2026 Last reply: 1 week ago 42 Replies
G
Gronk
Tire shop convinced me to put brass tire valves by saying they last the life of the car. Given rubber degrades, they have very little rubber.
The tire shop says the rubber valve flexes like a cantilever arm on a spring every rotation whereas the brass valve barely flexed each rotation.
What's your experience? And how does a tire valve fail anyway?
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D
Deep State
In Florida, I'd imagine the Sun would eat the rubber valves.
In Michigan, I'd imagine some Detroit Democrat porch pirate would steal the brass valves for scrap value.
S
Scott Dorsey
It's probably true, but on the other hand, they will probably replace them when they replace your tires anyway. Tires sadly do not last the life of the car.
That's true although again they don't need to last all that long.
I have mostly had tire valve failures where corrosion causes the valve to stick open partially and creates a slow air leak. Metal tire caps help mitigate that problem. But then, I change the tire valves every year or two when I change my tires.
--scott
E
Ed P
I only know my experience. I've owned about 25 cars over the last 63 years. Number of tire valves replaced: 0
R
rbowman
I always considered the $5 or so charge for 'replacing the valve stem' when buying new tires was a scam, and thought it might be over with the new TPMS stems. Not so. Now there is a $5 charge for rebuilding the TPMS unit.
R
rbowman
There is no connection with a tubeless tire, The vavle stem mounts on the rim.
T
The Real Bev
OTOH, you can cut off a rubber valve stem with dykes. You need a bolt cutter for a brass stem. Some people aren't satisfied with just pulling out the cores and throwing them into the weeds.
A month after I bought new tires one (or more) of the TPMS units failed. They were 10 years old, like the car. If I'd known about their
10-year life I would have replaced them -- maybe. Now I'm just going to put a piece of black tape over the indicator light.
P
Paul in Houston TX
I have never seen a rubber tire valve fail except in fires, accidents, etc. The valve cannot flex like an arm since the tire does not go up and down or sideways back and forth very much. Tires go round and round.
A
AMuzi
Uh, no.
For modern tubeless systems the tire bead seals at the rim bead, as described in the 1898 Michelin patent. The valve is elsewhere in the rim and doesn't interface with the tire at all.
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(for classic British autos with wire wheels, many motorcycles, most bicycles, the spoke holes mean the rim is not airtight. Hence an inner tube with a valve.)
R
rbowman
You're one of those people I wouldn't trust with a screwdriver.
R
rbowman
In the winter I switch to another set of wheels with studded tires that do not have sensors. My brain whips out the figurative piece of black tape. I may notice if it's flashing but it doesn't do that for long before just staying on.
T
The Real Bev
They were Ok when they worked. I filled the tires to 35 lbs and I got a warning when one of them went down to 24 (later on 28, but not for long). Good enough.
AutoZone prices vary between $6 and $1400 -- roughly. More reading is necessary, but I doubt it's worth it. I have a cute little electronic gauge which also talks and the $35 Harbor Freight pump. Reasonably convenient, although the rechargeable ones seem pretty slick. Nice to not have to keep unscrewing the hose because the gauge on the pump is flakey. Why don't they have quick-release connectors like bicycle hand-pumps?
I used to think that, but I got hooked on AC and electric windows. And then I decided I liked the push-button on the key to unlock the doors. The electric thing to adjust the side mirrors is pretty neat too. F*ck, I've gone over to the dark side.
I
invalid unparseable
Don't forget remote start when the temperature is very high or low.
I don't keep a car past the warranty period. I did have a bit of panic today. suddenly the SiriusXM radio cut out. Came back after 10 minutes so I survived the ride home. It was their glitch. .
S
Snag
This is the type of person that caused auto owner manuals to caution about drinking the battery fluid .
S
Snag
Our 27 year old 4Runner has all that (fob for remote locks , I don't use it) . What it doesn't have is internet connectivity and GPS spying . And I can work on it without permission from the dealer .
T
The Real Bev
Sorry, that seems stupid. SoCal is never that cold and the car takes maybe 5 minutes for the AC to be fully cold, and I'm not willing to just let it sit idling for that long. I'm tough. I can deal with s*it.
Wow. I don't get rid of a car until it won't work any more or won't pass the smog test. I've always been really good at picking used cars, but now I'm not so sure -- but I couldn't see a reason to NOT buy the
2013 Corolla. So far, so good. Just wipers, bulbs, tires, filters and oil. I'm pissed about the paint falling off and really annoyed that I didn't find out about its warranty until too late. More pissed that such a thing could happen at all. To a TOYOTA, for chrissake...
when I'm using it, but not enough to spend $250 or so.
T
The Real Bev
Fixed. Sorry, it's compulsive. Carry on.
E
Ed P
In sunny Florida, a car sitting in the sun can be 140 inside in a short time. In CT it was below zero some days. Not so stupid in the extremes.
I've had plenty of used cars, I've done plenty of work on them too. They are more complex and expensive to fix so I prefer to trade in by end of warranty. Too many fixes that can be very expensive and I like a nice car.
T
The Real Bev
Clearly not, or they wouldn't sell so many of them. I remember reading about a drive-up teller window in Texas that had a hose to blow cold air into the customer's car while he was making a transaction.
My mom's Caddy was the first "nice" car I ever had. POS. I spent way too much trying to solve the throttle problem (I have witnesses to show that my foot was NOT on the gas pedal when it suddenly maximized acceleration all by itself) and sent it to the knackers with a brand-new brake system. This was a car with under 90K miles. I'll trade "nice" for "reliable" and "trouble-free" any day of the week.I/we always fixed our cars and motorcycles ourselves except for things that actually required a hoist. BUT I've done that long enough and don't want to do it any more, which is why I bought the Corolla to replace my mom's murderous Caddy.
T
The Real Bev
We had a rental car that beeped when we got too close to the line. Fortunately there was an owner's manual included. What kind of idiot would tolerate that? A friend loves his backup camera, and I can see how that would be nice; it's harder and harder to see out of the car windows (styling choice by ALL the designers), especially for short people, and our necks NEVER want to do more twisting than they have to.
I don't think I'll live long enough to trust auto-drive.
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