Well, tomorrow I am getting three more tires and the service guy promised to give me four new Toyota tire valve caps. I will also check with the parts department to see what they actually have. Sadly, my tires are still like new, but I got five nails in about a year and decided to keep spare tires in the garage. They also have discontinued the Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S (the manufacturing date on the ones I have been getting is the 41st week of 2022) and I wanted to get them before they were gone. Slightly over $600 total for four tires installed with a two-year new-replacement road-hazard warranty.
On a side note, don't buy fancy metal ones like I did for my MINI. Some kind of reaction took place with the AL(?) stems on the TPMS sensors and they became welded. Managed to break out 3 of 4.
Yes, corrosion. and a PSA: any time you’re getting new tires, especially at Costco (if you’re not a fan of green valve caps), take the current ones off, put em in your pocket.
You need to be careful when getting tire valve caps for TPMS sensors. Two rules: No metal caps allowed Must have a rubber bushing inside to form an airtight seal I would refrain from cheapo aftermarket ones, though there are acceptable once satisfying the criteria above. See the technical drawing of the OEM Japanese Pacific tire valve cap PVC25 on the previous page.
Green means nitrogen fill. Yes, it is a good idea to take them off at service, and I do that, but I thought at least the dealer would have common sense. It was a good thing I declined the courtesy car wash because the TPMS sensor would go into the carwash with no tire valve cap. It is not to mention the harsh brushes.
Galvanic corrosion, didn't even think about that. There's no TPMS sensor in the spare though, they have normal rubber valve stems.
The spare tire probably comes with the OEM Japanese Pacific tire valve cap CL shown in the brochure screenshot on the previous page. It is made of resin and has a rubber bushing like the PVC25 TPMS cap, but it is a lot larger and has a lot shorter thread and doesn’t have a lip inside.
And an interesting observation: A small nonthrough hole on the top of plastic tire valve caps seems to indicate the presence of a rubber bushing. Metal caps naturally always come with rubber bushings, but they should not be used with TPMS sensors. TPMS sensors use the small cylindrical plastic caps with rubber bushings and long threads (not the large plastic caps with short threads intended for valves without TPMS sensors) pictured on the previous page.
The small non through-hole and the protrusion on which it sits work very nicely as a tool to depress the valve to let air out. I assume that they were designed for that purpose.
Update: The dealer didn’t have either tire valve cap in stock. I will order the 90942-05039 at my cost to replace the one they lost. They are only carrying aftermarket caps. In fact, I saw someone bringing an aftermarket strut; so, they don’t seem very keen on OEM Toyota parts. The two old tires with 46,000 miles on them had 6.4/32” tread left. Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S 91S specs 8/32” for new tire. I am keeping the two old tires as well as one with only 5,000 miles on it in case I keep getting nails. There is also a two-year replacement warranty.
Last time I put air in the tires in my new car I noted that those caps don't screw on that easily for me. You have to fiddle with them a little. A larger black replacement might not be a bad thing.
You made me go out and look. First time I noticed a rubber cap with a little o-ring like that. On the other hand, first time I've looked.
As far as I know valve cap's dual missions are to keep the valve clean, and not corrode onto the valve. I'm somewhat in awe of your (plural) quest for the correct valve cap; it's in a different league, say compared to third gen engine overhaul gasket kit info.
Ha ha, any plastic tire valve cap with a rubber bushing inside will work in 95% of the scenarios. The OEM tire valve cap is of slightly higher quality and, unlike the non-TPMS tire valve caps @VelvetFoot mentioned, it has many threads; so, it will not fall off if it is not screwed on tight. Non-TPMS tire valve caps fall off when you drive if you don’t fully tighten them. That is the biggest drawback of non-TPMS tire valve caps. You can get similar plastic TPMS tire valve caps with many threads and a rubber bushing on Amazon. TPMS tire valve cap on Amazon, black TPMS tire valve cap on Amazon, light gray/silver
The silver ones look like the stock ones on our gen 3. I always get flack from my son, for holding the valve cap in my teeth, while bumping up pressures (with the bicycle pump you deride ). Had to get a new one, same brand, due to backing a vehicle over the previous.
Interesting. Toyota now uses black ones. They must have used silver ones in the past. Vaguely recalling, my 2009 Corolla XLE had silver ones, too, I think.
