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C6 Tyre Valve failure
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C6Dave   
Sun Jan 24 2010, 11:33pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 If they break again just replace them with ordinary valves.

The system will throw the odd 'Tyre Pressure not monitored' warning but if it really bugs you a dealer (or anyone with Lexia/Proxia can deactivate the function
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tonyrome   
Tue Jan 26 2010, 11:17am
Joined: Nov 22 2009
Member No: #15
C6Dave wrote ...
The system will throw the odd 'Tyre Pressure not monitored' warning

That is pretty annoying, actually! It is accompanied by a very loud noise, which is more likely to result in an accident than if you weren't informed of the lack of tyre pressure monitoring . Also, I've found that, despite Citroen's claim in the handbook, it does not simply warn you once but from time to time during a longer journey. I wouldn't want to turn it off completely, though, since my summer tyres do have the correct valve and it could prove useful. The ideal option would be a simple switch, which could be used to temporarily switch it off.
urb   
Tue Jan 26 2010, 07:31pm
Joined: Jan 03 2010
Member No: #26
Location: Stockholm
 Using Lexia, you can turn off the sound and you could also turn off the tyre pressure monitoring.
Their also another ( dumb ) warning that you could change: if you drive over 180km/h ( default ?)
there will be a waring that you should raise the pressure in the tyres.
C6Dave   
Tue Jan 26 2010, 08:05pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
urb wrote ...

Using Lexia, you can turn off the sound and you could also turn off the tyre pressure monitoring.


That's the issue with swapping wheels from summer to winter, to access Lexia means a dealer visit and a minimum £30 charge (half an hours labour in the UK) twice a year to disable / enable)

To buy a system is possible from China but would cost £250 via eBay so it's not economically viable if you want to retain the function
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Dave Mc   
Fri Mar 05 2010, 07:27pm
Joined: Mar 02 2010
Member No: #64
Location: Weston-super-Mare
 Renault Lagunas suffer from this valve problem. Two years ago it cost me £90 to have one replaced.
Owen Snell   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 07:11pm
Joined: Feb 18 2010
Member No: #58
 This problem has just surfaced on the BMW GS motorbike site. 08 model year onwards has a TPS option. It seems that the TPS stem is aluminium to save weight (at a guess to avoid balancing problems) and this is not only relatively weak but also has a tendency to corrode in salty environments (i.e. winter roads), making the cap stick on.
bdeithrick   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 07:15pm
Joined: Mar 15 2010
Member No: #70
Location: Greystones
 I tried to test my valve sensors the other day, i pumped one tyre up to 45psi and let the other down to 28psi,, the computer still had all tyres as OK. im not impressed as i thought it would start to tell you if they went under 32psi or something like that.
Owen Snell   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 07:18pm
Joined: Feb 18 2010
Member No: #58
 I must say, it's not something I would pay for as an option, and given the sensitivity it doesn't seem to replace a regular manual pressure test. Useful to indicate a quick pressure loss though - which may be masked by the C6's excellent suspension!
verycleverman   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 08:24pm
Joined: Mar 08 2010
Member No: #65
Location: Northumberland
 Rather than type it all out again, I've copied and pasted a post I put on the C5-L recently.
it was in response to a member who wanted to remove all the sensors and replace them with ordinary valves.

A few observations on this subject. My apologies if I'm covering old ground.

1/ The biggest threat to the longevity of these sensors is the use of
aftermarket caps, particularly brass or plated brass. These caps cause the
sensor stems to corrode, (dissimilar metals). The only approved caps are plastic
or the original fit aluminium ones.

2/ Rough handling, particularly when checking pressure or inflating can damage
the thread or place undue strain on the sensor stems.

3/ Have faith in your sensors. If you trust them to alert you to an under
pressure tyre, you will never have to check the pressure manually, therefore
eliminating 2/.

4/ Replacement sensors are not that expensive - provided you steer clear of the
Citroen network. Their sensors come in at about
a half the price of the dealer supplied item. You will still have to get them
activated with a lexia, though.

5/ Remember, also, that these sensors are becoming a legal requirement. It also
may invalidate your insurance if you replace them with valves. It would be
deemed a modification from the standard configuration.


I would also refer you to a contribution from Owen Snell, on an earlier thread, with regard to the use of copper lubricant on the hub.

I seem to recall that the batteries have a life expectancy of ten years.

Finally, I speak from experience having replaced a total of four on my last C5 due to failure of the stems and having had all four replaced on my first C5, under warranty, because they simply didn't work!

Pete.
verycleverman   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 08:46pm
Joined: Mar 08 2010
Member No: #65
Location: Northumberland
The four I replaced on my last C5 sheared because I had fitted some plated brass caps from eBay. The information from Schrader regarding corrosion was not mentioned in the C5 handbook. Neither does it feature in the handbook for the C6.

Pete.
gmerry   
Fri Mar 26 2010, 09:48pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Why don't they have plastic valve caps as standard, thus reducing the corrosion risk?

Regards
Dave Mc   
Sat Mar 27 2010, 10:29am
Joined: Mar 02 2010
Member No: #64
Location: Weston-super-Mare
bdeithrick wrote ...

I tried to test my valve sensors the other day, i pumped one tyre up to 45psi and let the other down to 28psi,, the computer still had all tyres as OK. im not impressed as i thought it would start to tell you if they went under 32psi or something like that.


Did you drive your C6 to let it check your pressures? I'm sure that the system is the same as Renaults, while driving the pressures are checked constantly. While the car is parked and running the system updates every 6 minutes.
michaelb   
Sat Mar 27 2010, 04:00pm
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
bdeithrick wrote ...

I tried to test my valve sensors the other day, i pumped one tyre up to 45psi and let the other down to 28psi,, the computer still had all tyres as OK. im not impressed as i thought it would start to tell you if they went under 32psi or something like that.


I know someone who had similar sensors on his Renault Laguna - probably the same original part - he found them so sensitive to minute changes in pressure that leaving the car parked in the sun would mean the sunny side tyres were a sufficiently different pressure to the ones in the shade that the computer was constantly bleeping at him. He took it straight around to a Renault dealership and had them deactivate them.

They've probably turned down the sensitivity because of similar complaints.
NewToMe   
Tue Jun 15 2010, 06:59pm
Joined: May 26 2010
Member No: #127
Location: London
 After two weeks of C6 ownership this happened to me last week.
I had the great pleasure of having an explosive valve failure right into my left knee at the air line of my local filling station.
Then came the the joy of fitting the spare with just the Citroen jack while a huge queue formed.

I rang Citroen Brentford the next day, they said to replace the valve was just short of £300, two hours labour plus parts- this is a great example of the "C6 Premium", with proper equipment this should only take half an hour.

I found a kind person on ebay who sells just the value necks for £20 and fitted it today to the existing sensor.
All is well so far, the tyre is holding air and the computer is happy. I had hoped to do it without taking the tyre off, but with the bead broken there is just not enough space to work in due to the low profile of the tyres.
My local Iversons removed and refitted the tyre for £10.

I am amazed how poorly made the things are, all of the aluminium bits are junk, really soft with no corrosion coating at all.

While researching this I noticed that Ford use an almost exact copy of the same VDO senosor inside the wheel, it is a different part number and probably not compatible with the Citroen electronics, but the valve part is identical.
The Ford part seems to sell for around £10, not the £40 to £80 you see for the Citroen one.

So if you have a valve failure it's the one to get.
gmerry   
Tue Jun 15 2010, 08:00pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 NewToMe, any chance of posting the ebay links plus a photo of the failed valve part.

Regards
G
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