davethewave

today I folund A bad Valve Stem,so...off to the tire shop I went.I asked for A metal replacement
but they said "no can do".It takes A special pressure MONITORING valve stem otherwise I'll keep
getting warning lights.
I couldn't say for sure they were wrong but I just went through the manual and found nothing
on air pressure warning.I could be wrong,and am looking forward to what you guys think.
Oh..I have the '07 Panel(bought 1 year ago) and Is setup for Roadside Service.Color is White has Beacon strobe.
The side of vehicle only reads "24hrEMERGENCY" Which I'll finish soon because people always
ask "Emergency what?"

843de

Unless the previous owner swapped wheels or installed a set of wheels with TPMS monitors, your HHR just needs regular valve stems.

The TPMS Tire Pressure Monitoring System became standard on the HHR in the 2008 model year, 2006's and 2007's are not equipped with the system.

I'd have them dismount the tire in question, it will be obvious immediately whether or not that whether that rim has a sensor. If they do find a sensor, since your vehicle does not require them, it can be replaced with a regular valve stem.

I think the tire shop is just confused as to what years need TPMS stems.

Old Lar

Cars with the TPMS do require expensive valve stems, one reason I'm not a fan of the system. My 06 doesn't have them, nor trac control, anti lock brakes. I'm glad the cars runs well and has had no issues after 119,000 miles.

toolbender

What type of emergency roadside service do you offer if it isn't automotive related?

prod

The rubber valve stems on my 2008 themselves are not that much, I paid $8 from the dealer. They screw on to the pressure sensors. The sensors are expensive though, and so is the cost of dismounting the tire for installation.

donbrew

Tire stores around here try to get $25 plus labor for the TPMS stem only. They call it TPMS Service. New stem from Autozone is $4. I always tell the salesboy to prove that my valve stems are bad, after he babbles a bit about failures at speed on the highway I explain to him that 30 years ago he may have been correct about the rubber rotting and failing, but they have changed the formula and you have to cut the stems to make them fail now. And, I am not going to pay an extra $100 that I know for a fact is pure profit for nothing.

For a time Pep Boys was requiring the purchase of "TPMS service in order to get the 4th tire "free", duh! that cost more than buying the the "free" tire.

sleeper

Same here @ autozone, $4. a piece for rubber "snap -in" stem..

Blue Beast (aka Boydie)

I love the TPMS system. It has informed me of low tire pressure on a certain tire and it was correct. One of the things that really robs your gas mileage is soft tires.

I am amazed, Mike, at the knowledge you have on HHR's. But you have 3 of them, don't you.

I am sure all of us on this forum appreciate your help. So thank you for your willingness to help all of us.

Boydie

hhrumadbruh

I thought that the TPMS was a device that was attached to the inside of the rim?

Thanks for posting all this info!

A battery in one of mine has either died, or the guys at the shop did something to it when I had one of the balancing services performed.

Seeing as the car is barely 3 years old, and only stopped working RIGHT after I had a few of the balancing and alignments done, I'm gonna assume they did something, but I can't really prove it.

Is it possible to just replace the battery, if it is in fact dead?

Can I buy a new sensor on ebay and install it myself? I can get the tire off without causing damage. Maybe I will have them do it the next time I take it in, if I can convince them to do it.

BTW, is there a way to damage a sensor by giving the tire too much pressure, or something like that, which wouldn't be easy for me to detect?

donbrew

No, the battery is integral.
If you can take the tire off the rim and then reseat it then balance it, you can do it yourself. There are supposed torque specs for the screw.
The only way they could damage it is to actually get inside the tire and monkey with it, or use a scan tool incorrectly (not a simple TPMS reset tool).