I have a RAV4 2015 and wife Kia Optima 2016. I have a schwinn bike pump in each trunk to fill tires (especially if on the road). The pump works on my RAV no problem. Last tire change was in 2021. The optima had 7 yr tires on the back so I got new ones in july 2024. Now I cannot use either bike pump where I lock the nozzle onto the stem. I can hold the nozzle in 1 hand and pump with the other and it will work but that is tough. I am going to get a compressor but then what if the nozzle there doesn’t attach (I’ll have to hold it while it pumps so it should work but that doesn’t answer the problem). It appears that the valve stem is a tiny (mm) short now in the back. Been using Discount Tire for like 15 or more years and this is the 1st time I had an issue. The valve is connected to the TPMS and to move the stem, they’d have to use a wrench. I don’t think they put a new valve in nor valve spring inside. If they moved the TPMS or nut, you’d think it would leak air as it’s not snug against the rim. So can anyone explain why the stem seems a mm or so shorter? Doubt they changed the stem or spring insert. Why won’t the nozzle lock and pressurize the 2 back tires??? i can get the compressor and find out if it works locking on the stem but that’s a cost to do an experiment. I was going to take the car back to Discount and ask what is the issue. Can anyone offer any thoughts as to why the nozzle won’t work while locked on the 2 new tires in the back??? And I’m ready for 2 tires on the Rav front. I really don’t want an issue there either. Thanks. I have 47 years working on cars but I’m not a tire changing expert.
A picture is worth a thousand words…
not sure what you’ll see. the stems in the back seem a tiny shorter as the nozzle will lock but won’t engage the valve spring unless I push and hold it with my hand. The thing is, I don’t believe discount tire would mess with the stem, valve insert or TPMS. To move the stem, they’d have to use a wrench to loosen and move it in more but then won’t it not be snug and maybe leak air??? The worst is I get a compressor and have to hold it on the stem while it pumps. Better than holding and pumping a bike pump. Both tires are an issue now after the tire change. I usually sit and watch them but I’m almost certain they don’t mess with the stem. The only thing I can think of is the TPMS was moved but you’d think the nut would hold it in place and one cannot move the TPM without loosening the nut. Thanks anyway. If I go to discount, I’ll let everyone know why.
This doesn’t answer your question, but you could try a few different valve stem extenders to see if that works around the issue.
I’m assuming the extenders screw on the existing stem (otherwise Discount tire would have to put a longer stem in and I can’t do that). But the valve spring inside would be inaccessible to a longer stem unless a new valve insert came with it??? Thanks. I’m assuming a compressor would work. the worst is I have to hold it on the stem and fill with air vs. using the locking mechanism on the nozzle. no big deal I guess but what I’m trying to understand is why would this change/become an issue with just putting 2 new tires on??? I’ll go to discount and ask. Also, I want to get rid of the car for a new SUV (solves problem for a while). My point is nothing should have changed with the stem if just tires were put on and nothing was done to the stem.
I’d guess what happened is the valve stem (the part inside the actual thing you see outside the wheel) was removed to deflate the tires to change them. New tires were installed and 1 of 2 things might have happpened. 1 The valve stem was screwed in deeper than before or 2 The valve stem reinstalled was from a different assembly and is a little shorter. In both cases the stem itself is too deep to use your hand pump.
You can buy stems at the auto parts store with the tool to unscrew them and try a different stem.
Well I guess we will never know then… Hope you figure it out… lol
Just get one of these
I recently gave this to my girlfriend as a Christmas present
I’ve personally used it at her house and it works acceptably well, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, imo
Just get one of these
I recently gave this to my girlfriend as a Christmas present
I’ve personally used it at her house and it works acceptably well, if you don’t want to spend a lo
OK, I will be nice (for some reason), whenever you dismount a tire from the wheel for whatever reason, you are suppose to remove the retaining nut and drop the TPMS sensor into the tire, skipping forward, while mounting the tire you install what is called a TPMS service kit, since there are many different service kits even for the same vehicle depending on the wheel sometimes, a tech can grab the wrong one and install it, some of these kits have different length retaining nuts, and if the one installed on your old sensors are wrong, they may not leak but with a little bit longer (deeper) nut, now your air pump fitting no longer fits properly…
Hence asking for a picture… BTW, there are NO valve springs in the kit, only tire valve or properly named shredder valve…
And I present you with a typical TPMS service kit…
So take it back to Discount Tire, or a real mechanic shop with experienced mechanics, and have them install the correct TPMS service kits…
Sometimes the stem can be replaced while still using the old sensor…
+1
In this day and age, I can’t imagine why anyone would use a hand pump to inflate his/her car’s tires.
thanks for all of the replies. went to Harbor Freight. got a small compressor (12V/120V) and used on my rav. took less than a minute per tire from 32 to 34.5PSI. Wife is out of town but the nozzle fitting doesn’t go all the way to the nut so it should work on her back two tires. Now I am living in the 21st century. At 66, I almost got a heart attack trying to hold the nozzle on one tire and pump when the pressure was 28 to 29. Thanks for all of the help. I’ll repost after she comes home and I try it on the back tires and when I go to Discount to talk why it changed.
yeah, my contention is they shouldn’t have put a new stem on it. I don’t recall them messing with it after the old tire was removed but I’ll go and ask when I get my rav tires.
sorry for the confusion. I just called the phone number on Discount Tire’s website for my town. It’s a customer support line. The guy I talked to said they do “rebuild” the TPMS part with new gromets and probably put a new stem on the rim. He said take it in and they will rebuild it for the hand pump but of course, I’ll try the compressor on the back stems and see if that works. if so, end of issue. if not, he said take it in. So there, I didn’t watch completely but didn’t think they messed with the TPMS or stem but apparently they do. When I take the Rav in, I’ll watch the whole thing to see. Guess it makes sense because the grommets or parts they rebuild will break/crack and leak air if not done. Thanks again. now everyone here if they get this issue, they know why. My guess is the compressor will work and hand pumps are “old school”. Guess I’m cheap.
Way back when I was a high school kid working at the corner Chevron station we had a saying…“The tire’s not new unless the valve is too!”
New tires always got a new valve stem. Back in the day we charged $1.50 per valve stem. The modern day equivalent is to service the TPMS unit with new seals and stems. When I last worked at a shop a few years ago we were charging $9.95 for a service kit.
I don’t know why but I have about four air chucks for my compressor and several of them simply don’t work on some tires. Might be that the valve just doesn’t get pushed down enough to allow air in. I just use the one that works if I have a problem.
But really using a bicycle pump on a car tire when you can just buy a compressor for $100?
… or less.
I’ve been using a tire inflator similar to this one for 6 or 7 years:
Prior to that, I owned a few other plug-in inflators, and I don’t think that I’ve inflated auto tires by hand for at least a few decades.
That airmoto device threads onto the valve stem
Easy peasy or whatever they say
Do the prior valve stem caps fit the new (& 1mm shorter) version?