When I went in to pick up my new '04 Crossfire, the Chrysler dealership had failed to notice the car had no caps on the tire vale stems. After I questioned them, they checked the parts listing and found that the Crossfire caps are different from any other Chrysler product. The dealer ended up swiping a set off another Crossfire on the lot for me.

I know that the crossfire valve stems contain the pressure sensors...My question is; does it matter what valve stem caps are used? Can I use plastic/polished alloy/anodized alloy/stainless steel??? Anyone tried different caps??

 

Be careful. I used aluminum caps on a car with allow wheels and they corroded so bad that they had to be cut of the stem. This happened in a few short months.

 

If your aluminum caps corroded, it was probably due to the material of the valve stem and not the alloy wheels. Our valve stems are aluminum, so I'm sure the caps are aluminum as well. If you use some other metal, make sure it is something compatible with aluminum or has a proper coating to prevent galvanic corrosion. Also, our caps have an o-ring to prevent contamination from getting into the stem. If you use something aftermarket, make sure they have an o-ring seal.

 

just FYI, moparsupercenter.com sell the OEM stems with pressure sensor for $28 & change plus shipping.

 

I had originals stolen while parked, same with next couple of sets of replacements. In the end went to local tyre dealer and picked up about 40 black plastic ones and typically ever since not one cap stolen.
In the UK we dont have the tyre pressure monitor, we get power passenger seat.
Do you have to use special caps, is there a bleep or noise if you put on aftermarket caps or if you are missing caps? If not I don't get why the dealer couldn't just get you a set of normal caps as the stems are all the same size.

 

i love the look of the extremely rare & unheard of factory threaded aluminum stem and cap...they compliment one another. a cheap black cap doesn't look so good mated to a rare aluminum stem. my 02' M3 even had rubber stems...it's just cool our crossfire uses these. they are usually only found on race cars or big dollar exotics.

 

The following is a quote from the Crossfire Service Manual:

Quote:

On this vehicle, the valve stem is part of the tire pressure sensor/transmitter and is used as its antenna. If corrosion were to develop in the valve stem, it would affect the ability of the tire pressure sensor/transmitter to send the radio frequency signal to the TPM module.

Quote:

The valve stem used on this vehicle is made from aluminum. Corrosion of aluminum will be caused by putting a dissimilar metal in contact with it. To prevent this type of corrosion from developing within the valve stem, the core of the valve stem is made of a compatible metal and is specially coated.

For this reason, a standard valve stem core must never be installed in this valve stem. If the core of the valve stem is removed when servicing the tire, the original valve stem core must be reinstalled. If the valve stem core needs to be replaced, it must be replaced with an original equipment valve stem core.

The valve stem caps used on this vehicle are specially designed for their use on the valve stem of the tire pressure sensor/transmitter. Each valve stem cap has an O-ring in the upper end of the valve stem cap to provide a positive seal at the end of the valve stem. This keeps dirt contamination and corrosion out of the valve stem caused by moisture. As listed earlier, these conditions can affect the ability of the tire pressure transmitter to send the radio frequency signal to the TPM module.

I hope this is helpful.

 

Thanks Alvin, I've been reading this thread knowing that only the Crossfire caps should be used, but never had it explained why.

 

Not as true as you may like to believe. Every lexus with a tire pressure sensor uses these same valve stems and valve stem caps...i'll see if i cant get a price on the caps for you guys when i go to work tomorrow, not the sensor itself, simply the caps...

 

In the UK stems are black as they do not contain the pressure sensors but obviously some theiving bastards also like the look of the ali caps! 2 replacement sets later, I'm gonna go cheap black.
Maybe lucky I haven't got pressure stems.

The passenger seat in UK is 8 way.

 

wow...that is nice. something i wish we had.

 

i guess i learned something new today...i haven't seen a lexus with these yet. i have to take a closer look next time i'm at the dealer.