Feel like a bit of an idiot here for asking this, but, when we picked the car up from Parks Skoda last weekend after they had it for 8 and a half weeks to repair the transmission, we noted that the TPMS light wasn't on.

 

Ordinarily that wouldnt in itself be a problem, but we knew that the car had a slow puncture on the n/s/r and that having visited the garage during the period of repair, that this tyre and at least one other had gone down. In order to return the car to us, the dealer blew the tyres up and reset the TPMS.

 

The TPMS light has now come on indicating one tyre at least is out of kilter with the others, most likely the n/s/r.

 

Unfortunately, perhaps out of spite or stupidity, whoever put the valve caps back on at the dealership has gone way too far. The metal Skoda caps have been tightened right into the rubber of the valve stem, and not one of the four can be budged, not even a fraction.

 

Is there an easy way to get these moving? Even our local mechanic lad couldn't budge them with fingers, and was reluctant to go after them with pliers in case he damaged the valves. He reckoned they might need to collapse the sidewalls however that is done.

 

Thanks in advance for any help given. Right now I want to take the car back to the dealer and get the guy through who thought this was funny, and feed him to the nearest bear.

Get some pliers or mole grips on them, after all, if they are that tight then that's what has been used to put them on with

The metal dust caps chemically bond to the brass valve stems if not moved regularly.

Use WD40 first then try mole grips on the brass valve and a spanner/plyers on the dust cap.

If this does not work then someone will have to change your valves.

Put some grease inside the metal dust caps if you want to continue using them.

 

Thanks AG Falco

for winter, salted roads, season i have ordered 100pcs pack with plastic caps just by 1 €
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2017-100pcs-Fashion-Plastic-Auto-Car-Bike-Motorcycle-Truck-wheel-Tire-Valve-Stem-Caps-car-styling/32812670160.html

 

Direct TPMS 44 €
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/434028-tire-pressure-monitoring-system/?tab=comments#comment-4893182

 

I usually pour boiling water from the kettle on them, then use the pliers.

Then boil again and have a cuppa.

Slightly off topic. 

 

My local indy garage had to order in a replacement wheel nut locking key as he gnarled it trying to take a wheel off. He said the nut had been stupidly overly tightened by the previous mechanic. 

 

I'll give you one guess who the garage was that tightened the wheel nut.  

 

Back OT, I recently had to have a wheel valve replaced due to my aftermarket TPMS sensor binding onto it. When I see the amount of crud that is coming away when I use my Karcher under chassis cleaner I'm not surprised valve caps and so on are binding on. 

Just to relay the solution as found to this problem, a final update.

 

The car had a slow puncture on the rear left that would have needed blowing up prior to us collecting the car. To do so clearly involved removal and refitting of the dust caps. We knew it had a slow puncture, as did Parks Skoda. Due to the way the relationship completely broke down between us, whoever put the dust caps back on did so with gusto. They had not seized due to weather or otherwise, but had been tightened to within an inch of their lives by whoever within the dealership.

 

They of course denied this.

 

So I took the car to a Tyre Centre where the lad tried to remove using grips and pliers to begin with, this was wholly unsuccessful as they were on so tight.

 

Thankfully there are no tyre pressure monitoring sensors connected to the valves on the mk2 Fabia vRS, with the system operated through the ABS system instead. I say thankfully because had the sensors been part of the valve the cost to replace would have been around £60 a corner.

 

Instead the Tyre fitter had to collapse the sidewalls, cut the valves out and replace with new valves, then reinflate etc. The metal dust caps have now been binned taking into account the advice received on here.

 

Thanks everyone for their help, much appreciated.

I  fitted metal skoda emblem dust caps once and you dont need to tighten them hard for them to seize solid ! The only way I could remove them was by getting a junior hacksaw and slowly going round and up the cap just enough through the cap steel and then using a screwdriver split the cap open, it does leave a slight cut in the brass thread but it works ! I then fitted plastic dust caps !  cheers Stuart