Instant Pot lid won't seat right, sealing ring the usual suspect?

[Thomas Martinez]

See some of the posts about Instant Pot lid not closing properly. Most of the time it's the sealing ring that's out of place. If you put the lid down and the sealing ring is even slight out of place, the lid wont seat properly. The fix for this is to remove the sealing ring, clean it and put it back in place. Some people that has tried flipping the silicone ring that's deformed on one side report that it works. The silicone does take a beating every few use. Some people have also reported that the locking pin get stuck and won't allow the lid to lock in place.
It seems like most of the time it's either the sealing ring or the locking pin. If it's the silicone ring, does it really make sense to try and flip it? Shouldnt you just replace it every 12-18 months for roughly $8. The locking pin, only once in a while does it get sticky so you clean it and it works once again. These two seem to account for 90% of the lids that people get stuck on so there might be other fixes but I'm curious to know what others have find.

 

[Nervous Newt]

sealing rings is like 8 bucks just replace it every 12-18 months and stop thinking about it. Flipping a deformed ring is a band-aid not a fix.

 

[Prehistoric Plunger]

Its the float valve. The silicone cap under the lid slipped off and I spent an hour cursing the lid before finding it. It's easy to miss when people are trying to diagnose the issues with the lid but worth checking before you jump to the ring.

 

[Neo]

wait does flipping the ring actualy do anything? like the silicone is symmetric right, if its deformed on one side wouldnt the other side just deform the same way next use?
genuinely asking