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I replaced the the Bridgestone run flats with Pirelli run flats $850.00 installed with an alignment and the car runs like a dream. I wish BMW did their homework and installed the correct tires. My BMW dealer is terrible (Miami)  

Ok, well i know absolutely nothing about cars, but I bought a 2006 325i on August 06, brand new. I think by the end of the year i started hearing noises from the tire while driving. I thought it was just me. Anyways when I purchased the car i bought i guess tire warranty? where they would replace the tire free of charge if it got damaged. So its now Feb 2008 and I got a hole in my tire, the dealer said they would not replace it because my tire was really damaged, so I was really bumbed to pay 265 for a tire or 1100 for all for since they suggested i just change all 4 tires. My question is do I have to get a set of run-flat tires or can i just buy regular tires. Reading this thread made me not want to have run flat tires.

Thanks!  

I too have a 2007 530xi wagon, which came with goodyear RFT's.  two blew out after 19000 miles, because of cracking on the side walls of the tires.  goodyear replaced the tires at 30% of the cost for me, which was all right, but then my rear two tires blew out on the freeway (they had 29000 miles, still a lot of tread wear left).  There was severe cracking on both tires.  I replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RFT's, hoping for better luck.  My "new" goodyears recently started bubbling on the side walls, so I had them replaced with the Bridgestones.  I had a warranty on the Goodyears, but Goodyear is barely honoring it, giving me a $330 rebate toward the purchase of their tires, which I will never buy again.     Does anyone know about Bridgestone RFT's?  I hope they are good.  BMW has been of no help during this entire process.  However, I got some advice from the service center today telling me that Michellin makes a great RFT, though it is a little more expensive, and they are very quiet.  The Bridgestone's ride quieter and nicer than the Goodyears, so so far it's an improvement.  Please spread the word about how bad Goodyear RFT's are, and demand something else for your BMW (like a spare tire??)!!!  

I also have an 06 325XI and are having trouble with my Run Flat tires. Can you tell me where you purchased the following  "i purchased 1. a low profile floor jack..(i have a sport suspension) $29.00, 2. jack stands (for safety) $14.00, 3. a "collapsable lug wrench" (compact and i highly recommend) $11.00" .  I like your solution!  

Like you and many other, I am saddly disappointed not at the RFT Tires, but at BMW for puting its loyal customers through such an ordeal with this type of tires and avoiding responsibilty on this. I think a class action suit is overdue, but on the other side if all disatisfied customers would show BMW how serious we are about this by not buying their cars for a while, I think it would have a stronger impact than any kind of suit. I will not set foot in any BMW dealershi again.  

"I have an '01 BMW 325CI convertible that I bought new almost 5 years ago.  I now have 29,000+ miles on it.  When it was just several months old I had my first flat tire.  I couldn't believe it.  I took it to the dealer and they made it clear that they take no responsibility.  I said you sold me a car with a defective tire.  They said, in effect, tough.  Last week I had my 11th new tire put on!  After the first 4 or 5 I wrote to BMW, Bridgestone, and the dealer---Twin City BMW in Savoy, IL, a "suburb" of Champaign-Urbana.  BMW said they take no responsibility, as did the dealer.  Bridgestone reimbursed me for about 50 percent of what I had paid for 4 Turanza tires, which was over $300 each.  After that, every time I had another broken tire I knew I should write to Bridgestone again but I felt so dejected about the situation that I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I replaced the most recent tire and the 2 previous ones with a new model by Bridgestone, the Potenza which is about $100 per tire less.  I'm waiting for the last Turanza to go and to see how long these Potenzas last.  If I have better luck with them, it is clear proof that the Turanza had a manufacturing defect.  Or is the BMW wheels?  The dealer says the wheels I have had some "road damage," which they of course blame on my driving.  The last few times I mentioned to the service mgr that this is a strange situation he tells me about another customer who has a similar problem and it's always a woman.  I've never had tire problems before with any other kind of car so I am reluctant to buy another BMW.  For sure I would not buy one from this dealer.  I'd like to know if others who have had problems with BMWs and tires also have had Bridgestones.  Do we have a class action?"  

This issue seems to scream class action lawsuit!  I bought an 06 330i with 17,000 miles a month ago.  I immediately began to notice tremendous road noise.  Unfortunately, I did not realize when I bought the vehicle that there were signs of uneven tire wear.

I have spent the last few weeks reading website after website, blog after blog, about this issue.  The comments about how BMW corporate, and various dealers, have handled this issue just astound me.  Am I taking crazy pills?  How can an issue this obvious and pervasive be so easily ignored by a car company.  My local BMW dealer explained that BMW will pay for 4 tires with installation between 0-10,000 miles, and 50% of full tire replacement between 10,000 - 20,000 miles.  However, I hear many people getting different answers from apparently less honest dealers... such as pretending there is not a problem, then offering to pay half as if they are doing a charitable service!  My dealer doesn't seem to be covering up the issue, yet here I sit deciding whether to drop $634.00 (50% of the total cost for four run flats) on tires that I know are going to cause me problems in the near future.

Here's what I have gathered.  Bridgestones are a problem (noise, uneven wear, etc), no matter how many times you replace them.  Some people seem to have better luck with the Continentals, but it seems hit or miss.  I have heard more horror stories about the Bridgestone Turanzas (thirteen tire replacements in 10,000 miles!!!???!!), yet I have heard enough negative about the Continentals that I am nervous to buy them.

I have already ruled out the Bridgestones.  I am at the point where I think I am going to buy standard Michelins, and take my chances with not having a spare.  How on earth does it make sense to replace your tires every 5,000 - 10,000 miles, or every time you get a nail in your tire!  From what I have read, a decent set of standard tires will eliminate the road noise and uneven wear, and reduce replacement cost significantly.  In addition, I may actually get 50,000 miles (gasp!) from a set of tires.

OK.  I've said my piece.  But I'm still really pissed that I bought a car from a supposedly reputable manufacturer, and I am witnessing person after person being treated poorly by BMW.  Has ANYONE actually contacted a lawyer to figure out a proper way to resolve this.  Email me if you have ... scootamon@yahoo.com ...Or am I just going to drive on Michelins for the next 100,000 miles, and hope like heck that I don't get a flat?!  I suppose I'll be consulting my own attorney....  

I have an 06 BMW 330 XI with 28,000 miles and the dealer told me the same thing at 24,000 miles and I still am fighting with them about replacing the tires... I am turning in the lease Dec 1 08 and they won't take the car back unless I replace all 4 tires...Why are they hiding this is right? They are  aware of the tire issues and are full of it if they say otherwise..This is my 2nd and my last BMW..I am going to go crazy with the terrible noise like you describe...It's embarassing when a person in the car says "what is that noise"?  For the expensive lease, it turned out to be a terrible final year for me.. I am going to keep complaining until they do something.. Good luck to all who got stuck with these tires!  

So here is what I did...I ditched the run flats..I had the bridgestones...I thought the  CV or the berings were damaged the grinding noise was that bad..So i went and got some continental conti pro contacts my buddy has the conti touring, bought a spare rim (steel) from Bavarian auto 79.99 shipped. Changed all 4 tires kept one run flat had it mounted and then and lopped that bad boy in the trunk. Problem solved at least for me...my big question is what tire pressure should I keep?  

If you are using the same tire size, use the same inflation pressure.  

Oh My ***

At least now I know I'm not alone.

I signed a 3 year lease for a 2006 BMW 330i brand spankin' new, in January of 06.  It of course came with the now infamous Bridgestone Turanza Run Flats.

I had a flat in 2 1/2 months.  Was told it was "freakish" and they replaced it, and after fighting for weeks, including lots of missed work to do said fighting, they covered it.  Another 3 months went by, and I had a large bulge on the back right & the front left went flat.

Same thing.  Begging, pleading, tears.  Finally new tires.

I was living in LA & took a trip to San Francisco, a whopping 500 miles, on what were 2 BRAND NEW turnazas & 2 that were just under 6mons old.  I had around 2500 miles on them....

Another one blew.  On the Golden Gate Bridge.  A VERY INCONVIENIENT place for a flat tire.  I thought I might die.  I didn't.... I paid through my nose for "EASY TIRE CARE" anyone buy this?  Those bastards have done nothing for me in 2 1/2 years now... Not ONE of my 13!!! YES 13! tires has been taken care of by my "full coverage" tire package.... but, I digress...

Stuck in SF, I called both the Santa Clara & the San Francisco dealers.  SF is closed all weekend & Santa Clara didn't stock the tires.  I missed the concert, had to pay for a room for an extra night, needed an extra day off work, and FINALLY found a replacement tire, at a NON-BMW shop, a perreli that is STILL on the front right, STILL looking good.  It was used when I got it last summer!  At least I know that's a good tire...

So, here I am again... uneven wear, a nail & a 1400 bill.

I'm hoping Santa Clara dealership will be a little more helpful than Burbank's Century West...

Wish Me Luck... tires number 14, 15, 16 & 17 coming soon!!!

J.D.  

I have a 2007 328 lease with Run Flat Tires (RFT).  Within 4 months I got a nail in a tire.  I thought I would be fine just paying $25 to get it patched up like I have done for years.  I was SHOCKED when I found out these RFTs cannot be repaired, and had to get a new RFT for $450, or 18X WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE COST TO PAY FOR A %*&#%@Q# NAIL IN MY TIRE. I called BMW (San Francisco) wondering why the sales rep never said anything about the RFTs and what BMW is doing to help people in my situation, and BMW San Francisco played dumb and said they can't do anything to help, other than supply the $450 tire.

Now, a mere 5 months later, my front 2 tires have this cupping issue that many people in this thread are describing.  This is going to cost me almost $900 to fix.  BMW isn't doing anything to help, other than to offer to over charge me for this terrible product (RFT).  I am incredibly disappointed at the quality of customer service I have received at BMW San Francisco.  For a luxury car dealership, they show absolutely no class in dealing with their paying customers.  I suggest that anyone thinking of buying a BMW in the Bay Area go to any other dealer than BMW San Francisco.  Also, make sure you avoid the RFTs unless you don't care about spending $400+ on a tire, and don't mind replacing tires 3 times a year.  

My approach to the problem is to keep my 1999 328i (with sport package). I've kept it well maintained, and have recently replaced the ball joints and bushings.   A few weeks ago, I had it in to the dealer for routine maintenance and got a 2008 328xi as a loaner, this with all-season Bridgestone RFLT tires.  The tire noise was substantially greater than my Pirelli GFLT snows.  Also, the steering feedback was not as good. This in a more or less new car.

I would have bought a new 3-series years ago except for the RFLT problems.  The fives just don't handle as well...might as well buy a Honda Accord and get a more reliable car at half the price.

Perhaps BMW will fix the problem in the 2009 update.  If not, they may get a nasty surprise in comparison with the upcoming Accura TL, which by rumor will get all-wheel drive.  

Wow, its crazy that BMW hides this from the public..  

This is the # 1 problem that we run into with BMW owners and their run flat tires. The main problem child is the Bridgestone that comes OE on it. It's LOUD and it cups out which makes it even more loud. Run flat technology is fairly new so don't blame them too much. The problem is that they are EXPENSIVE to replace and not many people have them in stock except for BMW dealers at a HIGH price. The only solution is to get regular tires as a replacement in the 205/55R16 size. This leaves you of course without a spare. We suggest to get regular tires. Your BMW car warranty covers breakdowns and flat repairs but check your model and manual to be sure.

So go get a regular set of V rated or higher 205/55R16 and start riding in the BMW you thought you were buying.  
www.BadBoyTires.com

Does anyone know if BMW is going to offer regular tires (GFT) on the new 2009 3 Series?