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try calling some tire shops/dealers and see if they can sell you a protection plan for your tires...it worked for me.  Pay the cost of the protection plan and save a whole lot of $$ in the future. I spoke to the dealer today and was informed that as of now run flat tires are NOT repairable and must be replace with a new one until the technology advances and they can create one that can be repaired. Good luck!  

Has anyone replaced the tires on their BMW with non-RFTs and been able to find a compact spare for the trunk to fit the car?  I have read that some folks have replaced the RFTs with non-RFTs but gamble having a flat; although I did read somewhere that putting a portable air compressor and instr-flat repair has also been done.  

My wife's 2006 325i has not had two tires with issues that require them to be replaced and I think I will look at replacing the tires with non-RFTs; just want to be sure she doesnt get stuck somewhere too....  

Hi, I replaced my RFT with non RFT's on my 2006 325i (sport and premium package). The difference in the noise and ride is like night and day! The handling is so much better as well. The dealership did this for me at no charge. I had my car only a couple of days and took it back because of the handling and the loud awful noise and the dealership told me it had a cupped tire. I then read about all the issues online and asked them to replace them. It is kinda weird having the full size spare in the trunk, but I hate those small doughnut tires. They also gave me a compact jack and there is a place for that, but the spare is just kinda pushed to the back in my trunk. Fortunately, we only have 1 child and the space is limited, but working out fine. I finally love my car though. It was in and out of the shop for the first month, with the tires and then the handle on the driver side door that you pull to close the door was peeling like crazy, so I had them replace that as well. I had an '03 325CI that I loved and swore by it being the best car ever, and there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted another BMW. After all that with the tires, I'm finally happy!  

My 325i with Sp Pkg has 20K mi on it. I am getting loud noise from the front right side. It actually started after driving almost 9k. The dealer asked me to change the tires. This runflat tires suck.  

We purchased two 2006 BMW's within one month. My wife purchased a 325i and I purchased a 325IX. We have both had tire problems. In my case, everytime I hit the slightest little change in the road surface or a small bump the car would want to leave the road. On the freeway there were times when I had trouble keeping the car in my lane. I brought the car in for service and was later called by the technician alerting me to the need for two new tires. He said they would have to be replaced because of uneven ware due to the wheels being out of alignment. I am a very sane driver and although I might drive a little fast on the freeway I drive at very moderate speeds in town and I have never in my 38 years of driving had a car that needed an alignment after only 10,000 miles. In my wife's case she has had to replace three flat tires in only 15,000 miles. The fact that in one household we have two new BMWs both with tire problems is just too coincindental. The dealer claims he has not heard of any similar problems with the Run Flat Tires. We have purchased at least 5 cars from this dealership in the past 12 years. So believe it or not we trusted what they had to say. After the latest tire episode I keyed in Tire problems on Google and was directed to this site. Our view is that this is a serious problem being kept quiet by BMW and Bridgestone. If BMW is not willing to do anything on its own about this issue I know someone at 60 minutes or the New York Times who might.  

AutomotiveJC:
My 2006 330i just hit 9000 too, but I don't have the road noise and cupping problem. Do you have the sport package with the 18" rims? The road noise on my car is not as apparent as the wind noise. Definitely check the tire pressure at least every month!

I was considering a BMW 328i or 328xi Coupe and have now changed my mind because of the run flat tire problems, it just is not worth the hastle.

It appears BMW do not like to listen to their customers or experts as in the case of IDrive or Run Flat tires.

I think BMW should keep in mind the problems Audi had many years ago and how their sales declined after their problems became public. BMW is not immune to sales decline's

I have a 2003 #330i and it is the best car I have ever owned and was looking forward to a new BMW, I will now switch to Lexus.  

hello,my tires are bad after 13,000 1 year old car 330 Bmw.Can you tell me what you did.This is terrible we have to buy new tires.Kind regards,Jennifer  

I suggest you contact your dealer and state you are aware of the probelms others are having with run flat tires and you might also want to contact BMW.
You can also see others with problems on Edmunds.com (Forums-BMW 3 Series- Run Flat tires.  

Read this if you want them replaced. This is the 5th BMW that I have owned and I also have a X5 2002 that is a turd bucket as well. I have a 06 325 with the Turanza tires that are terrible. The same issues as what everyone else is stating. The service managers knows me very well from previous situations and knows that I am a hell raiser and cannot be fed the BS. I told the service manager about the situation and took the car in and they put it on the lift and went on to tell me that the tires were cupped from improper wear due to not rotating and maintaining tire pressure. I told him that it was a crock and of all people he should know that it would be because of proper maintenance on my car because of the fact that my car is so clean that you can eat off the inside and outside of the car and I pay extra to have my oil changed every 7k rather than the recommeded 15k. Anyway the BMW Rep happened to be in that day and I insisted that he take a ride with me and tell me that I was crazy being that the noise was pronounced at only 15-20mph ( could not be cupping). Once we started driving the rep knew right away of the problem and went on to tell me that BMW was actually having problems across the board with these tires and that they were doing a huge project with Bridgestone in compiling the data from all the dealers reporting the problems. I have 22k miles on them and the rep said he would give me 2 new tires for the front. It gets better. He will only replace them with the same tires. Yes the Turanzas. I blew up and told these people they must be on crack. Why would you give me the same tires???? Unreal!! Anyway I am going to see now if he will just give me a credit and buy Michelins. Needless to say I am selling both of these turds and buying a lexus IS250 and GX470. My advice is to ask your service manager when the rep will be in and have him drive the car and print all these Forums out and show him. I at least got them to replace 2 with the same tires. Unreal Unreal is all I can say. Sell now before you take a bigger loss  

"Turd bucket"...I agree. I've had 14 "beamers man" and these jacks are scared to death about these run crap tires. I'm a dealer and my  best friend has a very big tire stores. I presently have 3 beamer sleds, the first 06 325 wore out the rf's in 6000 miles, cupped beyond anything my friend had seen in such short mileage. He told me then, rf's were crap and expensive. I proceeded to my bmw store and "my boys", who normally take care of me..threw me to the main service mgr. boss whatever and he proceded to throw me to the bmw rep, who blew me off real quick with a "not rotated enough or alignment, or tire manufacturer crap". I asked for help from the business manager and my sales rep..nothing! I made the decision after consulting with the bmw rep, to replace with Michelins, and take a chance on a flat or the posibility of fixing a flat...since you can't fix a rf, and the dealer doesn't stock them anyway, so you just call the road service if you have a flat...because if they come out, they can't fix a rf..they just tow you to the dealership, and the dealer doesn't have any tires..right? They may be able to repair a normal tire..I haven't had a flat with my michelins ever..and it can be plugged! The michelins make the car ride like it should..unbelievable difference! My other 2...3000 and 5000 miles..sound like my jeep with swampers! bmw's response...nothing! Will I get some satisfaction? Hey guys...If this doesn't catch up with them sooner or later...it won't be because we didn't try...my other best friend is my brother..who happens to be a fairly good attorney. Couple more things...no spare? Why, my older beamers did fine with a spare, and I had an extra wheel to swap out, plus sometimes I only had to buy 3 new ones, to add to the spare when the originals wore out. The other thing.....Here's a scenario....You just bought your new 3 car, and you start out on a trip about 500 miles on a Sunday, you have a flat 100 miles out, with 400 miles to go. What do you do, drive the 150 or so that they recomend, then what. Or go back, or get towed to the nearest dealer, wait a day or so, to be told they don't have any tires..have to order, day or so...$300 to $400..can't patch it..sidewall breaks off, like mine did..can't fix that. Are you kidding me? What were they thinking?  

I thought I was the only one having this bad dream. So, what's the deal with snow tires? Can we actually replace the RFT's with regular tires, on the same rims? I've also read on another forum that messing with the RFT's will negate the BMW warranty on the suspension as they claim it has been tuned specifically to the RFT's. Perhaps they should tune them for Quebec roads then we all go back to wooden wheels and not have to worry.  

I've have my 325xi for a little over a year now.  It was fine for the first 12-15,000 miles, but the last few thousand miles I started hearing this same thumping.  I called the dealer and he told me that they won't replace them because I have too many miles on the car.  I did a quick internet search and found that I am obviously not the only one having these issues.  The dealer gave me some 1-800 number to call and said that BMW is supposed to be coming out with some bulletin on the situation.  

You can sell mine along with yours!!! I also have an 06 BMW 330xi but I've made it to 25k and currently my dealer is making a claim against the tire manufacturer but they have given me the impression that I likely will have to foot the bill for a new set of run-flat tires. Ouch! I have also had 4 BMW's and never had this problem.  They're telling me I didnt inflate the tires enough (apparently I'm supposed to check them every 2 weeks) so it's all my fault. My tire noise is brutal. I've had the noise for over 6 months now so likely started at around 10k.  If we can find enough people with the same issues we should approach BMW with a united front. I'd be interested in hearing if this is a run-flat issue. These are the first year this type of tire is on this model.  

Yes. just saying on the 1 series page, just brought 120d m sport cracking car run flats major safety concern as car keeps tram lining as though the car is driving you, in talks at the moment with dealership.
Also told to check tyre pressure this made no difference, even after wheel alignment. I have noticed alot of the 120 d models sporting smaller wheels with normal tyres,so i think this is a run flat problem.
Glad i logged on to find out more info before i ring bmw again in the morning. thanks .  

I have a 2004 330XI that had a thumping/clunking noise. Tried for over a year to get it addressed.  Dealership couldn't find anything and assured us nothing wrong with car. PLEASE NOTE: we ended up having to to have the car towed in because the tires had worn dangerously down to steal (which was popping out) on the inside of the front tires. And to think we had just taken a long road trip. At first they tried to tell us the tires wore because the alignment was out. ACTUALLY, it was a DEFECTIVE FRONT AXLE SHAFT.  Could that be the ISSUE BMW is working on?