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Comments
Regards,
OW
1. I haven't inspected the INSIDE sidewalls, so don't know what's going on there.
2. Spoke with the nearby BMW dealership and they tell me bubbles are likely impact damage and, in all events, the tires are not covered by the BMW warranty, and instead I need to talk to Bridgestone.
3. Spoke with BMW corporate and they tell me that I need to talk with Bridgestone.
4. Spoke with Bridgestone and they said only 1% of tires are defective and that therefore my bubbles are cause by either impact damage (curbs, potholes, etc.) or mounting damage. They said I would have to take the car to a Bridgestone dealer and have the tires removed and inspected, but most likely they would determine that they are not covered by a warranty.
This strikes me as ridiculous. I have four tires with bubbles. My coworkers who drive the same roads do not have damaged tires. Obviously something is wrong with these tires.
Has anyone been successful in dealing with a situation like this?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Continental&model=ContiProContact+S- SR
Regards,
OW
Best Regards,
Shipo
Regards,
OW
Well, as you and anybody who's even partially followed this discussion for a while knows (I assume that milesontime is a relatively new member which is why I'm making this post), I would suggest that milesontime buy four new GFTs and a can of Spare Tire in a Can or the Continental ContiComfortKit.
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/conticomfortkit/index.jsp
I don't know if this is a solution that is acceptable for our new member, but there it is. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
HighlandPete
Keep screaming at the dealership, keep calling BMW corporate to complain and file a complaint with you State Attorneys General, consumer afairs fraud division..make noise it helps
If, and I need to stress if, there are signs that these tires were damaged due to road hazards, and/or low inflation pressures, there is no way BMW or Bridgestone should be on the hook for new tires. You pays your money, you takes your chance.
The flip side of course is that IF both the inside AND the outside sidewalls are blistered (if it's just the outside sidewall, then that indicates encounters with curbs and such), AND IF the inside blisters aren't directly across from from an outside blister (which would indicate an encounter with a pot-hole or other road hazard), then anybody would have a very difficult time convincing me that these tires aren't defective.
Best Regards,
Shipo
On past cars I've owned, I've had situations where large potholes caused bubbles on two tires at once, especially on those with low profile tires. I don't know if you hit a lot of potholes, but it very well could be impact damage and not defective tires.
That said, I think these tires are crap, but the complaints that I've been hearing on these are related to premature tread wear.
I live in Chicago and this is my only car so I definitly need all season tires. I'm not a car guy but I would like my new tires to not make any road noise and a softer ride so I don't feel like my car is going to fall apart when I go over a bump.
Any help would be appreciated.
If these tires and its associated spareless world are so great then why no rft in m3 and 5 series ?
Continental RFT replacements for the 3'ers with 17" rims have comparable cost with GFT for the all-season tires.
I do completely agree that ALL car companies that adopt this should have an option to keep the spare tire if so chosen by the customer. I assume RFT's will grow more prevalent throughout the auto world quite soon.
Hopefully, they go back to dip sticks at BMW as well!
Regards,
OW
http://www.tiresbyweb.com/pc-6631-128-nokian-wr.aspx
http://www.tiresbyweb.com/pc-6631-128-nokian-wr.aspx
Does anybody has any expierience with Nokian RFT?
Regards,
OW
They are loud, offer less mileage, can not be plugged you must purchase new ones. The will however sell you a warrantee for them for $779!!!! normal wear not included.
I guess my questions when looking at a new car and it will not be a BMW ( Owned 7 and now done )will involved they tires.
Let's continue this thread here: jasond, "BMW 3-Series Tires and Wheels" #63, 7 Aug 2007 11:25 am.
You might try talking to a local tire dealer,as mine was able to give me the tires for the same price as Tires by Web, with full installation and balancing included.
will the dealer swap tires on the new car before leaving the lot? can the run flats be replaced with more traditional tires? or must i always use run flats on this car? does one need to put a spare in the car somewhere at that point? does anyone know if there is a cavity in the wagon where a spare can be put? should i keep the 16" standard wheels or move to the 17" wheel/tire? which is less susceptible to damage and more of a comfortable and long lasting tire? this will be a daily driver in pa. and in winter as well. i'm just looking for ideas as to how to make this car/tires work in my situation. sorry to not be so well informed but i don't want to spend alot of money and then in a few months be on the hook for hundreds or a thousand more. any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated. thanks
On Wednesday of this week, less than 48hours later, I ran over a screw with the new passenger back right tire (although, we wondered if the dealership accidently ran over the tire with a screw, prior to re-install). After the screw issue, I drove to the dealership. The service advisor tested the pressure of the tire - and it was at ZERO - how is that possible for running over a tiny screw? I asked the dealership to replace the tire - at their cost - and thus no charge to me, since it was less than 48 hours and the dealership and BMW stressed unparell service. They declined and the service manager blew me off after saying he would call me back.
My option - buy another run flat tire. I know my story is not directly tied to the short life tire - but, I have never had a superior tire with a tiny screw drop to ZERO pressure - oh the drive to the dealership was less than 20 miles from where it happened.
Tire unavailability, high prices - the issues are the same. The full story and responses are here.
The TPMS system worked great, though. That's the must-have part of the equation for me.
Twitter: @Edmunds_Test
If you do plan on long trips, such as in the mountains or between cities (such as driving from LA to San Francisco) i would stay away from these cars as there is no support infrastructure. Read my story and you'll see that the flat bed tow truck driver confirmed that the new 3 series was its best customers. Digging into these forums will only confirm this.
On a side note, I've been checking out Audis (and been quite pleasantly surprised by how good they've become) as we get ready to unload or 325.
Good luck to you.
We have a '06 3 series and a '02 xiT. The former becomes our daily driver and the latter is the car we take for vacation and long stretch drives. BMW did us right by replacing the four RFT with the Continentals free of charge but it doesn't take away the worry of having a "flat" without ready replacement. I think BMW might lose some business due to this factor. I know when we need to replace one of our cars, the car will not have RFT unless such tires become prevalent in availability. Not a chance in the next couple years.
When I got a flat (GFT but I think it should work on RFT as well), I got a can of a Fix-Flat from my trunk, inflated the tire enough to drive to a place that put a 'plug' and then we continued on our trip. This was faster and easier than putting the spare on. I also cary a very small 12V ($25) compressor which I use at home to keep the recommended pressure in my tires .... it works for me. I never had a big whole in the tire though.
We plugged it anyway. An added bonus: I located the VP of Customer Service's name and phone number. I called and now I have someone to assist me in this issue.
Take that Valencia BMW!!!!!
As of now, replce the tires for optimmum safty. Reuse after repair is fool's folley!
Regards,
OW
Aside from those who drive at night in the desert, how does this serve the consumer?
What I would envision for the future is an RFT that could also be repaired. If the cost is more, the ability for repairing a "typical flat tire" would mitigate some of the added cost.
In other words, the EL-42 tire I kept which suffered from a simple puncture (from a screw in the middle of the tread) should have been road worthy after repair DESPITE the fact I drove on it for 100 miles. There is no visible sidewall/tread damage or visible stress to the inner tire. The story is inside of the rubber. This is a waste at this point in the technology. The advantage to me was it got me to my destination during a zero pressure event.
Regards,
OW
And a 50 mph limit is just that. I frequently see cars with a donut on being driven at 65 to 70.
Regards,
OW
But some dealers and tire stores are hiding behind lawyers and telling folks they can't be repaired AT ALL. Since they can't know the tire's run-flat history before they get their hands on it, I guess I can understand that POV. But it also feels like an excuse to sell more tires.
If carmakers and retailers who deal with RFTs hold the "cannot repair" line firm in simple nail-hole cases like the one cited above, count me out - especially at the current x2 or x3 price premium.
TPMS is where the lion's share of the benefit lies anyway.
Twitter: @Edmunds_Test
I'm still inquiring from expert tire shops in my area (those who do high end cars, racing cars, etc) as to what's what with repairing an RFT---the do-s and don't-s.
I haven't noticed, however, some of the other things that people on the forum have complained about. IE foul weather performance problems. I have a manual transmission which might be why, but I've found if you're patient and smart about where you're going you won't get stuck. I only had one evening where I didn't make it home in the car...and that's because someone traded a 2006 C320 4Matic into my dealership so I took it.
When it's all said and done though, I'm getting an additional wheel at the BMW dealership tomorrow and when I replace my tires next month, they will not be run-flats.
How do you rotate these?
Regards,
OW
Also it's easy to break the pressure sensor, if say you have the sensor 180 degrees out from the point of where you are breaking the tire.
So with carelessness and cranky old equipment, you can very easily wipe out the rim and the sensor.