[derek.megyesi]

Hi all,

I need some advice, as I am very frustrated. I have a 2018 BMW X1 with about 55k on it. I live in Calgary Canada. Calgary is a very spread out city, and I have to drive. I mean isn't this what a car is for?

Anyhow, I am just a normal driver, not a speed demon. I take corners slowly and always obey the speed limit. I always use comfort/eco mode to save $ on gas and just to place less strain on the car. I NEVER travel out of town (always use a rental or the girlfriends car).

Yet, I was told at BMW gallery today that all 4 of my factory RF Pirelli tires are shot, + I need both my front and back brakes + rotors replaced. This really pisses me off. I've only had the car for 2 years. I feel like I got ripped off here by the dealer when I bought the car. Could the tires NOT be new? Could the brakes + rotors have been switched?

Should I raise a grievance to the Service Manager?

[ttimbo]

I defer to other Canadians, but in my experience in Australia, the original Pirelli tyres will not last much longer than 50-60k km. It's possibly even lower if the wheels have not been rotated regularly — uniform wear is important for this type of AWD, as you do need to ensure the circumference of the 4 wheels stays relatively similar. FYI, I replaced my original Pirelli tyres at 40,000km.

As for brakes, actually, I suspect lots of small inter urban trips tends to wear these more than long highway drives. There's been another recent post by a Canadian owner expressing concern about rotor wear; I suspect that road gritting in Winter has quite an adverse effect on rotor wear

[oakey46]

If you bought the car new, I would say the chances of the tyres not being new from the manufacturer/BMW dealership would be zero. Also, have you not checked the tread wear indicators on the tyres? They are at regular spaces all around the main grooves in the tyres and, at least for Europe, indicate the legal minimum of 1.6mm tread. At 55k, which I assume is km as opposed to miles (34k miles), that doesn't seem too bad. My UK X1 18i has covered 25650 miles and whilst the car was in the dealership for a minor warranty issue, the dealer carried out a health check which showed remaining tread at 4-5mm all round, although he also reported an 'Advisory' on the brake pads at 6mm front and 4mm rear, so those will need to be changed soon at a cost of just under UK£500. Discs/rotors are OK, so fortunately I don't have to incur that expense just now.

[Liwanji]

My last lease car told me the rear brake pads needed replacement only at 24K miles. It may have something to do with the type of brake that BMW uses. I went to a local shop and got ripped off there, the guy told me I needed not only the rear pads, but also 4 rotors + front pads as well. I was tricked into thinking BMW would charge me double when returning the lease so I replaced all of that, for $1K.

At least from this lesson I now know how bad a regular maintenance item can be on a BMW. My last lease was just a 320i, it would be much worse with a M car. Now with my X1 I bought all the tools and prepare to do the job myself when the brakes need replacement.

[Skyline2.0]

Derek,

Other drivers, including myself, have had early brake pad wear issues. My suggestion is only replace brake pads/rotors when your car tells you to. Meaning go by when the wear sensor gets triggered and a message pops up on your dash/infotainment screen.

As for tires, get a tread depth gauge and measure them yourself, or go by the wear bar indicator found in your tire valleys. Once the tread gets close to the wear bar indicator, then change it or follow your local guidelines re. tire wear. Also, going forward, regular tire rotation (5k to 7.5k mile intervals) will help prolong tire life. I'm at 37k miles and expect at least another 8k to 12k miles before I need to consider replacement, which I attribute a big part to regular tire rotations.

Knowledge is power and will help avoid a dealer upcharging you on service.

Good luck.

[derek.megyesi]

Thanks everyone. I will keep looking around for deals then. I think what I am going to do is just switch the 4 tires with normal non-run flats (obviously keep the factory tires), and switch them back at lease end.

Any advice on how to reduce the wear on the brakes?

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by derek.megyesi

Thanks everyone. I will keep looking around for deals then. I think what I am going to do is just switch the 4 tires with normal non-run flats (obviously keep the factory tires), and switch them back at lease end.

Any advice on how to reduce the wear on the brakes?

We have only had our X1 for about 8 months so I can't comment on that vehicle yet. But I also have a 2018 340 that came with performance run flats. The first set only lasted 14K miles. I did get lucky with the back because I picked nails and they replaced under warranty. The dealer commented to me to go from 32, 35 PSI for front and back and go to 36 psi square. My next set is going strong at 21K miles now. The tread still looks good. So for me it was not driving but the fact the RFT have a harder sidewalk and they wore out quickly. Once I increased pressure a bit the ride was better and the tires are doing great. I am constantly checking our X1 to see how those tires are wearing. Since my teen daughter drives it, I don't always get to drive it much.

[jmhumr]

Your tire wear is pretty normal. However, I find it hard to believe all four are shot. The X1 is very hard on the front tires, so usually they go way faster. Check yourself; the P7’s have tread depth indicators. You might only need 2 tires right now.

The premature brake wear is also something many of us have experienced. There’s a whole thread on it. Good news is that many of us have been able to complain enough to the dealer to get them replaced for free or at a big discount. So, I’d lobby to your dealer.

[derek.megyesi]

jmhumr Thanks for this hope. I tried looking around for threads, but I cannot seem to find ones that directly talk to this. Can you kindly provide a link to these threads here?


But.. what you are saying seems to be true. I did some research this morning, and premature break wear does seem to be a common problem on the f48 BMW X1

• https://www.startrescue.co.uk/news/t...nsumer-reports

• https://www.thetorquereport.com/news...ommended-list/

• http://thesassonreport.blogspot.com/...ecommends.html

• https://www.thethings.com/cheap-cros...ke-the-plague/

Can anyone provide more context on how I can complain to the BMW dealer that I bought the car from to replace these pads/rotors for free (or heavy discount)?

[jmhumr]

This is the thread I remember:

https://f48.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...ighlight=Brake

There’s no real trick. Just tell your service person that you’re disappointed and that you’d appreciate BMW making it right. If they come back with nothing, ask to speak directly with a manager. If they still do nothing, then I’d probably see what people recommend on this forum for better aftermarket brake options that are cheaper than OEM and have an independent shop install them. If it makes you feel any better, you probably were gonna have to replace the brakes at some point of ownership, so if you put some longer-lasting ones on now then you’re effectively getting that maintenance out of the way early.

Good luck!

[Millie]

The stock RFT tires are TERRIBLE, we had to replace ours at 45k and that's with a dedicated winter tire. We switched to the Firehawk indy 500s and they are 100x better in every way. The huge reduction in noise and increase in comfort are instantly noticeable. You don't need run flats anyways since you stay in the city.

[derek.megyesi]

Thanks for your advice jmhumr It is a holiday today in Canada (Heritage Day), but I will contact BMW Gallery tomorrow morning, and see what they can do.

I have another question about front vs. back pads, but I will post those in a different posting