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[Greeney]

As the title says, i was looking around the car and noticed a pretty large bubble on my front left tire...I assume I should bring the car in to have the wheel replaced, but is this covered under warrenty or no? And also what is the status of the Potenza wheels??

Thanks
Jay G.

[KL2DC]

Do you have the RFT insurance?

If not, I suppose you could bring it in for your SA to look at it. They may or may not be able to help you get a replacement. Others have chimed in that they had to communicate with Bridgestone directly to get any sort of recourse. GL.

[bronco]

Aren't stock tires automatically covered for some period?

[PMP]

I don't think so, bronco. At least that is what they told me when I bought my car.

Funny thing is, you can get road hazard insurance on tires for a relatively paltry sum at any tire store, but it is like $1,000 from BMW. It's a joke, really. My plan is to simply use up the four tires on the car and then go to Sears for replacements and get their RHW. I'd seriously recommend NOT using BMW for your replacements UNLESS they agree to sell you a RHW at a price comparable to their competitors.

[F32Fleet]

Manufacturer should give u a pro-rated warranty replacement (ie, discount off new tire).

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by PMP

Funny thing is, you can get road hazard insurance on tires for a relatively paltry sum at any tire store, but it is like $1,000 from BMW. It's a joke, really. My plan is to simply use up the four tires on the car and then go to Sears for replacements and get their RHW. I'd seriously recommend NOT using BMW for your replacements UNLESS they agree to sell you a RHW at a price comparable to their competitors.

The RFT insurance at $1,000 That's too much, most folks pay between $450-$650 for the dealer offered road hazard plan. Some members have benefited with such plans more than others....

[hemi to e90]

yay $1000 is wayto much i purchased $350 for the audi, $500 for the 7, and $450 for the 3

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by Greeney

As the title says, i was looking around the car and noticed a pretty large bubble on my front left tire...I assume I should bring the car in to have the wheel replaced, but is this covered under warrenty or no? And also what is the status of the Potenza wheels??

Thanks
Jay G.

Depends where the bubble is. My understanding is that bubbles the develop from defects aren´t really visible and bubbles that are visible are from contact with a foreign object. But in any case, it probably needs to be replaced.

If you don´t have insurance, quickly buy a policy with no wait period

[Russellnyc]

I bought 3 year unlimited tire and wheel insurance from BMW (reselling through SafeGuard) for $498. I have averaged about 2 flats and 1 rim per 3 years with my last two cars riding on 17" rims, so this will probably pay for itself with 18s and runflats.

Originally Posted by PMP

I don't think so, bronco. At least that is what they told me when I bought my car.

Funny thing is, you can get road hazard insurance on tires for a relatively paltry sum at any tire store, but it is like $1,000 from BMW. It's a joke, really. My plan is to simply use up the four tires on the car and then go to Sears for replacements and get their RHW. I'd seriously recommend NOT using BMW for your replacements UNLESS they agree to sell you a RHW at a price comparable to their competitors.

[PMP]

Hmmm ... never really considered it but I bet I could have negotiated it down. I don't remember the exact dollar amount but it was near $1k. Also, I have the 18" Potenzas and I got the impression it was the 17" tires that were causing most of the commotion. Hopefully I don't get burned.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by PMP

Hmmm ... never really considered it but I bet I could have negotiated it down. I don't remember the exact dollar amount but it was near $1k. Also, I have the 18" Potenzas and I got the impression it was the 17" tires that were causing most of the commotion. Hopefully I don't get burned.

18" tires and wheels are much more susceptible to damage than 17".

[Asiann]

Originally Posted by Socom

Manufacturer should give u a pro-rated warranty replacement (ie, discount off new tire).

I would agree with you Socom! They know its Potenzas fault!

[PMP]

Originally Posted by JSpira

18" tires and wheels are much more susceptible to damage than 17".

I was thinking more in terms of the documented problems some buyers were having with their run flat tires. There was a rash of complaints about the tires not holding up and even falling apart. It seemed to be focused on the 17" tires.

I don't drive on bad roads, or drive particularly hard, so I'm not as concerned about rim damage, etc. I had 18" low profiles on my C32 and never had any trouble. Always a first time but ....

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by PMP

I was thinking more in terms of the documented problems some buyers were having with their run flat tires. There was a rash of complaints about the tires not holding up and even falling apart. It seemed to be focused on the 17" tires.

..

The problems you list would not be covered anyway.

[PMP]

What does the warranty usually cover? I bought it with my wife's car (second set of tires) and it basically covered flats.

If the tire starts to fall apart that is not covered?

[Casey 5]

Hmmm....on my 330i with ZSP and 18'' RFTs I got a bubble as well on my right front tire. The tire only had about 6K miles and I drove very very carefully...never hitting any potholes, etc.

The testimony to my carful driving was the fact that my 162 on that tire was pristine...not a scratch or scrape.

When I took it in to Performance BMW in Chapel Hill they indicated they had no complaints and upon examination of the tire it appeared to be the result of impact not a manufacturing defect.

I think this problem with bubbles in the side walls of these RFTs is rising to the level of an epidemic. I think that it maybe the case that they have a design manufacturing defect....ie the design cannot withstand the normal performance driving for which they are intended.

If such is the case, they should be replaced free of charge under a recall.

It would be interesting to see what the national replacement # for the RFTs has been in the US? Has the replacement rate been a multiple of other tire models?

The tire manufacturer is required to keep such quality statistics...the BMW servicers provide the manufacturers with the # of replacements for each tire model on a monthly basis.

This way the manufacturer can assess quality issues and the potential need for recall should it see a quality/failure issue with a particular model.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by PMP

What does the warranty usually cover? I bought it with my wife's car (second set of tires) and it basically covered flats.

If by warranty you mean the road hazard insurance, it covers damage from road hazards.

Originally Posted by PMP

If the tire starts to fall apart that is not covered?

no

[hemi to e90]

agreed a bubble normally forms from hitting a bump or something else that would cause SERIOUS MOVEMENT in the sidewall, then it was bubble. im willing to bet that unless u get in touch with the manufacturer and that the dealer will not want to get involved, its a long process that is best take up by you (the consumer)

good luck

[Don Nguyen]

Got a picture of the bubble? Usually bubbles form when there is a defect in the integrity of the tire, IE sidewall. When the tire's structure is comrpomised or there is a defect in it, it will cause it to let air out between the plys in the tire, causing the air bubble to form. It is dangerous to run a car like that for long as a hard bump may cause it to pop or blow.

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by Casey 5

Hmmm....on my 330i with ZSP and 18'' RFTs I got a bubble as well on my right front tire. The tire only had about 6K miles and I drove very very carefully...never hitting any potholes, etc.

The testimony to my carful driving was the fact that my 162 on that tire was pristine...not a scratch or scrape.

When I took it in to Performance BMW in Chapel Hill they indicated they had no complaints and upon examination of the tire it appeared to be the result of impact not a manufacturing defect.

I think this problem with bubbles in the side walls of these RFTs is rising to the level of an epidemic. I think that it maybe the case that they have a design manufacturing defect....ie the design cannot withstand the normal performance driving for which they are intended.

If such is the case, they should be replaced free of charge under a recall.

It would be interesting to see what the national replacement # for the RFTs has been in the US? Has the replacement rate been a multiple of other tire models?

The tire manufacturer is required to keep such quality statistics...the BMW servicers provide the manufacturers with the # of replacements for each tire model on a monthly basis.

This way the manufacturer can assess quality issues and the potential need for recall should it see a quality/failure issue with a particular model.

Coming from a bmw only dealer that sells $50k/month in tires. We see minimal tires being replaced due to bubbles. Though more on Runflats that non. I think it would be safe to assume 9 out of 10 tire bubbles are caused by impact. And yes rarely will a dealer (atleast with ours) replace a tire because of a bubble. The rumor is if you complain to the manufacturer enough you may get a replacement.

Now this is not too say bmw does not replace many many RFT. I cant count the number of Bridgestones we have goodwilled do to cupping and noise. I believe this is a combination of bmw's somewhat radical alignment specs and customers just not checking their tire pressures.

And about Road Hazzard. I dont believe bmw has any type of program. Any dealer that has one would be through another source or their own program.

[SuperSport]

Originally Posted by Casey 5

Hmmm....on my 330i with ZSP and 18'' RFTs I got a bubble as well on my right front tire. The tire only had about 6K miles and I drove very very carefully...never hitting any potholes, etc.

The testimony to my carful driving was the fact that my 162 on that tire was pristine...not a scratch or scrape.

When I took it in to Performance BMW in Chapel Hill they indicated they had no complaints and upon examination of the tire it appeared to be the result of impact not a manufacturing defect.

I think this problem with bubbles in the side walls of these RFTs is rising to the level of an epidemic. I think that it maybe the case that they have a design manufacturing defect....ie the design cannot withstand the normal performance driving for which they are intended.

If such is the case, they should be replaced free of charge under a recall.

It would be interesting to see what the national replacement # for the RFTs has been in the US? Has the replacement rate been a multiple of other tire models?

The tire manufacturer is required to keep such quality statistics...the BMW servicers provide the manufacturers with the # of replacements for each tire model on a monthly basis.

This way the manufacturer can assess quality issues and the potential need for recall should it see a quality/failure issue with a particular model.

I agree with this 100%. I got the same smoke and mirrors answer from the Bridgestone dealer in Redondo Beach, CA, "we haven't heard anything about it, so it must be your fault". BMW and Bridgestone should stop denying the problems, and start figureing ways to solve the issue. We have already saw what happened with the FORD EXPLORER AND BRIDGESTONE issue. How many people had to DIE before somebody acted on that