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BMW 5-Series Tires and Wheels

132 messages,  Last post on Dec 12, 2012 at 4:44 PM

You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 5 Series, Car Safety, Tires, Wheels, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 12 of 14

#110 of 132 Re: 5 blown tires since Sept 2011 [atalaya505] by busiris

Apr 08, 2012 (9:02 am)

Replying to: atalaya505 (Apr 07, 2012 10:17 pm)
It appears you have a real dilemma on your hands.
 
Either keep the OE wheels and tires on your BMW and leave it garaged while driving something else, or change some combination of wheels/tires and drive your BMW, or trade it for some other make/model.
 
Personally I can't speak to your individual experience, but I fail to see how BMW could be successfully selling so many 5-series sedans with such an easy-to-reproduce problem.
 
I hope you find a suitable solution for your situation...

#111 of 132 Simple Solution by laurasdada

Apr 09, 2012 (10:50 am)

Given the information I gathered from several sources, when we bought an '11 535xi for my wife, we bought the tire/wheel insurance. Standard 18" setup. In over 6 months of driving, no issues with the tires or wheels (other than my perception of noise and harsher ride. She's happy). So, the tire/wheel gremlins know we ponied up too much $ for the insurance and aren't bothering us to have it pay out! We win?
 
Of course, we also didn't have much of a winter, so we may have been let off easy, pothole-wise...

#112 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [laurasdada] by busiris

Apr 09, 2012 (2:29 pm)

Replying to: laurasdada (Apr 09, 2012 10:50 am)
Your experience seems to be a good example of the "fly in the ointment", as the old saying goes.
 
On one hand, some number (relatively small, I would guess) have lots and lots of tire/wheel problems, while the rest have, at least, no more problems than one would reasonably expect.
 
It would be interesting to hear from one who originally had several bent wheels who has changed to a same sized after market wheel and get his/her response on any changes it made.

#113 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [laurasdada] by atalaya505

Apr 09, 2012 (10:55 pm)

Replying to: laurasdada (Apr 09, 2012 10:50 am)
I would love to know where you live and what kind of road conditions you encounter.
 
To be honest, we would not be so concerned about this problem except for three things:
 
1. When we hit the pothole on I40, it sounded and felt as if we had slammed into an iron bar. A real "bang". Very loud, very abrupt. Reverberated through the entire frame of the car. I would love someone to tell me that this was just the jolt being transmitted through the stiff run flats. But, it sure sounded and felt like we had bottomed the suspension -- hard.
 
I have never encountered this on any other car before (including previous BMW's). The subsequent startling (but less violent) behavior when we drove a standard 535i w. 18" wheels at a quite modest speed over the test pothole in LA, plus the published report in Consumer Reports that their 535i w. 18" wheels shuddered through the entire body on sharp impacts, the Car and Driver report on the number of wheels and tires they went through in 40,000 miles -- combined with user reports I have found on-line -- all suggest that the F10 5 series front suspension may have a real problem with potholes and other sharp impacts. BMW must suspect something. They have asked us to bring the car back in to have right front strut inspected for possible impact damage.
 
2. If we mostly drove in an urban area, we would probably have never gotten alarmed about this. We would have figured that we just had the bad luck to hit a nasty pothole, paid for the new wheel and gone on with our lives. My wife has pointed out that this is probably what most F10 owners would do.
 
But, as I said at the outset, we bought this car for the express purpose of driving 900 miles in a day -- 20,000 miles a year -- over very empty landscapes between the Rocky Mountains and the west coast. We spend a lot of time a very long way from any BMW support. What would be an inconvenience if it happened to us in an urban area becomes a Big Deal when it happens in the middle of the Arizona desert or up in the mountains between CA and OR.
 
3. Out here, rough pavement and potholes are everywhere -- especially on the major Interstates with heavy truck traffic. There are many areas where roads will go through a freeze/thaw cycle almost every day in the winter. Potholes are simply a fact of life. You cannot avoid them. Any car or truck you drive on these roads has to be able to cope with them.
 
We may have made a mistake by buying a car that is not suited for these driving conditions.
 
We have not given up on the car yet. We do not believe that the pothole we hit was a once-in-a-decade pothole. So, we are trying to understand the problem and figure out if there are any changes we might be able to make to ensure that the next time we hit a significant pothole it doesn't take out a wheel, a tire and/or a strut tower.

#114 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [busiris] by atalaya505

Apr 09, 2012 (11:00 pm)

Replying to: busiris (Apr 09, 2012 2:29 pm)
I would love to hear from someone who has changed the run flats on an F10 5 series for non run-flats.
 
I know that this will improve ride, quiet and handling. But, what happens when you hit a pothole or other sharp impact? Does it still shudder? Have you blown out a tire or had any other damage?

#115 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [atalaya505] by busiris

Apr 10, 2012 (8:14 am)

Replying to: atalaya505 (Apr 09, 2012 11:00 pm)
I don't think I would make the simple assumption that F10 owners simply replace blown RFTs and bent alloy wheels and "go on about their business".
 
Even on a luxury brand, that's a sizable chunk of $$$.
 
If it was as common as you suspect it is, I would think some reporting agency/news organization would be all over it, just as they were on the widely reported Toyota UA claims. Even the HPFP issues made "60 Minutes".
 
I'm NOT saying it isn't a problem, as it may well be. But, since the target buyer of a new BMW 5-series sedan is in the higher economic range of drivers, they also tend to be more "connected". And, that's a group that generally gets listened to when they have a complaint.

#116 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [atalaya505] by laurasdada

Apr 10, 2012 (10:43 am)

Replying to: atalaya505 (Apr 09, 2012 10:55 pm)
Hi: Boston and surroundings. Roads range from lovely to Beirut-ish. Probably like most locales. The Bimmer is the wife's car, so I know not what she actually encounters in her daily commute. She doesn't let me drive it much, but I like my AMC Matador just fine... We did just replace the BMW windshield, however. Of course, pay big $ for tire/wheel insurance and the windshield goes! Straight line crack, under rear view mirror. Like an underline of the black shaded area.
 
I checked with my tire shop prior to the purchase, they recommended the insurance, they thought the price wasn't too bad for 5 years. They noted many BMW, Audi and Saab wheels come in. As well as the stinkin' RFTs. So, against my usual beliefs, we bought the insurance.

#117 of 132 Wheel and tire insurance by lawcar

Apr 10, 2012 (11:57 am)

Replying to: laurasdada (Apr 10, 2012 10:43 am)
I had a 2009 528i with regular wheels and never had a problem. I really liked the car, but wanted something different and got a 2012 Mercedes E350 sport trim which has the 18" wheels. I heard that larger wheels are more prone to damage and with many potholes in Los Angeles, was also recommended to get the insurance, which I did for $1,500. I figured if I never used it, I would be fortunate and spent a few bucks that I could have saved. If I didn't get it, and had to pay $600 per wheel, I would have cursed myself. How much was your wheel and tire insurance?

#118 of 132 Re: Wheel and tire insurance [lawcar] by laurasdada

Apr 12, 2012 (9:33 am)

Replying to: lawcar (Apr 10, 2012 11:57 am)
A little less, I think a little less than $1300 for five years. 20/20 hindsight, I might have self-insured, but the wife wanted it. Her car, she has all the money, too! It's only been 7 months, but so far, no issue.

#119 of 132 Re: Simple Solution [atalaya505] by techman9

Apr 14, 2012 (7:54 am)

Replying to: atalaya505 (Apr 09, 2012 10:55 pm)
When we hit the pothole on I40, it sounded and felt as if we had slammed into an iron bar. A real "bang". Very loud, very abrupt. Reverberated through the entire frame of the car. I would love someone to tell me that this was just the jolt being transmitted through the stiff run flats. But, it sure sounded and felt like we had bottomed the suspension -- hard.
 
You are absolutely correct in your description. I have never experienced this event in another car, an it is rather unsettling. I tried to explain this to four different dealers to absolutely no affect.
 
By any chance do you have the adjustable suspension? I always suspected that was the culprit.

Messages Page 12 of 14

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