Are some BMW wheels all they're cracked up to be?
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BMW is a company that boasts in its adverts that it doesn't just create cars, it creates joy. But some owners of high performance BMWs have a completely different experience. Their wheels might promise great performance but it seems there's one thing some of them just can't cope with - the great British pothole.
Some BMW drivers are discovering that their expensive alloy wheels are cracking - making them potentially dangerous, and definitely in need of replacement at a cost of hundreds of pounds.
But BMW is blaming potholes, speed humps and other road surfaces that give a bumpy ride. The company says drivers are hitting them at speed, so the damage is their fault, and it's refusing to pay for replacement wheels under warranty.
One particularly annoyed viewer who contacted Watchdog about this problem is Ian Bolderston. In the space of two and a half years, his BMW dealer advised him to replace six wheels. They found that one wheel had seven cracks on it. With new tyres and associated costs, replacing the six wheels set him back £4,000.
David Morgan is another disgruntled BMW driver. He's had to replace three wheels at a total cost of £1,200.
BMW tested Ian and David's nine wheels and decided that they had all been damaged by a road impact - such as hitting a pothole. But the drivers said they just drove normally, and weren't to blame.
"I asked BMW and the first thing they told me was perhaps you've hit a pothole, you've hit something," Ian said. "I'm a normal driver with three kids. I'm the wrong side of 40 to be racing around. As far as I'm concerned it's BMW's fault. They need to get to the bottom of the problem. It's not potholes as far as I'm concerned. I've driven normally. There's something fundamentally wrong with these wheels."
David reflected on the fact that that all the cracks appear on the inside wheel rims, and almost always affect the rear alloys. "You hit a pothole with a front wheel. I've had no front wheels damaged. There's more weight over the front of the car than the rear so I'm astounded as why the fronts haven't cracked," he said.
The problem centres on a particular combination of wheel and tyre. The cracking seems to only affect BMW 19-inch rear alloys, coupled with runflat tyres. The tyres are a safety feature designed so that they can still be driven on when they're flat - the idea is that if you get a puncture on the motorway at speed, with runflats you won't lose control and can continue driving to a garage where the problem can be sorted.
Watchdog researchers called BMW dealers posing as customers. These confirmed, in many cases, that BMW expected the cause to be potholes. One dealer thought the damage happened because the low-profile tyres may have been slightly underinflated meaning that hitting potholes at speed could crack the wheels.
Some of the BMW dealers seemed to wonder whether these flashy wheels are suitable for British roads. One dealer said, "The wheels and tyres aren't designed for the roads really as they are in Surrey at the moment." A second said, "They use the same wheel and the same tyres all over the world, and I think it's due to our road surfaces. We're the only country that has a problem with it."
Potholes and other road surface hazards certainly have an impact on drivers' pockets. The AA reckons there are 1.5 million potholes in UK roads, and it's estimated that they cause billions of pounds of damage to car drive shafts and suspensions every year.
But with at least two damaged BMW wheels, potholes don't seem to have caused the cracks. Self-confessed BMW fan, Dr Aamer Khan, was outraged when he was told he would have to pay to have three wheels on his car replaced while the car was still under warranty. So he decided to pay £1,700 for international experts MIRA to investigate. Their report strongly suggested that one wheel had a manufacturing defect; it implied a second wheel had the same problem, and it decided that a third wheel that a BMW dealer said needed replacing, was not damaged.
Aamer started legal action and 18 months later, BMW paid him £7,000 as a goodwill gesture. "However, they were not taking responsibility or liability for the damage to the wheels hence they were still saying there is no problem with the wheels, which I do believe is incorrect," Aamer said.
Watchdog wanted to try to get to the bottom of the problem, so we collected nine damaged wheels and asked engineering expert Mark Brown to investigate. He's been in the business for 30 years and had never seen this type of problem before.
BMW dealers had decided that all nine wheels had suffered impact damage. But Mark Brown could find no visual evidence of this. "There's just no evidence of pothole damage. There's no evidence of any impact damage of any significance around the inner rims of the wheels, the places where the wheels are cracked," he said. He added it was "unfair" for BMW to refuse to replace the wheels under warranty.
And he questioned the suitability of the wheel design. "It may well be that driving over speed humps and potholes is causing the cracks but the wheels should be man enough for the job. They should be able to withstand that sort of use," he added.
Mark believes BMW should take action to deal with the problem with these particular wheels. "I think they should seriously look at the design of the wheel and seriously consider a safety recall," he said.
BMW statement:
"We put customer service and satisfaction at the top of our agenda and so take any concerns from our owners very seriously. We have been contacted by a number of customers who have experienced cracks in alloy wheels. Every one of these has been investigated by our specialist technicians and in every case the wheels concerned have shown signs of impact damage, which have resulted in the cracking. This is likely to have been caused by driving at inappropriate speeds over speed humps or through potholes. Equally, curb impacts have been to blame in some cases.
"We have received calls from around 100 customers out of the total 1.3 million BMWs on UK roads from owners reporting problems with cracks in alloy wheel. Every one of these has been investigated by our technical experts and in every case the wheels concerned have shown signs of impact damage, which have resulted in the cracking.
"This is likely to have been caused by driving at inappropriate speeds over speed humps or through potholes. Equally, curb impacts have been to blame in some cases.
"BMW takes great pride in developing the highest quality equipment for all its cars, with some of the most rigorous test standards in the whole automotive industry. Wheels are tested on all manner of different surfaces before they are approved for use. However, no wheel is indestructible and if a car is driven too fast over a speedhump or through a pothole, damage can be done.
"A road tyre plays an integral part of any vehicle's ride and comfort systems. If the tyre pressures are not correctly maintained the tyre will not have the optimum absorbing properties allowing energy to pass straight into the wheel/suspension components, which in turn, if driven inappropriately, could damage both.
"If the wheel is above the tolerance then the wheel has suffered an impact. As a result of poorly maintained roads, it is well publicised that on average across the UK, six per cent of all vehicles will suffer pothole damage in a 12-month period.
"In some instances no visible damage will be apparent. As mentioned above, the tyre can absorb energy to a certain degree. Once beyond this threshold, the excessive loading is transmitted to the wheel and may cause cracking, although the tyre may protect it from obvious visible damage apart from the cracks.
"Under the terms and conditions of the warranty, BMW will always pay for defects that are attributed to a manufacturing defect. However, our investigation of these cases has shown no signs of such a defect, but rather that the damage is due to an impact. In this set of circumstances there is no case to cover the repair costs under warranty. If a wheel rim is presented with cracks, a full technical evaluation is made in every case. If the wheel is found to be deflected from a perfect circle by 0.3 mm or more this is evidence that an impact has taken place and this has been the cause of the cracks. In this case the customer would be responsible for the repair. If the wheel is deflected by less than 0.3 mm and yet is cracked, then it will be replaced under warranty.
"If any BMW customer is concerned about this, or any other issue, they should not hesitate to contact our customer helpline on 0800 777 129."
THE SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS (SMMT) TOLD WATCHDOG:
"Motor Codes Limited is the body responsible for the self regulation of the motor industry through consumer codes of practice. Supported by government and the motor industry they aim to raise standards and increase consumer protection for motorists. Their Codes cover garages, vehicle manufacturers and extended warranty administrators.
They can be contacted on 0800 692 0825 or at http://www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk."
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~39~RS~)
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We've had the same problem with our 57 registered BMW 325, with the same 19" alloys. We had a tyre go flat, which was then replaced. However, the brand new tyre went down within 2 days, which was then put down to the fact that the wheel was cracked. We were also told that it was due to going over a pot hole. Our cars usually do at least 25k a year, as have our previous cars fitted with alloy wheels, but we've never had any problems with the other alloys.
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If BMW are saying that the roads are no good for their wheels,and there are too many potholes on British roads, then why don't you send the bill to Gordon Brown. After all you pay your road tax which is supposed to be spent maintaining roads.
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We have a Mini and a Jaguar that have also suffered from wheel problems, flat spots etc and in 1 case a crack. We are pretty sure this is due to the potholes on the roads here in Kent. I know at least two of the damaged wheels on my Jag were due to potholes as I ran over potholes, couldn't avoid them due to oncoming traffic and they were on corners, and felt vibration after going over the pothole. One of the wheels even partially deflated immediatly on going over the pothole.
THIS IS A POTHOLE PROBLEM NOT A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND YOU SHOULD BE GOING AFTER THE LOCAL COUNCILS TO GET THE ROADS REPAIRED. IN ADDITION YOU SHOULD NOT BE GIVING THE MAN FRPOM THE SMMT A HARD TIME, ATTACK THE LOCAL COUNCILS OR THE MANUFACTURERS IF IT IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT.
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BMW are no different from any other manufacturer. The problem is with alloy wheels. If you want to avoid damage to your wheels, don't pay for alloys. As Del Boy would say alloys is a nice little earner. Alloy wheels cost very little more to manufacture than mild steel but the selling price differential is astronomical. So go for mild steel and plastic covers.
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Sounds like BMW have a similar wheel problem as Audi had with the RS4 back in 2000/01. The Audi wheels used to buckle/warp. Audi honoured their warranty withou quibble and contiinue to do so.
Come on BMW act in an honourable way like your cousins at Audi!
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I own a Fiesta ST500 with 17" Alloy wheels with low profile tyres. I hit a big pot hole in the road a few weeks after I bought it brandnew. IT NEVER CRACKED MY ALLOYS!!!!
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For goodness sake Ann Robinson let the chap from the motor manufacturers finish a sentence!!
Constantly interrupting means that you think that you are more important than the person you are talking to, not so!
Because of your constant interruptions we are none the wiser on what to do.
Learn to listen.
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I have had a rear wheel alloy on low profile tyre replaced as a result of a crack.
I put it down to the vulnerability of low profile tyres with the add on of the awful run flats, which on these alloys create a poor level of ride comfort
However i feel that the alloys are not up to the job and am just waiting for the next one to crack - and how do you know when they are cracked on the inner face!!!
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I have a 335D with 19" alloys and run flat tyres as well and i was told that my rear alloy has a crack in it. It is still under warranty however they said it is probably caused by me driving over a pot hole if that is the case shouldnt the council pay for replacing my wheel since i pay road tax for pothole free roads? BMW admitted to me it was a very common problem and when i asked what if it happened again to the new wheel they had no answer. DISGUSTED!
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If Ann Robinson allowed the guy from the motor industry to finish ANYTHING he was saying perhaps we would all be the beter for it. Would you please put the contact details here so we can record them. Not impressed. Get the focus groups' knives out please.
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One of the main reasons why the alloys split is because they run on a run flat tyre which is very very hard compared to a normal tyre. A normal tyre takes the impact of a pot hole but with a run flat this impact is taken by the alloy as there is no forgiveness in the tyre. This problem is very common and the dealers and manufactures are aware of this problem but dont want to admit it.
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I haven't got a BMW but i've got [car removed]. The car is an 07 plate and the alloys have completely corroded. I visited my dealer expecting them to be replaced under warranty but no. First i was told that i must have driven through acid, then that i had curber the entire alloy wheel of 3 wheels. The car was a demonstrator, it was brought in from another garage. I was told before it was transferred to my local dealer it needed repair work to the alloy tyres- i am wondering if there is a problem with whatever substance they used to repair the wheels. Guess what they are now denying that the wheels were ever repaired! I then spoken to customer services who told me their policy is that if there is any kerb damage to the wheel they will not replace the tyre even if the corrosion is nowhere near the kerb damage. My car is on PCP- so when i return it after the 2 years i will be facing a charge as there is no way it is in reasonable condition for its age!
I fear car companies are all the same, and to sort any problems you need to jump through so many hoops!
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This problem isnt the first and BMW have long been aware! i have owned the E60 525D which had 17 inch alloys and it wasnt until i had the tyres changed that problems were evident, i have never known an alloy wheel to crack just by treating it to a new tyre! BMW dont want to know, the tyre centre however commented on how these are PRONE to cracking. So in theory this sais it all about BMW use inferior materials on the wheels, the car however is supurb but its let down by using poor quality wheels. But this is a major component of the car so why are they compromising safety??? I think its time they change manufacturer and refund all customers who have had to replace there alloys! i only had to replace one but still this shouldnt have happened.
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I too have had a rear alloy replaced last week as a result of a crack, i thought i had been unlucky, but surely this many people cannoy be 'unlucky'!!!!
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We had the same problem with [car removed] in 1982, we found out that the wheels were manufactured in Romania. [The company] at the time were using sub standard Aluminimum. Our wheels cracked and being on a 16 tonne tipper could have caused a disaster, simular to the problems relating to the BMW. We were prepared to take action against [company removed] at the last moment they out in full this case took 2 years to resolve. Some years later we had 2 [brands removed] brought within 6 months of each other the cylinder heads cracked and I was told I was using the wrong Diesel, I told them it was Duff Aluminum from Romania, they paid for all repairs. I hope this may be of help to your BMW customers
Peter Armstrong
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when bmw say its a uk problem about thier wheels
a quick look on the net shows that it is worldwide
does this mean they lie about them ? like they never
made engines for bombers that bombed our chippie
no problems with my lexus
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Surely this fault might be linked to the indicators not working ? :)
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I had to have two wheels replaced earlier this year. I had my tyres replaced at Kwik Fit due to normal wear and they spotted the cracks..they told me they only see this in BMWs or cars with signs of impact, they could see no such signs on my car. I took the car to BMW to ask them to check the car out, they didn't even spot it so I would have failed an MOT had they been checking - so much for their safety checks. I then told them of the issue and they then agreed and said I needed to pay £1300, even though I had paid the additional maintenance warranty pack.They claimed its not a manufacturing issue and that I must have driven badly over potholes. I also own a Volvo of exactly the same age - 2 years old, which drives on exactly the same roads and strangely has not suffered from this issue. I also work for a car rental company and of the 20,000+ cars on fleet this year, we have not seen any such issues on non BMW cars so I think its about time BMW stopped denying the issue and put the safety of its drivers first..I will be thinking twice about spending another £50k with them when I replace my car in March...
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I have a 2007 BMW with 19's & RFT's. I have had issues and i think it may be due to the tyre and not the alloy. BMW & Bridgestone have looked at the waer on my tyres and both admitted that the tyres were not fit for the purpose. Bridgestone have currently developed new tyres and these are only available in Europe. It may be that the tyre wall is too stiff and wont absorb the impact of potholes.
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I have a '57' plate bmw 335i convertible with the 19" alloys fitted that were the subject of the program that i bought from new and i also have had to replace a rear alloy that cracked in the manner discribed, whilst under warrantee at a cost of £500 - I thought it was just me!!!! There appear to be too many examples of this for it to be a 'pothole problem' - unless they recompence us it will be the last BMW i (or anyone that i can persuade otherwise) will be buying!
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I have had the same trouble I had a 335i convertable with 19" alloys when I got a rear flat when taken to the bmw garage I was told I had driven over a pot hole and split the rim, I ended up having to buy a new wheel and tyre at a cost of about £600 i was not a happy BMW owner
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I have not only had an issue with the wheels but also the tyres, Drive a 335i and were told the run flat tyres was the way forward. Had a puncture on the M40 after 18 months of no issues what so ever and then that is when the nightmare started, the tyre shreaded so could not move, get it back to the dealer, oh run flat tyres, can't get hold of them not sure how long. Well after 10 days wait (give them credit did get me a bog standard Astra as a run around) we get a new tyre and an apology.
Leaving the dealer they did say I should really get 2 new tyres on the front, taking the dealers advise I hunt round for 4 weeks finding these tyres at Mitchell Deaver, as they take the tyre off I hear "another BMW run flat", explained they see this a lot on BMW run flat wheels, next one comes off and the same.
Anyway went against MD's advise put the new tyres on and drive it to the dealer, they keep the car again for a few days and then tell me it is my fault, they won't put the tyres on damaged wheels and I have to buy 2 new wheels. Haven't really got any option so have to spend £700 !!!
BMW were an utter disgrace in this affair (I could go on for hours) and I could see the pain in the eyes of the dealers staff when I use to come in. I live in Surrey, been a BMW drive for 10 years, Will be going back to the dealer tomorrow and unless I get a refund I will never be a BMW owner again.
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I have not had a problem with a BMW but some years ago I worked in the automotive testing environment.
Then all vehicles to be sold in the UK had to be tested for type approval before they could be sold (by law)
I believe if a manufacturer changed anything safety (suspension wheels brakes etc.) related then the vehicle had to be tested again
This test involved in part 500 miles on a track which is made up of cobbles set at various heights and angles (the ride was very very lumpy and drivers were recomended to only drive this for 20 minutes max)
The facility was at the motor industry research association nuneaton
So why was this BMW problem not identified before these vehicles were marketed
Was the vehicle tested on steel wheels then the alloys fitted at a later time
This test was a european initiative and as far as i know was compulsory
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Came in halfway through this article. Was very interested in the explanation of process for taking a complaint beyond the manufacturer as I have had an issue with a vehicle which I would like to escalate further (unrelated to this item).
Unfortunately I was unable to get a clear idea of the process from your guest as Anne continually interrupting him with her pithy remark's. My 4 year old daughter even commented upon he rude Anne was by saying 'at school we are told it is rude to speak when some one else is'.
I fail to see what is the point of asking people to appear on the show and the speaking over them for the entire interview. As such I feel that there was no usable help or advice given at all, just a demonstration of your presenters arrogance of thinking listening to her 'witty' put downs would be of more assistance.
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We also have a 3 series coupe 57 plate. I had to have my tyres changed and BMW advised me I had 2 cracked wheels, seemed strange almost like they where looking for it! 1st and last BMW. Also got the 19" wheels as salesman told me drives better!!!
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My 53 plate 530 had what we thought was a puncture so we had the tyre replaced. Unfortunately the problem didn't go away and further investigation showed a crack on the inside of the alloy wheel. When I confronted BMW with this I too was accused of kerbing the car or going over a speed bump, which I knew was not the case. I was understandably upset with this response and told them I would like to take the car to my local garage but was warned that the car was not safe to drive, which was convenient considering the price they charge for a new wheel! I have driven 20-30k a year for the last 18 years and have never had this problem with any other vehicle or alloy wheel. I no longer own my BMW as this was the last in a long line of problems I had with the car and the customer care provided by BMW!!!
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We had so many problems with our [car removed]and we kept on getting fobbed off by [company removed]. There were noises and vibrations and as a technician i knew that there was something wrong. My girlfriend took it back and was told that nothing was wrong and to get used to the vehicle. after a weekend away it go got worse we went back to find it needed lots of work (g/box exhaust...). While the car was in it got damaged. It went back and they damaged the roof. We contact the smta, trading standards and [company removed] all a dead end. Told that it would go to court and after 3 months of fighting we gave in. They did fix most of the problems but it still has to go back.
The point to all this is even as someone who has been in the trade for over 12years they still try to bs me. the complaint procedures are very complicated and time consuming. If there is a problem there should be a body in place to get both parties in a room and sort it out quickly (And not a lawyer).
And another note. Im very sad at the state of the motor trade as all the good techs move on from dealers and its only fitters that are left.I am no long in a dealer myself as it was so depressing and unrewarding!
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i have an e46 325i sports salon,9 months old when i bought it
both the rear and front alloys have cracked, so i replaced all four wheels of a diffrent type shiped in from germany, anyone with the same problem should not replace with like for like, they should look at another wheel manufacture bbs ect,if you went to most tyre replacment centres they would tell you this is a problem with all low profile bmw wheels not just the 19 inch models, just for the saftey aspect alone bmw should be made to recall all models with low profile
wheels and replace them.i personley would not trust any bmw sports wheel on my car.
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I'm convinced that one of major problems with cars these days isnt potholes (yes the roads a terrible) but speedhumps. Mainly the little square speedhumps you get in the middle of the road. They are designed so that a vehicle with a wider track (ambulance, fire engine, bus) can travel over them easily, but are a real problem for cars.
To create the least stress on your suspension and car chassis, you need to travel over them with the near side on one hump, and the off side on another hump. This avoids the spreading of the suspension and it's bushes, and placing all the load of the car onto just the inner rim edge when you stradle the hump. (Most common way of traversing them)
This is not possible on most roads, as the opposing hump is in the opposite carriageway.
The other way is to ride over the hump with just the near or offside. This puts undue repeated twisting stress on the chassis, and will over a period of time (possibly) weaken it.
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I have a 07 BMW X5 and have had three alloys crack on me and like everybody else I have been told the same story.
To add to the misery is that you have to run on your run flats and in fact I was told to only to find out that once you have travelled on your run flats you have to replace them. The cost of the X5 tyres are £350+ this compounds your frustration of BMW on top of that I had no stop computer failure, I was that dissappointed with being in the garage I wanted to exchange for a X6 the dealer ask BMW for some allowances but only threw it back at the dealer who to be fare tried thier best to do a good deal which was not good enough when I was offered £ 22,000 for a £65,000 car which was 2 year old.
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In Responce to Johnpickup's comment.
I whole heartedly agree!!!!
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As a mechanic with 25 years experience I have seen this problem while fitting tyres on [car removed] with 17" alloy wheels the common factor is that they had runflat tyres and when fitting very extreme pressures are rquired to inflate new tyres on to the rim causing it to split.
I also run a BMW with runflat tyres and seen a tyre fitter yesterday inflate my new tyres in excess of 90psi, this is one reason why we don't fit runflat tyres on on our fleet of Volvo cars.
Have all the cars with with damage had new tyres fited before the fault ocurred?
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Am I misssing something here?
I drive 30.000 miles per year and have had different cars - The only time I have ever had a problem of an alloy cracking was with a BMW 3 series.
I must have driven over the sale 'pot-holes'with all of my other cars and not been affected so surely the common denominator must be BMW!
What have I missed?
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I have never had a car with a cracked alloy wheel until I got my X5. Even if I did hit a pothole then I would expect a 4x4 vehicle should be able to cope with this. How is it supposed to cope off road whan it can't cope on road.
The ride is too hard and there is not enough give in the run flat tyres and I think this is what is contributing to the cracks. The worrying thing really is that you do not know that you have a crack until you change the tyre . Surely this is a safety concern and there may be thousands of BMW drivers running around completely unaware that they have cracked alloys.
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Hi electronicmarkoxford! Funny you should mention indicators, that was one of our ongoing problems with our 530 as well, which BMW refused to do anything about!
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Are Audi Mercedes and other car manufacturers wheels cracking? If not there is no doubt where the blame lies.
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i have been fitting tyres for 15 years and bmw are the only manufacturer that have run flat tyres on as part as a safety feature of the car the problem with them is that the sides of the tyres are rock hard as compared to standard tyres this means the tyre does not absorb most of the shock but transfers the shock to the wheel hence causing it to crack over time
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Regarding the BMW story,I would suggest that they find out where the Wheels were manafactured,as some time ago Mercades had a simaler issue and it was found that the wheels were made in Turkey and found to be substandard.
To all thoes poor customers it would be in there intrest to have a look at this. I'm sure that you will find that BMW are out sourcing this product. Hence they dont want to cover the Warrinties as this would make them liable,as they have no way to recover the monies from whom they are buying from,and to cap it all it will effect there Profits. If this should be true you can imagine what they are buying the alloys for.
I wish all thoes safe driving and good luck hunting down the firm that is processing these ALLOYS.
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I have a BMW 1 Series with low profile run flat tyres, they are noisy and give a very un-comfortable ride.(Could my wheels be cracked)
Come on BMW it does not a genius to see where the problem is!
RUN FLAT TYRES
Your comments on the cracked wheel issue are very similar to the comments I got on a different problem on my car, it seems you are very good at burying your heads in the sand.
Chris Walker
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I have a BMW 335 07 Plate and have had 4 wheels crack in the last 10 months (all rear). I have written many letters to BMW including ones to both the former BMW UK MD Mr Jim O’Donnell and the new MD Mr Klaus Kibsgaard - on both occassions I was referred down to Mike Allen - Customer Service Manager, North West. Mike reported back that on further examination the problem was impact damage. I have retained 3 of the 4 wheels - all of which look like the ones on the program tonight and have testimonials from KwikFit and a local tyre company that in their opinion they see no evidence of impact damage.
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I have driven BMW's for nearly 15yr and never heard anything like this before. I am in the market for another BMW, but perhaps might choose another manufacturer following this story. Can I just say that this has been going on for a while according to internet forums, check out this scary wheel crack....who said it is not dangerous.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294042
Thanks and good luck with BMW, Phil Nosworthy, Hayes, Middlesex
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It's partly the low profile tyres which is a problem. We bought a [car removed]estate. Knowing nothing about typres (rubber things that keep you on the road) did not make an issue about the low profile tyres that were fitted. On a *light* car, low profiles may be acceptable but on a heavy car (especially a "working" estate car) they are a total no-brainer. Five tyres later I learnt that one has to drive any car with low profiles, not watching what is going on, but concentrating on the road a short distnace from the front bumper. My Jaguar has "normal" tyres - no problem and we have a 15 year old Rover - go through anything - but low profiles, nightmare. Of course, the other side of this story is the third world roads we have in the Uk nowadays. Potholes, rough surfaces, rotton standards of road housekeeping even the ewish M25 is, in parts, like a fairground ride.
Answer ditch the low profiles and get some normal tyres.
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I own a bmw mini, that my husband bought me last year, two days after having it delievered we found it had been sold with a steering fault. This had been a demonstatiion model! With this it had worn the low profile run flat tyers and BMW wanted me to pay them £400 each for the tyers.
I contacted mini direct and they provided me with new tyres but i had to fight what is it with BMW they are quicker enough in taking your money but when they are in the wrong, it is a different matter.
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As a mechanic with 25 years experience I have seen this problem while fitting tyres on vehicles that are not BMW with 17" alloy wheels the common factor is that they had runflat tyres and when fitting very extreme pressures are rquired to inflate new tyres on to the rim causing it to split.
I also run a BMW with runflat tyres and seen a tyre fitter yesterday inflate my new tyres in excess of 90psi, this is one reason why we don't fit runflat tyres on on our fleet of cars.
Have all the cars with with damage had new tyres fited before the fault ocurred?
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it might be because they are from china
subbed out from the bmw plant they have there
if you look at the alibaba web site you may well
find wheels at a fraction of the price bm want
the way it works on china junk is if it costs £100.00 in uk
its £10 in china good stuff eh
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We are alloy wheel refurbishers and we're presented with several cracked wheels daily, BMW wheels far outnumber other wheels and are rareley showing any deflection or run-out. We have also noticed that the wheels are manufactured from very stiff aluminium perhaps this is the problem where the wheels are cracking instead of bending. We weld the wheels quite succesfully so saving the car owners from the clutches of the Germans
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I am a Road Policing officer and drive a variety of patrol cars. We have had 3&5 series BM's only for about 10 months, and so far a 5 tourer and a 3 saloon have had to have all four wheels and tyres replaced due to huge cracks being found. These cars are regularly driven up to 150mph and this is very worrying. Although they get a hard time - speed bumps are not great in pursuits - they don't do anything the other cars in the fleet don't do. I think BMW need to own up to restore customer confidence.
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I have just had a rear alloy replaced on a X5 - yes a SUV 4x4 which you would think could cope with the odd speed bump. I was told exactly the same story regarding speed humps and pot holes. They also claimed to noticed it was out of alignment due to being 'badly damaged by a pothole'. In addition blamed me for running the tyres flat (even though there's a warning system) and advised me to put the pressure higher than recommended to get round the problem. I discovered that the front left wheel had also been replaced in the first 3 months of its life before I bought it.
Crucially, I DID NOT PAY. They told me it was not covered by the warranty and would be approx. £350 to which I told them very clearly that I would take them to a small claims court if they made me pay for it. They told me it wasn't under the warranty as it was damage I had caused.
They eventually agreed to replace as a 'gesture of goodwill' but amazingly still asked for £30 for the fitting. I only recovered this charge when I wrote a letter before action to the MD of the dealer advising him I would give them 2 weeks to refund me or I would submit a claim in the court.
I also requested to have the wheel back so I could have independently assessed and 5 months later I have not been given it back.
I have subsequently written to BMW advising them that I will not be purchasing another car from them and very disappointed that their cars are so poorly made that even something as simple as the wheels disintegrate.
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My girlfrind bought a £39000 335D M Sport coupe and has had nothing but niggling issues with it over the 2 years she has owned it, however the latest debacle is with BMW has been the total lack of Customer satusfaction with the Service department at the dealer she bought the car from in sutton Coldfield. Strange really as Sytner bill themselves as one of the best dealers in the UK for the BMW Marque. She too, has had the cracked rear alloys argument with the dealer. As the Watchdog programme has stated, it is never the fronts! So, with the straw poll on the people on the show together with our experiences surely even the highly efficient technicians at BMW do not have to calculate too hard that there is an inherent flaw within the design of the rear wheels. What is more alarming is that there are a number of wheel designs that are affected. Surely MR Norbert Reithofer( Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG) should feel he has the balls to stand up and admit there is a design flaw in their rear alloys or the materials used for them. BMW have spend years building a prestigious reputation for vehicle build quality, building a base of loyal customers, but for how long if they continue to dumb down the technology and build of their offerings?
OR have we at last hit upon the true message behind the acronym 'BMW' that being 'Buy More Wheels!!'
[Comment removed]
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BMW 335i Convertible - Check!
Run Flat Tyres - Check!
Heavy Vibrations - Check!
Flat Tyre - Check!
Cracked wheel - Check!
£600 poorer - Check!
The BMW dealer told me the same thing, must have been a pothole. Going to do what everyone should, go into the dealer and get my £600 back.
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I work for a BMW dealership and have changed around 5-8 multispoke 19" wheels due to cracking.
The way that the individual dealership attempt to resolve the problem is largly dictated by warranty rules. This means that if BMW UK haven't approved a product for recall then it only seems obvious that individual dealers can't afford to reinburse all customers and shouldn't be expected to.
I personally feel that the major problem is an over ambitious low profile tyre described as 255/30YR19 which on some cars means that the rear tyre has a lower profile than the front.
Bridgestone are the only maufacturer to make it and we have had at least as many problems with that as we have wheels. everything from blow outs to excessive scrubbing.
The perils of a style over subtance sport coupe.............
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It's not just BMW that have the problem. I've had the same problem with a [car removed]. I've never been able to maintain tyre pressures in the front wheels since I got the car five years ago. The tyre pressures were dropping to almost nothing in less than two weeks. Recently a crack was found in one of the wheels. I've since replaced both front wheels with brand new ford wheels and the difference is amazing.
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I had to replace all 4 tyres on my car yesterday due to abnormal wear, basically 1 inch has been stripped from the inside wall leaving bear metal showing. The tyres were in a horrendous state and I was told that I had been very lucky not to have had a nasty accident, there were chunks missing from both front tyres the size of 50p's. I was told this is due to insufficient pressure in each tyre, the car had a service recently where all pressure was checked and said to be fine and the onboard computer never warned me of any tyre pressure loss. Upon having the new tyres fitted it was pointed out to me that there was 2 cracks in the rear 19" wheel. A bit strange when the tyres have only done 17,000 miles, never been kerbed and we have only own the car 6 months after being purchased from a bmw dealer.
BMW carried out a run out test today and no surprises its my fault!! the wheel and found it to be out of shape due to either hitting a pot hole or speed ramp. They actually had a script titled "watch dog" on the desk informing them what to say to every possible question i could ask. When I asked the question what happens when I buy a new wheel and avoid all pot holes and speed bumps and it happens again will BMW cover it and the answer was no because its not covered under warranty. £500 is the cost for a new wheel and they cant guarantee if from happening again? I'm appalled!
We spent over £100k on 2 cars last year from BMW and have had several BMW's in the past but never come across this before, there has to be a fault somewhere in the design as they are not fit for purpose.
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The more i think about this the angrier I get - cracks in the back 19" alloy on my (at the time 18 month old) 335i lead to the tyre shreading on the M4 whilst travelling with my partner and 4 month old baby daughter (we were fine but they market these cars as safe!!!). It not only cost me £484.81 for a new alloy, but £263.35 for another tyre, £30 for the mobile tyre fitter for coming out and spotting the cracks and advising me that he could not fit a new tyre to the cracked alloy and £76 for the recovery lorry to take us home. I make that £854.16 - Jim O'Donnell, the head of bmw uk's managing director can expect an e-mail tomorrow
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I have a 2007, [car removed] from new. After the car was three/four months old it started to pull to the left. I,ve taken the vehicle to 2 different dealers and had the tracking looked at 5 different times without success.
Since then, I had to replace the rear types twice at a cost of £1200, in 16K miles. The tyres now at 21K are nearly worn again. They wear unevenly on the inside.
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The design of the wheels is also an issue IMO. Far too much inset on the wheels. I am sure that whels as wide as they make these days should have a more balanced inset and offset.
Also, if the rear wheels are wider, and the car has a different track front to rear they will ride over the little square speedhumps differently.
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I have a 2007 "57" BMW 325i Convertible with 19" Alloy wheels. Both rears cracked when the car was just over one year old. The BMW dealer investigated the cracks but found the wheels to be over .3mm out so would not consider a warranty claim. They even tried to blame the company which replaced the tyres saying thety must have damaged them. The froint wheels are fine. I have read an American Blog site where the same problem has happened they are blaming the run flat tyres, I now use NON run flat tyres and keep a can of sealant/inflator in the boot.This is mine/wifes 6th BMW in twelve years I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER BMW!
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being an engineer, and working in the automotive industry for 20 years, i'd suggest someone ought to ask this question to the tyre industry, they might have an answer. I believe BMW etc., still use the same alloy wheels they did for normal tyres therefore using runflat tyres, (as it seems this is the common denominator), and by their construction will reduce the absorption of shock, so a pot hole could conceivably produce these cracks. However, this does surely prove that these wheels - designed for normal tyres - are not designed for the stresses involved in the use of runflats! The pressures/ stress involved in fitting said tyres to any alloy wheel are tremendous and great care is taken by the tyre fitting companies to reduce this when fitting, but you have to wonder what stress damage will occur and may even have occured during factory fitting.... (Doesn't say much for our roads either though)
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I have a BWM 330d coupe with 19inch alloys. I took my car to the dealer when the runflat indicator kept coming on and they told me I had a crack on the inside of the rear alloy. I didn't hit a pothole,kerb or stone as they had suggested. I came back two weeks later for a further examination and they discovered a second cracked alloy which would have to be replaced at my own cost. I wrote to customer service and was told this was not a recurring issue for BMW and they could not do anything as it was impact damage. Over the next weeks I discovered one friend who replaced two rear alloys on his 335i and another who had 2 rear 645i alloys and 7 20" X5 alloys replaced (his dealer replaced all 9 under warranty as he was a very good customer and they recognised the problems). Runflat tyres do not work with 19" alloys on UK roads and as far as I am concerned BMW have sold a product that is not fit for use and should recall all these faulty wheels. I will not be buying another BMW.
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i have a 330d convertible i have 6 alloys replaced and 4 sets of tires all rears i had to pay for 3 alloys and after doing this i said enough is enough the local dealer [company name removed] agreed BMW then agreed to replace them but this is not as there is a fault with the wheels this is for good customer service okay this is a statment that keeps ebing repeated as the story went on, when every set of wheels were repalced then the tires had to be replaced as they had worn the tires down but only on the in side. After the alloys and tires had been replaced as they had to be as they were not legal after a few thousand miles you guessed it another set of alloys had cracked but this time it had ran down the tires threw the wire and i enede up with the light coming on saying i had a flat so i took my car to the closest dealer which was about four miles away, i was thewn advised i need to go to there service centre which then tried to put air in the tire and informed me that i needed to go and get a new tyre. I went to the closest tire place about a mile away which got the wheels off and yes thats right both alloys had cracks in and a one tire had a very big hole in (dangerous i would say but as well all know there is nothing wrong with this car yeah right) so said to the tire garage not to replace this and i called BMW emergeny who told me to take it to the local dealer which i already had, i explained this needed to to go back to the dealer i always deal with so they had to fax the head office to confirm they would pay for the recovery which they did while i was on the phone to BMW emergency, i then waited for one hour as i didn't hear anything i decided to call and ask what was going on i was told they didn't receove a fax LIE as i heard the fax being sent and saw the call log later at the dealer from there fax machine. So another hour passes and then the vehicle gets recovered the car then eventually goes back to the dealer local to me and then the allows and tyres got replaced for a different style of 19 inch wheel and so far i have done about 10,000 with this ste of alloys and tyres and cross fingers no problems. When these were replaced BMW did state that there is nothing wrong with the car this is just good customer service (yeah right). The wheels you need to get out of them are a split five spoke 19 inch wheel which are part of there new performance range very nice and actually a nicer style so a bit of a result i wil however being going for the £7k compensation the other chap got. DON'T BUY A 330D SPORT CONVERATBLE WITH MULTI SPOKE 19 INCH ALLOY THIS HAS COST ME ALLOT OF CASH AND TIME. Good luck everyone else
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Just digressing slightly, has this problem only arisen whilst using Bridgestone runflats, or did it happen with the Continental version???
Might be an interesting exercise??? Continental always seem to give the softer ride. No bias, just experience.
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i work in a bmw dealership as a tyre fitter with 25 years experience, , i have monitored 3 bmw 3 series cars over the last 10 months over this issue, 2 cars, i checked the tyre pressure every 2 weeks & had no problems with wheels cracking or tyre wear, the 3rd car which is a loan car and driven by anybody i didnt check, this car has had to have rear wheels & tyres after 7 months, i really think this issue is down to owners not checking there tyre pressures, although not many of them will admit to it. the state of our roads also dosent help.
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My new z4 3.5i (19" alloys and runflats) is in the shop as we speak. I noticed the rear wheel had less pressure than the others from the get go and topped her up. When I noticed again this week I took her to my local tyre guy who took the wheel off to find three cracks on the inside if the alloy (email me if anyone needs pics).
BMW did a run test today, told me the wheel measurements are out indicating hitting a pothole (did NOT hit any pothole!!) and said I'm looking at £600+ for the new wheel and tyre.
To the person who asked how you know it's cracked, look for one tyre losing pressure and get it checked.
I heard something interesting today though. A friend had the same issue, took a photo of the pothole, called the local council....who paid the whole bill!!!! He has also had BMW pay for the same issue in the past as a goodwill gesture...so they CAN do it.
The guy at the tyre place said at least 80% of this type of crack he sees are on BMW's.
Good point about the rear wheel vs the front wheel damage-how could I go over a pothole and just break a back wheel!!
If an alloy has a crack in it, and this might be a dumb question, but wouldn't the wheel distort/warp/bend out of shape as you go along? Outside the .3mm guideline?
If nothing else ive certainly decided to check my tyre pressure more regularly...dread to think what could have happened!
Safe motoring to you all x
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I have a BMW 335i, 19" Bridgestone runflats. I recently took it to BMW and found both tyres needed replacing (back). Under inspection the inner tread was worn badly as if the tracking was out(15k miles on these tyres from new).
I was told by BMW that this is a common thing on a performance car and all the tyre manufacturers were aware but had no resolution. Was also told that this was due to the setup of the car (probably not so evident on 17" or 18" wheels given widths and diameters etc). (Camber setup on the rear)
Given the above and most wheels on the program were cracked on the inside would it not make sense the majority of pressure in the back is on the inside of the rear wheels? hence causing the cracks, in addition to the run flats stiffness? thoughts?
[comment removed]
:-)
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I have had my BMW 335i 12months and a few weeks ago dicovered due to tyre deflation that I had a rear cracked alloy. Inspection by the dealer also uncovered the other rear alloy to be cracked although not spread inside the tyre wall to cause defalation.
Both 19 inch alloys with runflat tyres fitted , required replacement at cost of £1000.
No warranty offer was made.I also met with BMW technical manager who gave me the " British Roads " story. It appears that BMW is therefore not fit for purpose and should not be sold in the UK with these wheels and tyres. There is most definately an issue here as I have no recollection of going into a pot hole which would cause this type of damage with no other visible signs of damage to either tyre or car.
I also phoned a local alloy wheel dealer who told me that he had several other callers with same make and model with same complaint in as many weeks!!!
BMW need to take note. I have driven BMWs for 12 years+ with no issue and will be seriously considering my next choice of car.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I have an 08 BMW series 1 it is only 18 months old and I have had to replace 3 tyres already. It has certainly made me think twice about getting another BMW
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Had the same problem some months back, 57reg sport owned since new, with the 19" wheels, more annoyingly i do less than 5000 miles a year. Cracked wheel identified when i took the car in regarding a tyre pressure warning light, good news was that i didn't have a puncture - but a cracked wheel instead (must have been a pothole apparently!) and not covered under the warranty. The infamous "run out" test showed it was beyond the BMW "warranty" threshold - not happy! Argued a little as there was no kerbing or other marks on either edge of the cracked wheel (or any other wheel for that matter) but wasn't really getting anywhere. Then i was advised that the 2 rear runflat tyres were down to canvas on the inside edge (after less than 8000 miles) - another not fit for purpose investigation for watchdog no doubt - despite 6ish mm of tread across the rest of each tyre. Lost my faith in BMW a little at this point having been a customer of 12 years and doing on average 20k miles a year for the first 10 years with no tyre/wheel problems. Asked the dealer to put the tyre back on the damaged wheel and said i'd take the car elsewhere. Their tyre fitter refused (quite rightly i suppose) to refit the tyres due to the damage and i was pointed in the direction of BMW GB to see if they would agree to cover/contribute under warranty. I must add that the dealership service staff have been excellent in all prior dealings and as helpful/understanding as they were allowed to be during this - would heartily recommend them in Redhill. Customer service manager at GB was very understanding but wouldn't commit before speaking to the dealer and i wasn't paying so the car was with the dealer for a couple of days taking up space. Dealer then rang to say GB would cover the wheel and both tyres (all in well over a thousand pounds) as a goodwill gesture. I would have reluctantly contributed something for the tyres if pushed but was obviously extremely pleased and clearly very lucky - they even washed and vacuumed it as per normal. Five months later the car went in for standard stuff, wheels ok as per standard check. Six weeks and a mere 500 miles later, more than half of which were motorway on one trip, the car went in for a different fault and i was rung to be told i've got another cracked wheel..... - come on GB admit there's a problem, do the right thing for your customers and stop putting the dealers in an awkward position
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BMW Cracked Wheels - I am SO glad that this topic has been brought to Watchdogs attention!!!
I have been a faithful BMW owner/buyer for approximately the last 8-years, having bought 3 new 3-Series cars, spending a significant and increasing sum on each new vehicle.
The most recent of which is a 325M-Sport Convertible, purchased in June 2008 with upgraded 19" wheels with runflat tyres.
After getting my car serviced at the end of may 2009 I had to re-book my car in to get some vehicle recall work done (which was never previously notified to me and couldn't be carried out at the same time as the service!)
Having spoken to the dealership where I bought the car from (in Leeds - not close to home) about 2No cracked rear 19" wheels, they informed me that I could take the issue up with any BMW dealership as the warranty was worldwide and suggested I discussed it with my local dealership.
I therefore asked the dealership that was carrying out the recall to also carry out an inspect and report on the wheels and to replace them in the meantime and to advise on any recourse under the warranty.
The following saga then played out...
10th June 09 - car goes in for recall work and replacement/inspect & report on cracked alloy wheels - informed it will take approximately 4-6 weeks to obtain a report.
22nd June 09 - Should have had a response, but none received - decided to give them a little more time (didn't want to appear pushy).
3rd July 09 - Left message with dealership to enquire about report on wheels. Never received a return call.
19th August 09 - Called dealership & was told that the Area Manager had been on holiday but was due at their offices the following day. Would ring with a reponse no later than friday.
20th August 09 - no phone call.
21st August 09 - no phone call.
3rd September 09 - Called dealership to discuss report on cracked wheels and lack of response - left message.
4th September 09 - 10:30am rang again - no answer from reception or anyone!
4th September 09 - 11:30am rang again - left message.
4th September 09 - 14:00 rang again as no return call - advised that "it had been thrown out". No details available, would obtain details and ring back in half-hour.
4th September 09 - 16:15 rang yet again due to no return call (surprise, surprise!). Advised that they did not have any details but that I should have received a letter with an explanation. Checked address was correct (which it was). Promised to chase up letter as manager wasn't currently available.
To date I have yet to receive a satisfactory verbal explanation or this long awaited letter. BMW currently have both my wheels which I will have to arrange to pick up soon.
I have therefore paid out circa £1200 for 2 new wheels in the meantime.
I totally agree with everything that has been observed about Davids case - I too have only had problems with the rear wheels (no damage to the fronts).
Seriously, I can't believe potholes, or speed cushions or speed bumps can cause damage to the rear wheels only if the front wheels hit them first!
Interestingly 'e90post.com' and 'automotive.com' have had blogs containing postings from many other upset BMW drivers, including several in the USA (note Automotive.com seems to have problems this evening).
At present, whilst I adore the styling and handling and spec of BMWs Im not sure I will be replacing this one with another one unless this issue is resolved.
I would be very interested in being kept up-to-speed of any developments on this matter.
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Living in Surrey I can fully understand the BMW dealer's comments. Surrey has some of the worst condition roads in the UK.
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We have been buying top end new BMWs every year for the past 15 years and currently have a 335i sports convertible with 19inch wheels and run flat tires. We have had 2 rear wheels cracked and like the other comments the dealer told us that BMW said it was due to potholes! We are so pleased that Watchdog have taken this up and brought it to the publics and hopefully BMWs attention, I hope this campaign rolls on because its very frustrating being an individual with this problem! It was suggested by my dealer that we change the tires to non run flats but I don't plan to do that unless I get a letter from BMW accepting that my warranty wouldn't be violated if we were to take this action!
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I had a 2.8 Z3 and never had any problems with the car. For a T reg when I should it this August to get more pushcair frinedly car, people thought it had a private plate the car was so well made. The wifes KA failed its MOT, whilst the Z3 sailed through, BMWs are THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE, they kick 911s into touch.
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BMW does not know what customer service or satisfaction is !
This is just one of many problem's i've had in six months of purchasing my 330d saloon. Cannot wait to sell. Thank you eveybody for bringing up an other problem from BMW.
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I purchased a 9 month old ex demonstrator 320 M Sport and when I took it in for its first service 8 months later the BMW dealer advised I needed the front nearside AND rear offside wheels and tyres replaced due to buckled alloys, again they say due to impact damage. This seems to differ to other comments affecting rear wheels only. This little bill was £1680 plus the cost of the service. Having driven BMW's with alloys for over 10 years without issue I was horrified. On chatting to other car dealers for other manufacturers they all say they don't get these issues much as they do not use run flat tyres which is the big problem here. Unless BMW get a grip of their responsibilities and legal liabilities I will certainly never be driving one of their cars again. Perhaps we should all write to the BMW Brand Director whose job it will be to reinstate the public confidence in this brand, which lets face it, is just as damaged as their wheels!
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Hooray for Watchdog in reporting this - I was contemplating selling my BMW - it is definately a warranty issue due to a combination of poorly specified components combined in an inappropriate fashion by BMW (1) Run Flat Tyres (makes the tyres less forgiving to all bumps in the road with thicker tyre edges); (2) large/wide 19 inch wheels; (3) Stiffer suspension (esp with my M sport suspension) (4) reliance on a low pressure warning light that operates too late and if it comes on you will need new tyres by then! and (5) to get hairline cracks without any other buckling evident on my cases this suggests a manufacturing problem. I can't believe BMW are still blaming the drivers and the roads for this!
Anyway, my story: in Oct 2006 I bought a 1-year old 335D Coupe (56 plate) from a BMW Dealer - within a matter of weeks I thought I had a problem with the steering. My local BMW dealer at the time (I have since moved) fobbed me off saying it was me and that I was not used to driving such a high-powered car that was rear wheel driven (to be fair that was true - but it still didn't feel right!) anyway - a few weeks later I returned and the BMW Dealier provided an engineer who drove the car with me and said it was ok - and that constant pulling to the left was normal (tramlining apparently!). Anyway unhappy I left it and went home - the next weekend a tyre low pressure warning light came on to say I was low - great idea this but problem was it was too late! The day it came on I went straight to the garage who found a hairline crack in my rear offiside alloy, it must have been like that for some time because both rear wheels were unevenly warn and now needed replacing. Under 2 months of purchasing the vehicle BMW tried to claim I must have hit a curb (note there was no other buckling to the wheel to suggest this and I know I didnt!) and the wear on the tyre as extreme as it was suggested otherwise. In the ened I paid for one tyre and the Dealer paid for 1 alloy and 1 tyre.
Roll forward 1.5 years and I had moved house, and last month I had the car serviced - this time they found a hairline crack in the nearside rear alloy - and yet again I had uneven wear esp on the rear tyres and yet again BMW Dealer(No. 2) refused to pay for the cost under the warranty soon to expire at the time. I obviously needed to have this fixed and ended up paying for a new alloy and fitting of 4 new tyres. (Worringly they also arranged the MOT which had passed so I was able to drive away with the problem with the alloy and tyres!)
Since then I have been checking my tyre pressures (manually a few times a week now!) I have noticed its not holding air properly in the nearside wheels (front and rear) - so I will get this independently checked now.
In total I have spent about £800 I shouldnt have had to and prematurely replaced 6 tyres (at £250 each) in 2 years of driving - about 20,000 miles in my case.
Having bought the most well equipped, fastest diesel coupe that BMW sell I have had more time off the road than JOY on it!
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I own an 07 330 convertible with run flat tyres. Both my rear alloys cracked within a week of each other and I was told I must have hit a pothole and had to pay £800. I too think there is a design fault and the cars need to be recalled. This should also be covered under warranty and I do hope Watchdog takes up this case. As a result of the dealer's response to my claim, I will not be buying another BMW.
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Iv had exactly the same problem with the 19inch wheels and had to replace the two rear after 15000 miles, had no hard pothole hits or curb damage what so ever. At a cost of over £1400 it was not a cheap experience and i am going to consider a mira report on my wheels. Good work wathdog.
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I have had two cracked 19" 230 Style wheels on a 12/2006 BMW 330D SE Coupe in the last few months at a replacement cost of around £700. I really hope Watchdog vigorously pursue BMW as I believe they are putting the safety of their customers at risk by not accepting responsibility/undertaking a recall. The public really need to know the potential issues and additional cost they are taking on when purchasing a BMW with the alloy/runflat tyre wheel combination and I hope BMW's lack of prompt action ultimately costs them dearly as it has me. I have had cars with alloy wheels since the 1980's and never once experienced any issues with them despite potholes being present for the entire period and if anything my awareness of them has improved. This simply points to the wheels being unfit for the purpose intended, i.e. driving on British roads. BMW claim there have only been 100 complaints - this may be so, but they should be looking at the total number of failures logged by their service agents and this would paint an entirely different picture. Very disappointing from "The Ultimate Driving Machine", which is hardly an apt description if you are frightened the wheels will break off.
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I am a BMW technician with 22 years behind me in the motor trade, (also an uncurable petrol head). I have enjoyed owning a few of these cars over the years and currently have a 3 series and an old M5.
To briefly answer post no 60, the wheels designed for runflat tyres,
are different in design. The wells inside are shaped to prevent the tyre from moving away from the outer rim when deflated.With conventional wheels, the tyres will quickly break away from the bead, allowing the rim to run directly on the road surface. The 19" wheels that are giving these problems are fitted with 30 profile tyres where the fronts are 35.Possibly the slightly taller profile prevents these from cracking.I really do hope all of the affected customers issues can be resolved,it would be such a shame for people to abandon this excellent brand because of this, but i can also understand why. Unfortunately the dealerships hands are tied, and can only operate to the manufacturers policies and guidelines.My best advice to anyone would be to religously check tyre pressures and condition also oil and other fluid levels. Even if they never seem to need correcting.It will be easier to spot a problem before it becomes an expensive failure. The manufaturers reccomended tyre pressures, are established to provide maximum safety, road holding and comfort of ride. And should be maintained regularly ( ideal to be checked weekly when tyres are cold). Under inflated tyres wear out quickly and cause increased fuel consumption. Worse, if the pressures are allowed to decrease enough, at motorway speeds, the tyres can overheat, and are more likely to blow out. It is important that the flat tyre moniter system should be reset at the same time as the tyre pressures.It is designed to detect a rapid loss of pressure. This works by utilising the signals generated by the wheel speed sensors which are also used for the ABS system among others. When a tyre deflates, the affected wheel speed changes which when detected will activate the warning system. Natural decreases in pressure over a period of time is often pretty even for all four tyres and will not be detected.
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I had to replace one of the rear wheels on my 335i Convertible during its first service. After much arguing with the dealer I had to pay £540 for the wheel. BMW then told me to photograph a pot hole and claim from the council. What really amazed me was they told me to drive around and find "A nice big pot hole".
The salesman confirmed that the wheels and run flat tyres with such a small profile wall just do not work, and suggested I bought 18" wheels and normal tyres if I didn't want another wheel to crack.
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I have had 2 BMW'S first was an M5 and had this for 3 years never had a problem it was amazing. So this made me go for a bmw next which was the 645ci convertable this had the runflat tyres and the 19" rims on the back after nearly 2 years i had this exact problem both rear wheels cracked and needed replacing. Again BMW said potholes or my driving was to blame but i drove the same and on the same roads as i had for the previous M5 with no issue. I wrote to the MD of BMW (anyone can get his address its their head office and you can get this from any dealer)and they said they would pay half of the cost so only one wheel which i guess at £500 was better than nothing.
I no longer have a BMW for this reason and now am a happy MERCEDES driver (no wheel problem 2 years in). BMW need to look at this as this is obviously a link with these alloys and run flat tyres or why on the exact same roads did this not happen to my M5 as i say which was a great car. . !!!!
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This website allows you to report potholes, find out how to claim for damage, where to send complaints to and find out about other pothole-related stories.
http://www.potholes.co.uk/
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I bought a 325 with a 56 plate last november - 5 spoke 19 inch alloys. Very shortly after taking delivery, a slow puncture in the rear left tyre was put down to a cracked alloy. The run-flat tyre had been damaged to point where it too had to be replaced amounting to a bill of £750 pounds. Following several discussions this work was completed by the dealer free of charge. One year on and I have just paid £350 for another new alloy on the rear right wheel - again due to a crack. I am no rally driver and feel strongly that there is some problem either with the alloys or the combination of the 19 inch alloys and run-flat tyres on british roads.
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I own a BMW 523 (18'' wheels with run flats) which I use for business purposes. My annual mileage is around 20000 miles which is mostly on Motorways. My driving style could be described as moderate in that I never exceed the speed limit which is designed for economy purposes. I always sloww right down for speed humps and watch out for road defects. I had the car serviced on Monday and to my great surprise on collection I was informed that my front nearside wheel has slightly buckled. I was advised that this was probably the result of hitting a pot hole or a speed hump. I am mistified as I cannot remember any such incident that I would think would result in such severe damage. Thanks to Watchdog I am alerted to others with the same problem and as a result contacted my BMW dealer in Dundee who claimed that they had never heard of this problem previously. Do I believe them - I don't think so?
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All very interesting. Over the last couple of years I have replaced three sets of rear alloy wheels, and of course the tyres which have deflated and have been damaged beyond repair having run on the rims. However, in my case my 330D Sport Touring does not have run flat tyres, although they are low profile.
The usual excuses of potholes / speed humps are used but I have never had this problem in any of my other cars.
One final point; I thought Anne Robinson's interviewing technique was appalling. The interviewee was unable to get any answers out and I am left none the wiser about what can be done. Has she been taking lessons from Nicky Campbell?
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I have had the same problem on two separate occasions with my BMW 330D Coupe on the 19" alloys fitted to the rear of the car. The first instance (o/s) was last December when the car was just over two years old and had done about 35k miles and the second instance (n/s) was two weeks ago when the car was just under three years old. In both cases a very fine fatigue crack in the alloy rim caused partial depressurisation of the run flat tyre, closely followed by full depressurisation. The run flats are apparently good for 50 miles at 50 mph, but although I slowed right down, the tyres were shredded within 20 miles. The total cost to me has been around £1,400 (new rims and tyres). I wrote to BMW UK last week before I saw the watchdog programme and I am awaiting their reply. As this problem appears to be limited to the 19" alloy, the rim in question is clearly not fit for purpose.
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We have a 57 reg 320d with 19" alloys and have had nothing but trouble with the car. First problem arose a couple of months after we bought the car and we had to replace all 4 tyres as they had all worn unevenly on the inside - so bad the wires were showing - £1200 bill. We have had numerous punctures and one in particular went into Kwickfit and as they usually have to order the tyres in, we asked them to check the rest of the tyres too, just in case we needed others at the sametime. All the other tyres were fine and they replaced only the run-flat with the puncture. After leaving the garage and travelling home later in the evening, the car began making a funny noise and didnt handle well so we checked the new tyre and it was extremely hot. We checked the air and it had appeared to have lost pressure. Anyway, we returned first thing to Kwickfit who couldnt understand what the problem was. After another inspection, both rear alloys had hairline cracks and the car was rendered undriveable and they didnt want anything further to do with it until BMW had seen it. The car was collected and taken to dealer for further inspection and we told we must have hit a pothole or a kerb! and there is certainly no defect with the alloys and that we needed 3 new tyres and 2 alloys! Again, another bill for over £2000! We are both careful drivers and know for a fact that we hadnt hit anything. The hairline cracks appear to run in line with the actual spokes of the alloys and its throughout the area of the wheel, like it has actually shattered but no visable point of impact. We contacted another local dealer about these 19" alloys and they said they had had numerous customers complaining about the same problem but there was nothing they could do. It is the first and last time we will own a BMW. Not only were the alloys and wheels a problem, but numerous other problems too. Their customer service is terrible and not one problem was fixed on the first attempt. I dred when a light comes on the dash or it has to go in for a service because it always has to go back 2 or 3 times more! The number of hours I took off work trying to get things resolved was ridiculous - I was lucky I had an understanding boss. We will stick with to VW Golf GT TDI in the future! Never had any problems at all with them and their customer service is second to none.
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Although I don't currently have any cracking of the alloys on my car. I, like I'm sure every other BMW owner with 19" wheels is extremely worried about this news. I decided to take the advice of the gentlemen Anne Robinson spoke to last night and first contacted my dealer. They were aware of the problem through Watchdog but had not been briefed on how to respond to incoming calls! I then rang BMW customer helpline. Just as little help here. The man I spoke to continued the line of the wheels would be replaced if there were determined as a manufacturing fault, however if they were deemed as due to reckless driving this would not fall under the warranty of the car. I think this is an absolute disgrace that a premium car manufacturer will not admit to quite obviously having a faulty product. I mean come on BMW look at how many people agree with me!!! I think for the amount of money us customers have spent on your cars we should be entitled to FREE replacement wheels of the same spec as obviously the product we have bought is faulty. If you buy radio you expect ot to play music....Its the fundamental purpose of the product. If you buy a car you expect it to move....if this is prevented it is not doing its job. PLEASE EVERYONE THIS MAY CONCERN CONTACT BMW AND PUT YOUR CASE FORWARD WE CANNOT BE IGNORED!!!!!!
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We have paid £500 for a new alloy wheel which cracked. I have rang BMW today to ascertain why they crack. I was informed that the small alloy 19" with the runflat tyre is not a good combination with potholes and speedhumps and that they should be approached with caution. To ensure I approach with appropriate caution, as I do not want to pay another £500, I asked them to define "caution" and outline how I should drive my BWM so as not to cause this damage again. The customer service executive, who was polite and well spoken, informed me that she could not tell me how to drive the vehicle to prevent this from happening as sometimes you cannot see potholes. She did state that speedhumps and potholes should not be approached with speed, I asked her what was the speed that BMW recommended, again insuring that I was staying within BMW guidelines, I did not get an answer. Mr BMW you need to (a) Give your customers precise user details - How to drive your BMW over speedhumps and potholes without breaking your alloy (in all circumstances)
or your combination of 19" alloy and run flat tyre clearly does not do the job in rainy old England.
I must say, BMW Customer Service has always been top marks over the past 20 years. This is the first time I have had to make a noise. I hope they find a fix to prevent further alloy problems, as they are not cheap, and my £500 back would be good ;-)
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I had problems with perforamce alloys on my BMW Mini but never had one issue with 19 inch alloys on my Type R, I've recently purchased a 135 and had issues with the alloys already. By 4k miles there was issues with them and the dealership replaced all 4 under warranty however the same problem occured within a month and they were replaced again.
Its been so far so good however I've not been doing the same amount of miles in the car since the last change to the alloy wheels.
After many years of BMW owenership in th family I have never been a fan of BMWs alloys as they do seem to deteriate very quickly. I noticed my issues with the front alloys both times. I make sure that I now check my alloys daily!
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After watching the programme, I decided to check the 19 inch alloys on my 335i M sport convertible. No obvious signs of cracks, although I found extreme wear on the inside edges of both rears. I then checked the tyre pressures and found them to be 2.4 bar instead of the 2.9 i had put in them 3 weeks ago ! My car has done less than 5000 miles. There is definately a problem which BMW cannot ignore. I urge everyone with this wheel/tyre combination to LOOK CLOSELY at the inside edge 25mm and the pressure. As surely there is a link to this and Cracked wheels.
I really hope Watchdog do not let this go. It's up to all of us to help them by providing information regarding our own BMW's
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I drive a 335d coupe and I've had exactly the same problem - cracked rear alloy wheel. I also experienced great difficulties in obtaining replacement run flat tyres and have had to have my car taken on a recovery vehicle back to my home because the vehicle was not driveable on these so called "run flat" tyres. I was on my second puncture when I discovered the crack to my wheel. I did some research on the web at the time and it seemed to indicate there was a problem with run flat tyres so I decided to change my tyres to non run flats at the same time as I replaced the alloy. That was 30000 miles ago and touch wood I haven't had any problems since. I was told by the Dealer at the time that they couldn't cover the cost of the alloy under the warranty and that I should take it up with customer services at BMW UK. I spoke and wrote to them. Suprisingly enough they refused to cover the work under the warranty. BMW customers pay a lot of money for their vehicles and deserve better than this.
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Having owned BMWs with low-profile alloy wheels/tyres for over 15 years, this is the first time I've ever heard of this kind of problem.
I live in Scotland, and our roads are dire in places too!
I've currently got an 2006 330 M Sport and replaced my tyres last December at a BMW dealer. Nothing was said then about cracked wheels. Does that mean mine were okay? Are they still okay? Who knows?!
I gather from articles in other publications that it's particularly the 19" wheel/RFT options that are affected, and I completely agree with Murrayharr that changing to non-runflats is the way to go. Just make sure you carry a can of tyre foam and a compressor. I think I'm correct in saying that some time ago BMW agreed that fitting non-runflats would not invalidate the warranty.
There is definitely a problem here, and I agree that BMW are not great at customer service anymore - they used to be! My car suffered rust on wheel hubs when it was only 6 months old and BMw didn't want to know! They say it's due to the climate here in the UK! Well, excuse me, but isn't it odd that I can walk down any street and not see similar damage on non-BMW cars?
It's high time BMW faced up to their obligations. They might do well to stop adopting their arrogant "nothing to do with us" attitude and remember what happened to Lancia in the 1980s.
Maybe it will take someone to raise a class action in court to make them move. Surely eventually someone will take them to court armed with the independant technical opinion of an expert? Bring it on, I say. I am disillusioned!
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I watched this item with some interest. I run a 330i on a 08 plate and with the 19" M Sport alloys & run flat tyres. I have excessive and abnormal wear on the inside edges of both rear tyres and to a degree on the front ones as well and I see on the internet that there are many people with the same problems. The same patronising reasons are given for this wear by my BMW dealer as for the cracks in the alloys - that its down to potholes, drop in tyre pressure, kerbing etc and the way that we drive cars in this country. I fail to see how the wear can be attributed to the reasons given by BMW and I wonder if the tyre wear and cracked alloys problems are linked as the appears to be extreme pressure bringing brought to bear on the inside edges of the tyres and alloys. This should be a major safety concern to BMW and its not acceptable to blame it on the state of the British roads .... and we all can't be driving the same way to be causing these standard problems. If BWM cannot make expensive high performance cars that can hope with the British roads then they should have a DUTY of CARE not to be selling them .... or be selling them with a very clear warning about the potential future dangers and costs of driving their cars!
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I have a 330i Msport Convertible which has the 19" wheels featured on the program. I too have had exactly the same kind of split in one of my rear wheels. As if the £500 to replace the wheel is not bad enough I also had to replace the tyre as it had gone flat at a cost of an additional £300. I did speak to the BMW dealer but got the same response, its all down to a pothole. This on top of the many other problems I have had means I doubt I'll ever own another BMW.
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I join the ranks who have suffered a cracked rear wheel on my 07 plate 335d. Seeing the collective comments of fellow BMW drivers it appears all the dealerships have the same script. I remonstated with dealership in Warwick that the front not the lower loaded follow-on rear wheel should suffer this kind of cracking if it was as they cliamed pothole damage but to no avial (the tyre has been kept as a spare as no damage). Simply there is a design fault - the rear is not as strong as the front there being greater leverage on the inside rim of the wider rear wheel and this factor has not been "engineered in". I have always had low profile performance tyres on my cars for the last 15 years but never a wheel giving way before a tyre.
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All BMW owners... If your not happy with your after sales service hit BMW where it hurts...DO NOT BUY ANOTHER !!!!!!
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I have a 2 year old 330 convertible with 19" alloys. In these two years I have replaced 5 wheels and tyres at a cost of approx £3000, all due to cracks on the inner rim of the rear wheels. I have had these wheels changed at two BMW dealers in Staffordshire and also one in Swansea. In each case their response is useless. They tell me I hit pot holes, I say "what backwards" since it is only the rear wheels that crack. One even had the nerve to ask if I lived in the countryside, when I said yes he said the problem was due to country lanes. I have got so frustrated with these people that it apppears that the only thing to do is steer clear of BMW's in the future.
Such a shame because the car is brilliant apart from the poor quality wheels. Petty BMW would not own up to their problems.
I have the car for another year and am just wondering how many more £500's I am going to have to cough up in that time.
I am constantly waiting for another puncture and hence wheel / tyre.
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Within 6 months of purchasing my 535D sport touring I had to replace two runflat tyres costing £430.00 which I later discovered to be an issue with a cracked alloy wheel. As the local dealer wanted nothing to do with it, I approached BMW UK direct to complain. The response I got from one of their so called Customer Service Executives' was...
'I can advise that cracked alloy wheels are usually the result of external influences and that is not a common problem with our vehicle range. I acknowledge that you have carried out research and located information from other BMW owners regarding cracked alloys on their vehicles. The internet and other publications can be a useful tool when carrying out this type of research, however, it does not always show an accurate representation of a situation.
BMW prefers to rely on part orders, failure reports and customer feedback to determine whether there is a common fault. I have checked our records and I can confirm that reports of alloy wheels cracking have not increased since the introduction of Run-Flat tyres.
Our vehicles are subject to rigorous government testing and, if a problem with the wheels was detected, we would not be permitted to sell the vehicles in the UK. Customer safety is of great importance to us and the materials we use in the manufacture of alloy wheels are of the highest quality.'
My response was.....
It's all well and good spinning off comments about governement testing etc etc but the fact of the matter is this. The strength of BMW's alloy wheels are not suitable to run 'Run Flat tyres.' The walls on these tyres do not allow for general road surface conditions in the UK. I know they are unsuitable. Local BMW dealerships know they are unsuitable. Hundreds of BMW drivers using internet forums know they are unsuitable... who are you kidding??
I then get...
I appreciate that you remain of the opinion that the use of Run-flat tyres is the cause of your vehicle's wheel cracking. BMW Germany has carried out extensive research into the use of Run-flat tyres and there is no evidence to support that they are damaging to the wheels.
I appreciate that you have carried out research on the internet which has lead you to believe that this is a common problem. If you enter cracked alloys into a search engine you are able to locate reports from owners of a number of vehicle manufacturers who have had a cracked alloy wheel. Therefore, this is not exclusive to BMW vehicles or the use of Run-flat tyres.
Great Customer Service!!
As it would appear BMW do not wish to listen to their so called 'valued customers' they probably will not care that we are to purchase cars from alternative manufacturers in the future.
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I had same issue on my 320 coupe 14 months ago.Personally I think the wheels and the run flat tyres are an issue when combined.[comment removed for legal reasons]
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As a new owner of 57 reg, 330ci sports convertible with 19" alloys, i have just visited my dealership and been informed that both my rear alloys are cracked and once again its due to driver error. The dealership had been emailed a question and answer sheet by email from their head office, after I read this the final sentence was "6% of cars in the uk suffer from pothole damage" and i wonder what percentage of these are bmw's. Also i cannot comprehend how they can deny any manufacturing defect and purely blame driver error when bmw drivers are spread across the nation, so there should be an even mix of good and bad roads.
As well all know, droning on about the same thing we are not going to achieve anything, so I am asking all BMW drivers what can be done as a collective? At the end of the day, the UK has the most number of BMW's than any other country in the world, and if they cant make cars to suit our roads then the companys reputation is fundamentally flawed.
I am happy to participate in some form of group legal action against bmw, so where do we start..............actions speaks louder than words
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I own a 335i Cabriolet with 19" wheels and run flat tyres, Thursday morning i had the very same problem BMW telling me i need a new Rear offside alloy and full geomatry doing at the total cost of £885.00. I brought the wheel for £505.00 and went and had the work done elsewhere. That very evening i watched Watchdog and saw this, I think BMW are out of order this is my second BMW and cost over £55K. More importantly this is a saftey issue and it seems BMW are more concerned about admiting a mistake and paying for it than they are about ensuring the saftey of ther customers. I had the same story from my dealer about having hit a pot hole and it is not covered by warranty. I am extremley annoyed about this and would like to know how to take the matter further. If anyone knows how i might do this could you please let me know. I will not let BMW get away with putting my family or myself in danger.
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I purchased a 335D BMW with 19" runflat alloy wheels. The first cracked wheel caused the tyre to blow out when I was traveling on the motor way at 70mph very dangerous £624 plus VAT to replace including 2 new tryres After the second and third cracked wheels (one was a front wheel) a further £424 plus VAT I refused to pay any more and I came to an arrangement with the BMW Dealer to exchanged all four wheels for 18" alloys and 4 new tyres at the ' wonderfully discounted' price of £1368 and presumably my car has devalued as a consequence. On every occasion the Dealer blamed potholes and even obtained a report from Stephen Donaghy Automotive Consulting Engineer to prove it to me and I quote 'The wheel rim flat spots are the consequence of an encounter with an uneven road surface obstacle or surface'. Who do they think they are kidding?? I think its time BMW recalled these wheels as they are clearly unfit for the purpose and potentially very dangerous. We should employ a lawyer to take a 'class action'
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This has happened to me too in the last couple of weeks. I have an 07 BMW 335d with the exact wheels in the VT. I was told exactly the same that I must have hit a pot hole. They could have been my wheels they were showing. I needed two new wheels and two new tyres as a result £1300.00 down the drain. What are we going to do about this?... we can't let BMW get away with it. They should all be recalled and those who have had to fork out be refunded under the warranty!
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I'm yet another BMW driver with exactly the problem shown last night - 2006 325 coupe that had both cracked rear 19'' alloys replaced due to 'potholes'. Funnily enough a common problem but 'not covered in the warranty'.... I'd like the money back thanks if there's enough momentum to get BM to cough it
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I have just experienced the same problem, 07reg 520d, with the 17" wheels, the warning light came on to advise about loss of tyre pressure, I took the car to a tyre fitter where they identified that I had a cracked rear wheel. I went to see my local BMW Dealer and they stated that it was not covered under the warranty as I must have driven over a pothole or clipped a kerb! The Dealer carried out a "run out" test and stated that it showed the damage was beyond the BMW "warranty" threshold. I advised the Dealer that I was not happy and argued that simply running over a pothole may damage a tyre but should not crack the wheel! The Dealer advised that the runflat tyres could have caused the problem with the wheel but becasue of the test it was extremely unlikely that BMW would cover this under the warranty. I am now VERY annoyed to find out that this is a MAJOR problem with many other BMW customers, as I had the impression from the Dealer that it was extremely rare. Come on BMW honour your warranty and treat your customers with respect. If there is a problem (which this Watchdog expose clearly shows) with the wheels/runflats be honest and let your custmers know - treating us in this way is disrespectful. I know that this will make me go to another manufatcurer for my next car. Now I know this is a widespread issue I will be going back to BMW to admit there's a problem and do the right thing by covering the cost of the wheel - every other person should do the same!
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The sheer volume of complaints is simultaneously comforting and alarming to a fellow BMW owner. On the one hand can BMW resist this tsunami of consumer unhappiness, but on the other I can only envision the resale value of my car plummeting down the toilet. This, fellow drivers, will be inevitable if BMW refuse either a product recall or an honouring of warranty obligations.Of even greater concern to the company (cos they don't care really about us you know ) will be their own sales figures on affected models which will be terminal before too long.After all, knowing what you know now would you buy another one?
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Same story from me. Rear rim cracked. 'You must have hit a pothole' 'not covered under warranty' etc. 19in on a 07 plate 325i. New tyre required also since it had 'run flat'!
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Thank you for raising this important issue. Yet another one to add to the list.
2007 3 series convertible with 19 inch alloy wheels.
Both rear wheels cracked and replaced at my expense following BMW attributing the damage to road conditions.
During the vehicle's first routine service I was informed of uneven tyre wear affecting both rear tyres ( down to the wire ) but the craked wheels were only detected by tyre fitters when I attempted to change tyres. This,despite BMW being aware of the cracked wheel issue prior to my car's service. I think it fair assume that with such a safety critical issue BMW Head Office might have alerted their dealerships to be more vigilant.
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I too have this problem,it happen afew months ago.The main dealer pasted me about from person to person and blamed me in the end!They even charged me 35 pounds to refit my old tyre!
The problem's the same two crcks on the inside rim,but this was on my front wheel.
I asked for my alloy back as i wasn't going to let it drop.
I got the car from a bmw approved used dealer. They said they had to change 3 tyres on it because when they got it,it had run flats on it and they wasn't sure if the alloy could surport them. Looking back now i've seen the watch dog program, i think they already knew of the problem and charged them to normal tyres to try stop this from happening while the warrnity ran out.
I had two new rear tyres fitted when they found the front cracked one, i even joked about the run flat situation. But to my surpises the blokes who fitted the tyre said it COULD surport them!
I've had an independant garage do the same run out test, they said the alloy wasn't buckled and to do that damage to a wheel the tyre would be wrecked!
I rang BMW customer services today. But again the guy on the phone tried passing me back to the main dealer saying, if it was an inpact fault they over looked, then i need to take it up with them. But if it is a manufacturing fault then i need to prove it in writing and ring them back.
My argument is, if BMW are knownely manufacting wheels and putting them on British cars, KNOWING they are too soft for british roads then, EVERY SINGLE WHEEL THEY HAVE MANUFACTSHUED AND PUT ON BRITISH CARS IS A DEFECTED ALLOY!
Not only are we being ripped off, this could end up killing some one.
I still have my alloy and am going to get a second independant garage to look at it and put it in writing.From there i am going to take legal action.
I hope every one does the same.
looking back i laugh when i remember buying the car in February with my dad and the sales person boasting about "The exceptional warranty that comes with it.
They need to change their motto from "The Ultimate Driving Machine" not much of an Ultimate car with any wheels!
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I know I have already posted my frustration on this blog (No 71), but just a couple of other thoughts/observations:
In the BMW statement above/at the beginning of this article, they say that the have received 'calls from around one hundred customers out of the one point three million BMW's on UK roads from owners reporting problems with cracked alloy wheels'.
Hhmmm, this smacks of playing with statistics to me - 100/1.3M is significantly less than 1%. However:
A. This only relates to calls, what is the number if you include all those people that have replaced wheels but not made the call/complaint or even how many have actually had their enquiries rejected?
B. Of the 1.3M BMW's on the road, how many of these are the new shape 3-Series (I think the number would reduce?)
3. Of the 1.3M BMW's on the road, how many of these are the new shape 3-Series and how many of them have the 19" wheels (I think this number would reduce even further?)
Maybe I'm labouring the point, but I think BMW are playing a marketing game here with the stats in an effort to defend the situation here - what do you think?
Out of interest, my final observation is this:
I have worked in the infratrusture sector of the construction industry for 13-years, 10-years of which has been on Highway maintenance and construction.
Whilst I'm no specialist, but I thought that the height of speed cushions/bumps etc... was gauged to the speed of the road. With this in mind, irrespective of whether you travel over such obstacles at the recommended speed, above or below the recommended speed, why is it that:
a) only the rear wheels get damaged?
b) I and (presumably other BMW drivers) have not experienced the same/a similar problem with the previous model that had 18" wheels and no runflats?
I am rapidly losing faith in BMW!!!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I have an 2008 320i M-sport with 19" alloys and run flat tyres. I bought the car brand new in June last year and 14 months later I was advised upon service that both rear alloys had cracked. I was simply asked if I would like them replacing @ £500 each, as if it were a new set of wiper blades requiring replacement. One of the alloys had cracked in 3 places. When I asked how this could have happened, I was asked if I had hit any pot holes. Of course I have hit pot holes, who doesn't? I do not, however, drive over potholes at speed. How is it that drivers of other manufacturer's vehicles do not appear to suffer this problem. Are all BMW drivers suddenly reckless speed freaks? BMW have refused to accept liability but have since offered to replace one of the alloys FOC as a goodwill gesture. I am still unhappy that I am expected to pay for the other alloy. I assumed that the high price paid for my vehicle indicated a quality purchase. I am disappointed to say the least.
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My BMW335i 2007 (29000 miles) was in for warranty repair this week- vanos and i was told that they had found 2 cracks on the rear wheel.....
1. they were obviously looking for the cracks as they had no reason to be looking at my rear wheels so they know htere is a problem
2. when i expressed my surprise that wheels shoud be cracking on a a low mileage car, one technican said the run flats and 19" wheels are a problem and should never have been fitted as a combination.
3. then they described thye new .3mm run out test....and surprise surprise my wheel ran out more than 1mm.
4. £400 + invoice for a new wheel
I have owned many BMWs including an M3 with same wheel and tyre dimensions, but non run flats and NEVER experienced a problem with wheels ever.
I phoned some wheel repairers to get a quote - they said that they saw LOADS of these wheels with cracks. Some can be repaired, but they will only warrant their work if you agree to remove the run flat tyres!
BMW have made an error in specifying run flats and they need to replace cracked wheels under warranty or sale of goods act - "fit for the purpose" - of driving on UK roads. they also need to pay for us to replace the Runflats and issue us with foam tyre repair kit fitted as standard to M3 and M5
Come on Watchdog - BMW UK are ignoring sale of goods act, putting dangerous cars on the road, and providing very poor customer service. Do a follow up. and ask them what how many 225 style wheels they have sold (as replacements not with the car) as a percentage of the number of cars sold with these fitted as standard, then compare that with 17" wheels with 50 series tyres.
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I too had a problem with one of my wheels,took the wheel back to BMW dealer and was told it was all down to pot holes so could not claim on warranty, it seems strange that nearly all the problems people have had its the back wheels,I also had a problem with the rear tyres after only 12000 miles both tyres had worn on the inside of the tyre about 40mm right down to the metal banding once again it was supposoedly my fault,and at £250/tyre not what i wanted to hear,I am a member of the BMW Car Club if you get in touch with them they have members that have had the same problems many thanks
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I found out about two months ago that both my rear wheels on my 335sei coupe had "hairline fractures" from an independent tyre company when they told me that it would be unsafe to fit tyres to the wheels in question. Usually I have alsways used main dealers for my tyres, but after having to purchase over 8 tyres in less than 30,000 miles at £300 per tyre though I ought to shop around a little.
The independent fitters told me that the wheels have too much flex on the inner edges and this is why all my tyres have completely worn out on the inside edges (the remainder of the tyres were perfect with loads of life left)
Anyway, This left me with the only option of two new alloys and yet another two tyres. BMW (DERBY) Told me that I could not claim under warranty as the cause is most likely caused by pothole or kerb impact. I said no way have I hit any kerbs and that british roads are full of potholes. I was then told that i can have them inspected for damage and that the inspector only visits them every 6 weeks and that i should pay for the wheels and then claim back under warrant if the wheels had manufacturing fauts. To date I have not had a reply!
It will be interesting conversation on Monday morning when I try and claim the £800+ back from them.
Be also interesting when I ask for the wheels back if they do not comply with my request for the £800 as i have not given permission to allow BMW to dispose of them.
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I have had the same problem as all other BMW owners and it is not just the roads in Surrey but also in Scotland. My car is now 2 years old and i am on my 5th rear wheel.
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To me, people need to get tough with BMW dealers.
If they say it's down to hitting a kerb, there should be clear evidence on the outer rim of this, not the inside where many of the cracks are.
If they say it is due to potholes, it's still down to them. When the car was bought, unless the dealer clearly stated otherwise, the fair assumption is that the car would be used on typical british roads. Under the sale of goods acts, a product must be fit for the purpose for which it is sold. It seems that these wheels are not and under the act, it is the sellers responsibililty to deal with this, not the manufacturer. This applies even outside of the warantee period.
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Good to have the response from jimmi0776, especially as he's a BMW technician. Obviously there's a limit to what he can say, but I think we all get the message. One thing though - what on earth effect do the "oil and other fluid" levels have to do with wheel/tyre wear??!!
This I have to hear!
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Whilst I am really annoyed that i too have had a cracked rear 255/30/19 alloy on my 355i. i feel i must had a comment about the tyres wearing unevenly.
This is something that occurs with performance cars, the camber (angle of wheel to road) is altered like this to improve handling!!
So unfortunately is a problem that is nothing to do with the cracking alloys!
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Is there a solicitor out there who would take a case like this on against BMW? I would sign up for it.
It seems to me that there is a health and safety issue here, many people have to be driving around with cracked wheels and rear tyres. Mine where down to the canvas on the inside with lots of tread on the rest.
Would the top gear team like to investigate?
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I have had three new low profile tyres on my 330ci made by Bridgestone and the side wall of two of them blew out after about 2000m and the third lost its entire tread from legal to a slick in about 150m. BMW and Bridgestone couldn't care less. They say it was my fault for hitting the kerb or a pothole - what three times?? My BMW dealer has the most incredibly arrogant attitude. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with their cars.
Can anyone recommend an independent tyre/wheel expert? I would like to take this further
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i put a comment on this blog at 9-35 on thursday that has not been published, still waiting for moderation ?? but others after are on the blog ?? is this because i had something positive to say about this subject ??
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I don't think this is a UK problem or a pothole problem. I am currently living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and bought a 2009 BMW 335i hardtop convertible a few months ago. After a few months of driving I started getting a vibration in the car at around 60 mph. After detiled inspection at the dealership it was determined that my rear right wheel had been damaged - they didn't say "cracked" - and I was asked to replace it at my cost - £550 for one wheel. The roads I use in Riyadh are of a much better quality than the ones in good old London, so it ain't the potholes! I really am surprised at BMW. With such a fantastic brand name to protect, how can be so stupid to ignore overwhelming circumstantial evidence? The ill feeling this generates is like a virus and will undoubtedly do them more damage over time than any short-term expense they are able to avoid. Shocking.
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Our last 2 cars were [make removed].Fabulous cars and totally trouble free.However our dream car was the BMW-I emphasise WAS as now we`re afraid to drive it anywhere in case we hit a pothole! We feel cheated and very angry that BMW refuse to recognise this problem under their warranty and having spent £44k are outraged by the prospect of spending even more money to replace sub-standard alloys.You buy a new car with the usual peace-of-mind warranty - but BMW with their manipulation of the warranty rules have robbed us of said peace.We will never buy another BMW.
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We have had a similar experience with the 19" alloys on our BMW 320i M Sport convertible. It was bought in February this year and we hadn't had any problems until September. In the last month we have had to buy two new rear alloy wheels and two new rear tyres, costing £1500 altogether, all on separate occasions (in hindsight not sure if the tyres were needed or replaced because the cracked alloys were missed at the time). The second alloy had four cracks and was picked up by a local tyre dealer who told us the car was not safe to drive and that they didn't look as if they had been caused by impact, more likely to be stress fractures (ie fault with the wheel). The car was towed to the BMW dealer on Thursday afternoon and we then saw the Watchdog programme that evening. Having collected the car today, the dealership are still blaming impact damage. Surely they should consider recall as these cracks are making the cars unsafe to drive.
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Having just bought (2 weeks today) a 58 plate 325i MSport with 19" 225M's, I was disappointed to see that this is a 'common' fault and an expensive one to remedy. Add in having a 'Run Flat' come up within 2 days of that purchase (checked pressures NSF 40 PSI, OSF 29 PSI, NSR 36PSI and OSR 37 PSI), not happy with the Approved Used checklist. Set pressures and all seems OK so far. My point is however, Bridgestone in March 2009 have announced a 3rd gen RFT with a revised side wall design to reduce vertical stiffness index. Is this something BMW should be looking at testing and as a means of 'correcting the known issues' with the 19" rims and RE050A RFT combo and a reasonably cost effective solution when considering volume purchase discounts? Come on BMW, I'm a fan but if the problem arises for me as it has for some others, it'll be my last BMW and I'll buy Audi (who dont run RFT's). For now it's creeping over speed humps (the devils spawn) and looking for potholes and manhole covers rather than the road ahead!!
here's the link to the Bridgestone press release.
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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I drive a BMW 525i SE Touring fitted with 18' alloys and run flats. I had to replace my rear passenger side wheel recently due to a cracked inner rim. The advice I had from [company removed] was that the cause maybe connected to the run flat tyres not being forgiving enough and transmitting too much energy through to the rim when going over a pot hole or speed bump. I have run BMW's for years and never encountered a problem like this before. It is also be worth mentioning that I have suffered an unsual number of punctures with this car - 5 in four years. Of course repairing a run flat is near impossible so each puncture costs close to £200! In 30 years of driving, I have never experienced anything like this frequency of puncture. BMW must come clean on these issues. It is not just UK drivers that are affected, the internet forums are full of similar stories from all around the world. Needless to say, this will be my last BMW unless it does something pretty remarkable in terms of compensation for what appears to be a clear case of an inherent defect in its product.
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I watched this part of the programme with total interest as I am a BMW E90 owner with the 19" wheels as is being discussed. I had not heard of this problem before, and was a little worried after the show. The next day I took my car into my local garage to get them to check my wheels.
The answer from the Garage came back to me within the hour, stating 3 of the wheels where indeed cracked in numerous places !!!
This was a shock to say the least, and the biggest thing that actually worries me is that there are no visible signs at all from looking at it.
So how long have I actually been driving my family around in a car that has 3 "cracked" alloy wheels - my daughter is 6 years old, and god forbid if anything happened to her ... I am staggered and disgusted with this.
What are the potential risks if this is gone unnoticed, would it cause an accident !!
Do all BMW Owners now have to check their wheels in a garage jacked up on a weekly basis, to be sure they are safe ??
My E90 330d M-Sport is a 06, with the warranty having run out in April - therefore I now have to pay for 3 new wheels for this car to make it "safe", and if I don't replace them with the original BMW 19" wheels it will lose some of its resale value?
I live in Dorset and there are very few potholes and speed bumps where I drive - even though that should not be an issue to a £40k luxury car .... ridiculous
I am disgusted with BMW's little response on this subject, this should be a safety recall on all customers with these wheels fitted, before someone has a tragedy !!
C Turner
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There’s clearly a huge amount of evidence issue here that BMW is making a handsome profit from selling equipment whose fitness for purpose has been called into question. It cost me two thousand pounds for a cracked rim and four replacement 19 inch low profiles this month on a 330d 08 convertible.
What worries me is that the service centre and BMW customer service withheld all information about the possible generic problem and suggested the fault lay with poor tyre maintenance and possible driving habits. (I’m a sixty year old widower with a clean license.) The wheel failed in rush hour traffic, so I’m also worried about the danger of continuing to drive on faulty wheels.
Isn’t there a case for getting together on this and taking a class action against this company for knowingly endangering lives? Or do we wait till someone gets hurt, if that hasn’t happened already?
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I have also have a 325 with 19” alloys which had a rear alloy crack on the inside, only to be told that it was most likely caused by a pothole and needed to be replaced (costing £550). I have owned several cars before this, driving tens of thousands of miles and never had a problem like this. I have kept the cracked wheel as I thought it was suspicious at the time that this had happened
My father has also just bought a 325 with 19” alloys and it is curious that they have now increased the recommended tyre pressures. My 2007 specs recommend 2.6br front / 3.1br rear, however my father’s 2009 specs recommend 2.9br front / 3.4br rear. When asked why this had happened BMW could not give an answer. Is this coincidence or a way to try and reduce the wheels cracking? Could Watchdog look into this further?
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I currenty have a 07 335 with 19" rims and Bridgstone run flat tyres.
Currently I am on my second set of rims due to splits which I have put down to pot holes, however seeing your article I am not so sure.
There has been reason for me to complain to BMW and Bridgestone regarding the very uneven wear on the inside edge or the rear tyres, and have been offered a discount from the tyre company on my next purchase. BMW put everything down to user error.
Perhaps not!
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What now seems a very silly thing to do I have just taken delivery of a new BMW 3 Series Saloon without being aware of this problem. Anyway too late now.
I think it would have been useful for everyone making entries about their wheel issues to first identify the following, in my case
Model = 318i SE
Date First Registered = Oct 2009
Wheel Size Front/Rear = 8J x 17 / 8J x 17
Tyre Size Front/Rear = 225/45 R17 91 V / 225/45 R17 91V
Tyre Details = Dunlop SP Sport 01 A Run Flat
Yes its a pain to do but would show up a pattern. What is interesting is that I have the current 3 Series Saloon Brochures and Price List and none of the vehicles whether as Standard or Option have 19" wheels. 18" appears to be the largest diameter.
Additionally it is only when you pay for the more expensive wheels as an option are the Front and Rear Wheel Sizes different as are the corresponding fitted tyres. Examples of Tyre Wheel/Size differences are below:
Wheel Size Front/Rear Tyre Size Front/Rear
======================================================
Style 286 8J x 17 / 8.5J x 17 225/45 R17 / 255/40 R17
Style 287 8J x 18 / 8.5J x 18 225/40 R18 / 255/35 R18
Style 1521 8J x 18 / 8.5J x 18 225/45 R18 / 255/35 R18
Style 194M 8J x 17 / 8.5J x 17 225/45 R17 / 255/40 R17
Style 193M 8J x 18 / 8.5J x 18 225/45 R18 / 255/35 R18
I seem to remember reading in the comments that there was a front / rear mix of 35 and 30 depths. Here the lowest combination is 40 /35.
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It's time we had a response from BMW headquarters! So far there seems to have been a deafening silence! We're up at 135 posts on this topic and the vast majority are telling the same tale. It is simply unacceptable for BMW to keep peddling the old potholes and kerbing mantra. All these people, who collectively have had to give the company many thousands of pounds in wheel replacements, cannot be at fault - it is simply statistically impossible. The truth is that this wheel/RFT combination does not work, and consequently should not be sold. The product is "not of merchantable quality" and so is subject to the Sale of Goods Act. BMW cannot keep on backing away from this uncomfortable fact. Yes, it will cost them money, but not half as much as it will cost them if (God forbid) an fatal accident occurs and they are sued for culpable negligence.
I agree with some other bloggers - there must be solicitor out there who would like to take this one on. Sooner the better, I say.
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I have just experienced the same problem - 330D 07 plate, typre pressure loss, cracked wheel - BMW refusing to do anything (both dealership and customer services). I have no problems with the front wheels. We buy BMW's for our company cars but after the lack of understanding with what now seems to be a common issue that is all going to stop. I have written to customer services, not sure if it will do any good, but worth a try. At the end of the day if I have to pay for the new wheel, it will cost them in our moving to [brand removed] in fact it probably will anyway...fuming
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I recently bought a 320D coupe with 18" alloys and fancied upgrading to 19" alloys. I noticed lots of sets for sale on ebay but luckily saw some forum entries about this issue. I am not a structural or metalurgical engineer but surely the issue is obvious. The rear wheels are wider than the front and the inner lip is unsupported (outside has the wheel spokes). Also the wheels have an aggresive camber placing more stress on the inside edge. BMW are notoriously the only manufacturers who opt for "run flat" tyres with very rigid side walls. Alloy is brittle and the inside lip of the rear wheels takes the full load stresses before eventually fatigue creates cracks. A cracked wheel will not be true so the BMW test is surely invalid. If air leaks from the cracks the tyre pressure will lower and the alarm will be raised. Come on BMW admit you are wrong...
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Have a 07 320 Coupe, exactly same issues...
Rear alloys on inside cracked, after being told quote from BMW I decided to purchase aftermarket M6 style alloys.
I believe the fault to be the combination of runflat tyre with the light weight alloy wheel.
It seems due to the design of the tyre - Runflat (reinforced side walls), that any forces from the road are not absorbed by the tyre but are inflicted onto the alloy wheel there by causing them to crack!
My advice purchase aftermarket alloys, or remove the runflat tyres for standard tyres! Also this improves the ride so that you dont feel every bump.
Craig
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Proud owners of 335i convertible 57 reg but more than disappointed with set of cracked wheels!!!! We have now replaced the run flats with [brand removed] wheels at a cost to us just short of £3000 with NON run flat tyres. This was in addition to 2 new tyres just before the wheels were spotted as being cracked. we too were given the same LAME excuse of potholes, kerbing and every other conceivable excuse. The wheels are presently with BMW Sytner in Sheffield awaiting inspection, which we were advised would be within a month Two months down the line we are still waiting a decision!!!We have also written to BMW Head Office to which we have also received the same comments The car cost £44000 new and is our pride and joy, unfortunately the after sales, warranty is little to be desired with BMW . Makes you think doesn't it??????????????
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To answer rowberme's question on item 135, the 19" wheels are only offered as options on the 3 series coupe and convertible (E92 and E93) 18" are the biggest offered on the saloon and Touring (E90 and E91). You can however, get 19" wheels for these cars by buying them as accessories - which is what has happened with some people with this problem. The main owners to suffer are 3 series coupe and convertible owners with 19" wheels although it also happens to 18" wheels as well. There are very few 17" wheels developing cracks and these probably are, as BMW say, impact damage.
When BMW stated that they had been contacted by about 100 customers and compared this to the 1.3 million BMWs on the roads of Britain, this was an answer worthy of a politician. The real figures are the numbers of current model coupes (only on sale since 2006) and the current model convertibles (only on sale since 2007) which would amount only to tens of thousands. If you then add ... and those cars sold with 19" wheels, that number plummets still farther. Since many people have no doubt paid out for the repairs without contacting BMW and if we read this blog and the E90Post.com forum which started this complaint, then there are at least hundreds of victims from a few thousand cars, not 1.3 million!
The back wheels are a little too wide to have an unreinforced side, the profiles of the tyres have to be a little too low and the coup de grace is supplied by the run flat tyres which have all the give and flexibility of a large mallet. Add the odd bit of rough British road and you have wheels which simply aren't strong enough; not fit for purpose.
BMW already know this as they have been blaming road conditions and bad driving for about a year. Knowing this, why do they still offer them for sale? The M-Sport Highline coupe has the 19" wheels fitted AS STANDARD. The Dealers don't warn buyers of the increased risk of cracked wheels so who is being irresponsible - we bad drivers or BMW?
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I have 57 plate 330 coupe with the 19inch BMW alloys. Wow am I glad I was told about this watchdog by a friend! I was travelling back from the lakes in Feb when we got the tyre warning light. When we got it into our local garage (David Holmes Stockport) I was told that the rear alloy had cracked and by the way the other one had a hairline crack as well. The cost to rplace both with run flats was £1700 - I couln't afford it so fitted replica BMW alloys with normal tyres (which feal a lot better on the road). I couldn't understand that BMW are saying that they are not covered under warranty as I like many others have had over 20 cars (lots with alloy wheels) and never ever had this problem. Also when the garage replaced my alloys they got rid of the original wheels without asking me! I still have replica's on now. Someone please help! I have a ltter from the garage if you want to see it, which states that pot holes are the culprit! PS the friend who told me about this topic also has a rear cracked 19 inch MW alloy!
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I feel that BMW are being rather devious in their response. They are possibly strictly correct that it is not a manufacturing fault as it is more likely to be a design fault, which is much more serious. In other words the wheel is being manufactured correctly 'to drawing' but the design is not capable of dealing with the imposed loading.
The reason that the rear wheels fail could be as follows. When a wheel hits a bump on the road the under designed rim of the wheel is subjected to high bending stresses but in the case of the rear wheel it is also subjected to high torsional stresses resulting from the transmission of the drive torque to the tyre. The combination of the two load cases could lead to stresses which could create and propogate the cracks being expreienced.
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After one year owning my 2007 BMW 335i what appeared to be a slow puncture led me to the discovery that both of my rear 19" wheels were cracked in several places. As BMW are refusing to do anything about this problem I replaced the entire set of wheels with non BMW replacements and non run flat tyres. Over two thousand miles later and there are no cracks in my new wheels - does that mean that all the pot holes around the country have fixed themselves?!? Are other car manufacturers suffering from similar problems out there??
BMW have basically sold a product that is not fit for purpose. Are BMW going to wait until there is a fatal accident before doing something about this. As far as i'm concerned it's the first and last BMW I will ever own and I won't recommened their cars to anyone else because of this!
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I have also been effected by this. 2x alloy wheels and 1x replacement tyre thus just under £1000 out of pocket. BMW blame the roads and say to take it up with the council which is as far as I got. Basically built a case to the council and got no where.
In short get the run flats replaced ASAP as they are too hard for the wheels.
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I have owned my BMW 325i M-Sport since Jan 09. I have just come from the garage after putting it in for a brake fluid replacment. I have now been told my nearside rear alloy is cracked and needs replacing I have also been told that due to this my rear tyres have worn abnormally on the inside corners and the chords are now showing. So I therefore need two new tyres but I also need the wheel tracking sorting but apparently to do this I need new tyres all round. Coming to a grand total of £1754. They will not admit any liability for this what so ever. What do I do now, is this going to happen again in three weeks time? I dont live in a bad road area and dont drive like an idiot.
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Should we be surprised? another multi national company treating the consumer with contempt. I have a 3 series with exactly the same problem, 19" alloys that cracked and shredded the run falt tyre. Cost £800 to replace wheel and tyre. Worst of all was the response from BMW and its dealer [company name removed] BMW (Enfield). [comment removed - fresh allegations] and then BMW customer services said basically nothing and politely told me to go away. I have owned BMW's for for the last decade in one form or another but never will again.
Experience JOY? don't make me laugh!! Experience rude customer service, sub standard parts and massive repair bills.....
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I have an 08 335d M Sport with 19" RFT. I notice excessive wear to the inner of my rear tyres and took them in to have them changed. I was told that this was not uncommon with BMWs and that the rear wheels were prone to cracking. Sure enough, on removal both rear wheels had numerous cracks. BMW immediately brought out a newspaper article and blamed potholes and poor road conditions. I complained several times but to no avail. I had the wheels replaced and one of the new tyres had already split costing me more money. This has cost me in excess of £1000 and my rear tyres are showing excessive wear once again. Why do the front wheels not crack, surely they take the brunt of impact when hitting a pothole, plus they have the additional weight of the engine to contend with. I've had RFTs on previous cars with no problems and even RFTs on a 330d MSport on 18" with no problems, surely there has to be a major problem here.
What are BMW going to do with this, surely there has to be a recall?
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We have been having the same problem as everyone else, I have the same car, BMW 3 series and added lots of upgrades which included 19" wheels I have just found out I have two alloys cracked one in 6 places and have raised this with BMW, this was a real concen having just skidded in the car for no reason, this promted me to contact BMW and complain. They have offered to inspect the problem but like everyone else have suggested this is a road issue and drive issues and would not be covered by the warrenty. I have an appointment with BMW tomorrow and they are inspecting the wheels. Watch this space.
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I have suffered the same experience on my 56 registered 335i, with cracked front and rear wheels. This was simply blamed on the road conditions in Surrey. I had subsequently heard of other people having the same problem but obviously this goes much deeper. My own feeling is that when these cracks occured with the related tyre damage BMW should have at least suggested not replacing the run flats. It seems that this alloy/run flat combination is the problem when driving on anything but perfect road surfaces.
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I own a 2007 E93 335i M Sport. Discovered 2 rear cracked alloys (19" M Sport 225M as featured on Watchdog) at 12,000 miles in June 2008 through what was thought to be a slow puncture. Dealership (Cooper Cobham in Surrey, coincidentally.....) not interested, BMW GB not interested, despite 2 months of phone calls, emails and tel conversations and my car sitting in my dealers car park - it was all my fault along with those Surrey kerbs and potholes!
Eventually replaced the 2 wheels through my insurance (£1025 in total - £425 as excess). Told the dealer initially to keep the damaged wheels so I could put through an independent test. When collecting my car, the damaged wheels has been sent for recycling - .....convenient. Another series of phone calls, emails etc. and the Dealer did refund my insurance excess - not that they had much choice.
With the RFT tyres, I replaced all 4 at 10,000 miles due to uneven wear, 2 punctures between 12,000 - 20,000 miles, and replaced another 3 due to uneven wear at 21,000 miles.
So for 2 years of motoring in the "Ultimate Driving Experience" the current running total for wheels and tyres is:
2 replacement wheels
9 replacement tyres
Hopefully the Watchdog airtime can put some pressure on BMW to see this as a safety recall, rather than some disgruntled consumers.
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Last week I had my BMW 325D M Sport Touring serviced, and I was very surprised to be informed that a crack had been found on the inside of the rear alloy wheel. Then I watched the excellent Watchdog item and realised why the dealership had been rather vague about whether this would be covered under warranty!
I've had alloys on cars for nearly 30 years without problems. It's quite clear this is a manufacturer design spec/fitness for purpose problem with serious safety implications and BMW should initiate a recall.
I'm amazed that BMW should risk alienating their core customers. Most of the blog comments seem to come from people in this category who, like me, have previously been real brand enthusiasts. It's obvious from the comments that many people - me included - will not be buying another BMW unless this matter is resolved satisfactorily by BMW.
Keep up the good work Watchdog, and let's hope BMW soon respond positively.
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If it was not bad enough that this problem exists, BMW seem to be capitalising on the problem!
Just checking through my receipts:
Wheel 1 replacement (16/02/2009) cost £312.18 plus VAT.
Wheel 2 replacement (25/08/2009) cost £352.18 plus VAT.
Both where identical 19" 230 style rear wheels from the same dealer and yet the basic cost managed to increase by £40 or a massive 12.8% in just 6 months.
They should be ashamed of their action. It is not about whether they are correctly manufactured, but whether they are correctly designed to be fit and safe for use on UK roads knowing there are so many unavoidable potholes which cannot always be seen, or avoided without the potential to cause an accident when taking avoidance action.
This issue is currently often only found during servicing, so you could be driving around for many thousands of miles with cracked wheels. If BMW say this does not matter, then it should not be a service or MOT issue.
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Does anybody know what the issue is with having such cracks in alloy wheel, other than lost tyre pressure? I have just spoekn to BMW at the number provided above and they informed me that any cracks would be easily visible but that there was no risk of the wheel breaking/disintegrating because of this. I was informed that the only issue would be lost tyre pressure. Of course significantly reduced tyre pressure is a safety concern but I am trying to understand any wider implications of these cracks?
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I've driven various BMWs over the past 12 years, the last 2 with 19in wheels.
This problem *only* affects the 19in wheels with run flat tyres on the rears (255/30/19).
As a result, it should be obvious to most people that this is caused by a combination of the RFT and 19in alloys. I know of many people who have suffered this problem, and the ones that have switched to non RFTs, have never complained since.
RFT's are much much stiffer on the sidewall, and therefore unable to absorb the impact of speed bumps or potholes like non RFTs!
BMW should provide everyone with tyre foam, and provide non RFTs as an option for the 19in wheels!
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Here here most people on this blog who confirm that this is not a manufacturing defect of BMW's or any other car maker. Basically the roads in the UK are poor and drivers not slowing down when going over speed bumps and kerbs will get what they deserve. Really a terrible story for the BBC to waste our money on as this is quite simply people hitting objects at speed. I think all manufacturers should take a uniform stance that no defects exists and if I remember not once in the watchdog article was an proof given that this is a BMW defect. Good luck to BMW and all others and Watchdog if you want to get together a good story then hunt down the local councils about the state our our roads.
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I have had a 634Ci for 18 months now. In that time I have had 4 punctures and 1 cracked alloy. I've never had so much trouble with tyres. A new tyre is £360 a time and the new alloy is £220 each. I still have a slow puncture that the BMW garage can't find. It's time BMW addressed this problem.
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Tyres under infalted contributing to impact damage after running over Potholes?! It seems BMW are a victim of their own technology! I seem to remember a similar case regarding topping up of engine oil where a customer had not topped up to the correct level leading to engine damage. He sighted the fact that no warning light had indicated that the level was even low! How was he to know?!
With Run Flat tyres if you have a puncture an indicatin will tell you so. If the pressure is low this will also indicate and you can cancel the warning an then proceed to inflate the tyre.
In the cases we have seen no indication was evident, thus no under inflated tyre!! I'm afraid these failing really are a manufacturing problem! (unless the technology doesn't work BMW?)
What will it take, the loss of a life on the road from a failing Alloy!!!!
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We had the same problem 18/11/2008 with my husbands BMW 335i convertable in relation to a cracked inside rear alloy wheel. The car was covered by the manufacturers warranty and we wrote to the dealer in the form of a customer complaint and advised them that we expected a full refund of £587.55 (inc vat) NO CHANCE! the reply stated that my husband had driven over a pothole and that was the cause of the problem (not a faulty alloy)
To be quite honest my husband has always had a BMW and after this poor aftercare vows to never drive another BMW car.
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It may useful for all to know that a large company such as BMW may have a Home Authority for Trading Standards as my company does. After speaking with a senior trading standards officer it is recommended that we all complain to our local Trading Standards Officer who will have to forward onto BMW's home authority who will have to investigate. Now, in terms of legislation we have the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which deals with all products stating they must be safe for their intended use, this includes foreseeable use. i.e. wheels should be designed for use on roads and not crack. As a number of people have stated that when these wheels have been found to be cracked they are not safe to drive, this then comes into the remit of these regulations. This evidence and legislation should force BMW to carry out a safety product recall. Unfortunately the general supply of goods legislation states that after 6 months the onus is on the buyer to prove the wheels are at fault which is more difficult.
On a second note the Road Traffic Act may be used for these unsafe wheels, the enforcement authority being VOSA. I think we should all use these avenues and ensure we all get that safety recall.
First port of call, your local Trading Standards Officer at county Council....
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Why have you censored my latest post and removed one which had already been moderated? I am only telling the situation exactly as it has occurred!
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I have had same experience with BMW. I've got a 335i after one year needed two new rear wheels. Was told it was thru potholes. Was also told the run flat tyres need to be inflated to 40psi on frony and 50psi on rear. Previous car was BMW M3 pot holes never caused any probs with the low profiles on that but they weren't the useless run flats. This is my fifth BMW and likely to be my last unless BMW come clean about mismatch of tyres to alloys or faulty wheels.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
From all the comments so far, it’s clear to see that the wheels are clearly not "fit for purpose"
For the people who believe its just down to pot holes, let me take you out for a drive in my car with its 19" alloys, every small stone I drive over feels like hitting a huge rock.. The route (dual carriageway) I take to work has ridges across the road that are impossible to avoid, they feel as like hitting road humps at speed and they are barely visible and in any other car not noticeable.
Its time BMW listened.. I for one will never buy a BMW again.... At the end of the day, I;m sure BMW are losing alot of customers over this.
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We appear to be in a mix of “fashion over form” (19” rims on 3-series, where is the rubber?) and into unknown territory with advanced vehicle technology.
I've been following this issue very closely and have been in many discussions about run-flats, since their introduction onto BMW cars, I've come to the conclusion (based on personal experience with my BMW) run-flats have a lot to answer for, and are not a 100% proven product. Besides the other issues of pre-mature and odd tyre wear, accelerated suspension wear and the harsh ride quality and now, more and more component failures.
The rims obviously conform to ISO 7141:2005 and an honest fatigue life prediction will have been part of the design process. I'd suggest BMW have a material specification which means a 'harder' condition to keep the rims light. Hence not the typical buckling we see with a lot of alloy rims after a heavy impact.
It certainly appears the cracked rims have endured repeated stress/impact loadings, caused mainly by the unforgiving structure of the run-flat tyres, (virtually continuous, but not necessarily too hard hitting) accelerating the fatigue propagation we clearly see from lots of photos, which to me look to be stress induced fractures. They are random and we see up to seven cracks on one rim.
In my opinion 19" rims of 9" width, with 30 aspect ratio RFTs, more extreme negative camber settings on the most effected models, some users running too low a pressure, (relying on the tyre pressure warning system) and bad road surfaces, generate a worst case scenario and appear to be the size where most failures occur. The failure spread lessens with less critical sizes, but some still reach the point of failure.
BMW seem to have got it wrong, shame they can't put their hands up and admit they had not anticipated this kind of pre-mature failure.
Highland Pete
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57 plate bmw 335d sport owner who suffered 2 rear cracked wheels about 2 months ago. Dealer blamed tyre condition and driver error. Was bullied into paying £1,000 for 2 new wheels. At the time I needed the car on the road ASAP so payed up. In the mean time i contacted BMW UK and complained that the car did not fit purpose and wanted to return it. There investigation dragged on so I called them to let them know i was about to take them through the small claims court to initially recover the £1K. They agreed to refund the money which was sorted out last month. That's the first step, step 2 I still want to return the car unless they recall. How can you ever drive these cars with any confidence?
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I have a 2007 335D M SPORT with 19 inch m sport wheels, i have also had a cracked rear wheel which i dicovered about 2 months ago. BMW sold me a new wheel for £505.00 as my wheel needed to be inspected by a BMW technition. needless to say my wheel was 0.3 mm out of tolerance.i have been to collect my old wheel for further inspection but BMW cannot find it, also my local dealer [company removed] will now not return my phone calls. My previous car was a 330ci m sport had 18 inch m sport wheels and i had that car for 5 years and i have never experienced this problem before. There is quite obviously a common fault with the wheels on these cars.
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I've had exactly the same problem as everyone else - I had two rear wheels crack with no visible impact damage and was told it was because of potholes.
If this was the case then why weren't my front wheels damaged?
I have had to replace them and now drive around scared stiff of every bump in the road.
I thought BMW were a good car to buy as they were respectable, fair, and responsible people to deal with.
I'm now looking for a new car.
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I drive an 07 325 Coupe with 19" alloy wheels and run flats. When the car was 1 year old the nearside rear wheel was found to be cracked and had to be replaced at a cost of £420, 3 months ago the offside rear wheel developed the same problem and cost £420 again to replace. I drive 30,000+ per year and have done for the last 12 years, I have never come across this with any other vehicle. I had assumed it was just me when it happened although I found it puzzling as I drive mostly on smooth motorways.
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I also have had a problem with 2 rear 19" alloys last October, this is my 5th Brand new BMW and never had this problem before and done many more miles in the other cars, but never had run flats before (i have had 19" alloys before) BMW still have not got back to me after intially saying i must have driven over potholes (but my fronts did not crack!) I now really dont enjoy driving my BMW any more (for fear of driving over the slightest bump and £900 bill!) and can assure BMW that i will not be buying a 6th BMW for the sake of some good honest customer service they have lost a Loyal customer, I think they are fools and possibly onto a very big problem if they admit liability.
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I've been driving a 57 plate 325 M Sport convertible for just over 20 months now. In that time I've covered 22000 miles and I've just fitted my 3rd set of rear run flats due to irregular inside edge tyre wear. Thankfully this set was subsidised by Bridgestone after several letters to both them and BMW. Seemingly something to do with the aggressive rear camber setting!!!!
I've also suffered a cracked rear alloy, yep those pesky 19" alloys. Had to replace at a cost of approx £500 with the dealer saying it was pothole damage. Could this possibly be related to the aggressive negative camber settings at the rear of the car with all the weight on the inside rim?? Add in the stiff side walls of the RFTs and there lies your problem.....
I spend most of the time driving up and down the M77 from Glasgow to Preswick so the accusation that I'd hit a pot hole is wide of the mark. It's an easy get out from BMW to put the blame at the door of the driver. I've had a few BMW's in my time and never suffered this irregular tyre wear and alloy damage before.
Unless the problem's sorted then I'm having a change and heading to the Audi garage!!!
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I bought a used 335i SE with 19" Alloys and only 25k on the clock. Somebody mentioned to me about the common fault with the wheels cracking and sure enough when I checked them the two rears had both been welded up. 6 months on and both wheels had cracked again in the places where they were welded. I then had to spend well over £600 for replacements.
Alex
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I've also got the same 19" BMW 225M alloy wheels, last year my car was in for repair (on another reoccuring problem!) whilst it was in I was told I had 2 bald rear tyres and agreed for them to change the tyres. At first I asked if the run flat tyres could be replaced with an non run flat alternative as they make the car feel like you have had an accident even if you simple drive over a manhole but was told BMW do not approve this. I then got another call telling me both rear alloys were cracked due to pot holes etc and was quoted £1100 to replace + the tyres at almost the same price! I refused to accept this and told them to keep the car there till I speak to BMW customer services. This got me no where and if anything the representative was very rude which certainly did not lighten the blow. I insisted that if I was to pay this I want non run flats tyres as I knew this problem was down to the run flat tyres having such a hard wall (tipped of by my rep at the BMW dealership) but they still would not agree to do this so I had no choice but to pay for 2 new alloys and have the dreaded very expensive run flat tyres put back on the car. I asked the garage to keep the alloys there as I was intending to take it further but later found out these had been disposed of. If you check the specifications of the BMW M3 with 19" wheel option added on and all the M range cars, they do not use run flat tyres and DO NOT suffer with this problem so it's obvious the problem is the tyre being to low a profile on the rear compared to the front wheels and having too hard side walls. I've had several BMW's over the years and have been very put off the brand since this experience. Not only are these wheels a very expensive optional extra when you buy the car new but will also cost you thousands in replacements over the years.... new buyers should avoid this option! You're better of taken the car with the standard wheels and upgrading to the BMW 19" performance range alloys which have an option of not having run flat tyres. If BMW had any morals they would offer these free on a recall to anyone who has suffered this problem or the least offer them at a heavily discounted price for customers who encounter this problem.
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POSITIVE RESULT (In the end) I own a 2008 BMW 320d Coupe with 19" wheels and run flat tyres. I had the same probelm 3 weeks ago. It started with a flat tyre on a Sat afternoon meaning I couldn't go anywhere until Monday as no tyre dealer open on Sat afternoon stocked the tyre and BMW dealers are CLOSED. When I went for a new tyre (runflats are almost always un-repairable) the guy at National tyres showed me the cracks and said this was in his view why the tyre had gone flat as he found no sign of a puncture. I took the wheel to Chandler BMW in Brighton and they ordered a wheel and fitted it and charged me 490 pounds. I complained along the same lines as others and i did get a positive result. Chandlers called 2 weeks later to say that although in BMW's opinion, the damage was due to hitting a pot hole they would replace it free of charge as a gesture of good will. If they will do this for me, why not everyone!!! Runflats are a good idea but I won't have another car with them again as puncture = 300 quid, even if this means changing to another manufacturer.
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A copy of my complaint sent to BMW Sytner re my cracked alloys
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From
[Personal details removed]
Subject: Complaint re your service department on my 335i conv reg no DV07ZBO - [Personal details removed]
Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 13:44:27 +0000
I am making a formal complaint regarding the work done on my car and the resulting safety issue which put me and my children at risk.
I have approached BBC WatchDog and contacting BMW in Munchen, Germany.
I bought my car in May 2007 for £49,000 and was happy in the knowledge with a 3 year warranty.
I am a Chartered accountant and worked and lived in the Birmingham area until May this year.
Thus I used your dealership to carry out any work and servicing.
In September I complained and brought the car into your dealership as I was hearing a drouning noise coming from the wheels. One of the engineers took the car out with me and agreed there was something not right and could hear the sound too.
The car was kept in for 2 days and I was told nothing had been identified re the cause of the noise.
2 weeks afterwards I was driving with my son on the motorway and the rear passenger tyre exploded.The tyre came of the wheel and broke the ajoining parts.
I was livid as I believe the fault shouls have been detected before.My son was at danger at the time of the blow out.
I had to pay £815 for 2 new rear tyres in October.
The noise was still there and toyr mechanics still could not find the fault
On the 30th April this year the rear driver side tyre exploded again on the motorway near London.The tyre again seem to explode from the innner wall of the tyre.Again BMW recovered the vehicle to your dealership.
I was really angry but was again forced to pay £290 for a tyre on 30th April 2008.You had the car for 2 days and I was assured that there was nothing wrong with the wheels or tyres.
4 days ater the tyre that was replaced exploded again in Essex.The car is at Sytner Chigwell and they inspected the wheels and told me that both rear alloys are cracked.Why could not your engineers identify this. I was livid.I spoke to your Service manager [removed] and can not believe you are not taking full resposibility for the less than professinal workmanship.
Not only that my car has been with with BMW Chigwell for 3 weeks and BMW Recovery got me a courtesey car vie Enterprise.
Rudy has told me that I have to wait for your AREA manager to confirm the cracked alloys are a warranty issue.
For God's sake how pathetic.Not only have I had to endure inconvenience and financial loss, which I will be claimng back, your dealership is adding insult to injury.
I wait for your reply and your authorisation to [removed] at Chigwell Sytner to carry out repair under warranty.
Please access your data base re the costs/ invoices I have paid since October due to the incompetence of the engineers
S Rubani FCCA
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[Personal details removed by Moderator]
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I purchased a two year old 320d M-Sport, which has the 19" wheels. I've only had it two weeks, when yesterday the tyre pressure indicator came on. The pressure only dropped to 17psi, so it was not completely flat, but instead seems like a slow leak due to a hairline crack in the alloy. I'm pretty sure the crack would have been there when I bought it, but I think the dealer would still charge me £600 to replace the wheel and tyre.
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Funny thing about my problems was that, the 'inspection' of the damaged wheel was done in the car park behind the dealership, where I was told that the damage was due to me running the wheel flat. (Duh, I know that, the alloy wheel is cracked and I cannot top up the air whilst driving and you don't get a spare wheel...)
However, once the 'service' manager had gone the tecnician who inspected it came and told me "this has been going on for ages now, you'll never get your money back....sorry mate" and alledgedly BMW are now manufacturing this size wheel in a more robust manner.
Surely with this many complaints BMW cannot ignore us forever!!!
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I have two 335i coupes one a 2007 and the other 2008 both bouhht new.
The 2007 car had to have the rear tyres replaced at 32K due to the tyres being worn down to fabric on inside of tyre alone. 6.5mm left on rest of tyre. Took car back to BMW to protest there was something wrong with wheel alignment which they checked and put right and also paid for two new tyres. Come 15K down the line the new set did the same thing worn down to being bald with 7mm on rest of tyre. Fitted new tyre's and keeped a eye on wear after 4k you could see the wear on inside of tyre. Also have had two cracks in rear kerb side wheel which I've had repaird by wheel experts Lepsons. The next car I keeped a eye on rear tyre wear early on and when the car went in for first service mentioned the tyre wear on inside (under 10K) was told it was fine by 30k tyre was bald on in side again with 6.6mm on rest of tyre. So two diffrent cars same set up 19" wheels sports surspenion both with uneven tyre wear on inside. On my 2007 car I have now removed original wheels and tyres to try runing non-runflats to see if the wear is the same and if I get craked wheels, so far driven 1,679 miles and no signs of uneven tyre wear, with runflats you can see the wear on inside almost stright off. If you drive over a dust surface and look at tyre there will be dust stuck to 99% of tyre but no dust on the outside of tyre of about 30 to 40mm from edge of tyre. Which proves that with runflats and high negative camber the wheels and tyres are running heavely on the inside of tyre. With the none-runflates the whole of the tyre is cotted in dust which proves with softer side walls more of the whole tyre is making contact with road so more even tyre wear and less presure on the inside of wheel rim there for no cracking to wheel.
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Today I had 2 rear tyres replaced on my 56 plate 520D, these are 17' inch alloys and not low profile tyres. I have never had a problem and have run those tyres for 40,000 miles -so you can assume constant regular tyre pressures and no potholing.
After the refit the tyre pressure monitor warned of tyre pressure loss, I returned to my regular tyre fitter twice, the second time they submerged the wheel and discovered a crack in the wheel itself,- I had not in that short period hit any potholes or debris. The tyre fitters pointed out that this problem had been highlighted on tv in the last week and that BMW were not owning up to any responsibility. They also told of other BMW's with similar that they had had in the last couple of weeks. I contacted the national BMW number, explained the situation and was asked if the car was driveable, I thought that the expense of ruining a new tyre would be too great a risk and they arranged for me to be carried on a low loader to the local dealer, I thought since there was no argument or questions that I would be helped under warranty.
On arrival at the liverpool dealer- Tom Williams I was told by the man in servicing that this was in no means a warranty issue and that he suspected that the tyre dealer had broken the wheel by using a "bead breaker" insinuating that it was their fault. I relayed this to the fitters who told me they remove the tyre by completely deflating the tyre and that this sort of damage could not happen this way.
I have photographed the wheel and the crack is in the centre of the wheel running laterally around the circumference- an area that the bead breaker would not come into contact with. Apart from the crack the wheel is pristine with no sign of road wear or "kerbing".
After removing me to their dealer it was revealed that the dealer did not even have a spare and I had no alternative but to drive away back to the tyre fitters, tomorrow I will have the wheel welded ( I refuse to spend another penny with BMW). So my advice is this if you find a crack don't expect BMW to act on their warranty, don't ring them to be towed (I suspect I will be receiving a bill for that), or if you need to change the tyres get BMW to do it then they can't blame anyone else, but then that might just be part of their plan in not sorting this out. I have kept photographic evidence and will be asking the tyre dealer and the welder to comment in support of my assertion that this should be a warranty problem solved by BMW themselves- The ultimate driving machine? it doesn't sound like it to me!.
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I live in Irelad, I have a 06 325BMW with 18" M star alloys and the same thing. One of the wheels kept leaking air, I went to the garage and there are 3 cracks in the alloy wheel. when I brought it back to BMW they told me that I had hit a pothole. The cracks are in 3 different places.
BMW put the car on the ramp, they never even took the wheel off the car to test it. While up on the ramp, they brought me under the car and pointed out the 3 cracks on the inside of the alloy wheel. How did a pot hole cause 3 different cracks in 3 seperate areas of the wheel.
If it is pot holes, how come our second car which does not have runflats, does not have the same problem. That car travels on the same road and the BMW, yet the BMW wheels are damaged.
I am very disappointed with BMW. My wheel was never removed from the car so how can they say it was a pot hole??
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My 57 plate 325d m sport coupe went for its oil service at Sytners Nottingham on October 21 and I was informed that I needed two new rear tyres on my 19" wheels due to excessive wear on the inside edges. Curiously the car had only done 11000 miles. I was told they were underinflated and this was the cause. No mention was made of previous problems with other vehicles or possible cracks on these rims. After further information gained on the internet and seeing the Watchdog programme I inspected all the wheels for cracks and fortunately none were found. Could my underinflated tyres have saved damage to my wheels because of reduced rigidity of the tyrewall?
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I have a 57 plate 335i convertible with 19" RFTs. Totally love the driving experience, but have been dissappointed by two cracked Rear wheels. First was Xmas '08 and the last was September this year. I got annoyed with them and wrote to Tim Abbott who authorised the dealer to refund the cost of the alloy as a goodwill gesture - accepting no liability. My suggestion is to write to Tim and get your money back!
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Re the BMW wheel cracking, I have owned 5 BMWs over the years, all with alloy wheels and have driven over countless potholea and curbs without cracking. I currently have a 10 year old 328 with 18 inch rims and after your programmes have checked to find no cracking.
The cracked rims shown on your programme were in some instances cracked in several places around the circumference of the rim that would not be representative of hitting a single pot hole as suggested by BMW. Aluminium alloy in its cast form (these wheels are castings) is a brittle material that may be made less so by modifying the quantities of its constituents, or by heat treatment after manufacture. Even if the wheel is suitable for purpose on leaving the factory, the material may also harden with age, and this could also lead to a brittle fracture (like these cracks). My take on this cracking is that it is a design problem for BMW and may stem from the fact that with increasing rim diameters there seems to be no increase in thickness at the rim circumference, leading to less stiffness in the structure. What is needed is a circumferential rib or web to generally stiffen the wheel adjacent to the rim edge, but this would be expensive in both extra material and casting techniques, and would also add to the cars unsprung mass.
In short, inadequacy of design and the need to minimise material costs has led to a product susceptible to cracking when driving on anything other than carpet, and customers are being blamed for the fault purely because they would be unable to prove otherwise.
Suggest you take a cracked wheel to a metallurgist to evaluate both the material and the failure mode, and that will probably be inferior materials, inbuilt stresses during manufacture, and bad design, just the job for the "ultimate driving machine".
I love my BMW!!
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This is a problem only with BMW seemingly not any other manufacturer so forget the wheels and have a full refund as this car is not fit for purpose, BMW blame the UK road but the rest of Europe drive on the wrong side of the road so take them back for a full refund.
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I have a 525d Touring, 4 years old with 18" runflats. Got very good mileage out of the actual tyres, c40k on the rears as many motorway miles. Had one cracked rim REPAIRED over a year ago by a specialist alloy welder in High Wycombe, £60. He said he did loads of these repairs on [brand removed], BMW and [brand removed]. Even main dealer brought them to him. If you get the wheel re-finished (ie painted) then the repair is totally invisible. The repair is as strong as the original if done properly by milling out the crack and then TIG welding in new alloy. Just had a second rim(both rears) done as it too had cracked. Only noticed when it came to the tyre change. Previous crack noticed with slight pressure loss. Only a single crack in each rim though.
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SOOooo Watchdog, I have got my cracked wheels back from BMW (0.7mm & 0.9mm deflection!) let me know when you want them...
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Further update...
I have now taken my complaint to the Finanical Ombudsman Service, under the terms of the Sale of Goods (Implied terms) Act 1973(as amended. In that all goods sold should be of suffient quality and durability.
Lets see how long it takes the Ombudsman to side with BMW, and confirm that indeed all of the people on this blog and on the programme are indeed wrong and BMW are right.
I'll keep you posted.
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I have 56 plate BMV 325 with these wheels and I have had one wheel crack and three punctures in the time I have owned the vehicle.
I too was told the wheel crack was caused by potholes and was essentially my fault. I assume if BMW are now making these wheels in a more robust manner they are essentially hoping to get away with this.
The car is otherwise fantastic - but I won't be making the mistake of buying low profile wheels and run flat tires again!
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just went to get a new tyre and was told i had a cracked wheel and BMW will not pay. it had no visible damage from the outside, cracks were on the inside edge. It was a rear wheel 19 inch with a run flat tyre. it wouldnt be so bad but i actually paid extra for these wheels as they were an option on my car. I think i have had 15 cars since i could drive ande ive never cracked a wheel before but according to BMW its the way i drive. Funny this hasnt happened before. Its my first BMW but definately the last.
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Can someone advise on what Anne Robinson meant in the subsequent programme when she said they had a cunning plan for people who kept their cracked rims? Was it just the dumb thing about doing something wacky with them? Or was there a sensible course of action being proposed, like a mass protest?
I'm two thousand pounds out in this jolly jape and I'm quite keen to get something back as well as to fund safer configurations of wheels and tyres.
This is all getting very confusing. There must be a simple way of harnessing all this discontent, which is making BMW a tidy profit.
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Hi. I purchased a 330i E93 at the back end of March earlier this year and by the first week of May covering 2000miles one of my rear wheels had cracked in 3 seperate places on the inner rim. This was only noticed by an independant tyre dealer as I was originally told by the BMW Dealer that I had a puncture and it needed replacing. To my disgust I ended up paying £520 for a new wheel with £300 for a new tyre as it had shredded on the inside due to running it to get the garage in the first place. BMW carried out its so called run-out test and determined that it was impact damage! They even called in the Area specialist who also confirmed this. REALLY ANNOYED as the wheel was in perfect condition to look at.
I left it at that thinking I was just unlucky however to my complete horror and dismay my car went in for its first service 3 months later only to be told that the other rear wheel was cracked again in 3 places. Not only was this put down to impact damage, but I was also informed that i'd need 2 new tyres for the rear. Again the tyre on the cracked wheel was shredded even though the tyre sensors detected no loss of pressure. The tyre that was 3 months old showed signs of uneven wear put down to the cracked wheels pressure drop. I have complained to BMW and had the same reply as quoted in earlier posts arguing that our roads and our so-called driving habits are to blame. 99.9% of my driving is Motorways and if i'd hit any potholes then surely the front would have suffered the same damage as the rear.
In disgust I had my car collected from the Dealer and had my own set of new wheels and low profile tyres fitted. I have also informed BMW that I will never purchase a vehicle off them again and I fully intend to honour that statement. I hope others do the same!
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Perhaps these wheels can be dumped in a tropical ocean to help form new coral reefs; that way BMW can lay claim to being somewhat ecological...
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I had to pay around £400 for a new 230 19" alloy from BMW who said that the crack on my wheel was due to the rear wheels being wider than the front and therefore when i went over a speed bump straight on the rear wheels got spread apart.
This is ridiculous, or certainly I complained that the wheels were not fit for purpose on the basis that BMW gave no recommendations on how to drive over a speed bump. I drive slowly over these due to the hard suspension and still they crack.
The 0.3mm off centre argument that BMW gave me was ludicrous as the same 0.3mm offset applies to 13" wheels as well as 19" wheels, they said this was 'their standard' setting, surely 19" wheels should allow for some significantly higher number!, mine recorded 0.6mm.
Come on BMW, I paid close to £40k for this car to have to pay more for damage to an alloy which was less than 2 years old and 20k on the clock.
Are these wheels fit for purpose with UK Speed bumps?
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We have all been mugged by BMW with them telling us we are all the only one with this problem. I have 2007 330D Convertible that i bought new for £44K with the 19" 5 spoke wheels. The rear tyres wore out in 15,000 but only the inside inch meaning i had to replace them at a cost of £600 when the tyres had at least another 5000 miles left. I was told by BMW the car wasnt at fault, it was the tyres and referred me to Bridgestone whose only comment other than to say they hadn't heard of it before but if it like to drive up to Warwick they would take a look. [removed for legal reasons]
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I too have had a problem with a BMW Alloy, this time the 18 inch 255 Alloy on a 2001 330 D Tourer Sport. The car went for a MOT for the garage to tell me there was a 2 inch drack in the rear inside of the alloy. I checked this with BMW and was told a new wheel would be circa £400!!. Eventually i managed to get the wheel welded for £40 which passed the MOT. The man at the garage did say that he had heard of this problem with BMW Alloys on the larger sizes and that it was common knowledge within the industry. BMW should accept that these wheels are at fault and should do a recall on them.
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Come on BBC you must be able to help us and take BMW further with this. Mention it again on television and the lack of response from BMW. It looks like BMW are hanging on until it all blows over and they will avoid their responsibilities if they can get away with it and if the BBC let them!!
Should we take BMW or the Dealers to the Small Claims Court ? Could be at least 100 claims for BMW to start with.
Wouldn't that be fun?
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Today I am paying BMW £700 to replace 2 of my 18" alloy wheels as they have cracked on my 2007 3 series coupe. It appears 18" wheels are cracking too!
Douglas, Scotland
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I have a BMW 335d with 19inch wheels which have just been replaced by a BMW dealer at a cost of £1350 for 3 wheels which have the same cracks but otherwise unblemished with a refusal of a warranty claim by BMW. The wheels are only a year old as the previous set were stolen when my car was left on the driveway. Any ideas of who can carry out independent tests ? MIRA do not do it any longer.
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It's not only the 19" wheels, I have a 525M Sport Touring on 18" alloys with runflats and when getting new tyres I was informed that I had cracks on the inside of the rear wheel. How does this happen to the rear and not the front, I've had 3 other BMW's all running on standard BMW alloys and not had a problem.I must agree that if it was the way we were driving or it was the road surface then we would be seeing cracks on the front wheels as well.
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Today I took my 335i in to have an engine warning light looked at, whilst the car was on the ramp, for some strange reason, the mechanics looked at the wheels and I was told I needed four new tyres and two new rears wheels as they were cracked! This would be a cost of nearly £2000. I have only had the car 7 months and it is still under warranty. I was told I must have gone over a pothole or curbed it but as the cracks are on the inside at the rear I fail to see how this can of happened. When I returned home I was told about the watchdog programme. I have had a terrible year, my 6 year old daughter being dianosed with cancer and I have had to have time of work so this cost visable upset me at the dealership and to come home and find out that they are fully aware of this problem has really upset me.
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I own a 57 plate BMW 325IM Convertible with 19" alloy wheels with Bridgestone run flat tyres and I too have had issues with cracked allow wheels. In the first instance BMW recovered the vehicle with Kavanagh recovery services. The car was scratched in transit which neither BMW or Kavanagh seem to be taking responsibility over. This is still an ongoing issue that I have to continually chase to no avail. Like in most instances that I have read about, they are on both rear wheels. I had the wheels repaired instead of replaced at a cost of £35 each as replacing them would have cost me over £1000 for both wheel and tyre. A month after the repair the wheel has since cracked again, despite driving even more carefully over bumps and trying to avoid potholes. When will BMW action a recall over these dangerous wheels. I too have uneven ware on the inners of the tyres. When will Watchdog correspond further with BMW about this matter!
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UPDATE:
I have at least one cracked rear alloy wheel (19"). Dealer has agreed to swap the wheels for standard 18" M-Sport wheels. There's an extra 1/2" of rubber between the alloy and the road, so should be less likely to cracking than the 19" versions. I'll be checking my tyre pressures regularly!
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There are a number of issues at play here, one of which is how BMW regard consumer programmes like Watchdog when they're prepared to fob them off so blatantly without fear of reprisal.
If it is potholes/speed bumps BMW need to explain why no other manufacturer has the same problems.
The fact is, the run flat tyres put on BMW's are not yet ready for mass production, they ruin the ride of the car, they're expensive and the system that monitors whether or not you have a flat is not completely reliable. If you can feel a difference in the ride when on run flats then clearly the shock absorption factor in the tyres is less than in a standard tyre - run flats are like going back to the solid wheels that used to be on horse drawn carts.
It is very clear to me that you can have a good tyre that absorbs imperfections in the road, or you can have a run flat that won't deflate when punctured - it is farcical to suggest that something which acts like a solid tyre when deflated can also act like a normal tyre when it doesn't have a puncture.
You don't need to be a physicist to work out that a tyre that is hard will transmit more shock into the body of the car. It appears BMW are prepared to let their customers suffer rather than face up to this, I for one won't be a BMW customer again, but I'm also disappointed that Watchdog is becoming more impotent in the face the flat denials from suppliers.
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I am sure that all the persons affected by this issue would greatly appreciate Watchdog's guidance on how best to progress this safety critical issue. The high number of responses must surely be 'ringing alarm bells'.
We should be acertaining the number of BMW 3 series vehicles fitted with 19" inch wheels and run flat tyres that are registered to UK owners to date, then comparing the number of reported instances of wheel cracking. I feel confident that the result would show a dissproportionally high percentage.
Please, please, keep the pressure on BMW to respond in person on your show.
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What can you do? Like many BMW enthusiasts, rather than trade the car, remove the run-flat tyres and run conventional rubber, even down size the wheel set and run even more rubber between the rim and road.
When you have wheel sets that are pushing the limits of sensibility for road use, we do run into unknown territory. Wheel sizes more suited to track days are not really suited to most of our daily drives.
As to it just being BMW, Audi had a problem a few years back when 19” wheel sets were used on some models.
Also remember there is a big aftermarket trade in alloy wheel repairs. Not that I’m suggesting anyone with cracked rims use that method, as it could be a dangerous attempt at a solution, but suggests a market in wheel failures.
Being a BMW run-flat user, I've changed to some decent ‘normal’ tyres to reduce impact into the car structure and find the wear is also reduced. Rear inner tyre wear is a known issue on many BMW models, has been for years, and requires more attention to tyre pressure, than relying on a tyre pressure monitoring system. The BMW system is ABS sensor based, in the UK, and doesn't detect the subtle differences that can ruin our tyres, if we do not check pressures regularly. It is a puncture detection system and registers a pressure drop of much more magnitude than most appreciate.
Users should also check for tyre wear more frequently. It is also known that some run-flat tyre failures are caused by running through to the carcass of the tyre, that doesn’t happen over night. We need to be much more vigilant to tyre pressure, tyre wear and how we drive with very low profile tyres. All made worse by the run-flat tyres, which clearly adds more loading and stress to the wheels, as they rotate over anything but smooth road.
Highland Pete
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Are manufacturers making alloy wheels lighter? I have a [car make removed]. In 9 months of ownership I've had 2 wheels flattened on the inner rim having driven over pot holes at moderate speed. In 30 years of driving I've never experienced this problem in any other car. I'm considering changing to steel wheels.
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May as well add myself to the list. I have a 335i coupe with 19" wheels, bridgestone run flat tyres, and one cracked rear alloy.
Usual story from dealer - potholes, speed bumps etc which I dont recall ever hitting any that badly. No alternative but to stump up for a new wheel and tyre. The previous tyre was only a year old (a replacement supplied and fitted by BMW) and was showing unusual wear on the inside edge (as all the other tyres seems to) whereas the rest of the tyre had plenty of tread left. The wear pattern is also alarming as the tyres alone are £250-£300 each having recently replaced all 4 on a 3 year old car.
I do believe that there must be some sort of fundamental problem with the alloy construction and the stiff walled low profile tyres as a LOT of people seem to ALL be at fault. I'm not claiming that I have never ever hit a pothole or a speed bump as some are unavoidable but I do know I would be willing to say "yeah I think it was my fault" if I recalled hitting anything hard enough to break a wheel. I'm seriously thinking about buying a replacement set of alloys with non run flat tyres to get rid of this annoyance in an otherwise excellent car.
I await any outcome from watchdog on this matter but am not really expecting a positive response from BMW to be honest. Waiting with fingers crossed...
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Re. Post 158. At 2:06pm on 28 Oct 2009, modernSpank.
If you don't drive a BMW with this problem and you are not an expert technician you really should not pass comment on this issue. I have driven alloy wheels on UK roads for 10-years without a problem of this nature before. And believe me when I was younger I was not the safest and hit many a curb still without resulting in the hairline cracks on an these alloy wheels. Enough said!
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Just looking at the low profile of the tyres worries me - not a great cushion to protect the wheels. Are the tyres designed to make the car look good at the expence to comfort and safety?
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A few BMW owners have surgested low tyre presure to be the cause of the problem for chracked wheels and uneven tyre wear. I disagree as I checked the tyre presures every week after washing both my BMW and found at most a loss of 0.2bar on the rear tyres and they still cracked and went throught 3 sets of tyres in 54K. Never had uneven tyre wear on any of my other 8 bmw untill now or every a craked wheel in over 712,000 miles driving around the same roads unill the E92 modle.
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Phoned BMW tody special number 0875050160 and was told that only certain 19" wheels on th 3 series had been stopped because of the level of concern ( Watchdog perhaps )
Pity that the concern had not been there when the first customer complained !
And BMW was investigating, recall and modification and an admission of blame would be nice, ---we shall see
Alloy or other metals only crack (-under normal use -) if the metal has work hardened -and start to fracture, as many have said the size of wheel and run flat tyres, suspension etc are all part of the problem---BUT the main problem is that BMW have not engineered the package correctly for use, rather like the idrive--but admitting it.
Ian
PS I have an Alpina on order, no run flats no idrive
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Having treated myself to a 335i upon retirement, it's taken just 14 months to crack both back wheels, replace 3 tyres and create a BMW garage bill of over £1,400. The local franchise people are very sympathetic, but cannot get any recourse out of BMW. I don't intend to spend my retirement looking for potholes and unless your campaign achieves a remedy with the manufacturer, I'll change for another make of car!
I've kept the latest cracked wheel and damaged tyre as evidence.
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I have just returned from abroad and went straight to the website having been prompted by a friend that Watchdog had covered this topic. I have had five wheels replaced over the course of the last three years. 19" alloys combine with Bridgestone run flat tyres. I was convinced there was a fault with the wheels or more likely the wheel tyre combination.
Having received similar explainations from more than one BMW dealer that the cause must due to pothole impact, I began to suspect that this was the party line put out by BMW. On one occasion, I think I had driven less than a couple of thousand miles before a further crack occurrred and I could not recall travelling on any especially uneven roads in that time. One salesman at the dealer did say that a number of customers had switched to normal tyres to reduce the risks but that it was sensible to replace all the tyres at once. Of course I was reluctant to change all four tyres for one cracked wheel, and with no spare what do you do if you have a puncture ?
In addition the tyre wear often seems irregular on the rear wheels suggesting that something is not right. I would be delighted if BMW would at least consider fully investigating the causes of this problem. I wish I had kept all five wheels, I did complain to BMW at first and had their specialist engineers look at the wheels only to have impact damage confirmed. The difficulty I always had is arguing the fact that I had not come into contact with a pothole. You become a very disgruntled customer over time.
The fact that BMW backed down with a "goodwill" gesture to one legal approach is telling. They must know there is an issue, but it is a problem that they can find an easy agreed communication with which to fob the customer off and that is the route they continue to take to defend their position.
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I have been looking at postings on other forums in other countries and it appears from their comments that this problem is more widespread than just Surry or the UK.
I once had to replace a BBS alloy on a BMW 320i E30, after hitting a pot hole very hard, causing the inner and outer wheel rims to kink and spread outwards. The wheel was scrapped but there was no evidence of cracking, even as a result of such a hard impact.
My current vehicle is an E90 330d with BMW 17" alloys (type 158). These wheels seem quite sturdy and there appears to be no cracking evident on the rims. I have found that the standard run flat tyres to be too firm, with even the 'cats eyes' on the road surface producing too much of a shock to the suspension.
Several weeks ago, I replaced all 4 of the run flat tyres with a good quality conventional tyre and the transformation to the handling, quietness and comfort of the vehicle, was amazing. The car no longer 'tramlines' over uneven surfaces, the steering no longer 'tugs' at my arms and the traction control system no longer 'skips' on the uneven road surface of a steep incline. The steering is also precise and neutral on country road bends and now completely unaffected by road camber.
I feel that the cracking demonstrated on the video clip resembles something similar to the propagation of stress cracking of a structural component which has been subjected to a constant 'cyclic' force and not necessarily as a result of single impacts from pot holes, etc. The potential for cracking is more likely exacerbated if the wheels are larger, wider, fitted to the more powerful engined BMW models and most definitely fitted with those 'nasty' runflat tyres.
I have always found BMW to be very good in dealing with warranty issues so they should really take heed on this matter and listen to the 'global' concern of their customers. Preferably before a defective wheel results in injury or death.
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Re- post 155
{Does anybody know what the issue is with having such cracks in alloy wheel, other than lost tyre pressure? I have just spoekn to BMW at the number provided above and they informed me that any cracks would be easily visible but that there was no risk of the wheel breaking/disintegrating because of this. I was informed that the only issue would be lost tyre pressure. Of course significantly reduced tyre pressure is a safety concern but I am trying to understand any wider implications of these cracks?}
It would be a 'brave' BMW engineer to say that failure of a cracked wheel could not happen.
When 'stress' cracks get larger, the possibility of structural failure increases. Temperature changes on the material may even have an affect on the structure of the material, with sub zero temperatures (during winter) making material more brittle. The possibility of subsequently hitting a pot hole or object at speed could cause an immediate failure of an already weakened wheel.
I do not believe any BMW dealer would recommend its customers to drive a vehicle with cracked wheels.
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I recently had my BMW 3series in for a routine service and was told I had a crack in my 19" alloy. Again, like most others I was told I must have hit a pot hole or speed bump. I put 4 new tyres on my car only two months ago by BMW and there was no mention of a cracked alloy at this time. At the moment I have only one to replace but very concerned that the others may develop cracks in the near future. I hope BMW take note to the many complaints and do something about this. I've had AUDI's for the past 10 years and never experienced any problems.
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i am 45, sensible driver, own a '57 335i coupe, with 19" alloys, and 2 rear tyres delaminated,(photo`s to prove even tyre wear, EXCEPT inner 25mm of tread! which were worn beyond wire!!!) replaced at £300 each, then 2 weeks later warning light suggesting a flat tyre! low and behold! . . . a cracked rear alloy!(Inner edge of off side rear wheel) DEALER REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY! . . . But whilst at dealers, changing rear offside alloy, they kindly informed me that the 2 front tyres were DELAMINATING too! with approx 6mm of tread remaining across 75% of tread pattern! you could slide your fingers between tread of tyre and wires of casing, again, on the inner edge! OH! and BMW, I have spent years preparing racing cars, including Formula 1, (granted historic F1) but am totally familiar with tyre pressures and how important they are, to how a car performs! so dont try and tell me they haven`t been checked weekly!. . . and now, my beloved 335i is now having cold start/running problems!!!! . . . MAYBE ITS DOWN TO TYRE PRESURES AND POT HOLES TOO???
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As Bmw are dragging their heels over this I have decided to have both my rear 19" alloys repaired (welded) rather than waste even more money on new ones, this has still cost me £550. What worries me now is that I find myself scouring the road to avoid potholes, drains etc instead of looking ahead to avoid more expense, which possibly could result in having an accident. Thanks BMW not
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The rim cracking problem is not restricted to 3 series performance cars. I have a 530d and recently had exactly the same happen to one of my wheels. The problem is my car is 6 years old and outside of manufacturers guarantee. Clearly there is a problem with these wheels being fit for the pupose of supporting run flat tyres. This 'fault' should be supported by BMW regardless of age.
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My 325m spt is 5mths old and has only covered 2k miles. I am concerned about this farce that BMW have brought on themselves. Are BMW that cheap when it comes to the safety of their customers who spend vast amounts of their hard earned money with them? Are BMW waiting for a serious incident to occur before they recall their inadequate 19" alloys. My job involves transporting young children from a to b, and i feel anxious about the safety aspect with these wheels every time i get into my car.
BMW are promoting their current advert as bringing joy to their customers, don't they realise that all this negative publicity about their 19" wheels is causing DESPAIR. More pressure required watchdog.
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Not just BMW !
I have just has the same problem on the inside rim of a front wheel of my Mercedes CLS 320.
Huge crack in the rim, requiring new wheel at a cost of £270.
MB customer service say the damage was due to 'outside influences', even though the wheel hasn't been inspected, just given a cursory glance.
I have never had a cracked alloy in 25 years driving, and i have hit a few potholes in that time, though in this instance, I don't recall hitting a pothole.
To my mind, either the wheel is faulty or not fit for purpose.
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I purchased my BMW 330d a year ago. The wheels give a very harsh ride. What is more worrying is that having a puncture meant being rescued and taken some miles where a replacement tire could be found (not easy on a Saturday afternoon). A new tire cost £326.
Was the puncture the result of cracked wheels? I am not sure. On phoning customer services they said I would have to pay the cost of having the wheels checked. They could give me no rough estimate of what this cost might be.
So, not only are they not admiting liability but their dealers will make more money through drivers feeling they have to have the wheels checked.
Are the new tires puncturing more easily? The guy at customer services denied they were getting a lot of enquiries about this (that is until I raised the Watchdog report).
I am very concerned at the potential cost of having to replace wheels and/ or tires. I had no idea when I purchased the BMW that I would be signing an open cheque.
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I phoned Customer Service today and they are reimbursing me for the two alloys I had replaced in September this year. They would not replace the four that are currently on my vehicle as they insist this is not a safety issue. They will however replace any that crack in the future. Much happier.
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Thanks for bringing this to the attention of UK motorists watchdog!
Having a similar germanic sports car ('06 plate sports setting) and being a tad prematurely smug regards my car choice as had considered BMW's at time of purchase, from the main rival of BMW, I was astonished last week to discover when inspecting a slow puncture that I had similar issues to BMW owners within this forum regards cracked 18" alloys, though in this case, the hairline crack emanated from the inner rim on the NSF. The tyre was not run-flat, however was 40mm low profile with no damage was present at rim (as was agreed with rival's rep).
Having taken car to the said dealership, who were frankly amazed to see defect as they had belief that their products were superior to BMW, they as you might expect couldn't accept liability at that point, though willing to examine wheel to consider.
Main concern is 1) were wheels fit for purpose, 2) no impact damage or memory of striking large potholes, 3) is there a manufacturing or design issue struck bearing in mind my alloys on previous car (in lesser sister marque) lasted 220,000mls over 6 yeaars with no defects.
Said dealership indicated they would examine wheel etc and get back to me within 7-10 days as they would require wheel to go to their HQ for examination, so fingers crossed.
I hopefully anticipate a goodwill guesture of full refund from the rival german organisation despite the car just being out of warranty as surely key components like alloys should have a long service life and also to heap shame on/expose BMW's attitude to customers and also salvage the British motor industrie's cusomer reputation.
Ceertainly if successful, I would have no hestitation in alerting you guys so you might wish to consider an alternative marque or increase pressure on BMW. Good luck in your continued fight as I believe BMW are ducking the issue here!
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Just been to get 2 new rear tyres on my BMW 520d M Sport 07 (57)which has 19" wheels on, (Non run flat tyres).
The technician has noticed that both wheels have cracks on them, on theh inside rim.
One is now leaking so i have a constant slow puncture.
Just spoke to my local dealer who blamed driving over pot holes and speed bumps, the impact causing the problem, hence teh issue would not be covered under warranty.
I was passed on to BMW customer service, who said the dealer should be dealing with it, I'm just awaiting a call back on how to resolve this.
New alloys are going to be circa £400 each
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Our Company leases a BMW 330i which was delivered at the end of June 2007. In February 2008 it had to have two rear alloys replaced due to cracks. In December 2008 it had to have a further two rear alloys replaced, again due to cracks. We have been advised by BMW that this is due to the driver going over potholes. Despite numerous arguments with them, including taking photographs, BMW have denied that there is any problem with the car. The car has had at a minimum 4 sets of new tyres and the wheels have been realigned on numerous occasions, despite the current mileage being less than 40,000. The Company has paid out well in excess of £7,000 - a cost it cannot afford in these difficult times.
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I have had 6 wheels and tyres on my 330m. Regarding the quote from BMW stating "If a wheel rim is presented with cracks, a full technical evaluation is made in every case. If the wheel is found to be deflected from a perfect circle by 0.3 mm or more this is evidence that an impact has taken place and this has been the cause of the cracks. In this case the customer would be responsible for the repair. If the wheel is deflected by less than 0.3 mm and yet is cracked, then it will be replaced under warranty" i eventually asked them to prove that the new wheels they were supplying for my vehicle passed the runout check of 0.3mm. Two brand new alloys FAILED this test and had to be re-supplied...so who knows how many times this could have happened to others and if the wheel fails before it goes on the car what tis the point of this check? It clearly is not reliable and BMW know this!
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Took my mates 335d into BMW (oldbury) today, 2 cracked alloys, then I checked my car I have a 335d too with 1 cracked back alloy. Will see what they do about my mates car first b4 I take mine in, if they do nothing we will take them to a small claims court and let the judge decide. What do you all think about teaming up with us?
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I have a BMW 325 Coupe ’07 plate bought new and my wife has a BMW X3 and I have two stories !
My Story with the cracked wheels.
My car went in for a standard oil service and I noted to them a rumbling noise that I’d be grateful if they could check out. I was advised that both of my rear wheels had cracked and also there was severe wear on my inner parts of my rear tires that have driven less than 12,000 miles. BMW said that it is likely that it is due to low pressure in the tires but cannot confirm for sure that the low pressure is due to the cracks; they did say that there is a good chance the pressure may have been lost because of the cracks and I await “Goodwill’s” thoughts ! My local dealer has been helpful and are waiting for “BMW Goodwill Dept” to respond, however, due to the Watchdog program, I was advised they are inundated with people calling about every size of wheel in order to try and get replacements, even though there is nothing wrong with “these sizes” clearly people see an opportunity to get some fresh wheels.
My problem is that the wheels and the tires are going to cost me £1,000 for the wheels and £650 for the tires, which I am reluctant to pay in advance and hope for the best from “goodwill” because this will give BMW the position of financial/argumentative strength. Also, I know that I can buy the same Bridgestone tires BMW offered to me from a major tire fitter/retailer and save myself £200. Problem is that I feel BMW are unlikely to pay a bill that I submit from the tire fitter/retailer therefore I am backed into a corner and will have to get them fitted by BMW at the higher cost.
All in all, I feel that perhaps BMW should perhaps rethink their customer service and agree to reimburse all customers without hesitation through their PR budget. This relatively small expense would show the world with a bit of clever spin, how much they care about their customers and it’d generate more PR and goodwill than a fancy TV advertisement. With the markets as they are, there are other car brands that are keen to snaffle away BMW drivers into their own vehicles – it is my opinion that BMW need to take this into consideration.
Now if you are not too bored; the X3 Story, are you sitting comfortably…
My wife's X3 has a knocking noise coming from the vehicle following changing all four tires. BMW Engineers examined the car and it was identified that it was the tires that were fitted to the vehicle were not the BMW approved tire - apparently Dunlops were what we should have. We therefore had to spend £700 replacing four tires that were not particularly worn. I was advised that BMW approve only one brand and model of tire for the X3 and that any other brand will cause this problem of traction control !
I was quite amazed on five counts.
1. BMW built a mainstream vehicle that there is only one tire in the world that will make it work properly. I could understand if it were a specialist sports car like the M3 or the Z4 but this is a standard, popular car that BMW sell thousands of each year !
2. That when we were advised that the tires needed changing, we were not informed of this "Dunlop requirement" so naturally we went to get other quotes.
3. When we purchased the vehicle, it was not advised to us that there is clearly something a little strange about the vehicle and that only Dunlops should be used.
4. I understand that BMW have identified the fault and that there is an "internal" document that BMW have for the engineers... I did explain that this is very useful for the engineers that drive the X3 but not really any good for those customers who have actually bought the cars !
5. I was also advised that "in most cases”, BMW assume that people will change the tires like for like and will replace the same tire brand that it had when it left the forecourt; as these would be the tires that BMW recommend". Please explain then, why when my two business partners and I have bought six 3 Series BMW over the past three years and each time we have had differing brands of tires !!!
What BMW also need to address, is the fact that if you check the tire brand websites (Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli etc etc) - they have tires that "they" recommend for the X3 - if this is not the case and the X3 will go wrong with these tires, surely for BMW goodwill relations, you need to be speaking to them to remove it from their websites... otherwise idiots like me will go ahead and buy tires from a company like Michelin (who should know what they are talking about) and then will have to get them replaced in a few months when the vehicle runs poorly !
Furthermore, this "internal" document with the details of the Dunlop requirement, should be made public knowledge - otherwise there will be thousands of X3 owners buying the wrong tires – I called around a number of major tires fitters and an independent tire garage and neither of which have ever heard of this problem with the X3 !
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So we're up to 236 posts now and there must be at least 100+ contributors who have all had the same problem. I'm driving around on a cracked alloy as I refuse to pay £500 to get it replaced. I spoke to BMW a week ago and have still to hear back. It's great that the BBC have brought this to everyone's attention but what now? we all keep posting but where is it leading? Is Watchdog going to pursue this or have they moved on to another story? BMW's statement was of no use to those who currently drive around on these alloys. Let's not allow this to drift.
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What do people think will happen to the residual values of these cars - I mean would you buy a car that everybody now knows has previously had problems with wheel breakages?
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Dear Ann,
I have just had my BMW 325 CI Sport serviced (last Thursday) at BMW Stratstone Taplow and the bill came to £923.50, including £359.15 for a replacement cracked 19 inch rear alloy wheel. In total the car, now just two years old, has been recalled five times for various safety recalls (including the computer and injectors) but apparently I was told this was not covered. I have previously written to Stratstone BMW to suggest that further recalls to my vehicle should result in a new replacement vehicle.
With this cracked alloy nonsense, I once again suggested that this should have been covered under warranty, but I had to pay (by credit card) in order to collect my car. How can I get a refund?
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I have had 2 19" rear alloys crack on my 330 in the last 6 months.
I have just heard from my BMW dealer yesterday that BMW have agreed to pay half of the cost of the last one....I am waiting to hear about the first one! Apparently if I still had the cracked alloy, they may have paid more! What a cheek, they took it off and disposed of it...including a brand new tyre....which I then had to replace! I have had my car for a year, bought it from Sytner BMW when it was 2 years old....and have spent a fortune on alloys and 7 tyres ever since! (Had tyres changed as showing a puncture when in fact it was a cracked alloy and they refused to put first set of "new" tyres back on) My husband is livid and I am now scared of driving in the dark....just in case a pothole appears!!!!
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My 08 320D M sport was taken to the main dealer in June 09 to have the front nearside wheel (19")checked after going down a pothole in Dartford. I was presented with an estimate of £1,150 for a new wheel, new tyre, and an alignment check. This I forwarded on to the KCC since I had reported the hole in the road within hours and also had taken photographs. The KCC rejected my claim saying that the road had been inspected the week before and that it had been repaired within the required time frame.
After following Watchdog I phoned BMW customer service and was told to return to the main dealer that had supplied the estimate since their policy had changed. After another inspection by the garage I was told that the wheel was not cracked and that BMW was not liable for the distorted wheel. It seems strange that when I was to foot the repairs, the bill was £1,150 but when BMW were going to pay there was nothing wrong.
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I have a 330d m sport with 19 inch rims. Was advised at my service on Saturday that I have a cracked rear rim, (£440+vat to replace) and need 4 new run flats. The guys at bmw who dealt with me were sympathetic and I could tell that they were only doing there job and following orders when they said they could not replace the rim under waranty. They conceded that this was a regular problem with these wheels.
I will be complaining to BMW UK. There is an obvious problem with these rims. If they are cracking so easily and frequently this is evidence that they are poorly designed. BMW should recall these rims but I guess due to cost that would be incurred on them and the amount of money their after sale departments have made (and shall continue to make!), I'd be surprised if they do.
I used to like may car, now I'd rather ride my bike.
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I'm writing from Sydney. I have a 335i Convertible that is just over two years old and has 17,000km on the clock. I've had huge problems with run flat tyres on my car and yesterday was told by my local tyre dealer that the inside rims of the two rear wheels are cracked. They said they were aware of similar occurrences in other BMWs, so this is not only a UK issue. The bulk of my driving is urban and I think I drive this car the same way as I have all the others. I've never experienced a cracked wheel before and have to conclude it's BMW's problem. The car is booked in for an inspection by the dealer next week. They were very defensive when I took it in yesterday, so it will be interesting to see what eventuates. They told me I should check the tyre pressure every 2-3 weeks which seems extraordinary. The handbook only states "regularly", not every time you fill up.
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I think watchdog need to revisit this story as BMW's customers are getting nowhere. The dealers dont want to deal with it and point to BMW and BMW customer services point to their dealers to look into the situation. No-one is taking ownership of this issue.
BMW say they are investigating it, but it has now been weeks since your report. I've tried to be patient and give BMW opportunity to comment and to deal with this situation but when i ask "when should i call back to find out the conclusions to your investigations?" i get "we do not have a date"
This feels like the old story about inspectors taking ages to check imports of fresh goods. By the time they get around to it, the goods have rotted away and no good. Importer gives up as he gets the same treatment over and over again. Are BMW doing the same with it's customers? Just leaving it a long time and hoping we will all go away?
watchdog we need your help to get an answer.
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megacomplainer, how on earth can you be so certain that the wheels are fit for purpose. The evidence has shown that an unusual number of complaints have been found with BMW wheels. Please would you be kind enough to reply with clear evidence that the wheels don't have manufacturing defect or poor design.
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