Are some BMW wheels all they're cracked up to be?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!!!!

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.

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!!!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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'!!!!

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

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

Surely this fault might be linked to the indicators not working ? :)

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...

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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!!!

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!!!

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!

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.

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.

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.

In Responce to Johnpickup's comment.

I whole heartedly agree!!!!

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?

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?

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.

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!

Are Audi Mercedes and other car manufacturers wheels cracking? If not there is no doubt where the blame lies.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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

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

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.............

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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)

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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]
:-)

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.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

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

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

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.

Living in Surrey I can fully understand the BMW dealer's comments. Surrey has some of the worst condition roads in the UK.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. . !!!!

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/

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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!!!!!!

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 ;-)

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!

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

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

All BMW owners... If your not happy with your after sales service hit BMW where it hurts...DO NOT BUY ANOTHER !!!!!!

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.