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      04-23-2015, 11:44 AM   #67
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Originally Posted by valbmw View Post
Too bad that takes up the room of a suitcase.
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      04-23-2015, 12:56 PM   #68
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Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
Too bad that takes up the room of a suitcase.
Agreed, if the point of the spare is to leave in the garage unless going on a road trip, well on a road trip you need the most amount of space in your car for luggage and stuff and this takes up a very large chunk of the space available for luggage...
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      04-23-2015, 12:58 PM   #69
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Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
I would get rid of the Good Year Eagle LS2, worst tires ever. I had a set of Good year non-runflat in my 2003 MDX, light snow traction is horrible and one of the tire developed a tire bubble after 5000 miles. The construction of these Good year tires are sub-par in my opinion, that might explain why you had so many tire failures. If you research runflat failure in any BMW forum, 90% of the time it is a Good Year tire that is the culprit.
Cannot repeat this enough, these are just horrible, horrible tires.

As I said I had a sidewall burst after hitting pothole with those, and got rid of them immediately as I didn't like the noise, wet roads grip... etc.

Now, my winter tires are Dunlop RF, and I hit several potholes this past winter, few quite hard - no issues. My summer setup is non-RF Bridgestone.
Just last night I hit the pothole so hard that I'm going to have to bring my slightly bend rim in for repair on Monday, but tire held up well (from what I can tell by inspecting on the outside, we'll see how it goes on Monday). I'm convinced that Goodyear LS2 wouldn't have survived the hit last night based on previous (and other owner's) experiences.
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      04-23-2015, 01:45 PM   #70
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Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
Cannot repeat this enough, these are just horrible, horrible tires.

As I said I had a sidewall burst after hitting pothole with those, and got rid of them immediately as I didn't like the noise, wet roads grip... etc.

Now, my winter tires are Dunlop RF, and I hit several potholes this past winter, few quite hard - no issues. My summer setup is non-RF Bridgestone.
Just last night I hit the pothole so hard that I'm going to have to bring my slightly bend rim in for repair on Monday, but tire held up well (from what I can tell by inspecting on the outside, we'll see how it goes on Monday). I'm convinced that Goodyear LS2 wouldn't have survived the hit last night based on previous (and other owner's) experiences.
They are probably one of the worst tires I have ever driven on. When I bought my 2012 535xi, I made my condition of purchase that the dealer will swap out the GY eagle LS to a set of Conti on another F10. About a year later, I hit a pot hole so big that my passenger door partially unlatched. I thought for sure my tire would be damage, I pulled over and inspect the tire and to my surprise found no damage. However, the rim was bent. Had that been on Good Year Eagle LS2, I am convince that my faith would have been the same as the OP's. With that said, the title of this thread should be " This may be my last set of Good Year Eagle LS2 ".

Last edited by The X Men; 04-24-2015 at 01:50 PM..
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      04-23-2015, 03:33 PM   #71
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Originally Posted by remmib View Post
Thee 550i needs 18" to clear the brakes, so I can't imagine that spare to fit the 550i.
Good point, thanks. I have realized now of having the brakes clearance disregarded. My brakes are of the same size as 550. Hopefully, the wheel can be replaced with the bigger rim up to 19".
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      04-24-2015, 10:47 AM   #72
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Good point, thanks. I have realized now of having the brakes clearance disregarded. My brakes are of the same size as 550. Hopefully, the wheel can be replaced with the bigger rim up to 19".
Did you change your brakes? I don't think the 530d brakes are as big as the 550i brakes.
But I'd assume the spare set for the M5 should fit the 550i.
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      04-24-2015, 10:56 AM   #73
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After my experience with their service on another post. I have also decided to move away from BMW as they seem to CON people away for their money.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
I had yet another tire blowout today on the 550xi. This time I was 100 miles from home with my wife and our 22 month old toddler.

Being Sunday, I was told by BMW Roadside Assistance that I was essentially out of luck - STRANDED - all of the service centers were closed. Their only suggestion was to tow the car and have it fixed on Monday.

Meanwhile, my wife and I were the hosts of my parents' 40th anniversary party - missing half the party to sort out a simple flat tire. Needless to say, over 100 guests were flabbergasted that an $85k car didn't have a spare, and a simple flat tire was the virtual equivalent to a mechanical breakdown, requiring professional service and availability of the right "parts" (runflat tires) to fix it.

The BMW Roadside Assistance folks were USELESS. The woman on the other end didn't understand that the car didn't have a spare tire - come on BMW, your people aren't trained. She kept asking me if they could send someone to change the tire. I said sure, so long as you provide the tire and can mount it to the rim!

I was lucky enough to find a Mavis Discount Tire that had the right (crappy) LS2 tire just an hour before they were ready to close shop. I got the car down there and tire replaced just in time. I ended up missing a good majority of the VERY EXPENSIVE party we were hosting for my parents at the same time.

The fact that BMW doesn't have a spare tire has now become a deal breaker. It's unacceptable for me, or my family, to become stranded somewhere with ZERO help from BMW... all because BMW has decided that spare tires are unnecessary. While I appreciate runflat tire technology, it's not a REPLACEMENT for a spare tire. It's designed to allow you to safely continue to your destination or the nearest safe place to change the tire. However, because BMW doesn't include a spare, it means that a simple flat tire essentially turns into a mechanical breakdown situation - you need to find a service center that's open and also hope they stock the right tire. And if it's a Sunday, or after hours, get prepared to hear, "You better get a hotel room and plan to spend the night!"

As you can imagine, I no longer feel confident driving the 550xi anywhere substantial. If I'm more than 50 miles from home, and one of the car's notoriously terrible RFTs goes out, it could mean that my family and I are stranded.

In today's day and age, that's just unacceptable. It's the equivalent to having a very unreliable car. My 550xi has less than 10k miles on the odometer, and this has now happened TWICE. There's just no rationale or excuse for a flat tire becoming a debilitating situation in the year 2015. However, BMW has tied us, the owners, to the mercy of service shop hours and tire availability - no less a LOT of time necessary to rectify the situation... mounting a tire versus simply swapping a wheel, which could be done anywhere with a jack.

So, what's left to do? I could take the RFTs off the car and replace them with non-RFTs. Perhaps they'd be less likely to pop (the LS2s are apparently horrible), but if they DID pop, I'd be left in a similar situation. I could carry some fix-a-flat to deal with small punctures, but a large blowout (like today's) would require a spare. The only solution there would be to give up the majority of the trunk space to carry a spare wheel - unacceptable and unworkable, especially when this car costs $85k.

I've sent BMW Customer Relations a pretty unpleasant e-mail this evening about the day's events. But admittedly, I'm not sure what they can do about it. It's not something they can really "fix" as it's a design flaw. But I'm still going to press them to do what they believe could help make it right - perhaps starting with paying the $500 cost to replace the latest tire.

I've driven BMWs for 15 years, and I do love the cars. So it's a shame that this may very well be my last unless BMW decides it's important to once again carry spare tires. I can't risk having my family stranded due to a simple flat tire - especially when they seem to occur so easily on this car.

I'll be seriously looking at selling the 550xi and moving to another brand. Overall, I've loved this car, but a car is of NO use if it's unreliable, and BMW has made a FATAL mistake in allowing its tires to become an Achilles Heel.
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      04-24-2015, 11:26 AM   #74
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Originally Posted by remmib View Post
Did you change your brakes? I don't think the 530d brakes are as big as the 550i brakes.
But I'd assume the spare set for the M5 should fit the 550i.
They are identical, see calipers and brake pads nrs. 550ix 530dx
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      04-24-2015, 11:33 AM   #75
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They are identical, see calipers and brake pads nrs. 550ix 530dx
But I find front brake disc for the 550xi is 374X36mm

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...23&hg=34&fg=07

While the 530xd has 348X30mm front disc.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...23&hg=34&fg=07
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      04-24-2015, 12:02 PM   #76
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Yes, you are right: the discs are different but the brake carriers 550ix 530dx and calipers are the same. Meaning the bigger dimension consists of carrier + caliper, when the disc is inside of the last one.
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      04-24-2015, 01:24 PM   #77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BavariaExclusive
After my experience with their service on another post. I have also decided to move away from BMW as they seem to CON people away for their money.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
I had yet another tire blowout today on the 550xi. This time I was 100 miles from home with my wife and our 22 month old toddler.

Being Sunday, I was told by BMW Roadside Assistance that I was essentially out of luck - STRANDED - all of the service centers were closed. Their only suggestion was to tow the car and have it fixed on Monday.

Meanwhile, my wife and I were the hosts of my parents' 40th anniversary party - missing half the party to sort out a simple flat tire. Needless to say, over 100 guests were flabbergasted that an $85k car didn't have a spare, and a simple flat tire was the virtual equivalent to a mechanical breakdown, requiring professional service and availability of the right "parts" (runflat tires) to fix it.

The BMW Roadside Assistance folks were USELESS. The woman on the other end didn't understand that the car didn't have a spare tire - come on BMW, your people aren't trained. She kept asking me if they could send someone to change the tire. I said sure, so long as you provide the tire and can mount it to the rim!

I was lucky enough to find a Mavis Discount Tire that had the right (crappy) LS2 tire just an hour before they were ready to close shop. I got the car down there and tire replaced just in time. I ended up missing a good majority of the VERY EXPENSIVE party we were hosting for my parents at the same time.

The fact that BMW doesn't have a spare tire has now become a deal breaker. It's unacceptable for me, or my family, to become stranded somewhere with ZERO help from BMW... all because BMW has decided that spare tires are unnecessary. While I appreciate runflat tire technology, it's not a REPLACEMENT for a spare tire. It's designed to allow you to safely continue to your destination or the nearest safe place to change the tire. However, because BMW doesn't include a spare, it means that a simple flat tire essentially turns into a mechanical breakdown situation - you need to find a service center that's open and also hope they stock the right tire. And if it's a Sunday, or after hours, get prepared to hear, "You better get a hotel room and plan to spend the night!"

As you can imagine, I no longer feel confident driving the 550xi anywhere substantial. If I'm more than 50 miles from home, and one of the car's notoriously terrible RFTs goes out, it could mean that my family and I are stranded.

In today's day and age, that's just unacceptable. It's the equivalent to having a very unreliable car. My 550xi has less than 10k miles on the odometer, and this has now happened TWICE. There's just no rationale or excuse for a flat tire becoming a debilitating situation in the year 2015. However, BMW has tied us, the owners, to the mercy of service shop hours and tire availability - no less a LOT of time necessary to rectify the situation... mounting a tire versus simply swapping a wheel, which could be done anywhere with a jack.

So, what's left to do? I could take the RFTs off the car and replace them with non-RFTs. Perhaps they'd be less likely to pop (the LS2s are apparently horrible), but if they DID pop, I'd be left in a similar situation. I could carry some fix-a-flat to deal with small punctures, but a large blowout (like today's) would require a spare. The only solution there would be to give up the majority of the trunk space to carry a spare wheel - unacceptable and unworkable, especially when this car costs $85k.

I've sent BMW Customer Relations a pretty unpleasant e-mail this evening about the day's events. But admittedly, I'm not sure what they can do about it. It's not something they can really "fix" as it's a design flaw. But I'm still going to press them to do what they believe could help make it right - perhaps starting with paying the $500 cost to replace the latest tire.

I've driven BMWs for 15 years, and I do love the cars. So it's a shame that this may very well be my last unless BMW decides it's important to once again carry spare tires. I can't risk having my family stranded due to a simple flat tire - especially when they seem to occur so easily on this car.

I'll be seriously looking at selling the 550xi and moving to another brand. Overall, I've loved this car, but a car is of NO use if it's unreliable, and BMW has made a FATAL mistake in allowing its tires to become an Achilles Heel.
Don't give up.

You will see that the grass ain't greener.

At least with BMW you have a chance at getting medium and big issues resolved.

BMW is better than any other manufacturer because they will address medium issues (not major, not minor).

BMW fails to address small issues. That pisses me off. But, it's a concession worth giving up.
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      04-24-2015, 05:13 PM   #78
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So, interesting information guys and a bit of an update.

I spoke to my BMW service dept, and it certainly seems that there's an awareness to this problem. The initial response was, "we can only recommend what BMW recommends" - and then slowly that turned into, for lack of a better way of putting it... the truth.

It seems that these tires have a very poor reputation, and there's an unusually high number of replacements that seem to occur. I needed no more validation - between this forum and that information. The LS2s must go, as they're obviously part of the problem. Perhaps Goodyear designed a tire that blows out easily just so the owner can see the "benefit" of riding on it flat? I joke obviously, but clearly they're easily injured.

In doing some homework, I've also learned that rim damage seems to be more prevalent with runflats, in general, due to more of the shock being absorbed by the rim versus flex in the sidewall... which may explain why it seems BMW's rims bend so easily.

I ordered a higher-end "slime" kit, and I plan to replace all of the tires with Michelin PSS tires that I've used faithfully on my last BMWs. My experience has been that tire blowouts (major sidewall damage) is extremely rare - in fact, I've never had it happen prior to this car in all of my driving "career." Most of the time, it seems, those few flats I've ever gotten are slow leaks due to a nail, screw, etc... which can be replaced easily with a kit like slime.

So, I think that's going to be my move:

1. LS2s replaced with PSS

2. Slime kit in the trunk

If the tire damage is worse than a puncture (which I can repair - slime kit also comes with conventional "plugs"), then I'll need to rely upon roadside assistance - but today I need them anyway. The conventional tires will mean I need to pull over for a flat, and it's not a perfect solution by any means, but I went 7 years prior to the 550xi with this setup with zero problems - in 14 months with the 550xi, I've had two blowouts - so I have to believe going to this setup will probably be a decent balance of risk/reward.

Also interesting to learn, BMW (along with Honda) have both been sued - class action lawsuits - over runflat tires. The BMW suit was paid out by Bridgestone and BMW - wonder if Goodyear may be next, and perhaps this is why I've STILL not gotten a reply from BMW Customer Service?

And lastly, I got thinking about the weight savings claim for better mileage. Maybe someone can shed some light on this - but if each RFT is heavier by around 6 - 10 lbs over their non-RFT counterparts, this could easily be 25 - 40lbs of additional UNSPRUNG weight (the worst kind) - seems to me there would be no real weight savings over conventional tires with a space saver spare... and even makes me wonder about the gas mileage claim, as I'd rather have the weight shifted to sprung weight with a spare in this case?
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      04-24-2015, 10:20 PM   #79
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
I ordered a higher-end "slime" kit, and I plan to replace all of the tires with Michelin PSS tires that I've used faithfully on my last BMWs. My experience has been that tire blowouts (major sidewall damage) is extremely rare - in fact, I've never had it happen prior to this car in all of my driving "career." Most of the time, it seems, those few flats I've ever gotten are slow leaks due to a nail, screw, etc... which can be replaced easily with a kit like slime.

If the tire damage is worse than a puncture (which I can repair - slime kit also comes with conventional "plugs"), then I'll need to rely upon roadside assistance - but today I need them anyway. The conventional tires will mean I need to pull over for a flat, and it's not a perfect solution by any means, but I went 7 years prior to the 550xi with this setup with zero problems - in 14 months with the 550xi, I've had two blowouts - so I have to believe going to this setup will probably be a decent balance of risk/reward.
This is exact logic I used when I decided to ditch RF tires (for my summer setup).

I see you're trying to find the ways to keep the car after all, good to hear. When I complained about RF tires, no spare or "low battery" warning during cold days to a co-worker, another BMW owner, he came up with great line "look, think of it as super hot, incredible girl that you're dating that.... well... sometimes just snores loudly at night"

No spare - not cool, low battery charge warning on cold days - not cool, but it's such a great looking car, fine mix of performance, space, comfort and luxury, well balanced vehicle that's not easy to just "ditch and move to something else".
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      04-24-2015, 10:23 PM   #80
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass
So, interesting information guys and a bit of an update.

I spoke to my BMW service dept, and it certainly seems that there's an awareness to this problem. The initial response was, "we can only recommend what BMW recommends" - and then slowly that turned into, for lack of a better way of putting it... the truth.

It seems that these tires have a very poor reputation, and there's an unusually high number of replacements that seem to occur. I needed no more validation - between this forum and that information. The LS2s must go, as they're obviously part of the problem. Perhaps Goodyear designed a tire that blows out easily just so the owner can see the "benefit" of riding on it flat? I joke obviously, but clearly they're easily injured.

In doing some homework, I've also learned that rim damage seems to be more prevalent with runflats, in general, due to more of the shock being absorbed by the rim versus flex in the sidewall... which may explain why it seems BMW's rims bend so easily.

I ordered a higher-end "slime" kit, and I plan to replace all of the tires with Michelin PSS tires that I've used faithfully on my last BMWs. My experience has been that tire blowouts (major sidewall damage) is extremely rare - in fact, I've never had it happen prior to this car in all of my driving "career." Most of the time, it seems, those few flats I've ever gotten are slow leaks due to a nail, screw, etc... which can be replaced easily with a kit like slime.

So, I think that's going to be my move:

1. LS2s replaced with PSS

2. Slime kit in the trunk

If the tire damage is worse than a puncture (which I can repair - slime kit also comes with conventional "plugs"), then I'll need to rely upon roadside assistance - but today I need them anyway. The conventional tires will mean I need to pull over for a flat, and it's not a perfect solution by any means, but I went 7 years prior to the 550xi with this setup with zero problems - in 14 months with the 550xi, I've had two blowouts - so I have to believe going to this setup will probably be a decent balance of risk/reward.

Also interesting to learn, BMW (along with Honda) have both been sued - class action lawsuits - over runflat tires. The BMW suit was paid out by Bridgestone and BMW - wonder if Goodyear may be next, and perhaps this is why I've STILL not gotten a reply from BMW Customer Service?

And lastly, I got thinking about the weight savings claim for better mileage. Maybe someone can shed some light on this - but if each RFT is heavier by around 6 - 10 lbs over their non-RFT counterparts, this could easily be 25 - 40lbs of additional UNSPRUNG weight (the worst kind) - seems to me there would be no real weight savings over conventional tires with a space saver spare... and even makes me wonder about the gas mileage claim, as I'd rather have the weight shifted to sprung weight with a spare in this case?
Good stuff. Come to think of it, you're right! I have had five (5) tires and two (2) wheels replaced on my f02 in the past 18 months. Ironically, I just had another flat today.

Ironically, I have been driving with run flats since e66. Yet, the e66 had a full sized spare.

However, I never had so many problems until LCI f02. Moreover, only 2 of the 5 flats were due to puncture. The rest were sidewall bubbles as a result of pot holes.
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      04-28-2015, 08:00 AM   #81
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
And lastly, I got thinking about the weight savings claim for better mileage. Maybe someone can shed some light on this - but if each RFT is heavier by around 6 - 10 lbs over their non-RFT counterparts, this could easily be 25 - 40lbs of additional UNSPRUNG weight (the worst kind) - seems to me there would be no real weight savings over conventional tires with a space saver spare... and even makes me wonder about the gas mileage claim, as I'd rather have the weight shifted to sprung weight with a spare in this case?
This is a key point. Also, with rotational speed taken into account that's more like 10-15 lbs extra weight to accelerate/brake/damp, x 4 = 40-60 lbs, which is about the weight of a full size non-RFT spare anyway.

On top of that, the alloy has to be stronger because the tyre will transmit more of the force of hitting a pothole. Who knows how much extra alloy is required to make a rim as resistant to buckling or cracking when a RFT is fitted ? Another 6-10 lbs ?
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      04-28-2015, 04:38 PM   #82
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While run flats do presumably cause more damage to rims due the the more rigid sidewalk, I've been bending BMW rims since long before run flat tires . Can't say its only BMW though. Damn potholes I pay so much in taxes to encounter.
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      04-30-2015, 07:29 PM   #83
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Have you decided what's next if not the BMW?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
I had yet another tire blowout today on the 550xi. This time I was 100 miles from home with my wife and our 22 month old toddler.

Being Sunday, I was told by BMW Roadside Assistance that I was essentially out of luck - STRANDED - all of the service centers were closed. Their only suggestion was to tow the car and have it fixed on Monday.

Meanwhile, my wife and I were the hosts of my parents' 40th anniversary party - missing half the party to sort out a simple flat tire. Needless to say, over 100 guests were flabbergasted that an $85k car didn't have a spare, and a simple flat tire was the virtual equivalent to a mechanical breakdown, requiring professional service and availability of the right "parts" (runflat tires) to fix it.

The BMW Roadside Assistance folks were USELESS. The woman on the other end didn't understand that the car didn't have a spare tire - come on BMW, your people aren't trained. She kept asking me if they could send someone to change the tire. I said sure, so long as you provide the tire and can mount it to the rim!

I was lucky enough to find a Mavis Discount Tire that had the right (crappy) LS2 tire just an hour before they were ready to close shop. I got the car down there and tire replaced just in time. I ended up missing a good majority of the VERY EXPENSIVE party we were hosting for my parents at the same time.

The fact that BMW doesn't have a spare tire has now become a deal breaker. It's unacceptable for me, or my family, to become stranded somewhere with ZERO help from BMW... all because BMW has decided that spare tires are unnecessary. While I appreciate runflat tire technology, it's not a REPLACEMENT for a spare tire. It's designed to allow you to safely continue to your destination or the nearest safe place to change the tire. However, because BMW doesn't include a spare, it means that a simple flat tire essentially turns into a mechanical breakdown situation - you need to find a service center that's open and also hope they stock the right tire. And if it's a Sunday, or after hours, get prepared to hear, "You better get a hotel room and plan to spend the night!"

As you can imagine, I no longer feel confident driving the 550xi anywhere substantial. If I'm more than 50 miles from home, and one of the car's notoriously terrible RFTs goes out, it could mean that my family and I are stranded.

In today's day and age, that's just unacceptable. It's the equivalent to having a very unreliable car. My 550xi has less than 10k miles on the odometer, and this has now happened TWICE. There's just no rationale or excuse for a flat tire becoming a debilitating situation in the year 2015. However, BMW has tied us, the owners, to the mercy of service shop hours and tire availability - no less a LOT of time necessary to rectify the situation... mounting a tire versus simply swapping a wheel, which could be done anywhere with a jack.

So, what's left to do? I could take the RFTs off the car and replace them with non-RFTs. Perhaps they'd be less likely to pop (the LS2s are apparently horrible), but if they DID pop, I'd be left in a similar situation. I could carry some fix-a-flat to deal with small punctures, but a large blowout (like today's) would require a spare. The only solution there would be to give up the majority of the trunk space to carry a spare wheel - unacceptable and unworkable, especially when this car costs $85k.

I've sent BMW Customer Relations a pretty unpleasant e-mail this evening about the day's events. But admittedly, I'm not sure what they can do about it. It's not something they can really "fix" as it's a design flaw. But I'm still going to press them to do what they believe could help make it right - perhaps starting with paying the $500 cost to replace the latest tire.

I've driven BMWs for 15 years, and I do love the cars. So it's a shame that this may very well be my last unless BMW decides it's important to once again carry spare tires. I can't risk having my family stranded due to a simple flat tire - especially when they seem to occur so easily on this car.

I'll be seriously looking at selling the 550xi and moving to another brand. Overall, I've loved this car, but a car is of NO use if it's unreliable, and BMW has made a FATAL mistake in allowing its tires to become an Achilles Heel.
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      05-01-2015, 03:59 PM   #84
DLerner
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It blows my mind that they're still selling BMW's with the LS2 run flats. People have been having issues with them since the F10 rollout in 2011. Maybe I read the forums too much, but it seems like you can't escape issues with those tires installed.

Mine came with the 19" Michelin Primacy run flats and (knock on wood) I haven't had an issue in four years. That said, I'll take the full size spare, jack and toolkit in my old E46 over the run flats any day of the week.

Rough ride, expensive, no spare, same lousy wear as a traditional tire, hard to find inventory, hard to install - this is progress?
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