[clutchlee]

Hi all - hit a huge pothole/crater this past Friday night at 9pm in Brooklyn, NY. Intersection of Bay Parkway and Cropsey Avenue, right before you get onto the Belt Parkway West ramp. I have a 535 xDrive and was running on 4 Continental DWS (replaced the RFTs when I got the car because of the many bubble stories).

I was following a bus in front of me going at around 15-20 mph. Couldn't see the two potholes until last minute. Avoided one of the potholes but not the other (see picture). Hit the pothole and heard a huge sound. About 7 seconds later, when I get on the highway ramp, the car warns me that my front left tire pressure is low. I pull over and get out of the car. Immediately I hear a whizzing sound and air squeezing out of my tire. I called BMW roadside assistance, reached a representative who cared and was with me on the phone for the whole time. She told me that the next tow truck would be available in 3-4 hours. She also told me that I could call providers which I did because I didn't want to wait 3-4 hours. Took me about 30 mins but got in touch with a tow truck company that was able to come within another 30 mins. The tow truck arrived but it wasn't a flatbed. He towed my car on the front two tires with the ignition on and the car in neutral. (At the time, I didn't know that if you had an all wheel drive car, you needed a flatbed). The tow truck towed my car about 5mph the whole way for about 2 miles to a tire shop near my house. I went home and got a RFT and replaced the busted tire. Fortunately, the rim was not bent, which I am pretty surprised about. After getting all this done, when I left the tire shop and started driving off, my car gave me 2 warnings: Chassis Stabilization Error, 4x4 & ABS/Brake Error. It said to drive moderately and bring the car to the nearest service center. After driving for about another 10 minutes, there was a noticeable drift to the right if you drive without touching the steering wheel.

Anyone have an ideas of what this could be/what could have affected these errors to show up? I'm thinking a wheel alignment maybe needed. I am bringing the car in Thursday morning since they don't have appointments available in the next couple days. Anyone's 2 cents/tips/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/s...ee/photo51.jpg
http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/s...lee/photo5.jpg

****Update:
Received my Car back yesterday. My SA explained to me that the computer/car wasn't reading the Clutch (Clutch Position Unknown). They fixed that and reset my computer. They did a test drive on the car and no more errors came on. They also did a wheel alignment on the car to fix the drifting to the right, but now it's even more evident that it drifts to the right. I have to speak to my SA about this. Otherwise, I am happy that there is no major damage to the car/transmission etc.

Also, because they reset my computer, I lost all the coding I did. Anyone have any recommendations in Brooklyn who can code for me? Thanks!

[Alan l.]

Sorry about your incident but thank you for the pics so i know exactly where they are. I drive pass that quite often.

Alan

[ezmaass]

Those pics look like something from the moon. I hate the roads around the tri-state area. They're such a poor excuse for workmanship of any kind. I hear tons of excuses about the weather to blame, but honestly I've lived and traveled to places with worse snow and ice... they had much nicer roads. I'd send the bill to the DOT along with those pictures.

[ARC550]

Broski!! I just caught 2 nipples on my new tires.. Plot even 500 miles on them. If I still had the run flats I would have been going through them like socks!

[PhilT3]

Fing potholes!! I hit a good one a month ago. Fortunately it was in my X5. I have the 20 Conti's on it but they have a bigger sidewall. I am going to have to be careful when I get my 550.
Best of luck bud.

[twelve535i]

I know how you feel. As I drive down any street in Brooklyn or Manhattan, I pray there are no craters in my path, but that's never the case. It's especially scary on the highway since some of the potholes are bigger than the one you hit and you're traveling at higher speeds.

[nal13]

The north east winters are the reason why I bought the wheel tire insurance at the time of purchase. Even if you don't blow out a tire you're still going to get some bubbles, especially if you keep the factory run flats.
Sorry to hear about your experience.

[TheGr8Swami]

Clutchlee, you may have damaged your transmission my friend. Your owners manual warns about this issue on XDrive vehicles. No matter if the car is in Neutral or the speed that the tow truck creeps you to your destination, you can damage the components in your transmission if towed in this manner. Usually tow trucks have an axle dolly where they can lift one axle and set the other on an independent set of wheels where nothing is touching the ground.

I had my car illegally towed by an over zealous tow company and they ended up paying over $7000 to have my transmission rebuilt on my Audi RS4 when they didn't see my Visitor's Permit on the dashboard.

Good luck with this issue and let us know how it turns out!

[BMWrules7]

OMG! What a story. You must have been livid when you discovered the tranny was hosed.

[Lees9]

Yeah the pothole thing in NY this year is no joke . I have to driving like I am drunk . Think my wheel and tire insurance .
Hope your transmission problem is nothing too serious

[TheGr8Swami]

Originally Posted by BMWrules7

OMG! What a story. You must have been livid when you discovered the tranny was hosed.

OMG, I was furious when my MFD showed a transmission malfunction in the tow yard. I had the car towed to an Audi dealership and was informed that my transmission needed to be rebuilt. I sent the invoice to the towing company and their insurance handled the claim.

[Alan l.]

All i gotta say guys is watch out big time on the Belt and BQE. The Belt going east is REALLY bad in all lanes. I saw at least a dozen cars with blown tires pulled over the other day. On the BQE right after the Battery Tunnel split heading towards the city AVOID the right lane as you enter into the "two walls" section. There is a crater there at least 12" deep and 1-1.5' wide. Its so deep you can see the rebars at the bottom

I know one of these potholes has my name written all over it so its only a matter of time.

Clutch....they patched up ONE of the potholes that you nailed. The one on the right is still there.

Alan

[Akkord29]

Funny, I read all these stories about blown tires in NY. Happen to be visiting this weekend and today on our way to the holland tunnel from the city the f30 I was in hit a nice size pothole and blew a tire. Decided to try and make it to newark and then called a tow truck.
After seeing all the potholes in person I do feel for you guys. Driving in fear through the streets is not enjoyable.

[RealStig]

Originally Posted by clutchlee

Hi all - hit a huge pothole/crater this past Friday night at 9pm in Brooklyn, NY. Intersection of Bay Parkway and Cropsey Avenue, right before you get onto the Belt Parkway West ramp. I have a 535 xDrive and was running on 4 Continental DWS (replaced the RFTs when I got the car because of the many bubble stories).

I was following a bus in front of me going at around 15-20 mph. Couldn't see the two potholes until last minute. Avoided one of the potholes but not the other (see picture). Hit the pothole and heard a huge sound. About 7 seconds later, when I get on the highway ramp, the car warns me that my front left tire pressure is low. I pull over and get out of the car. Immediately I hear a whizzing sound and air squeezing out of my tire. I called BMW roadside assistance, reached a representative who cared and was with me on the phone for the whole time. She told me that the next tow truck would be available in 3-4 hours. She also told me that I could call providers which I did because I didn't want to wait 3-4 hours. Took me about 30 mins but got in touch with a tow truck company that was able to come within another 30 mins. The tow truck arrived but it wasn't a flatbed. He towed my car on the front two tires with the ignition on and the car in neutral. (At the time, I didn't know that if you had an all wheel drive car, you needed a flatbed). The tow truck towed my car about 5mph the whole way for about 2 miles to a tire shop near my house. I went home and got a RFT and replaced the busted tire. Fortunately, the rim was not bent, which I am pretty surprised about. After getting all this done, when I left the tire shop and started driving off, my car gave me 2 warnings: Chassis Stabilization Error, 4x4 & ABS/Brake Error. It said to drive moderately and bring the car to the nearest service center. After driving for about another 10 minutes, there was a noticeable drift to the right if you drive without touching the steering wheel.

Anyone have an ideas of what this could be/what could have affected these errors to show up? I'm thinking a wheel alignment maybe needed. I am bringing the car in Thursday morning since they don't have appointments available in the next couple days. Anyone's 2 cents/tips/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/s...ee/photo51.jpg
http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/s...lee/photo5.jpg

Those potholes dont even look that bad how did this cause such a problem?

[The X Men]

Since no one have say it yet, I guess I will. If you had runflat tires, the tow truck and the transmission issues could have been avoided.

[RealStig]

Originally Posted by The X Men

Since no one have say it yet, I guess I will. If you had runflat tires, the tow truck and the transmission issues could have been avoided.

Arent run flat tires bad when it comes to hitting potholes though? A) They blow easily and B) Because of their physical characteristics the wheel gets bent easily?

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by RealStig

Arent run flat tires bad when it comes to hitting potholes though? A) They blow easily and B) Because of their physical characteristics the wheel gets bent easily?

Well, run flats and potholes make a bittersweet combination.

The stiffer sidewall of the rft causes a bubble to form near the impact area on the tyre. This requires replacement as this bubble can't be repaired.

On the other hand, even in cases where the impact forms a bubble, you can generally drive away.

[The X Men]

I had a incident years ago with a pothole that bent my rim and I was on conventional tires, so a conventional tires can cause bent rims as well. In theory, the stiffer sidewall of the runflat will transfer more force to the rim and the sidewall bubbling problem is mostly a Good year Eagle LS runflat problem. The bottom line is, anytime I can avoid being on a tow truck is a good thing.

[clutchlee]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

All i gotta say guys is watch out big time on the Belt and BQE. The Belt going east is REALLY bad in all lanes. I saw at least a dozen cars with blown tires pulled over the other day. On the BQE right after the Battery Tunnel split heading towards the city AVOID the right lane as you enter into the "two walls" section. There is a crater there at least 12" deep and 1-1.5' wide. Its so deep you can see the rebars at the bottom

I know one of these potholes has my name written all over it so its only a matter of time.

Clutch....they patched up ONE of the potholes that you nailed. The one on the right is still there.

Alan

Yeah I have avoided that road/area since. I drove on the belt today with my other car and it was terrible. There were at least 6 cars pulled over fixing their tires...

Originally Posted by TheGr8Swami

Clutchlee, you may have damaged your transmission my friend. Your owners manual warns about this issue on XDrive vehicles. No matter if the car is in Neutral or the speed that the tow truck creeps you to your destination, you can damage the components in your transmission if towed in this manner. Usually tow trucks have an axle dolly where they can lift one axle and set the other on an independent set of wheels where nothing is touching the ground.

I had my car illegally towed by an over zealous tow company and they ended up paying over $7000 to have my transmission rebuilt on my Audi RS4 when they didn't see my Visitor's Permit on the dashboard.

Good luck with this issue and let us know how it turns out!

Really hope that is not the issue, I am bringing it in tomorrow. Life Quality in Brooklyn had no appointments and their lot was full for the past week and half. Thanks for the heads up though

Originally Posted by The X Men

Since no one have say it yet, I guess I will. If you had runflat tires, the tow truck and the transmission issues could have been avoided.

Well, I did have 4 run-flats to begin with. 2 of them bubbled so I replaced all 4 with regular Continentals instead of having to deal with the bubble issue.

Originally Posted by RealStig

Those potholes dont even look that bad how did this cause such a problem?

They may not look that bad to you, but looks can be deceiving. Obviously, they did some pretty bad damage to my wheel/car.

[dsnray]

Gl with the car visit chris. I drove to midtown yesterday and it felt like i was off-roading.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by dsnray

Gl with the car visit chris. I drove to midtown yesterday and it felt like i was off-roading.

Since the X5 is a sport ute, can it tolerate giant potholes more than a sedan?

[clutchlee]

Brought the car in this morning. Service rep was really nice and here's what he's going to check on the car:

1. Chassis Stabilization
2. Rear Brakes, ABS.
3. Suspension- slight pulling to the right
4. Wheel alignment (if necessary)- he said I may have to pay for this if there is a problem and since it's not under warranty. Is there anyway to not pay for this?