[MasRbimmer]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2011 BMW 528i sport package. I just swapped my summer tires for the winters this morning and when I got my car back and was storing the summer tires, I found a nail in the middle of of one of my tires. Obviously they are run flats.
My question is: Can you repair run flat tires? I tried searching but Ive been getting mixed answers. some threads say yes others say no.

I did not get any warning on my car before taking it to the shop. so I am assuming I did not drive on a punctured tire for too long.

Any one had any similar experience? what were the results?

I live in Toronto, Canada. So any suggestions of any places that can fix run flats (if they are fixable) would be great

Thank you

[ceb]

Originally Posted by MasRbimmer

Hello everyone,

I have a 2011 BMW 528i sport package. I just swapped my summer tires for the winters this morning and when I got my car back and was storing the summer tires, I found a nail in the middle of of one of my tires. Obviously they are run flats.
My question is: Can you repair run flat tires? I tried searching but Ive been getting mixed answers. some threads say yes others say no.

I did not get any warning on my car before taking it to the shop. so I am assuming I did not drive on a punctured tire for too long.

Any one had any similar experience? what were the results?

I live in Toronto, Canada. So any suggestions of any places that can fix run flats (if they are fixable) would be great

Thank you

Assuming that you are sure that you did not drive on the tires with excessively low pressure (just check the pressure now) then a RFT can be repaired just like a "normal" tire.

The reason that dealers won't fix the tires is liability as they don't know that you didn't drive on it low.

The problem is this - because of the stiffer sidewall, it isn't readily obvious if the carcass was damaged so only you can know if the tire was never driven with extremely low pressure. If you check the tire and it is no more that 10-15 psi or so low, and the nail is in a fixable spot (ie, not near the sidewall) then the tire can be fixed - any tire place will do that for you, but BMW dealers won't.

[bobblehead]

well, in general, majority of tire shops will not fix RF.

In your case, you should take the affected tires to several shops and ask for assistance.
Check out Simply Tires @ Finch / Keele area. If you see this post by Sunday, they do open for business. http://www.simplytire.com/contact.php




Why can't Run Flat Tyres be repaired?
The reason behind this, given by the tyre manufacturers is to do with the thickness of the RFT sidewalls. With a conventional tyre when a technician carries out a puncture repair, one of the first things they will do is to check the tyre for damage, especially damage to the sidewall. This damage is easy to spot as it shows up as creases in the sidewall when the tyre is deflated. With the RFT it is impossible to say for sure if the sidewall has been damaged as the sidewall is so much thicker. Therefore they have no option but to replace the tyre.

What about a slow puncture?
The damage to the sidewall could occur if you continued to drive on the flat tyre for more than the recommended distance (approx. 100 miles) or over the maximum speed of 50 mph. However what if you'd not driven the tyre at zero pressure, what if the car had been sat on your driveway for a few days and happened to deflate as a result of a slow puncture. Surely this tyre would be repairable? Despite there being no damage to the sidewall you won't find anyone that will repair this RFT tyre, the fact is they only have your word that the tyre had not been driven on at zero pressure and they could run into liability problems if the repaired tyre failed.

Verdict
So are Run Flat Tyres safe to repair? In theory yes they are, as long as they are not driven on.

[AC_S5]

There's no definite answer on this one.

As everyone say, it depends if the sidewall has been damage.

My take is check your tire pressure now, if it still got some pressure like 15psi then I don't think it posses such a big problem.

Then take it to a tire shop that knows how to plug the tire without taking the tire off.

There's basically two ways to patch a tire 1) they take your tire off your rim and plug it from the inside or 2) they pull the nail out then plug the tire without the tire even leaving the car or some of the more professional shop will take the wheel off in order to prevent pulling on the wheel assembly causing damage.

But the really so call professional tire shop will fix the tire using the first method as they can really check for damage and patching from inside is better at sealing the hole. But if they take off the tire from your rim then you will damage the RFT sidewall if you have ever seen how they take off tires.

So drop by a shop and ask how they fix it, method 2 will not damage your tire.

Hope this help.

[1HOT BMR]

My local shop repairs RFTs, no problem. When I asked they pulled out a little book with a chart: X brand is repairable, Y brand is not, only one repair allowed for Z brand, etc. If you can't repair the RFT in your neighborhood just ditch the tires and buy normal tires and the necesssary items to carry in your trunk so you can fix them on the road. That's my plan when the first one goes

[gatoman39]

They are repairable. Just make sure that the tire is taken off the wheel and the puncture is patched. I have one repaired last year with no problems.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

They are repairable. Just make sure that the tire is taken off the wheel and the puncture is patched. I have one repaired last year with no problems.

Same. Have repaired runflat tire punctures (from nail) twice. Both times the nail was squarely on the contact patch, so it was fine to repair. Never had an issue afterwards.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by Jason

Same. Have repaired runflat tire punctures (from nail) twice. Both times the nail was squarely on the contact patch, so it was fine to repair. Never had an issue afterwards.

Thank you. it's important to note. It has to be towards the middle of the contact patch. If it's on the inner or outer side, then it's not patchable.

okely dokely neighborino

[MasRbimmer]

Thank you so much for all this information. I will take it tomorrow to Canadian Tire (assumed to be the best around toronto) Hopefully they fix it and not ask me to pay $400 for a new tire.

[bobblehead]

Please don't take it to CT. I would not let them touch your car.

[AC_S5]

Don't take it to CT. I think there's a tire shop near Young and Steeles. Don't know if you live close by.

[AC_S5]

Originally Posted by gatoman39

Thank you. it's important to note. It has to be towards the middle of the contact patch. If it's on the inner or outer side, then it's not patchable.

okely dokely neighborino

I wouldn't worry too much as long as is on the tread and not the side wall.

[BMWrules7]

First, BMW does not recommend repairing run flats.

Second, BMW claims is has never recommended repairing conventional non run flats either.

BMW claims that BMWs are high performance cars and neither tire type should be repaired.

BMW is in the middle of a potential class action lawsuit on this very issue.

The problem with repairing run flats has to do with the technical limitation of driving the run flat in its deflated state. The tire has a maximum limit of about 100 miles in its deflated state. There is no known way to track how much of the 100 mile limit has been consumed. Plus, every mile driven in its deflated state is one less mile it can be driven should you suffer another flat. Thus, it's usefulness in the second flat is marginal and worse you won't have a spare.


Verdict: you are driving a BMW so you have no excuse to be cheap on the most critical aspect of your car.

Don't risk it. Chalk it up, buy a new tire and get tire insurance next time.

Originally Posted by MasRbimmer

Hello everyone,

I have a 2011 BMW 528i sport package. I just swapped my summer tires for the winters this morning and when I got my car back and was storing the summer tires, I found a nail in the middle of of one of my tires. Obviously they are run flats.
My question is: Can you repair run flat tires? I tried searching but Ive been getting mixed answers. some threads say yes others say no.

I did not get any warning on my car before taking it to the shop. so I am assuming I did not drive on a punctured tire for too long.

Any one had any similar experience? what were the results?

I live in Toronto, Canada. So any suggestions of any places that can fix run flats (if they are fixable) would be great

Thank you

[ajherran]

You haven't even verified the nail went all the way through the tread. I pulled a nail out of my tire just a few days ago which was just a few mm long. No puncture.

[hnoor0022]

I did not get any warning on my car before taking it to the shop. so I am assuming I did not drive on a punctured tire for too long.
Any one had any similar experience? what were the results??????