[ezmaass]

So, My front left tire low pressure came on a week or so ago, followed shortly by ALL three of the remaining. I've been meaning to get to a pump for them but haven't.

I was out and hit a bit of rough pavement, and shortly after the front left tire has been riding very rough (thumping like a flat otherwise might). My first inclination is that it probably blew - given the low pressure and combined hit with some rough pavement.

However, a few things have me second-guessing it...

1. It was the first tire to show low, so perhaps it's just now EXTRA low but not damaged?

2. The tire pressure indicators are showing "yellow" - do these turn any other shade if they get super low? Red?

This just transpired here tonight, so I figured I'd wait until the morning when it's light to sort it all out. I have a small air compressor I can use to fill the tires and see if that does the trick.

However, for those of you who have blown a run-flat on your 5, does this sound familiar? I'm PRETTY sure it's blown... just seems too rough to just be simply low pressure. I was going to also take a peak at the manual to see if the iDrive is supposed to show something other than "yellow" for the tire if it's "dead" - like red or something.

Thanks for the feedback!

[ezmaass]

Actually - just looked at the manual, and it looks like "yellow" is the only indicated color when low or completely flat. So I'm pretty sure the tire is kaput. Bummer. I'll have to decide whether to drive it to the BMW service center (about 20 miles) or have roadside assistance come take it over. The runflats are supposed to be good for 50 miles of driving distance, but I don't like the sound it's making - not sure I'd trust putting it on the highway to get it to the service center (no real back-roads way to get there) even if keeping it under 50mph.

[Pimpsy]

Have you thought about checking the pressure yourself with a gauge?

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by AlanM

Have you thought about checking the pressure yourself with a gauge?

Yeah, I'll attend to it tomorrow morning - being cold, dark, and with dinner waiting, I decided to leave it alone... I know the pressure was low, but I'm fairly certain it was also blown now.

I've hated these tires from day 1 - and have heard very little positive about them from others. So, I'm contemplating whether I replace this one with OEM (the car has so few miles on it that replacing one isn't an issue) or just ditch all of them now.

While I don't prefer to spend over $1,000 on new tires, getting rid of 3 perfectly healthy/near-new OEMs, I also feel this won't be the last time I have issues with the LS-2 OEMs.

Any suggestions from those who have moved away from the OEM? On my last BMW I ran exclusively Pilot Sport A/S with great success. But I kept a Conti ComfortKit in the trunk in case of a flat - always concerning with no spare. But now there are several other vendors with run-flats that fit these wheels... any better luck from folks who have stuck with run-flat but another brand/type?

[BavariaExclusive]

For tire flat or low pressure indication it should show you an exclamation mark between parentheses. They both show the same warning. You might just have to get it checked from a tire shop to see if it's a real flat.

[NewM3driver]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

Actually - just looked at the manual, and it looks like "yellow" is the only indicated color when low or completely flat. So I'm pretty sure the tire is kaput. Bummer. I'll have to decide whether to drive it to the BMW service center (about 20 miles) or have roadside assistance come take it over. The runflats are supposed to be good for 50 miles of driving distance, but I don't like the sound it's making - not sure I'd trust putting it on the highway to get it to the service center (no real back-roads way to get there) even if keeping it under 50mph.

When the car is talking to you it's best to heed the warning light and take a couple of minutes and find an air pump. I hate the run flats and get them off my cars asap. I have like 400 miles on my 535d. I will leave the run flats on until spring and switch them out until the day before I return the lease, when I will have them reinstalled.

[cdmulders]

I had a runflat blowout with a 2" rip in the sidewall after hitting a pot hole. The tire thumped immediately after the blowout. I drove the car home (10 miles) and then drove it the next day to the dealer (10 miles) without any drama. I'm having the same internal debate on deciding to replace all the tires with non-runflats or just replacing the blown tire with OEM.

[The X Men]

I would check the rim also, that thump noise might be a warped rim.

[The Beast]

Worth visually checking tyres and rims first, if they are ok top up the tyre pressures. All the BMW's that I have owned with run flats ride really rough when the tyre pressures are low, to the extent that I can tell when are out without checking.

[ezmaass]

So, I tried inflating the tire this morning - no luck, it was certainly damaged and completely flat. Thanks to Audi, actually, for sticking a nice little tire fix kit in the boot of my R8 complete with mini compressor and tire-fixing goo, I had a really simple way at home to test it out. I inflated the other three tires while I was at it, though, as they were all a tad bit low.

I hit the SOS button in the car, and a very friendly woman scheduled to have a flat bed come for the car. The BMW dealer is about 20 miles, most highway, and I wasn't going to chance doing some real damage to the rim. I had already driven a good 5 - 10 miles on the flat tire, and even though the manual says "up to 50 miles" I figured I should let BMW take care of me.

The woman from BMW Assist told me they'd tow the car to my service center... which, according to her, was closed (Saturday) - but no problem, I could leave it there. And pick it up when? Monday, most likely.

A flat bed arrived within 5 minutes of the scheduled time (roughly 45 minutes from the call). I followed the tow truck down to BMW in my wife's car. Once there, I found out that the dealership's service department was luckily open - a short day until 2pm. According to BMW Assist AND the dealer's website, service was closed on Saturday - so I got a bit lucky.

The dealer promptly changed the tire and performed the scheduled oil service, which I was set to return in a few weeks for - so that was a convenient plus, I guess. Because I didn't expect service to be open, however, I had to drive all the way home and back with my wife again since I then was only one person with two cars to drive home!

My dealer didn't have anything except the crappy LS2 run-flats in stock, but they did admit most customers hate them and were willing to mount something else if I wanted. Obviously, I had to just get an LS2 for the time being - ~$500 (tire, mounting, etc) when all was said and done. Not a cheap event!

So, what's the lesson from all of this??

1. BMW Assist worked well - they were courteous, gave me a "to the minute" ETA on the tow, and they even called me back at the ETA time to ensure the tow had arrived. They paid for everything, as expected, and the whole thing was quite painless.

2. I'm not sure why my service center was open, but it was the one lucky aspect of all of this.

3. Fill your tires quickly if the low pressure indicator comes on. These tires are apparently very sensitive, and low pressure doesn't help!

4. A flat tire is going to inconvenience you - either by the side of the road to change it, or by dealing with nonsense like this if it's run-flat. I'm not sure BMW made the right trade-off, but I won't completely fault them for it since it's really a no-win situation.

On one hand, changing a tire by the side of the road can be dangerous and difficult - especially in these temperatures, snow on the ground, etc. If you're going somewhere time-sensitive, too, like a meeting, special event (wedding, theater, etc), or what-not, it's also very convenient if you're able to keep going and deal with the problem afterwards.

On the flip side, the run-flat tires make a simple flat tire into a major event. A guy outside my dealer saw my car come in on the flat bed and asked, "gee, what happened?" expecting to hear some major mechanical failure. When I told him it was a flat tire he looked at my sideways until I told him it was a run-flat. Very few places stock these things (both type and size combo), at least in my experience and neck of the woods, which means you may be stuck going to the dealer - apparently where BMW Assist will want to take your car, too. Had my dealer actually been closed today, I'd be car-less until Monday. Thankfully it's not a huge deal in my household - I work from home, have a few other cars in the household, so I wasn't losing sleep over it... but nonetheless, this should be a consideration for anyone who's highly dependent on their car.

I was originally going to wait until these tires wore down and replace them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (what I've used on previous BMWs), but now I'm thinking I may do this sooner than later. These tires are poor quality, expensive, and uncomfortable. The one thing I can fault BMW for here is picking (and then sticking with) these LS2 tires when they've apparently been a major point of dissatisfaction by owners for many years now. While I'll take part of the blame for having under-inflated pressure, the rough pavement didn't even qualify as a pot-hole - I've hit much, much worse without issues on the Pilot Sports, even with lower pressure (which is common this time of year as the temps change and prior to re-inflating).

ANYWAY - that about sums it up. My rims are also slightly bent already if you can believe it. So maybe I'll poke at BMW in one other spot - and that's the poor quality of their rims. No other car I've owned with lower profile rims (and these aren't even THAT low) bends as easily as BMW rims. I had to repair the rims on my last BMW, and these may be going in the same direction pretty soon - less than a year old and already slight bends/vibrations.

[The Beast]

Can't believe these tyres are so sensitive, what brand are LS2's?

I have had run flats on 4 BMW's and never had one blow, the roads here are pretty bad and full of potholes. The only issues I have had are having to replace rather than repair the early Bridgestone run flats, these can now be repaired, and a buldge on one tyre which had to be replaced. I think this is not bad considering this covers a six year period and lots of mileage

[cdmulders]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Can't believe these tyres are so sensitive, what brand are LS2's?

Goodyear

Originally Posted by ezmaass

Very few places stock these things (both type and size combo), at least in my experience and neck of the woods, which means you may be stuck going to the dealer

My dealer has advised me that he cannot acquire OEM until next February. Good thing I've got my winter set-up mounted so I have time to figure out what I'm going to do next.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Can't believe these tyres are so sensitive, what brand are LS2's?

I have had run flats on 4 BMW's and never had one blow, the roads here are pretty bad and full of potholes. The only issues I have had are having to replace rather than repair the early Bridgestone run flats, these can now be repaired, and a buldge on one tyre which had to be replaced. I think this is not bad considering this covers a six year period and lots of mileage

They're Goodyear tires - which are normally pretty decent, but these tires apparently have a reputation for a harsh ride and being terribly sensitive. That said, as I mentioned above, I'll take PART of the responsibility for this one considering the tire was under-inflated. But if you Google them, or search this forum, it appears the pressure is a far secondary factor in their reliability.

Michelin has some runflats that I may give a shot, otherwise I may just go back to my old standby of regular A/S Pilot Sports while keeping a fix-a-flat kit in the trunk. While I know BMW is trying to save a few bucks and some weight with this approach, a highly convenient alternative would be runflats WITH a spare in the trunk.

[bake]

If you decide to ditch the runflats, a nice option is to pick up a space saver wheel from an E60 5 series. It clears the brakes on my F10 535 with a 10mm spacer (not sure about 550's) Got mine on EBay for $100 shipped. Got a nice tire tote for $15 and have it strapped down in my trunk along with a small scissor jack (better quality that the POS BMW jack that is a death trap).

[ARKONE]

Got the low tire pressure warning in my front right tire. Didn't really worry much because on my E90 I once drove 250 miles with that light on.

Went to Chipotle and was going to go the gas station by my house to get it filled there because they have a digital gauge that will fill it exactly. After I ate, I get in the car and all 4 tires come up as low pressure. I panicked a little and went to nearest station where they had an air pump but no gauge so I filled it up without knowing how much air is in each tire, but enough that the warning went away. I'll probably go the Hy-Vee gas station to ensure proper PSI later. I absolutely hate BMW tires.

Like ezmaass, said, Michelin has some great run-flat options.

[The Beast]

I always used to run Bridgestone run flat tyres, they were reliable and you can have punctures repaired as long as you don't drive too far/fast with them deflated. They did wear relatively quickly thiugh.

My current car came with Dunlop run flat tyres, the grip is good but I don't think they are as robust as the Bridgestone, the Dunlops can't be repaired either.

[NewM3driver]

Originally Posted by cdmulders

I had a runflat blowout with a 2" rip in the sidewall after hitting a pot hole. The tire thumped immediately after the blowout. I drove the car home (10 miles) and then drove it the next day to the dealer (10 miles) without any drama. I'm having the same internal debate on deciding to replace all the tires with non-runflats or just replacing the blown tire with OEM.

The handling and dynamics of the car without the run flats is dramatic. Id rather be stuck once than drive on those thumpy tires daily.