had some wheel shake on my 08 535i and went with new wheels and tires
one thing I can say is that stock 18s sport model, the car rode like it had no rubber at all, felt every bump and the car shook on every bump
with new tires and wheels the car is actually a joy to drive
What kind of wheels/tires?
19 inch x 9.5 rear and 19.8.5 front
tsw wheels
285/35 rear 255/40 front rubbing on front and back with full load or under full acceleration on the rear
need to go smaller wall size tires next time
got the wheels and tires from a guy taking them off his E60 M5
The RFTs felt smoothe to me, but then again, I had been driving a 2005 VW Jetta with over 100k miles on it as a commuter car. It was noisy and rough.
The dealership (Dreyer & Reinbold in Greenwood, IN) has bent over backwards to accomodate everything I've requested of them. No complaints about them... I'll know more in a day or two...
Ashamed
BMW should be Ashamed! Clearly there is a serious problem either with the Tires used in OE spec or the Rims themselves.
I have had 7 BMW's. I have bought each one new. I have NEVER had a bent or cracked rim, ever. Further, my wife and I have never had a cracked rim or bent rim in any other brand of car either, EVER. I drive in the greater Los Angeles area. Our 2009 7 series is a daily driver. I haven't even hit a pot hole that I had noticed. I have been to the dealer 3 times within 7 months with either a tire pressure problem, balance problem or shutter problem. Come to find out, the dealer claims it is a bent rim problem and that I must have hit something, "Hard"! What a JOKE! Between the rim and some Ball joints, some balance work and the labor its a $ 2,000 repair bill! I guess BMW figures the ultimate driving machine shouldn't really be driven on the highway of a major city as it might damage the vehicle! In LA there are lots of BMW's on the road. My guess is as newer models (that all come only with Run Flats) hit the highway, this problem will simply continue to grow! Wake up BMW!
I'm new to this Forum but I too just picked up an 05 545i with sport package and guess what...... 4 bent rims!!!!! Had just put new tires all round and thought it was a tire issue going down the road because it had a funny vibration in the seat and the steering wheel, but it turned out to be the rims. Thats too bad because I like the 124's look but I'm not going through these problems!!! Sign me up for the Law suit or anything for that matter that gets BMW to compensate for our loss. Oh and btw just ordered 4 new rims from Privat.
Just got my 2nd flat tire on my 2010 750i BMW even though I have less than 10,000 miles on my car; all surburban area driving. The dealer informs me that I also have 2 cracked wheels. What is up with this? I am a bit speedy, but not reckless in anyway. I have not driven over anything that could even do that. I have owned a BMW that I have driven everyday since 1987. This has never happened to me and my last 4 cars have all been 750i's...this one has the x-drive. Is there a way to prevent this? Are there other Maryland drivers having the same problem? This sounds like class action lawsuit city to me...
Seems I too, am doomed.
I just bought a 2005 545i with 51k on it. I am currently away and had my brother-in-law inspect and help my wife finalize the deal. She told me the only thing we need to do is get the tires balanced. DUN DUN DUNNNN.....
What are we waiting for, lets get compensated for this tom foolery! UNLEASH THE HOUNDS AND STUFF.
The dealer I purchased my 550i from actually sold me the car with a bent wheel! The car had 19" wheels, I did notice a slight steering vibration during my test drive, I attributed that to wheel balance problem. 2 days later I found out that left rear wheel is in fact bent, the seller refused to replace it, just blamed it on me!
I had to sell those 19" wheels since ride was unacceptably harsh even without RFT. I purchased 17" BMW replacements and has been happy since. But recently I started to notice a slight steering shake from time to time at around 50 miles, hope it's just balance, but reading this topic I have doubts now.
This is my first post. But I'm almost sickened to see how many times the same story seems to repeat again and again.
Here's my situation... let me know if it sounds familiar... 2008 CPO 535xi w/ 36k miles purchased from a dealer in upstate NY w/ offset 19" 7-spoke wheels on RFTs.
Noticed on the night I picked up the car, some serious rumble and steering wheel shake on the ride home. Called my sales guy in the morning told him it probably lost a wheel weight and needs a rebalance. When I took it to my local dealership (I live in NJ) they told me all 4 wheels are bent and quoted me $2k to replace.
Took it back to where I bought it from (a struggle in its own right, had to force the issue to even get them to call me back). They asked that I give them the chance to repair the wheels first. In the end they repaired 3 wheels and replace the right rear.
Ride is noticeably better but something is obviously out of round as I still get steering wheel shake above 50mph. I have been trying to track down my sales guy but despite multiple calls, emails and promises to call back have been pretty much ignored. It's obvious they are avoiding me in the hopes I go away.They were dodgy enough the first time around and I don't have time to play these games.
Next step for me is to take it up with the dealership manager and then corporate if I can't get it resolved.
I've put over 120k miles on my '99 E36 323is and have never experienced wheel damage of any kind. Nor in any other car I've ever owned.
This is happening way too often to be a coincidence and I feel like we're all pushing the same rock uphill on this one. Calling all NJ/NY lawyers, count me in if anyone wants to start a class action suit!
Just leased a 2011 550xi with the wheels from the above picture and didn't realize how pervasive these problems were. When I test drove a 550xi with the sport package, the car was wobbling all the way thru with only 10 miles on the odo. The sales drone just said "it was the roads". Then test drove my car without the sports package and it was very smooth. On the same roads with similar conditions! I'm hoping that the tires/ wheels will be ok for now. But the kicker is that at the end of the lease, BMW requires that you return the vehicle with run flats! So i'm debating about just taking the OEMs off the car, replacing with aftermarket ones, and putting the originals back on, once the lease is over....it should be cheaper than the 1500 that they want for the tire and rim warranty.
Ace
Both my rear ones are bent... not going to repair them yet. What should I do? Complain to the dealer? I sure as hell am not paying good money to fix or replace them when they're defective.
Same story... '06 525i, 70k. Put on 4 new Conti DWS tires (not rf). Installer told me all 4 wheels were bent. The problem is, before I knew they were bent, the vibrations basically destroyed my rear differential. The rear end had been whirring a bit but I thought it was a wheel bearing. When I took it back to the shop to have them fix it, they found the diff problem.
4 replacement stock wheels (used) = $190 a pop
Used differential and installation = $1100
Sucks. Don't ignore the bent wheels though, especially on the back.
I used to work for BMW and while I miss that greatly I did see quite a few bent rims. I work for Porsche and Audi now and see just as many bent rims. When I worked at Chevrolet I saw bent rims on Vettes and Camaros. I have been in this business for 29 years and master certified since 87 and there is 2 things I'm sure of, you may debate how hard you hit something but you cannot bend a rim without hitting 'something'. And there isn't any way you will damage a differential with a bent rim that is close enough to straight to hold air on a car with independent rear suspension, it can't happen. Durability is always sacrificed at the extreme end of performance. 35 series tires provide very high performance because they don't flex very much and being inflexible is exactly the opposite of what is needed to protect the wheel in a impact with a pothole. I didn't like it when I had to pay for a bent rim, but I definitely would not like my car with 60 series tires either.
I had 10 cars prior - including high performance Mercedes 430clk (8 cyl), older 6 series BMW, and Jaguar XK8. Prior to November 2009 when I bought this 2007 BMW550i, never had a single cracked or bent rim. I've owned or driven everything from muscle cars, toyota corollas, 300zx, 240z, Mazda RX7s, Ford Explorer, Expedition, Lexus GS400, Honda CRX, Pacer, Ranger, Opel GT, Challenger, Dart, Sebring, Maserati, and more. Now in driving 31 years, the only bent and cracked rims EVER have been on this 550i!!
Now I just had all 4 RFTs replaced tonight with Bridgestone All Season W rated non-rfts and when changing MY 9TH BENT WHEEL DISCOVERED! NINE wheels since November 2009! Prior to this BMW ZERO bent or cracked wheels. It is the alloy.
Scott - Call me - I am in GA and would love to file a class action here - now that i am on my 9th cracked bent wheel rim.
-Brian Pastor, Esq. 404-607-7100
Last edited by 550Atlanta; 12-08-2011 at 03:46 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
when I was in the market for a 545i I didnt quite pay attention to it but both cars I looked at had the rear rims changed because they had craked, one car had 94k miles, the other one (the one I ended up buying) has 58k miles... now it makes sense, those things must really be prone to cracking and apparently under no harsh bumps or anything!
I hope that the vibration the car has is from the wheels then. The previous owner said he had bought the 2 rear ones and swapped the RFT with Pirelly P Zero Neros. So I was stricken with surprise when driving the car home, this rough vibration started to show up when the night before the car had been smooth all along! I shall know more when I switch to my Beyern wheels this Tuesday! I had these on my E39 540 and those are def a smooth set so hopefully that smooths out the problem.
And 550 Atlanta, I'm with you on that class action suit!
Last edited by EdZorX; 12-12-2011 at 01:44 AM.
i have had one cracke/bent rim and therefore had to replace the tire( was bulging in side)
not sure if it was due to defect or RFT. now i am using regular tires and hoping to c what can be done
I was notified by COSTO tire center when I rotate and balance the tires that there are 3 rims bent. I had repaired 3 bent rims for BMW 530xi and vibrating almost gone but still have noise on the wheel, which caused by tires damaged by bent rims. I should get along with the noise until the tires are done. I'm definitely in if there is a class action!
Had a screw in my front RFT. Took to local shop for repair. While there had the tires rotated. They found a cracked rim on one of my rears. Had those replaced 3 mo ago by dealer. No mention by them of a crack. Is it safe to drive on this? These are OEM 7 spoke wheels with RFT's.
Hi Everyone!
I just joined this forum, I was searching the internet for solutions for bent wheels and came across this thread. I have a 2004 545 w/sports pkg. About a year ago, I had a cracked wheel that was loosing air, I had that repaired. I recently noticed a vibration on my steering wheel. I took the car in to get checked and I was told I have a bent wheel that is causing my problem.
Looks like I am not the only one with crazy wheel problems.
I am thinking about just dumping all four and purchasing some aftermarket ones.
--tony
I have a 530i with non RFT, Bridgestone and I just had a wheel repaired for the second time. It was bent and cracked again. It cost me about $160 to fix the first time and I still felt vibrations when the wheel was in the front. I took it to a different company here in Charlotte the second time which is about a year & half later and it cost me $200. They guaranteed that they would fix to factory specifications or I pay much less. So far so good.
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