Defective alloy wheels -- DO NOT BUY

[SDBurgher]

I don't know how BMW gets away with selling an alloy wheel with run-flats that can't withstand imperfect roads under normal driving conditions. They settled a class-action suit over these wheels on the Z4 back in 2015, so they damn well that this problem exists. But instead they have their dealers tell you that "hit a pothole" and that you have to replace the cracked wheel AND the tire (with no proof of damage). And please don't tell me that I should have bought the tire insurance -- that's an admission that they sell a defective product, and it's not even available to buyers of CPOs.

Here's the back story:
The rear run-flat passenger tire on my wife's '13 328xi kept losing air. I was told it was due to a cracked wheel. My wife never hit anything with that wheel that would cause such severe damage. The service rep said that she probably "hit a pothole" and that the run-flats don't provide enough cushion to protect the wheel. In other words, it's a defect in the wheel/tire assembly (borne out by a class-action suit settled by BMW for cracked wheels in 2015). The solution offered by the service agent was to replace the wheel and tire for $1,035. I asked if BMW would take back the run-flats (with only 5K miles) and replace with conventional tires so I wouldn't risk another wheel crack from a pothole. The answer was no. So I paid for a new wheel (discounted 50% by BMWNA after filing a complaint) and took the car to Discount Tire and bought 4 new Conti Extremes in trade for the run-flats at $30 each. Cost me $758. They inspected the right rear tire and saw no evidence of damage. There was also no evidence of impact to the wheel - just the hairline crack.
BMW could have done the right thing by replacing the defective wheel at no charge (the car is still under warranty), but instead tried to fleece me for the full cost of a new wheel and a tire that wasn't damaged.

The "Ultimate Driving Machine" is a myth propagated by a company that puts out an overpriced, mediocre and unsafe car that doesn't handle any better that my Honda Civic!

Post-mortem - my wife loves the new Conti Extremes. The car actually handles much better than with the run-flats. We just have to pray that she won't get a flat, because there ain't no spare

[jclausen]

Amg Mbz wheels also crack, it's just happens

[SlackTube]

Every manufacturer that uses runflat tires has wheels bending and cracking. It's not specific to BMW. Due to the heavily reinforced sidewalls of a runflat tire impacts are transferred to the wheel assembly is whichever component has the most give wether it's suspension, wheels, the tire. Runflat tires are also known as zero pressure tires are able to support the weight of the vehicle with no air pressure simply by having heavily reinforced sidewalls. Impacts and energy transfer have to go somewhere; runflat tires are heavily reinforced and rims are lightweight aluminum alloys; it's likely while your wife was giving a handjob to her side piece she hit a pot hole and lied to you. Also the Z4 class action suit was alleged that the design of the inner rim lip allowed for cracking and deformation due to that specific rim design and specific alloy mixture used for that particular wheel. You can't compare apples to oranges. The rim alloys have changed and the composition of magnesium or aluminum has been modified a million times to give the best compromise of strength and weight.

Perhaps instead of bashing bmws in your first post on a BMW specific forum you should have done your homework and educated yourself about the vehicle your driving. Also the fact that you weren't even driving is suspect, not to mention you want BMW to buy back tires with 5000 miles on them which is a quarter of F30 tire life is ludicrous.
As far as your BMW not handling better than your Honda Civic is a stupid comment and it's your own fault for not test driving the vehicle before purchase.
You mentioned that BMW is an unsafe vehicle yet they received a NHTSA 5 star rating on your model vehicle so again your information is incorrect.
BMW ate 50% of the cost in an effort to try and maintain positive customer service nothing more. The fact that they paid for 50% of a problem that your wife caused is a testament to a company going above what's legally mandated under the Magnuson moss act to assist in brand reputation and customer happiness.
I hope you enjoy your non runflat tires and your Honda crappic-

[White94RX]

Couldn't have said it better myself!