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[heath]

I just brought my car in (2006 325i w/ sport package) to have new tires thrown on that I picked up from TireRack.

Came the following morning to pickup the car, and one of the tires had gone completely flat overnight. They tire shop threw some air in the tire, put it in water and found that the leak was in the wheel itself (coming from a small hairline crack a few inches away from the spokes).

These are the dealer stock sport 17" wheels doing this. I've never heard of anything like this and I'm pretty ticked off. I've got a rental car and I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'm into the extended warranty now so the dealer says a defective wheel won't be covered. The guys at the tire shop say I can get it welded for about $160 bucks, but may have to repaint it if it bubbles the paint as well. Can the stress of taking off run-flats cause this to happen to the wheel?

Thoughts? Anyone heard of anything like this? I think it's ridiculous for a BMW to have an issue like this and not be taken care of regardless of the warranty situation, but that's just IMHO.

[Victory Road]

Were you switching tires because of a flat problem? There is NO WAY you can crack a wheel when properly mounting a tire.

If you didn't have a leak problem previous to bringing it to this shop, sounds like the shop messed up and won't confess.

[heath]

No, no flats prior to - just changing the tires. The guy at the shop (which came recommended highly on TireRack) said the only way it could have happened is from stress being put on the wheel taking the run-flats off. He said there is a lot more stress taking off run-flats than normal tires, but that something like this should never happen regardless.

You think he's BSing and could have caused this in error rather than the wheel just being defective and inherently weak? If I blame this guy and refuse to pay I want to make sure I'm in the right - seems like a decent guy.

[brokemywallet]

In the wheel industry, hair line cracks & pinhole leaks occur more often than not. Especially in the back of the spokes and where the lip edge on the backside of the wheel (where the tire meets the rim) for hairline cracks.

It is a bad cast. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell how the wheel got damaged/cracked and most dealerships won't warranty that sort of thing unless the wheel/car was brand new.

You might have to either buy or fix the wheel at this point.

[JDLM]

wow

I have heard of multi-piece wheels doing this not normal ones

[brokemywallet]

Originally Posted by JDLM

wow

I have heard of multi-piece wheels doing this not normal ones

most multi-piece leak if the the seal in the center becomes undone. Most of the time if the wheel bolts are properly torqued and don't loosen over time & the wheel has a very good silicone sealant.........it won't leak.

[lonestar22]

someone more than likely hit a pothole or something. m ounting usually wont do this. i see it all the time at work