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Cracked BMW Alloy Wheels --- Taking legal action
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10-19-2009, 02:12 PM | #287 |
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10-20-2009, 01:25 AM | #288 | |
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Cracked rims
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The first one didnt show any rim damage on the outside but the internal had a bump in it near the crack. BMW tried to argue that we'd hit something and we said that if we had it couldnt have been that bad since there is no external damage. It went back and forward for awhile with us telling them what we thought of the overpriced heap of junk that waxes safety and in the end they replaced it free of charge. Incidentally the new one came back with a different profile on the inside. We believe that they have changed the profile to try and fix the problem. That was probably a year ago. We had to wait for them to get one in, with us pumping the damn thing up daily! Their service is sooooo bad that they couldnt even manage to take one from another car and let us have that. The cracked rim we have now has no damage anywhere except for the crack and again there weren't any potholes, gutters, off roading, pebbles or grains of sand invovled! It just decided to do it by itself. So I rang them today and surprisingly they said they have lots in stock so should take a day after they do a test and get approval from BMW. Really we should be pushing for ALL rims to be replaced but cant be bothered. I'll just annoy them each time it happens. They offered Tyre and Rim insurance when we bought the stupid thing (along with leather and paint insurance!) and I wasnt quick enough to say "What we are paying $150,000 and your telling me that the tyres, rims, leather or paint might not last??????" Now I know why they have the Rim Insurance...to cover their faulty product. I'd never heard of any of that before. I noticed on another website that one chap had 6 cracks in one rim and cracks in all others! Another bloke was in the casting industry and said it was a fault in the casting etc. Apart from this the service we receive here is atrocious and the car is full of so many gimics (to justify its filthy price) that we cant be bothered using them. Give me a Holden R8 or similar anyday. Unfortunately thats what we got rid of to get this overpriced thing. Anyway to all of you suffering the same probs, dont buy replacements, just argue and take it further etc. They are selling a "safe", expensive, luxury car and should be able to deliver on the quality, since thats what they use to justify the price. I've got to say that we've never had this problem with any other sort of car, all with filthy big rims and tyres! Also the fact that the salespeople are pretty well conning people into buying new rims really makes me angry! Good luck everyone HSN |
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10-24-2009, 02:36 AM | #289 |
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I suggest that Watchdog might be the best way of applying pressure and that anyone who has had a cracked rim in the past posts their story on their blog - i just did.
i have had many BMWs including M3 with same tyre dimensions, but never had a cracked wheel. the dealers are inspecting wheels whenver the car is in the workshop now, looking for problems.....good that they are looking ...but they are only looking because they know they have a problem... |
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11-17-2009, 03:32 AM | #290 |
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just read this !
I had 2 immaculate alloy wheels stolen off my 53 plate 3 series sport model back in 2004. I built a case that the product e.g. locking wheel nuts, were not fit for purpose and made a claim against BMW for the stolen wheels. There are a number of parrallels in BMW UK's behaviour as to how they dealt with me. In the end, because my car was PCP funded, then product liability rested with the dealer, so I went after them. I decided some direct action was appropriate. On the launch day for the newer model 3 series, I caused a big scene in this busy essex dealership and they ended up paying for half the replacement. cost. Go for the food supply. |
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12-26-2009, 02:22 PM | #291 | |
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Will know Tueday 12/29 what is goingh on Let me do an update on my fantastic experiences with BMW and the stupid RFT's and now the rims. Drove to Noosa on 19/12...morning of 21/12 saw the dreaded RFT sign light up on the dash...not again!! This time called Beaurepairs and the guy said he would simply fix the puncture since I still had 20psi in the tyre and only drove 2KM (Did not bother with Bridgestone) It was the right rear only replaced by a BMW approved tyre vendor some 60 odd days ago...when to be honest I could see nothing wrong with it. Well what they found is astounding...Both rear rims are cracked one in 4 places perfectly aligned into a cross, so bad that I can get a finger nail into the crack. Cracks are on the inside lip and it goes all the way back into the flat rim area, so the air was laeking through the cracks...in total some are over 30mm long. I was advised that these cracks were not recent in the making and had been there for sometime and should have been picked up last time I had tyres replaced. Glad I did not know about it driving up at 110KMH in the wet!!! Long story short I had BMW Roadside assist pick the car up and take it to the nearest dealer 50K away. Then BME dealer called to say that it is even worse..both rear rims are also badly out of round (bent) and also to a lesser extent one of the front ones...they are 19" style 230. They have ordered new rims (will take a week to get) and submitted claim on BMW for the costs. They were not confident that BMW would pay they said they will tell me the car hit something...yeah it DID...F%$^* potholes. So I am getting the feeling I am going to be talking to my lawyer re compensation not to mention the risk of the driver and potential accident because BMW are putting tyres and wheel combinations onto cars which are not capable of handling the Australin roads. How does one avoid potholes?...all I know is that there is a Sapphire Black 2006 e92 MT with 48K on the clock and all the options going onto the market. This is in effect my last BMW after probably spending some money on tyres that did not even need to be replaced and the crap RFT and now rims I have had enough...love the car the engine etc etc...but this is just plain stupid I can afford the costs but why? I will wait to see what BMW do with this issue, hopefully will know by Monday. But in all seriousness those with 230 19" combinations may want to check the state of them. I know I am going to get the ussual change the rims and tyres responses but the issue is I paid $130K for a car on the road with a tyre and wheel combination I like the look off. It should be able to handle the road conditions in a country they are selling the car in. enough of rant...need to go and buy a Holden or a Toyota...at least I am going to have heaps of additional income. |
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12-26-2009, 02:54 PM | #292 |
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Cadillac, sorry to hear of your troubles and that the cracked wheels have gone down under. Please add your experience in the Cracked Wheel Statistics Collection thread.
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01-10-2010, 02:51 PM | #293 |
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Contact Watchdog........they got me a full refund on the cracked alloy I recently had.......dont know what will happen the next one I have but at least they are admitting responsivility by paying for this one!!!!!
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01-22-2010, 04:34 PM | #294 |
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Hi,
I bought a BMW E93 cabrio, March 08, 14,000miles 2 months ago. The tyre pressure warning light came on yesterday. Went to the local tyre fitters who had a look and reported that ALL tyres badly worn on inner edges and one worn through to the canvas! The rear nearside tyre was flat and the wheel was cracked. This was causing the warning light. They recommended a visit to the BMW dealer. Went in this morning. No comment on tyre life and they will try to match the tyre specialists quote for new Bridgestone RFT's (just over £1,000). They are sending some measurements to BMW to get a ruling on whether I will have to pay for the cracked wheel. Apparently they don't have any in stock. They have also told me that the front nearside wheel has a 'flat spot' and have quoted me £500 for a replacement. They are also talking about a further £200+ for wheel alignment. This will all add up to over £1,700 or over £2,200 if I have to pay for the cracked wheel. To face such a bill for wheels and tyres on a car which has done 14,000 miles is absolutely rediculous!! Has anyone got advice on the best tactics with the dealer? Many Thanks |
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01-24-2010, 09:59 AM | #295 | |
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Sorry you're experiencing the same problems that have plagued my wife's car. I've had to pay for two new 225M rims; the other two have been replaced as a 'goodwill gesture' by BMW, even though one of them was out of round by (slightly) more than 0.03mm. I'd have a word with BMW Customer Services who are well aware of these issues. On the tyre front, after three sets of rears in 15000 miles (10mm bald on the inner edge of the rears) and one set of fronts (same 10mm bald band on the inner edge) I've had enough and am getting rid of the car. Best of luck! |
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01-25-2010, 05:02 PM | #297 |
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Spoke to BMW dealer today and guess what......
No talk of potholes or kerbs but an agreement to supply a new rear wheel at their cost! A local motor sport wheel specialist told me he thinks that the BMW wheel problems are caused by the loads which are not absorbed as well by the run-flats as conventional tyres due to the extremely stiff side walls. I asked whether BMW would honour their warranty if I replaced the run-flats with ordinary low profile tyres. They said that as the run-flats have a strengthened tyre wall the handling characteristics using a conventional tyre would be different and there might be difficulties with the warranty if a claim was made and the tyres were not run flats. I have to say that the dealer's service manager has been helpful throughout. It seems as though BMW are getting to grips with the problem but I am not sure that replacing the existing wheel and tyre set-up with exactly the same set-up is sensible. The dealer is obviously following instructions from BMW HQ. I thing I will drop an email to their technical people to try and get some sense as to why this is happening. Will keep this forum informed. |
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01-30-2010, 04:03 AM | #298 |
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BMW Cracked Alloys
Gents, Also had the cracked alloy wheel issues, BMW did pay up, my concern is when the car comes out of warranty as this is a manufacturing defect and what do we do then?
Here's a newer story in What Car on the issue and I believe Watchdog are picking the story up again when they come back on air. http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/crac...-review/247062 Incidentally. For new tyres, If you are replacing like for like ie: Bridgestone RE050 run flats, Kwik Fit on line appear to be the cheapest I can find. You can get a full set for £930. If anyone knows anywhere cheaper, please let me know. I have found keeping the rears at 41psi and the fronts at 37psi, my wear pattern has moved to the centre of the tyre rather than the inside edge, but I am having to check them every 2 to 3 weeks. |
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01-30-2010, 05:07 AM | #299 | |
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02-02-2010, 05:00 AM | #301 |
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Cracked Alloys
I'm running Bridgestone Potenza RE050 Run Flats 225/35Y19 on the front and 255/30Y19 on the rears. It wont matter what model, just as long as the tyres are the same I guess.
I have to admit though, driving around so cautiously on all but motorways is getting on my nerves. I don't aim for pot holes, but I expect my warning light to come on all the time. It doesn't rate for 'the driving experience' I was after!!! |
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02-02-2010, 05:34 AM | #302 |
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BMW gives us a guide on the door placard, then we must tune our pressures to suit our driving. The lower setting guide pressures are a good place to start, but most drivers, from my experience, will need to run a bit higher with run-flats, as the working parameters are tighter than conventional tyres, which can give a bit more slack to running 'off' ideal pressure.
The higher the performance of a tyre, the more critical the setting pressure is. Wear and performance in use has to be balanced, or we knock off rubber in no time. I personally don't believe we can set to a 'guide' and then say our pressures are 'spot on' when we run a high performance tyre. Spot on to what benchmark or measure? We find the ideal setting pressure from use, we observe wear, handling and ride characteristics, then set our pressure to our driving use, trip lengths, loads, speed, how hard we drive, etc. Plus many of us with big rim diameters and rubber band tyres, are much more critical of day to day pressure settings, than smaller rims with more rubber, which help cope with variations in use. HighlandPete |
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02-06-2010, 05:27 AM | #303 |
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Does this explain the cracking and tyre wear?
I'm new to the board, so apologies if this sort of idea has been posted elsewhere, I've read as much as I can, however, this is the line I'm taking with BMW, the dealer, and Watchdog.
Quote from letter sent to the above. I have an hypothesis to explain the cracking of the rear wheels of BMW 3 series M Sport Highline vehicles fitted with 19” wheels and run-flat tyres. The BMW 3 series rear suspension geometry features negative camber, i.e. when looked at from the rear of the car, the wheels lean in at the top. If the car were placed on the ground without tyres the inside of the wheel rims would touch the ground and the outside of the rims would be off the ground, or certainly less highly loaded. The wider the rim, the less contact with the ground the outside of the rim would have. Now, the run-flat tyre has an extremely hard, non-compliant sidewall to support the car in the event of a puncture. The lower the profile tyre the greater the effective rigidity of the sidewall. My belief is that the wide wheel and low profile RFT tyre combination coupled with the negative camber leads to the vehicle being supported largely on the inside of the rear wheel rims, overloading them and leading to their cracking. This also leads to excessive wear to the inside of the tyres This effect is not seen on the front wheels as there is less camber (actually 0 degrees) so the weight of the car is evenly distributed across the tyre and hence wheel. Other models of this vehicle when fitted with narrower tyres and / or higher profile RTF / conventional tyres do not suffer from this problem as a narrower wheel and tyre and / or higher profile tyre or tyre with more compliant sidewalls will have a less pronounced difference in effective contact from inside to outside of the tyre and so the weight of the car will be more evenly distributed across the tyre and hence rim. I shall be putting this to BMW as this explanation fits the facts in all regards, i.e. it explains why only this particular wheel and tyre and car combination suffers from this specific problem and only when fitted to the rear of this type of vehicle. I would appreciate any feedback you may care to offer. |
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02-06-2010, 06:29 AM | #304 |
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Something like that has already been stated. Probably more significant is that, low profiles make for stiffer tyres, and run flats make for virtually solid tyres without give of any sort.
If anyone goes into a large pothole, at speed, they will damage their wheel and/or suspension regardless of make and this often shows obvious impact damage. But because of the stiffness of the low profile run flats, they actually appear to transfer so much shock to these wheels (not even pothole shock but just the roughness of our roads) that, over time, the wheels crack on the inside of the outer rim and, quite possibly because of the negative camber on the rear, affects mainly rear wheels and not front wheels and yet the wheels have no obvious external signs of impact damage. These cracks also happen to 18" rims as well and, more rarely, to 17". Strangely, Alpinas and "M" cars on 19" wheels don't appear to have the same problems but, tellingly, they don't use run-flats. |
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02-06-2010, 07:58 AM | #305 |
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The point I was hoping to make is that if the car is largely supported on just one side of the rim / tyre bead the rim is potentially overloaded regardless of the road surface. Pot holes would exacerbate the problem but would not be necessary to cause the cracks on the inside. Equally pot holes do not explain the wear, but running largely on the inside of the tyre does.
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02-06-2010, 08:01 AM | #306 |
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This also explains why the problem is seen only at the rear (negative camber), predominantly on run-flat equipped models (non-compliant sidewall) and wider wheels (greater difference in inside vs outside contact heights)
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02-06-2010, 08:51 AM | #307 |
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Yes, this has been said, and IMO, it's the particular reason why correct tyre pressures are so important.
Although most of the cracked wheels are at the rear, there have been a fair number of front wheels as well and, as you say, the reasons why the rears are more affected are down to negative camber, wider wheels, lower profile and, most of all, run-flat tyres. |
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02-06-2010, 09:36 AM | #308 |
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So, what would be the handling characteristics if the negative camber were zeroed out?
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