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[BillLee]

i had a bubble on my front left tire a few months ago and one of those dealership guys told me its drivable up to 6 months with the bubble, but i didn't trust him so i replaced it.

now i have another bubble on my right rear tire but this time i'm going the aftermarket route.

[richtorr]

imho you should replace, but if can't do so asap i dont feel it is a big deal. i've had bubbles on my tires and eventually bought new ones (run flats=expensive!) in the mean time there was no major threat.

[bknight]

replace it. if something was to go wrong you would have to live with that for a long time. eek that sounded melodramatic, but seriously, it's not worth taking a chance.

[Rice&Pumkin]

5000 miles on a bubble before I replaced it.

[slipperman]

thanks again guys for all of the input. yeah, i am in the middle of a big project at work and also moving to a new place so i don't have the time right now but it will at the top of my list during this week and next. until i get it replaced i will drive as carefully as i can and hopefully nothing too crazy will happen.

[jli801]

i asked this ? a year ago... at 1100 miles i somehow got a bubble on the sidewall on my front driver side and people told me to replace. dealer said it was fine and as long as it doesnt get bigger in size its ok. Im at 16000+ miles now and i drive pretty aggresively and even took it from SF to LA and back. No problems what so ever, and still going.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by slipperman

thanks for the quick responses guys. where can i get a good price on some new tires

www.tirerack.com

Got mine in a day. Best deals too. BMW was going to charge me 350 for a new tire, got mine from tire rack for 186 shipped.

[RyanZERO]

I have driven on two of these. I live in Pittsburgh, PA and Tampa, FL. Both of which, roads are horrible. Pittsburgh..more potholes then anything, and Tampa...well, just as bad with all the dips, and random sewer grates. I'm pretty sure the sidewall bubble has been caused by potholes, or if you hit a curb. It variates depending on the situation. The first bubble last me a couple months actually, I noticed it very early as a small bump. Didnt realize what it was and thought maybe I just put too much air in it or something. Then I found out what probably happened but that was a couple months after. It lasted me a couple months then realized it was getting bigger. I then got new tires. So YES, you CAN drive on it. Should you? Up to you..obviously try to avoid potholes and the like. To be safe, get a new tire.

[billgti]

ok this sounds a bit crazy but i had a bubble in my front tire in the first year of ownership (in 2005), but it never got any bigger. i just replaced it a couple months ago after 3 years of driving (40k miles) and i had no issues whatsoever. the size of the bubble was always the same and the tire pressure was constant. also i figured that if it were to blow out, at least i have the added safety of having a run flat tire, which if you believe bmw and the tire manfacturer, prevents the car from spinning out of control in a blowout.

[jli801]

Originally Posted by billgti

ok this sounds a bit crazy but i had a bubble in my front tire in the first year of ownership (in 2005), but it never got any bigger. i just replaced it a couple months ago after 3 years of driving (40k miles) and i had no issues whatsoever. the size of the bubble was always the same and the tire pressure was constant. also i figured that if it were to blow out, at least i have the added safety of having a run flat tire, which if you believe bmw and the tire manfacturer, prevents the car from spinning out of control in a blowout.

hard to believe but im experiencing that just right now.

[BimmerRat]

i got a bubble on my front passenger side tire. was really busy at work so didnt have time to replace it. after three months, it grew so big, you could feel and hear the flapping. i made sure to replace the two front tires with new ones before the raining season.

[uwhusky]

Originally Posted by BimmerRat

i got a bubble on my front passenger side tire. was really busy at work so didnt have time to replace it. after three months, it grew so big, you could feel and hear the flapping. i made sure to replace the two front tires with new ones before the raining season.

That's the other thing. You can't just replace one tire can you? You have to replace at least two.

[Bimmerista]

I've been driving with a slight bubble in the sidewall of my winter tires for 2 years now....

[zontos328i]

It's pretty much up to you if you want to change it or not. I mean i've gone a year wit it and nothing has gone wrong for me.

[uwhusky]

Originally Posted by stickypaws

Cool. What color is your car and what are the plate numbers? Next time I'm on the freeway I'll be sure to tag alongside of you just waiting for that tire to either not blow or blow (since there's no guarantee, right?)

Then you can spin out and smack into me and I'll sue your SA. Which dealer is it?

If your read my signature you can see it's white. You can drive alongside me for something like 10k miles or more. I'll call you when I'm leaving work and leaving home so we can meet up.

Sorry, I just don't buy any of these doomsday scenarios where the tire will blow and the car will spin out of control, hit dozens of other cars, roll once or twice all because you had a little bubble on your sidewall. Lots of us don't have the tire insurance, either.

That said, the SA did say officially he needs to tell me to replace the tire but unofficially, if it were him, he'd keep driving on it.

Also, any tire can blow even with no sidewall bubble. I read a thread on here where a guy was driving his brand new 335 home from the dealer, he hit a big pothole and the tire blew out. He had to have a towtruck tow him home in his first hour of ownership. So based on the fact any tire can blow (bubble or no bubble), perhaps we should all stop driving our cars and just let it sit in the driveway like Clint's Gran Torino did.

[330iTiAg]

My car is at the dealership now for an alignment ($220!!!). My SA told me I have a "slight" sidewall bubble in my front driver's side tire. I have the OEM RFT's on the 18" wheels. My tires have almost 20K miles on them. The dealership is recommending that I replace this one tire at and estimated price of $387. I'm going there later today to see it before I do anything one way or the other. However, I have concerns about replacing only one tire:

1. If I have one brand new front tire and three tires with 20K miles, won't the car tend to pull to one side? Will the unevenness in the tread depth be noticeable, especially in turns?
2. When it's time to replace the other three tires, it seems like I'll be disposing of this one newer tire prematurely. I certainly wouldn't keep it on the car, especially if I buy different tires.

Since it's in the sidewall, I'm assuming that I'll be OK driving it because the TPM will warn me when/if it fails. Since it's an RFT, I should be able to drive it to the tire shop. THEN, I can replace it or the whole set.

Thoughts?

[fnckr]

In a RFT the bubble can indicate that the stiff sidewall itself is cracked. I've seen pictures of that posted here and the same happened to my tires. Also, my father's Benz on non-RFTs had a blow-out at 80 from a bubble. Keeping the bubble is a gamble, but I would expect that driving it a few miles/days wouldn't be the biggest risk. I drove on my RFTs for 2 weeks before replacing. My father only got 4 days before his non-RFT blew out.

All that being said, I would suggest replacing all 4 tires somewhere other than the dealership. Try Tirerack, Costco, or Discount Tire. They can all get you RFTs of different brands. Try the Michelin PS2 RFTs. Better yet, go non-RFT. I did and haven't looked back. Tires are cheaper, run better, and won't bubble as readily because they flex better.

[DJKhan85]

Does a run flat actually help you in the event of a sidewall blow out? Don't runflats just have very rigid sidewalls that allows the tire to still be used? How does it work if the sidewall loses integrity?

[330iTiAg]

There's a video floating around somewhere, where a guy is shown drilling a hole into the sidewall of a RFT. I think it's a BMW video featuring a 5-series. It may be on the BMW web site where I saw it.

I seem to recall that the drill bit looked like it was 1/2" or larger. Even with the large hole and 0 PSI of air, the tire maintained its structural integrity, thus allowing it to still support the weight of the vehicle and be driven on.

So, my thinking is that if a bubble bursts on an RFT, it would be similar to the guy drilling a hole into the tire... The tire should maintain its structural integrity, TPM should acknowledge the loss of PSI, and I should be able to then drive my car to a tire shop.

[EZ_TUR90]

Replace the tire. Check craigslist, or the forums for people local who are selling tires.

BTW what size are you looking for, I might have one around the garage.

[E90 Skye]

If they are the bridgestone RFTs they apparantly form bubbles very easily as soon as you hit an impact. I have bubbles in mine as well. Since they are RFTs my SA said that it should hold up well and not have any immediate danger, but that to be on the safe side I should get them replaced before I drive extended distances. The guys at discount tire said I should replace them as soon as possible, but they also said that since they are runflats they could hold up longer. So i just ordered some Continental Extreme Contact DW tires

[OnlyTruth]

Originally Posted by 330iTiAg

There's a video floating around somewhere, where a guy is shown drilling a hole into the sidewall of a RFT. I think it's a BMW video featuring a 5-series. It may be on the BMW web site where I saw it.

I seem to recall that the drill bit looked like it was 1/2" or larger. Even with the large hole and 0 PSI of air, the tire maintained its structural integrity, thus allowing it to still support the weight of the vehicle and be driven on.

So, my thinking is that if a bubble bursts on an RFT, it would be similar to the guy drilling a hole into the tire... The tire should maintain its structural integrity, TPM should acknowledge the loss of PSI, and I should be able to then drive my car to a tire shop.

I dont think so! I drove with front passenger RFT that lost air completely. Felt like you drive on a regular flat tire manageable but weird and not safe and also the tire felt loose on the wheel. When it happened to the rear tire, it looked half inflated only - so much for RFT myth! In both cases you look for nearest tire fix and cannot drive at highway speeds. The only benefit is the tire is not getting chewed up or is it?