WTF, i noticed a fairly large bubble in my front right tire and a smaller one in the left front tire. I was at the dealer, they want 335 bucks (perfect, I have a 335i!) per tire. What is the deal, they said there is no grace period, I have to pay to have them replaced. Why do I have bubbles, I thought the RFT's have extra strong sidewalls..

Does anyone recommend replacing all 4 tires with just regular street tires. Like Michelin or something? I don't know what to do, my car has 8,000 miles on it, this sucks!

did you or someone go hard into a pothole? The bubbles indicate sidewall damage which is why they won't cover them (unless you have roadhazard tire warranty). There are tons on threads on RFT vs non-RFT, I am not sure if we can anything new to the table here.

Yah, i must have hit a pothole, what sucks is BOTH front tires have bubbles. I guess I have to sell my car.. J/K.... My thought was just buy 4 brand new non RFT and see how that goes.. Anyone have experience doing so? I am just really pissed right now.

If you can make a case that the tires are defective and the bubbles are not the result of hitting something you might get them to replace them free or split the cost. I had a bulge on the tread of a tire on my E46 with about 12,000 on it and they replaced it for free. I was lucky because the day I was there the regional/district/area? service manage was there. He looked at and said since there was not other evidence of damage from hitting something (like a bent wheel) they would replace it under BMW's "Tire Program". Not sure what "Tire Program" means but that is what he said.

Makes one look at the tire hazard warranty in a different light. Just something to ponder upon.

P.S. I assume you have 19"s grubster?

have you looked at independent tired dealers/shops that sell your exact RFT's? $335 sounds like a lot for tires! PS3's don't even cost that much! Or am I behind the times on how much tires cost these days :)

Yah, tires are like 280 on tire rack, but then shipping and mounting is extra if I don't buy from dealer. My car has 18's. I asked my service rep if the tire insurance would have covered this, he said no, not for sidewall damage, maybe he didn't know about the plan at all.

Yah, tires are like 280 on tire rack, but then shipping and mounting is extra if I don't buy from dealer. My car has 18's. I asked my service rep if the tire insurance would have covered this, he said no, not for sidewall damage, maybe he didn't know about the plan at all.
It doesn't? If so, then go into a pothole and let em burst, then they should cover it. It is either damaged by road hazard and they cover it or it is manufacturing defect and BMW/Bridgestone should fork the bill. What other reason could there be?!!! You didn;t go suck on them and create that hickey did you?

I had one replaced from dealer for $350/tire plus $50 for labor and balance.

I had one replaced from dealer for $350/tire plus $50 for labor and balance.

Ouch, my dealer at least told me they would mount and balance the tires for free.

Anyone know about the risk of driving with a bubble in a Run Flat tire?? I would assume I am much safter than driving with a bubble in a conventional tire right?

Ouch, my dealer at least told me they would mount and balance the tires for free.

Anyone know about the risk of driving with a bubble in a Run Flat tire?? I would assume I am much safter than driving with a bubble in a conventional tire right?
Nope, same danger, you'd have to assume the sidewall reinforcement has been compromised thus a complete blowout is possible. That would not be good at highway speeds.

I just noticed this weekend I have a rather large diameter bulge (about 1 1/2" at the base) on my front right tire. After the initial piss off, I looked at teh rim. It's clean (except BMW's signature black brake dust). I think the tire has a defect in manufacture; especially now I read your post. Mine is due for its 15k service so I'll mention it when its there. I'm not really impressed with my local dealer though so I may try a couple until one agrees to do something with the tire.

My only concern is a couple *cough* large scrapes on my front facia. Seems that those friggin cement block things they use in parking lots are just high enough to bitch up the bottom of your front bumper. :mad:mad DAMN, I watch every time but its hard to see them. I'm worried the dealer will claim this as some type of road damage to the tire.

It doesn't? If so, then go into a pothole and let em burst, then they should cover it. It is either damaged by road hazard and they cover it or it is manufacturing defect and BMW/Bridgestone should fork the bill. What other reason could there be?!!! You didn;t go suck on them and create that hickey did you?

Drive into a pothole and let them burst!? Do you know how hard you have to hit that pothole to rupture your tires, even with bubbles? That's pretty reckless advice. :nono

Please do not do that and just get them replaced properly.

Uncles car has the same case. About 7500 miles, and both front tires are bulging. Dealer claimed its user fault, and required about $350/each for replacements. I tried to get him to just switch to normal tires, but due the low mileage and warranty, he prefered to stay OEM. He documented everything, so if you would be interested, I can gather all the data as to whether he hit a pot hole and what the dealer said. Car is a 2006 330i Sport Package.

Wes

Drive into a pothole and let them burst!? Do you know how hard you have to hit that pothole to rupture your tires, even with bubbles? That's pretty reckless advice. :nono

Please do not do that and just get them replaced properly.
lol, I am surprised anyone would take that advice seriously. But then if they do, it's their own fault. Yeah I also told someone to jump off a bridge to cure their fear of heights :D.

WTF, i noticed a fairly large bubble in my front right tire and a smaller one in the left front tire. I was at the dealer, they want 335 bucks (perfect, I have a 335i!) per tire. What is the deal, they said there is no grace period, I have to pay to have them replaced. Why do I have bubbles, I thought the RFT's have extra strong sidewalls..

Does anyone recommend replacing all 4 tires with just regular street tires. Like Michelin or something? I don't know what to do, my car has 8,000 miles on it, this sucks!

You must have hit a pothole for that to happen. I recxently purchased an '06 325i with 11,000 mles on it. When I bought the car, it needed a wheel alignment. The dealer fixed this and a couple of weeks later I noticed the "bulge" on the side wall. They ordered a new tire for me at no charge. Of course, they are not certain if the damage was there before I bought the car, but they certainly wanted to make me happy. Good luck!

Yep, same on my 07' 335i...Another bubble now on the rear after replacing both front tires. Dealer won't do anything at this point. Only 12k on car. Lot's of bumps on freeways in No. Calif. but this should not be happening this easily.

Yep, same on my 07' 335i...Another bubble now on the rear after replacing both front tires. Dealer won't do anything at this point. Only 12k on car. Lot's of bumps on freeways in No. Calif. but this should not be happening this easily.
Which tires are those (Potenza, Turanza) and what size. Take it up with Bridgestone if your dealer is stonewalling.

Yah, i must have hit a pothole, what sucks is BOTH front tires have bubbles. I guess I have to sell my car.. J/K.... My thought was just buy 4 brand new non RFT and see how that goes.. Anyone have experience doing so? I am just really pissed right now.

as noted in another reply, this subject has been debated already.

i replaced my RFTs with conventional UHP tires at 4k miles simply because they produced such a rough and choppy ride. the difference in ride between the RFTs and conventional tires is like night and day. i am very pleased with the results; a smooth and quiet ride, like having a different car. :stickoutt

btw, beautiful car! i wanted the coupe but there is 1.6 inches less headroom and i couldn't find any way to fit into one comfortably. so i went for the sedan with sport package.

see these threads @ RFT replacement.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830407 (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830407)

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828335 (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828335)

I think many are missing the point that even without RFTs potholes can eat tires.

Well, I drove an E36 M3 for 4 years in the same area as I live now which has 225/45 and 245/40 17" rims and NEVER had a bubble. Yah, maybe I hit a pothole on one tire, but BOTH front tires.. Maybe it is posible that the RFT's can more easily have a bubble, or it's just Bridgestone is crap when comparing them to Michelin.
I don't know...

UFO Guy, please elaborate, you say you have a 328i sport,what make and model tires did you have and what model did you replace them with. For instance, I have 18" bridgestone RE050A RFT, for you to make a blanket statement about your 1 experience doesn't mean much to me unless you had the same tires and suspension package as I did. If you did have the same setup, then maybe I screwed up replacing my fronts with the same tires.. For me, the ride is ultra quiet. Now it is a bit bouncy when I am on a road with lots of bumps and it REALLY grabs grooves in the road, but I doubt the tramlining is the RFT problem. But on a positive note, I got 2 Brand new OE tires on ebay for 425.... Dealer wanted 670+ tax for 2 tires including install. My dilemma, when my rear tires wear out... my fronts will have lots of life, do I just replace rears, or switch to conventional tires... Or get a new car.. LOL

Also, what are UHP tires? Ultra High Performance?

Yep, same on my 07' 335i...Another bubble now on the rear after replacing both front tires. Dealer won't do anything at this point. Only 12k on car. Lot's of bumps on freeways in No. Calif. but this should not be happening this easily.

Do you recall hitting anything?? I know for sure I hit a big pothole on the left front tire, but that only had a small bubble, my right front tire had a big bubble. Anyhow, mounted tires today. i'm so glad I spent 465 bucks on tires instead of the iPhone I planned on getting.......... Arg.. so much for free mainenance for 6 years 100k...... I thought I would at least get to 20k before needing tires. :evil2

Makes a HUGE difference from 17" to 18". Lower profile tires are more prone to sidewall ruptures. Heck, I got a sidewall bubble on my 17" rim on the E46 within the first week of ownership, driving the same routes my wife drove with her E46, and in 3 years of ownership on 16" rims she NEVER picked up a single bubble.

The larger the rim size the more prone the tires are to getting a sidewall bubble. I'd be surprised if 17s have this issue, but I can see that having RFT would have a similar effect of running larger rims and lower profile tires.

That's why our spring rate is softer than previous cars with non-rft.

The larger the rim size the more prone the tires are to getting a sidewall bubble. I'd be surprised if 17s have this issue, but I can see that having RFT would have a similar effect of running larger rims and lower profile tires.

That's why our spring rate is softer than previous cars with non-rft.

One more bubble, and the car will be sold! This crap is retarded.... Anyone have a 335xi coupe with 6spd non-sport rims and conventional tires mounted and reconfigured spring rates to match a standard tire as well as a modified trunk to fit a full size spare tire that wants to trade for my ride??

The dealer even told me if I switch to non RFT the car will ride soft for the very reason you mentioned...

Just ranting, I really like my car.. lol

There has to be springs for you car if you want to switch. But if you KEEP getting them I'd look into where your driving or possible calling BMWNA and explaining to them that it can't be your driving.

Sport package on the 328i sedan is the same as the suspension that is standard on the 328i coupe (sport).

My car came equipped with Double Spoke (Styling 161) light-alloy wheels, 17 x 8.0 front, 17 x 8.5 rear; 225/45R-17 front, 255/40R-17 rear, run-flat performance tires. Bridgestone RE050A II Potenza RF.

Replaced with Toyo Proxes 4 UHP (ultra high performance) all-season radials.

I don’t know about needing to change the suspension for the conventional tires but I will look into it. The dealership technician did not relate that any changes were necessary when I discussed the change with him.

I am sure there are others that have made the switch. I can honestly tell you that there is a significant difference in ride. Your car will still handle like it is on rails.

Sport package on the 328i sedan is the same as the suspension that is standard on the 328i coupe (sport).

My car came equipped with Double Spoke (Styling 161) light-alloy wheels, 17 x 8.0 front, 17 x 8.5 rear; 225/45R-17 front, 255/40R-17 rear, run-flat performance tires. Bridgestone RE050A II Potenza RF.

Replaced with Toyo Proxes 4 UHP (ultra high performance) all-season radials.

I don’t know about needing to change the suspension for the conventional tires but I will look into it. The dealership technician did not relate that any changes were necessary when I discussed the change with him.

I am sure there are others that have made the switch. I can honestly tell you that there is a significant difference in ride. Your car will still handle like it is on rails.

Thanks for the info UFO Guys, weird that your car has 17" and not 18" tires, I guess the 328i sedan has 17 and 335i sedan has the same 18's, either way same tires. I was real close to replacing all 4 tires but since I don't want to drive around with no spare, i stuck with what they gave me....... for now, will definitely consider next time i need to change..

i have a source for a space saver wheel/tire. ordered a kit this week. you don't have to run without a spare but you will have to sacrifice some trunk space. for me the improvement in ride is well worth the cost and slight inconvenience. :)

Bought a new '07 328xi Coupe last month and discovered afterward all the problems associated with RFT's. However, most of the problems were and continue to be with the Bridgestones. I'm fortunate enough to have Conti's but still check them on a daily basis. I bought the 2 yr tire/rim replacement insurance for about $400.

Speaking of tires and pressure, has anyone's tire pressure monitor malfunctioned? My TPM light is on but all tires are at correct pressure. Car went in for service today for that and a couple of latent defects.

Speaking of tires and pressure, has anyone's tire pressure monitor malfunctioned? My TPM light is on but all tires are at correct pressure. Car went in for service today for that and a couple of latent defects.

please let us know @ your warning and what your stealership says @ the prob. i have encountered no probs to date (two weeks and 1k miles).

grubster, i think the best thing is for you to sell your car to me for .$50 on the dollar and get into a 5-series. i think that is a generous offer. :redspot