Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[white335ispider]

Hey guys, I noticed that 335i's rear driver side tire is losing about 1psi/day. Not sure where the leak is. The tire size is 255/35R18. I called BMW and they told me to buy a new tire for $450 and that even though some shops will do it, the fun-flat tire is not repairable. I didn't believe them and think it is probably possible to repair it as long as the leak is not in the side walls. When I first called, they also said that they don't repair tires. Awkward..

I need some advice on what I should should be done in this situation. Should I try another tire shop. The tires don't have a lot of miles on them so it kind of hurts replacing them with new ones.

Thanks in advance for any type of advice!
Cheers,

[ceb]

Originally Posted by white335ispider

Hey guys, I noticed that 335i's rear driver side tire is losing about 1psi/day. Not sure where the leak is. The tire size is 255/35R18. I called BMW and they told me to buy a new tire for $450 and that even though some shops will do it, the fun-flat tire is not repairable. I didn't believe them and think it is probably possible to repair it as long as the leak is not in the side walls. When I first called, they also said that they don't repair tires. Awkward..

I need some advice on what I should should be done in this situation. Should I try another tire shop. The tires don't have a lot of miles on them so it kind of hurts replacing them with new ones.

Thanks in advance for any type of advice!
Cheers,

A RFT can be repaired like any other tire assuming that it hasn't been operated at low pressure - since one cannot determine if the tire carcass is damaged, many shops (and dealers) will refuse to fix it.

Only you can know if the tire has been operated at low pressure. If it has, then it is toast and you need a new one.

In general, your TPMS will alert when your tire is 25% low, but if you, for example, just reset it and kept driving, then the second alert would have come at a point where the tire is damaged beyond repair.

The problem with runflats is that you can't tell by looking at it if the internal structure is damaged.

You'll get some responses from people that said they drove on an uninflated runflat, got it repaired and kept driving for thousands of miles. They were just lucky.

There is an equal amount of people who have had their "damaged but looking nice" RFT blow out on the highway.

If you ever drove the tire with less than 20psi or so then the tire needs to be replaced.

[khaye1]

+1 ...take it to discount tire. they'll unmount it, check it and let you know if it's fixable or not. They'll even fix it for free

[white335ispider]

Hey, thanks for the quick response. Your Post was very informal! I just got it repaired from Les Schwab. The service was amazing and the tire actually had 2 leaks :/ But I never drove it under 20psi. I filled it up twice to make sure that it was leaking and how much was leaking every day.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ceb

A RFT can be repaired like any other tire assuming that it hasn't been operated at low pressure - since one cannot determine if the tire carcass is damaged, many shops (and dealers) will refuse to fix it.

Only you can know if the tire has been operated at low pressure. If it has, then it is toast and you need a new one.

In general, your TPMS will alert when your tire is 25% low, but if you, for example, just reset it and kept driving, then the second alert would have come at a point where the tire is damaged beyond repair.

The problem with runflats is that you can't tell by looking at it if the internal structure is damaged.

You'll get some responses from people that said they drove on an uninflated runflat, got it repaired and kept driving for thousands of miles. They were just lucky.

There is an equal amount of people who have had their "damaged but looking nice" RFT blow out on the highway.

If you ever drove the tire with less than 20psi or so then the tire needs to be replaced.

[Terp335]

I needed to have both of my rears plugged after putting on my winters and noticing screws in the tread. This spring I still haven't been able to get a good balance. Even though they can be repaired I had a race shop tell me that once the belts are broken they shift easily on a rft and fall out of balance very easily. Not sure if that was complete BS or not and I hate to get rid of tires with only 3k miles on them.... good luck.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by Terp335

I needed to have both of my rears plugged after putting on my winters and noticing screws in the tread. This spring I still haven't been able to get a good balance. Even though they can be repaired I had a race shop tell me that once the belts are broken they shift easily on a rft and fall out of balance very easily. Not sure if that was complete BS or not and I hate to get rid of tires with only 3k miles on them.... good luck.

BS. There won't be internal damage to the extent that anything shifts unless you drove on the tire with very low pressure - that'll do it.

Go to a shop that has a Road Force balancing machine. You can find locations at the Hunter site.

That'll balance your wheels or tell you what's wrong.