Expected mileage from OEM runflats?

I need a reality check. I brought my 2011 X3 35i to the dealer because the driver side front tire's outside edge was wearing faster than the rest of the tire (and was not matched on the other 3 tires). My X3 only has 13500 miles on it- just regular driving. No track or anything exciting. I figured its probably an alignment issue or maybe camber or something like that. Easy fix. No problem- the vaunted BMW maintenance plan/warranty should cover that.

Well- no. Despite making an appointment the day before the service writers seemed surprised to see me. I also got it there at 7am, yet by 3pm no call or anything. When I called, they had not even looked at it. At 4:30, still no call- so I call for the shuttle to come get me. I figure I will get a call telling me the car is done. Nope. When I get there- it looks like the car is done.

When I finally get a service adviser- I find they basically did nothing to the car. The SA claims that the tires are getting worn out, and I should expect to replace all 4 within 5000 miles, and I should then pay for a 4 wheel alignment at the same time. Oh, and they want $1600 for 4 new Pirelli run flats.

Are you kidding me- less than a year and a half of normal driving and you will need 4 new tires. SA claims this is what they expect. I am dumbfounded. In 3 years of normal driving you will need to spend $3200 on rather low performance SUV run flat tires?

If this is the case, then the X3 is gone. What am I missing?

Am having all four tyres replaced next week at 20,000 miles - all down to 3mm. UK cost for Pirelli's £1320 for 4 supplied, fitted & balanced ($2085) so $1600 cheap!

Originally Posted by Highmodulus

I need a reality check. I brought my 2011 X3 35i to the dealer because the driver side front tire's outside edge was wearing faster than the rest of the tire (and was not matched on the other 3 tires). My X3 only has 13500 miles on it- just regular driving. No track or anything exciting. I figured its probably an alignment issue or maybe camber or something like that. Easy fix. No problem- the vaunted BMW maintenance plan/warranty should cover that.

Well- no. Despite making an appointment the day before the service writers seemed surprised to see me. I also got it there at 7am, yet by 3pm no call or anything. When I called, they had not even looked at it. At 4:30, still no call- so I call for the shuttle to come get me. I figure I will get a call telling me the car is done. Nope. When I get there- it looks like the car is done.

When I finally get a service adviser- I find they basically did nothing to the car. The SA claims that the tires are getting worn out, and I should expect to replace all 4 within 5000 miles, and I should then pay for a 4 wheel alignment at the same time. Oh, and they want $1600 for 4 new Pirelli run flats.

Are you kidding me- less than a year and a half of normal driving and you will need 4 new tires. SA claims this is what they expect. I am dumbfounded. In 3 years of normal driving you will need to spend $3200 on rather low performance SUV run flat tires?

If this is the case, then the X3 is gone. What am I missing?

First issue:

1. Tires need to be rotated every 7500, BMW will not tell you this as this is not included in
their maintenance
2. Alignment needs to be set on the toe side at the minimum specs ( BMW has a very wide
range ) Excessive toe will kill your tires, Total toe should be around .005 or so
alignment does not need to be done at the dealer, specify what specs you are looking
for
3. Dealers are extremely higher priced than the Tire Rack, Do not believe that the tires
from other than the dealer are not " approved " BMW tires, Tires I purchased from
the Tire rack have the same BMW " Star " on the sides.
4. The majority of SA are total morons in regards to anything.

Originally Posted by ductman

First issue:

1. Tires need to be rotated every 7500, BMW will not tell you this as this is not included in
their maintenance
2. Alignment needs to be set on the toe side at the minimum specs ( BMW has a very wide
range ) Excessive toe will kill your tires, Total toe should be around .005 or so
alignment does not need to be done at the dealer, specify what specs you are looking
for
3. Dealers are extremely higher priced than the Tire Rack, Do not believe that the tires
from other than the dealer are not " approved " BMW tires, Tires I purchased from
the Tire rack have the same BMW " Star " on the sides.
4. The majority of SA are total morons in regards to anything.

I had to replace tires on my C300 at 22K mi because the rears were totally worn. Since they were staggered, I decided to do the fronts as well. Mind you, these were not RFT! I got Continental DWS Extreme which showed much better wear. I believe that manufacturers enjoy cost saving by have special "OEM" tires made to their specs (read: "low cost"). That's what I heard in the past but I hope I'm wrong. Also, I had a well-known tire dealer do an alignment. They totally messed up the handling. Brought it to my MB dealer and, although more expensive, they made it perfect. YMMV

I expect our 2011 35xi with 18 inch Pirelli P7 All Season tires will get us through this summer with no problem. Hoping for 30,000+. I rotated them once at around 17,000 miles, no obvious wear problems.

Run flats typically do not wear like regular tires and need to be replaced much sooner. The sales manager at our dealer said if you can get 20,000-25,000 miles out of runflats you are doing good. I would switch out your tires to NON-runflats and carry a can of slime and an aircompressor in the back. I have 11,000 miles on my 2011 X3 and the tread is just about half way. When I take these off, I plan on putting regular tires and doing just that.

The OEM run flats that came with my former 09 535i were bald at 25K, the back set at least. The front pair were only about 1/2 gone. However, the tires could not be rotated front to back. The next pair I put on were Continental DWS (non run flats) and the back set on those were worn out at 25K as well. I'm guessing the inability to rotate front to back will kill off most sport performance tires.

On our new X3 28i all the times are the same size so I'm going to make it a point to rotate these front to back in the typical fashion even if not recommended by BMW. My expectation is that I may get 30K out of the set by doing so. Assuming some sort of damage doesn't do them in before that. Once the run flats are worn I plan on just replacing them with regular non run flat tires. A risk I know as there is no spare tire w/ this vehicle.

Thanks everyone- if I stick with the X3 I think I will go with the non-run flats from TireRack. Any recommendations for the X3 that you guys have had luck with?

OP - did you keep the tire psi up to snuff and that right tire is not off too much from the rest?

Originally Posted by Highmodulus

Thanks everyone- if I stick with the X3 I think I will go with the non-run flats from TireRack. Any recommendations for the X3 that you guys have had luck with?

My 2011 3, also needs the tires replaced, we have done only about 16000 miles. If you come up with a good price let us know as well.

I have tire insurance from BMW[Don't know why I paid for this }, if I buy tires from tirerack, will this be invalidated?

Originally Posted by dgolf

My 2011 3, also needs the tires replaced, we have done only about 16000 miles. If you come up with a good price let us know as well.

I have tire insurance from BMW[Don't know why I paid for this }, if I buy tires from tirerack, will this be invalidated?

My tire/wheel policy from BMW says "OEM" or "OEM-approved". I assume they include the latter because there could be several brands that are approved (e.g. like Pirelli, Goodyear, or whatever tire they decide to use over the years). What I'm not sure about is if I decide to use another brand that never came with the car new (e.g. Michelin, Continental) but keeping with run flats, whether they would qualify as "OEM-approved". I'm hoping yes but will need to check on it.

I replaced mine at 40,000 miles. They were shot and the left front had significant wear on the outer edge. At the same time, BMW replaced my steering rack. I didn't rotate the tires at all and they were the Pirelli P7's. I bought a replacement set of Pirelli's from Tire Rack and had BMW mount and balance them as soon as they fixed the front end. They also did a 4 wheel alignment. I'm not in love with the longevity of the run flats, but I don't think 40,000 was all that bad.

Wave
You are lucky. I rechecked my miles. It is only 19200. THe rear tires are almost running out of thread. The dealer said that it will not pass state inspection, and I will have to replace the tires next month. I will have to find out how much it will cost to mount and balance the tires through BMW and if the dealer will do it?

On my 2011 35i, the P7s are toast after 20K mi especially with excessive wear on the front drivers side outside edge. I don't drive the car very hard but my work commute is primarily city driving. The fronts are a little more (3/32) worn than the rear tires (4/32) and I really noticed the difference driving in the rain yesterday. I never had them rotated but will on the next set. The dealer did several alignments (free of charge) during the first 10K mi while they were diagnosing a right side pull that I had so I'm a little concerned about the outer edge wear on the front drivers side tire. They said they would do another alignment for me after I get new tires. I want to buy from an indepent tire dealer and I"m not sure they will do the free alignment if I don't buy from the dealer. I'd like them to do the alignment so they can do take responsibility if I continue to have any issues with tire wear or pulling.
I will also check on ductman's suggestion regarding Toe "Alignment needs to be set on the toe side at the minimum specs"

I'd be extremely happy if I got 40K mi on any OEM tire.

Originally Posted by noka

I'd be extremely happy if I got 40K mi on any OEM tire.

I was happy with 40K considering they were run flats. I am going to rotate my new tires even though BMW doesn't speak to the issue at all.

On a side note, I always thought that the guys with M3's went through rear tires for the obvious reasons. Then I owned an M3 and discovered that even my rear tires wore out quickly, and I didn't light up those rear tires at all. I pushed it real hard though. The rear suspension must be set up in a way that really maximizes rear tire traction, but at the expense of tire wear. So when I hear of BMW drivers saying their rear tires are shot, I understand why.

Originally Posted by wavewuver

I was happy with 40K considering they were run flats. I am going to rotate my new tires even though BMW doesn't speak to the issue at all.

On a side note, I always thought that the guys with M3's went through rear tires for the obvious reasons. Then I owned an M3 and discovered that even my rear tires wore out quickly, and I didn't light up those rear tires at all. I pushed it real hard though. The rear suspension must be set up in a way that really maximizes rear tire traction, but at the expense of tire wear. So when I hear of BMW drivers saying their rear tires are shot, I understand why.

My '09 MB C300 had same problem with rear tire wear (it was 4Matic). Shot after 22K mi but fronts had some life left. I never lit them up (couldn't even if I wanted to).

Back in the day, I had a Porsche 911 on which, if one did not rotate the tires, the rears were shot in 6K miles. Of course, I was much younger...

My 2011 has 21,000 miles on its OEM tires in New York with terrible roads and at least 50% of the tread remaining. I never rotated them but I am a sticklet about air pressure. I am really surprised. Now having said that I am also the guy who complained that the tires made a noise at times. I thoroughly checked them...no cupping, even wear.

S

Originally Posted by smk146

My 2011 has 21,000 miles on its OEM tires in New York with terrible roads and at least 50% of the tread remaining. I never rotated them but I am a sticklet about air pressure. I am really surprised. Now having said that I am also the guy who complained that the tires made a noise at times. I thoroughly checked them...no cupping, even wear.

S

In the current cold weather, do you know what your pressures are? I have not changed mine since I picked up the vehicle a little over a week ago but I checked them and they are 30F/35R. The plate inside says 32F/38R for under 100mph and I figured I would leave them as is, since the cold weather drops the pressure a bit.

Just before the cold snap I had them at 35 in front and 39 in back. When it dropped to about 14 degrees they were closer to 32.5 and 37.

It rides slightly harder but it isnt noticeable to a normal person.

Originally Posted by smk146

Just before the cold snap I had them at 35 in front and 39 in back. When it dropped to about 14 degrees they were closer to 32.5 and 37.

It rides slightly harder but it isnt noticeable to a normal person.

Thanks, I might bump mine a couple of psi since you seem to have decent results.

32k miles on my runflats (goodyear ls2). Front tires still have another 10k miles in them. Rears still had tread, but I had a patch in one, so I replaced two tires in the back.

Discount tire accidentally threw away one of the tires I wanted to keep so they had to buy me a brand new one. If anyone wants (1) 245/50/18 goodyear ls2 runflat, let me know. Stickers still on the tire.

Originally Posted by BuiltnBoostedZ

32k miles on my runflats (goodyear ls2). Front tires still have another 10k miles in them. Rears still had tread, but I had a patch in one, so I replaced two tires in the back.

Discount tire accidentally threw away one of the tires I wanted to keep so they had to buy me a brand new one. If anyone wants (1) 245/50/18 goodyear ls2 runflat, let me know. Stickers still on the tire.

I might have considered but I have 19".

Similar story here. At 10,000, SA told me that poor tread life was due to tire inflation but that BMW did not intend for them to be rotated. A mo th later, he changed his tune and suggested I rotate them which I did. Now at 19k and the tires seem to be wearing better but I have been checking the pressure every couple of weeks. No state inspection in AR so I hope to get another 6-12 months.