Have you experienced cracked rims?

Hello Bimmerfest members.

Upon mounting new tires on my 2008 BMW 328i Convertible (w/ Sport Pkg) at a tire vendor in Danville, CA, the technicians informed me that both of my rear wheels were cracked, and they could not mount the new tires on the vehicle. (I was opting for non-RFT's since I have not been pleased with the Bridgestone Potenza's that came with the vehicle when I bought it new.) Upon inspection at BMW of San Francisco, my service advisor told me that it was in their opinion that an "impact" from a pothole or other irregular road surface caused the cracks in both rear wheels and warranty coverage is denied. I don't recall having hit or come into contact any potholes that caused me concern about potential damage to my car. When I googled "bmw cracked rims", I found the following BBC article about their investigation into the matter in October of 2009.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...oy_wheels.html

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation in the last couple years?

Another question I have is about the Ombudsmen of BMWCCA, and whether this service has been of help in having BMWNA cover the replacement of the wheels in this situation?



Obviously I LOVE my car, but I question BMW's decision to mount these particular RFT's and wheels if they seem to not be able to withstand regular road conditions.

I along with thousands of others have experienced the same issues. And no one will help me. My insurance company said it is a BMW issue. And my dealer said they will not help and are not aware of any issues with the RFT and the alloy rims.

Originally Posted by Adambomber

I along with thousands of others have experienced the same issues. And no one will help me. My insurance company said it is a BMW issue. And my dealer said they will not help and are not aware of any issues with the RFT and the alloy rims.

Adambomber...do you wish to share the minimum amount of information with us? Do you have 19" rims...the subject of the BBC "expose" and the usual "subject" of cracked rims? BMW "agreed" to a replacement policy in the E.U. apparently, depending on the amount of "out-of-round" found on 19" cracked rims...what is your situation and what have you done?

Yes I do have the 19" rims. And yes they are all out of round and 3 of them have bad cracks.

So far I have not done anything. The dealer was to call me back a week ago and I have not heard from them. So the car is sitting at the repair shop. I have begun to look into new rims. I hate having to pay for this but I have no choice. I am just not sure what to buy. I will not put the stock rims back on my car.

Originally Posted by Adambomber

So far I have not done anything. The dealer was to call me back a week ago and I have not heard from them. So the car is sitting at the repair shop. I have begun to look into new rims. I hate having to pay for this but I have no choice. I am just not sure what to buy. I will not put the stock rims back on my car.

Wouldn't you know, a law firm is already collecting "consumer" data on this issue. I don't know how old this site is. I would certainly get the wheels measured for "out-of-round" to see if they are in or out of the alleged BMW 0.3mm threshold for "warranty" although we understand this was in the UK, not the U.S. BMW NA would be hard pressed to turn it down IMO. Your wheels can easily be measured at any tire shop...those equipped with a Hunter GSP9700 wheel "balancer" can do it in a snap.

As a member of the SAE, I have seen technical papers that do assert that RFs impose higher stress/strain levels on wheels, thus a more robust design is called for. One must assume that BMW's wheel supplier is "all over this" and that appropriate design changes have been made. It would be nice to know this -- de facto admission of a fault, or quiet discontinuation of certain 18, 19" wheel designs.

http://www.kellergrover.com/californ...cticeareas.htm

I will be staying away from 19's

I have cracked 3 rear 18" stock rims on my 2007 e93 in less than 2 years. 2 cracks were on runflats and the last one was on normal tires.

Originally Posted by ronnyb29

I have cracked 3 rear 18" stock rims on my 2007 e93 in less than 2 years. 2 cracks were on runflats and the last one was on normal tires.

In my previous car , cadillac sts 2006 v6 i was running 18's and i never cracked them but 2 of them were bent when i went to powder coat my rims 6 months after i bought the car. i thint it means the bigger the rims the easier it will be (potholes love big rims)

Originally Posted by LycanNyc

In my previous car , cadillac sts 2006 v6 i was running 18's and i never cracked them but 2 of them were bent when i went to powder coat my rims 6 months after i bought the car. i thint it means the bigger the rims the easier it will be (potholes love big rims)

In following this ongoing issue, it is clear that pot holes and 'speed bumps' have nothing to do with the BMW cracked wheels as BMW would like owner's to believe. A sufficient amount of owner's have received warranty satisfaction by passing the bogus "0.30mm" out-of-round "test," therefore "impacts" are obviously not the problem.

Recent blogs indicate that BMW have abandoned this ridiculous "test" and are granting warranty "consideration" where no obvious impacts are evident. It seems that increasing bad press PR in the UK has prompted BMW to get off its high horse...sounds familiar as this is what prompted the U.S. HPFP recall.

I don't know what BMW NAs position on this is, but faced with the enormous "evidence" on the Internet, I can't imagine that they're going to "blow it off" too quickly. Wise consumers will know how to present this.

BMW NA is still reeling from their recent multi-million dollar penalty from NHTSA for their failure to bring safety defects to NHTSA's attention in a timely manner. You'd think this would change their behavior.

Had a cracked rim on 17 inch 2006 330xi 2-3 years back, dealer replaced for $500. It had a slow leak for air. I had the tire insurance package and it covered it.

We had both factory 19 back wheels crack, twice each in the first Summer we had the car. No impact damage and the tires were fine. We changed to 18's and go flat tires, no problem since. The factory wheels are either not tested on real roads or BMW has really low standards because it seems like everone has them crack. And the dealer was willing to sell me 2 new wheels and 2 run flats for about $4,000 (Canadian price) i said no way and I got 4 18 inch wheels and tires in the factory stagered size for $2,200
David

So I guess 16"s (Stock on XI) haven't cracked because they're too small ?

The 19's have a 30 profile back tire and it has only about 1 inch between the road and the rim. Add the camber in the back and the inside edge of the wheel is supporting most of the weight = cracked wheels.
David

Originally Posted by LycanNyc

So I guess 16"s (Stock on XI) haven't cracked because they're too small ?

more rubber, more cushion between the road and the rim.

in nyc, i run larger diameter than stock tires winter and summer-- 25.8", almost an inch bigger than stock for a little more cushion. my 17s have about the sidewall height of a 16, and my 19s are about the sidewall height of an 18. has helped quite a bit, although my 19s have had bubbled tires. (then again i cracked three 19s running stock spec tires on my last 335)

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

more rubber, more cushion between the road and the rim.

in nyc, i run larger diameter than stock tires winter and summer-- 25.8", almost an inch bigger than stock for a little more cushion. my 17s have about the sidewall height of a 16, and my 19s are about the sidewall height of an 18. has helped quite a bit, although my 19s have had bubbled tires. (then again i cracked three 19s running stock spec tires on my last 335)

I'm going to ditch the 16;s stock and go with 18's as I think 19 is overkill and too expensive.
I wonder whats the best size for 18 ?

I remember I had 235/50-18 all fours instead of using 255/45-18 rears in my cadillac which went for a year (10,000miles) through NJ/NYC roads and never had a problem.

Tirerack recommends 225/40-18 Front 255/35-18 Rear don't know much about tires but what you said sounds correct

Originally Posted by LycanNyc

I'm going to ditch the 16;s stock and go with 18's as I think 19 is overkill and too expensive.
I wonder whats the best size for 18 ?

I remember I had 235/50-18 all fours instead of using 255/45-18 rears in my cadillac which went for a year (10,000miles) through NJ/NYC roads and never had a problem.

Tirerack recommends 225/40-18 Front 255/35-18 Rear don't know much about tires but what you said sounds correct

you can probably do 225/45/18 and 255/40/18. i havent tried that though-- so i cant speak to fit. but i believe someone put a set of F30 tires and wheels onto their E90 without issues.

i run 245/35/19 all around for summers and 245/45/17 all around for winters.

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

you can probably do 225/45/18 and 255/40/18. i havent tried that though-- so i cant speak to fit. but i believe someone put a set of F30 tires and wheels onto their E90 without issues.

i run 245/35/19 all around for summers and 245/45/17 all around for winters.

I got those #'s from tirerack actually dont know what other 328xi or 335xi members use.
I'm guessing XI and RWD also wear different shoes ?
Do you need any spaces for yours?
Do you run RFT or non ?

Originally Posted by LycanNyc

I got those #'s from tirerack actually dont know what other 328xi or 335xi members use.
I'm guessing XI and RWD also wear different shoes ?
Do you need any spaces for yours?
Do you run RFT or non ?

no, xi and rwd typically use the same tires. 24.9-25.1 in diameter
offsets are the same as well. the stagger is only in width, the diameters are very close, to within 0.1-0.2"

i run 19X8.5 ET 35 rims, no spacers needed, also non runflat tires, i carry the spare tire i researched (see sticky at top of forum)

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

no, xi and rwd typically use the same tires. 24.9-25.1 in diameter
offsets are the same as well. the stagger is only in width, the diameters are very close, to within 0.1-0.2"

i run 19X8.5 ET 35 rims, no spacers needed, also non runflat tires, i carry the spare tire i researched (see sticky at top of forum)

Oh so what made u go with those #'s ?

Originally Posted by pointandgo

Adambomber...do you wish to share the minimum amount of information with us? Do you have 19" rims...the subject of the BBC "expose" and the usual "subject" of cracked rims? BMW "agreed" to a replacement policy in the E.U. apparently, depending on the amount of "out-of-round" found on 19" cracked rims...what is your situation and what have you done?

After being laid off I have decided to park my 545 until which time I can buy after market rims and tires! Hopefully before the end of summer.

No cracked rims, but 1 bubble on a front tire that I had to replace. Lots of potholes around here. I bought 17" winter tires and rims which helps avoid the impact issues. In my last BMW an e46 all 16" wheels were bent by the time I sold it. Tpuho

I've had three bent rims and three sidewall bubbles.

Two rims were my winter 17s (and all three sidewall bubbles). One rim was my style 162 18".

I am picking up a new e93 335 later this week and am seriously considering the wheel & tire insurance. I will have 18's with RFT (m-sport package). Of course it is contingent on price. I've read a lot about this and remain very confused about my risk of getting a bubble or cracked rim. Depending on who you speak to, it is a yearly occurrence or a never-event. Some people have had 3 or 4 rims/tires replaced, some none! Arrgh. It may be a lot of money to spend for nothing.

Any more thoughts?

There's a reason it's called tire "insurance"....

It all depends on how often you hit those destructive little road warts called potholes, how big they tend to be, and how fast you're going.
I'm on Long Island, and...well, you saw my last post.