Tread life on a 2011 bmw 528i

I have a 2011 528i I just purchased in May. It has 12500 miles on it and I started noticing some tire noise on the front drivers side the other day so I thought I would take it in and have them rotate balance the tires and do an alignment. I realize BMW doesn't recommend rotation but I didn't feel like I had a choice. It's running on 245/45R/18 Dunlop sport maxx gt's. I assumed we had hit something to knock it out of alignment. When they got it up on the lift I was brought out and showed that all four tires were cupping. They actually went into new tire sales pitch right then. They said it was driven hard and that had caused the tire wear. I informed them my wife drove it and her last vehicle a Chrysler pacifica had 85000 on her first set of tires when we changed them and the second set had 90000 miles. So then they went to the tires only had 33 lb of air in them. Well I check them at least once a month and they have always been right on the money. I checked them when I got home and they all read 2 lb over recommendation hot which would be correct. I'm pretty sure they didn't add air to them at the dealership. Somewhere in this barrage of reasons why it wasn't there fault he threw in that this was normal for a BMW because they are not worried about tire wear and it's set up for performance. At this point I told him there was no way I was putting another set of tires on it and only getting 12500 miles out of them due to cupping. I told them to rotate balance and align the car. I also informed him that I was not paying for the alignment because this is a problem from the factory. He informed me that BMW wouldn't pay for it so I told him to take it off the rack I was taking it home. What's everyone's thoughts on this am I expecting too much out of the tires? I have never seen a set of tires only last 12500 miles. If they would have been upfront and honest that there was a problem I might have been willing to chip in some. I went in expecting to pay for the alignment thinking it was my fault but all four tires cupping ? Is this common?

I think you need to look at the tire specs, to know what you have. The tire you have has a tread wear of 240, an ultra high performance summer only tread. I would expect 10-15k miles on that tire before it is worn out. A Chrysler Pacifica probably has a S or T rated tire with a tread wear of 600 or so thus a max life of 60-80k miles.
Just go to tire rack.com and put in your vehicle to see if there are any alternatives and specs in RFT

It's uneven wear that's the issue not total tread wear. There is still quite a bit of tread left in the center just bad on the outer edges of the fronts and inner edges of the rears. To me that's poor alignment.

feel your pain!!
I just changed my dunlop SP sport max GT tires (front ones 245/40 /19) yesterday, they survived for 15,000 miles apx then road noise, vibration, what bother me is that the tires where functional still but unconfortable to drive

I have 528 MSport and almost 28K on the tires but they are down to the white thread and will be replacing them this weekend. I also noticed that the insides of the rear has the most wear and the outsides of the front is the same; I was told by a tire guy that BMWs wear this way especially the sport package. I had the same inside wear on all four tires of my e39 with sport package, but got almost 30,000 miles off each set. To answer your question, you should be getting more than 12500 on a non staggered 528 unlike mine.

I just checked out my wife's 2011 528i. 20K on the original tires, Conti Contacts, 245.45.R18. Run Flats. Treadware 280 is hard / high mileage. 6/32 remaining on tread both front and rear. I did rotate front to rear at about 15K miles because front outer shoulders were starting to round. Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to replace them before lease turn in. I suspect I'll get 26-28K miles from this set. On that subject, does anyone know if BMW is going to require Run Flats as replacements, or can I go with conventional tires?

As for your situation, cupping is usually balance related, not alignment related. Was your last balance a Ground Force balance (or similar system)? That is the best you can get technology-wise. If all four of your tires are cupped, it seems like you had a poor balance job. Though, with tires that far out of balance, you surely would have noticed a vibration at speed.

Improper alignment generally displays an abnormal wear pattern in one section of the tire. Say the inside or outside shoulders. Also, if you release the steering wheel at speed, the car will drift in one direction. People often confuse balance with alignment and therefore waste a lot of money on unnecessary alignments.

I had the same suck-ass problem at 12 or 15,000 miles on my wife's 328xi Msport. Now at 29,000 the new tires are sooooo friggen loud I can't stand it.
RUNFLATS BLOW !!!!!!

I'm finding after talking with a Goodyear tire dealer and looking around the internet that It is an alignment issue. There are a lot on reports of alignment problems on the new 5 series. I would have been much happier if the BMW service department would have been upfront with me from the beginning instead of completely skirting the issue and trying to blame it on me. I also found out after talking with 3 people who purchased new BMW's from this dealership that none of them will ever go back. Not one good thing to say about them.