So.... Small nail in runflats turns into inside damage to tire...please read...

So this morning i fired up the car and the tpms monitor told me my left rear tire was low. I checked the pressure and it was at 34lbs. I added air back up to 44lbs. I noticed the small screw in the center of the tread. I removed the wheel and brought it in loose to americas tires. I have used them for about 10 years. they had a hard time removing the tire from the wheel. they then told me that there was damage to the inside of the inner tire. it looked like a gouge mark along the entire inner shoulder area. i looked at the damage and thought maybe it was from their tools. the guy said its from the tire being low and driven on. I never drove on the tire after the sensor went off. could the damage occur at 40lbs of pressure. the tires have about 1.3 years of use on them. i moving to a full set of pilots tomorrow...argh

Originally Posted by Joe in Dublin

So this morning i fired up the car and the tpms monitor told me my left rear tire was low. I checked the pressure and it was at 34lbs. I added air back up to 44lbs. I noticed the small screw in the center of the tread. I removed the wheel and brought it in loose to americas tires. I have used them for about 10 years. they had a hard time removing the tire from the wheel. they then told me that there was damage to the inside of the inner tire. it looked like a gouge mark along the entire inner shoulder area. i looked at the damage and thought maybe it was from their tools. the guy said its from the tire being low and driven on. I never drove on the tire after the sensor went off. could the damage occur at 40lbs of pressure. the tires have about 1.3 years of use on them. i moving to a full set of pilots tomorrow...argh

Did the screw totally penetrate to the interior of the tire? It's difficult to judge what the tire's interior looked like without pics, but if there was "abrasion" on the interior, or any degree of "flaking off" of the interior rubber, it would seem that the tire ran at "0" pressure at one time.
It is highly unlikely that damage was caused with pressure in the tire as you describe (IMHO).
There are very few other explanations.

screw was in middle of tire, only 1/2 long. i did not drive when tpms went off at 34lbs. i wonder if the lower pressure (until tpms went off) with the higher negative camber that bmw uses on the rear would cause this. well see what the other rear looks like tomorrow....

Originally Posted by Joe in Dublin

screw was in middle of tire, only 1/2 long. i did not drive when tpms went off at 34lbs. i wonder if the lower pressure (until tpms went off) with the higher negative camber that bmw uses on the rear would cause this. well see what the other rear looks like tomorrow....

RF tires are notoriously difficult to mount and dismount. "Modern" tire mounting machines are in order. America's Tire usually has advanced mounting equipment, and I'm reasonably sure they are not responsible for the interior damage.

Didn't they indicate to you that the tire was leaking air at the 'screw'...had gone all the way through the tire's tread? A simple test of soapy water (bubbles) before the tire was dismounted (after applying some air). This is not rocket science.

BMW's tire supplier's give detailed and explicit (photo) advice for RF tire interior damage due to "runflat," or "0" pressure 'running' that is available to all retail tire dealers (of course, BMW dealers will not repair tires). This advice is meant as a specific guideline to LIMIT the extent of interior damage that MAY NOT be repairable. I might be able to find the links.

did you drive a reasonable distance with the nail ?

most cases can be fixed... however some shops won;t fix as it's difficult to take the tire off

you have to beg them

RFT are Piece of shxt

nail was the leak. im not sure how long i drove with nail, it made no noise. as soon as tpms tripped i took wheel in. it was a slow leak. so tire could have been at 36psi for a few days. Id like to see those damage protocols.

Tire brand? I've had Goodyear patch a nail hole in one of their run-flats ...... others are paranoid about touching one of these abominations ....

bridgestones, i picked up the car early jan of 12 under cpo. the tires were new to very new at that time. i put 20k on them so i guess its to be expected....

Originally Posted by Joe in Dublin

bridgestones, i picked up the car early jan of 12 under cpo. the tires were new to very new at that time. i put 20k on them so i guess its to be expected....

New story developing here...