[heavydpg]

so...last night on my way home from work....not too late so it was only dusk outside, my warning sensor comes on, telling me that I had low tire pressure on one of my tires (sure wish our expensive cars told us which tire!) Now, let me say, I did not notice A Thing just before getting this message. I found a side street to pull into, got out of my car, walked all the way around, and did not notice that any tire seemed "flatter" than any other. So...I got back in my car and carefully drove home. I thought I heard a little "flapping" sound when I first started to accelerate, but it quickly went away once I gained a little speed.

I made it home, parked it in the garage, and called it a night. This morning, I found my digital tire gauge (which I will now keep in my car at all times) and checked my tires. Low and Behold, my right rear tire had no air in it!! It didn't look flat! Maybe upon closer inspection it was a little more flatter than the others, but not nearly as noticeable as I thought it would have been. So it looks like I'm off to the dealership next week to get some new tires (do you think I should go ahead and replace both rears while I'm at it? or just run it until it goes flat?)

So..the good experience is, these things really work!!!! Almost scary though, in that it is so hard to tell when they do go flat. I will now make it a weekly routine to check the air in all of my tires, and to trust the TPMS sensor

Strange thing is....I haven't had a flat tire on my "normal" tires in over 20 years. Now, after only 6 months of owing run-flats, I have my first flat. Does make me think about changing, but the cost difference is only about $100. so....I'll spend more time thinking about his option for the next replacement.

 

[mg650]

In the 06, there is a screen in iDrive that tells you which tire- it color codes based on severity (green=good, yellow=low, red=go to the shop). Sure this doesnt exist in the 05?

I'd replace both tires to have consistent tread, but thats just me.

Can they patch these tires?

 

[TopDownInFL]

Can they patch these tires?

The "can" be patched, but you wouldn't want an RFT tire that has had made use of the RFT walls - it won't stand up in a subsequent use. I've bought pre-owned RFTs for my car and made certain the RFT technology had not been used (there will be a very noticable crease on the inside of the tire wall).

 

[pablo645]

I know how you feel heavydpg. Had that happened to me a few weeks back and thank my lucky stars that the RFT works. I believe you can drive upto 50 miles with the RFT without air and then you have to get rid of them. They can be patched but like Topdown said, you don't want to run them on the RFT rubber for too long. Be prepared to pay some big bucks at the dealer. I was in a bind when I got mine done at the dealer otherwise I would have waited and order it from online and have my tire shop put it on. Works out a bit cheaper that way.