New 228xi with M Sport. 6 flat tires in 3 months and the dealer has no solution. Do not purchase this vehicle. I am finished with BMW . This is my 9th and final BMW. Again, they have no solution. Absurd!
That sounds like an inordinate amount of flats in such a short period of time. It's certainly true that BMW's are much different in the tire/wheel combo department than BMW's of yore in the pre-runflat era. BMW has moved along with the market's demand for ever-larger wheels and lower-profile tires, and that comes along with the usual downsides. 50-series aspect ratio tires used to be "low profile" for street tires, and anything less as far as aspect ratio usually meant that you didn't have that much less sidewall height, just a tire which was that much wider. For some time now, BMW's have been rolling on what would have previously been considered rubber-band tires with exceedingly little sidewall. Presumably your M-pkg is running on even lower aspect-ratio tires than it normally comes with - if you're finding that you're getting flats from hitting potholes, pavement heaves, and road irregularities, then perhaps the issue is more transiting mediocre-condition roads than anything else. I'd presume the M-pkg. might have slightly stiffer shocks/springs, but I wouldn't expect that to be a big enough difference to account for that many flats. With that many, also seems unlikely that it would be a matter of defective tires. If the car doesn't have up-sized brakes, the issue might be resolved with downsized wheels, allowing for fitting higher aspect-ratio tires that have more sidewall height, which presumably might offer somewhat better impact absorption. Obviously, no tire is immune from blowout, runflat or not - if it takes a hit hard enough to exceed it's ability to absorb the impact, it's gonna go kablooey. I understand your frustration with that number of flats - it sounds as if you've liked BMW's for some time; it seems a shame to throw the baby out with the bathwater if a solution is possible that might resolve the problem. Some dealers are more accommodating than others, although I wouldn't find it surprising that a dealer might put the onus on customers for awareness of the implications of low-profile runflats. By the same token, I'd also want a detail-oriented sales rep. to cover such things as part of the sales & customer education process. Obviously BMW has plenty of competition out there - if you do ultimately decide on another marque, the overall market trend towards larger wheels/lower-profile tires might be such that you're largely facing the same issues with other vehicles of similar quality & amenities to what you're accustomed to in BMW's. Sorry to hear of the issues you've had, certainly hope you can get to a satisfactory result however it goes.
That bites, I had 2 flats in the same tire in a 2 month span. I ran over a screw then a nail. Why did your tires go flat?
More info would be helpful, same tire, different tires? Damage to tire or just going flat? Have the tires been remounted and new stems installed? If the tires are being damaged, do not see this as a problem with the car.
