Slow Puncture Reveals a cracked alloy rim!!! Update
 

Today I got a shock, I called into my local tyre centre to have them check out a slow puncture on my passanger front wheel and to my shock they found a small crack (See photo). So I went straight to my dealership to show them the cracked rim they took the car from me to inspect the rim, after about 30 minutes they called me out and told me I must have hit a curb or pot hole.

I have to say I cant remember hitting any potholes that would have cracked a rim certainly not in the last month as I have been away for most of it! I pointed out to them that there was no damage to the tyre and they maintained that the new run flat tyres do not get damaged as easily as standard tyres and any impact gets passed on to the rim.

The new rim will cost me 400 euros. Has anyone else had a problem like this. I have to 20" Y spoke 214 Wheels

Thanks

Marc
:explode:
http://www.islandbawn.com/rim.jpg

that sucks man....i hope i do not have that problem! i live in india, where the roads are extremely shitty. you have cows, dogs, cyclists, busses, donkeys, elephants, camels and motorcyclists on the road.

if you can drive in india, you can drive anywhere else in the world.

the roads in india just suck plain and simple.

i hope i do not have to shell out 700 dollars for a new rim!

thanks

Hmm, interesting and the first I've heard of this. I wouldn't imagine you could hit anything hard enough with just the tire to crack a rim unless the rim already had a defect. While it is true the different type of sidewall and composite used in the RFT is 'harder' it would not crack a rim by passing on force. If it could you would see far more posts about this.

Depending on the age, I would almost consider saying that the wheel had a defect. Look around the site of the crack, look for curb rash or scuffing of the rim that would indicate you hit something with it. Also, if they pull the tire off the rime. Take a look at the inside of the rim, look for hairline cracks inside that the tire may have been hiding. I just don't buy the dealers excuse if you did in fact NOT hit something with the wheel.

The picture doesnt show it but there is a very slight flat spot on the rim where the crack is . I plan on have the rim checked once I have the new one fitted.

Sorry that you got a crack.
I havent had X5 yet, but on my e46 I have bent a few of my OEM 18" wheels with very low 35 profile tires. Driving as carefully as possible in NYC it still does not help.
I have also bent a few of Mille Miglia 17" wheels with winter tires.
This is one of the reasons I didnt even get a sport package on the X.

When you say 'bent' did you get a crack or could it be put back into shape?

Havent personally have had cracks.
Most shops dont like to deal with cracks as no matter what they do, the wheel will no longer be the way it was, its also becomes unsafe especially if by any chance you will put it in front.
I have had repair shops fix bends for me and for rear it usually worked out ok if the bend wasnt that bad. I did have a front wheel (running staggered setup on E46) fixed and no matter how I tried to rebalance it, i the ride was never the same. I had to get a new one and there was no way out.

Be very very carefull on what you put in front! If something happens to front wheel at high speed, you are likely to flip over so never risk the front, I dont necessarily reccomend repairing the crack for the rear ether, but its less of a risk/chance.

I have ordered a new rim but I might get the old repaired as a spare

If you know for a fact that it is not your fault, I would call your main BMW office (ours would be BMW of North of America, I do not know if it is the same for you there) and tell them your situation, they should be able to help you out, if not give you some kind of discount. Like Wagner said, it is hard to imagine that a tire could do that to your rim, I really doubt it could do that.

The dealer said it was your fault so it must be true! And I know there's a good craic/crack joke in here somewhere...

That looks like its on the inside not the outer side. So, how is that you would hit a curb with the inner portion? Makes no sense. A GOOD Dealer would cover that somehow...customer service is more important on a 60K+ vehicle.

just from looking at the picture you posted it actually does look like you may have rubbed against a curb or something... it shows scratches and significant wear around the crack... (unless it's a reflection or something similar that is showing up on the photo)

honestly, just from looking at it, if I were the dealer I would have said the same!

remember, these are alloy rims...they are light and a bit fragile... and they scratch easily... will they crack easily??? probably not but i've seen cracked alloy rims caused by hitting small potholes..

rubbing hard against curbs can also give you the exact same results!

not saying you did that but these wheels are not as durable as the stock ones and they are a huge difference (lighter and weaker) compared to wheels made years ago.

if you can get the dealer to swap it go for it... he may do so if the vehicle has low mileage and you've only had her for a short period of time...

if it's been more than a few weeks or months then forget it... he won't do it!

This reminds me of the run of defective Type 124 wheels on the E60's a few years ago. When it first started happening the dealers tried to tell the owners that it was their fault. But then more cases popped up and they started to realize that it was a run of defective wheels that would crack completely around the circumference when driving over potholes at moderate speeds.....speeds that normally would at worse bend the wheels, not crack them.

The funny thing is that even after BMW accepted that the wheels were defective and replaced them under warranty some dealers would still tell the customers that it was their fault and not covered under warranty. People would have to take them printed pages from the internet or contact BMW to make the dealers cover it under warranty.

I know the crack on this E70 wheel is not in the same category as the pictures I'm posting (which show obvious defects), but we should keep an eye on this and see if more cases like this happen in the future......if they do then there would be a better chance of BMW being convinced that the wheels may be defective and cover it under warranty.


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All I can say is WOW....

I believe that is the inside of the rim in the picture. Note that on stock rims, the weights are in the inside. If I'm correct, it would be very difficult for any dealer to say he rubbed up against the curb.

I had a friend who had a 540 a number of years ago. He had problems with bent rims. His dealer told him that the BMW rims are made of a softer metal, so it wasn't unusual to have them bend. This guy is anal about his cars, so I have no doubt that he babied his car. The potholes in Los Angeles can be bad---but not so bad that they would bend a decent rim easily.

Joel

Thanks for posting, We have not had any such cases here yet, but there are not many E70s with style 214s either. Get customer service involved cause the crack may be due to an intrinsic fault in the alloy. This one needs replacing and not repairing.

Hey Rody, what is the detail behind the cracked rim you posted - scary - did this happen while the person was driving?

Cheers,

It is the inside of the rim not the outside (Kurb Side) once off I will take more photos and post

Is anyone running 21" wheels and due to the lower profile wheel has anyone experienced damage to rims from a moderate pot hole or something? I'm considering 21" rims but having seen this im having second throughts. Maybe its not a good idea on such a big car.

That exact thing happened to at least 5 or 6 people on E60.net alone. Most of them did acknowledge hitting potholes just before the wheels cracked, which should have bent the wheels.....not crack them down the middle........clearly the wheels were defective. They reported driving at speeds ranging from around 35MPH to 75 MPH. None of the cars lost control or became unstable after the wheels cracked and the only way most of them knew something was wrong was because of some "weird" noised that they heard. Some of them even drove for a couple of minutes before pulling over to check where the noise was coming from.

Sounds like mean and miserable service from your dealer to be honest :(

Thanks Rody.
Dwarfer, I`m running 21" 215s right now, 275 front and 325 rear, 6,000kms and everything fine so far - regulaly inspected and cleaned and kept inflated at the recommended pressure.

One of my client have a same problem, insurance company paid for two wheels replacement!!! That meens that problem with these nice rims exist!!!

JanisX5

Are you a BMW Dealer? wash it the exact same problem and location of crack?

Thanks
Marc

Slow Puncture Reveals a cracked alloy rim!!!
 

Sorry did not see this post before.
I had the same exact crack in my rear left 20" just aftrer some 4K km. Noticed when repairing the tire puncture. The dealer (not eaven the same the car was bought in) replaced the weel w/o any heasitation. This is BMW problem with 20 wheels on rough roads like we have here in Latvia.

Pikeman, are you running 214's?

To the original poster...my friend has this happen to 3 of his rims!

I think maybe those rims are too soft?

Ok An update after my dealer did not persue the issue I took is up with BMW Ireland and to be fair they were very helpfull.

They asked me to bring the rim back to my dealer and their engineer will call and examine the wheel.

He examined the wheel on monday and phoned me back on wednesday with his findings here they are;

on the inside on the rim (the side that faces the engine with the crack in it) he found a deflection of .75mm directly opposite that on the outside of the rim he found a deflection of .45mm. He also found evidance of a heavy impact on the rim (mark left by tire).

His conclusion was that the wheel had struck a object (Pot hole or similiar) and that caused the deflection in the rim stressing the rim and leading to the crack. He said if he returned the rim to BMW HQ they would not replace it because of this impact evidance.

While I dont doubt I may have hit something I cant not remember hitting anything bone crunching.

That said I am disappointed with the rims performance after all is is supposed to be an SUV.

In Ireland a product is supposed to be fit for the purpose for which it was intended .... I dont think I will let it sit here ... opinions?

You have to push the issue with the dealer. I had the crack visible only after unmounting the tire, but still x5 is suposed to be a SUV. I spoke with several rally drivers, they say for a wheel to crack in an acident you have to bend or realy dent the alloy wheel, if no apperant "hit" damadge is wisible it has to be a defective rim. Write a letter directly to BMW Germany!

FWIW I cracked a rim on the M3 when I hit a pothole. It didn't seem too bad at the time - I thought I just had a flat untill I saw the crack.

I think that you are assuming more of a risk driving with the 20's - less tire wall = less cushion. Don't think you will get cash back from BMW/dealership unless good faith gesture.

Seems like wheel/tire insurance would be a good option on Irish roads

good luck

It looks like the curvature of the rim is little flatter where the crack is so there could have been a pothole or rock impact. It could also be just the angle of the picture.

This may be obvious, but does anyone believe that the rim could have been damaged as such and the lip of the tire stayed completely clean?

I don't buy it - without some make on the tire lip as well.

For all this guy know the wheel was damaged in the factory or during mounting.

I just left the flat fix, and I have the same exact crack in the same exact spot (in the middle of the whieght). going to the dealer monday morning to see if they will replace or repair it.

This is interesting. I've been losing about 5psi each week in the rear driver's side tire. No rim marks, nothing puncturing the tire. I'll pull the tire to check the inner rim this weekend.

dealer is giving me a problem to replace the rim. I just dont understand why.

^ wear and tear items are tough... the tire pkg would've gotten you out of trouble I suppose but I don't believe in that stuff either. Add to that the many potholes in Brooklyn.. (drove thru last night) :(

If you look on some of the UK E90 forums you will find that wheel cracking is quite common, one person is taking BMW to court as he had his wheel examined and x rayed and the expert witness was of the opinion that it faulty manufacture.

I had both cracked rims changed by the dealer under warranty. First rear left after 5K km and second rear right 29K km. In my opinion bad roads, run flats and hard driving will eventually damage the 20" 214. Change to conventional tires and keep smiling.

I am looking to upgrade to the 214s. Should I not buy the OEM and go with replicas then?

My e70 with 28k and the 214, both rears cracked. One wheel had 1 crack and the other had 2. All three cracks were not small either. Def design problem. With the rim being so wide and the camber on the rear wheels and the low profile runflats the inner edge of the rim is under huge stress and is giving up the ghost on rough roads. Mine were changed under warranty.

What rim is cracked on your cars? I have had my X5 for less than a month, and about a week and a half ago, I saw a BIG crack on my right rear wheel. I checked the other wheels and they were fine. Then about 2 days after, I see another crack and again another 2 or 3 days later, and again a few days later but this time its long. Here where I live there are a lot of potholes, but I will drive 2mph to get around it even if I am holding traffic. Within 1 week I got 3 BIG cracks on the same right rear wheel which shouldn't happen especially when the car is new.

Heres some pictures of the first crack.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0227.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0227.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0228.jpg

I got a car wash at night, and the next morning this is what my brakes looked like. I thought they got rusted overnight an d I was getting pissed, but after driving it, it went away.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0239.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0240.jpg

That doesn't look like a crack. It looks like impact damage. That means it isn't defective, and you need to drive more carefully.

how is this BMW's fault? this is not a crack! this is a curb damage!

If you got that replaced under warranty, you're a lucky man - that's definite kerb rash. The rust on the rotors is normal.

Wow, I hit the curb 3 times in 1 week and I didn't even feel it. good and bad in a way. Guess I gotta buy a new rim for $700.

Poor 1 month old X5 :(

sorry man. This car is $250K ?

$250k what? :dunno:

"I bought the car with them both. When I was at the Dubai dealer, all the X5 models above $350,000 had all the options. I think Exclusive is the one thats $375,000, and I remember it had both. I was going to get Exclusive, but the specs were a little low, and Abu Dhabi Motors (BMW) had the Fully Loaded M Sport 4.8i in the color I wanted, so I went with that."

Sorry $350k?

Thats $350,000 Dhirhams. But thats the car I was going to get. About $95,000 dollars. The one I ended up getting is somewhere over $125,000 dollars.

I see, still pricey, but a beautiful car! MABROOK.

There have been posts about cracks in the Y Spokes on www.mtorque.co.uk . There is also a thread on www.e90post.com/forums about cracks in E90 wheels.

I took my X5 to the dealer to show them my damage and they fixed it for about $200. They filled it with metal and repainted it and it looks just like factory. I also got them to give me a spare to drive on while they fix my wheel.

I will post pictures of the fixed wheel later. The pics are also a comparison of 2 X5 wheels.
Pics of my car with the spare (back)
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0269.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0269.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0266.jpg

Before I got it fixed. There were about 4 chips like this one.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5/IMG_0228.jpg

Here in Bulgaria that is warranty problem on some 20' wheels, the dealer changing the wheels under warranty

Irishman,

I have the same problem (live in Dublin too), I cracked 2x rear 214's in Dec and got them repaired in collins eng in Bray. One wheel however is a write off, cracked twice.

These guys see cracked 214's all the time, interestingly they say they never get Q7's with this problem.

This for me has been the final straw with the X, it's going.

For an 07 with 60k miles I have had cracked alloys, cost 1k to repair, faulty pdc, 2 faulty leaking lights needed to replace both, rusty roof bars, tarnished shadowline, the plastic in the headlights is breaking down and the steering wheel is not moving into position electrically. The mmi system is also starting to lock up.

I also fear engine problems after what I have heard re "swirl flaps".

BMW made two dogs, the x5 and the 7. After my treatment by BMW I am without doubt going to switch back to Audi, this is after 3 BMW's. All gave trouble bar one.

BMW you have lost it...

Also Irishman I wouldn't expect a BMW dealer in Ireland to extend the hand of goodwill, like the state they are clinging on to survival also...

I got mine fixed under warranty, both wheels and headlights, it took 2 seperate small claims court cases to get them to replace the faulty alloy and two cracked headlights. I got no assistance from the dealer JOE DUFFY MOTORS, I will never use them again due to their crap customer service.


PM me if I can help I would hate to see them get away with this.

These are cast wheels, not forged, thats why they are cracking. Time to replace with some after market forged wheels.

Irishman my car is an 07 and well out of warranty, don't fancy my chance of winning a small claims action on this basis.

I did get a trade in value today from Joe Duffy of 35k today for a car that cost 107k new. Hmmmmm...

If you got the tire insurance for your X5, it also cover the wheels. So, it will ease your mind if something happens to your tires and wheels.

Didn't know that was available worldwide...