[Mr NSB]

Coming home from collecting the child from Guides last night I swiftly enter a roundabout and and get a big twitch from the rear and it appears I may have a puncture, bugger. I stop and indeed I have a flat except my 'flat tyre monitor' has not warned me about this and it is showing all greens on the display, bugger again.

This is my first puncture for 180k miles and I have only traveled 6k miles in this car. I am starting to wonder if I have been an idiot for getting a car with run flat tyres or I have just been unlucky. Are the run flats susceptible to punctures? I am already thinking for my next car I want a spare wheel.

It's 21.30 and I'm leaving at 7.00 in the morning and have a 75 mile journey to do so what can I do. It's too late now and it will be too early in the morning for a tyre place to be open and it is too far to drive on a flat tyre. Bugger again. I'm now feeling helpless and have quickly come to the conclusion run flat tyres are only a good idea if you never have to travel far.

So I decide to contact BMW emergency services to see if they can maybe suggest a 24hr mobile tyre fitter and I am not surprised when they can't in this area. They also suggest I do not drive the car as they are concerned as the FTM didn't pick up the puncture and they couldn't be sure if the tyre had been damaged.

But they did surprise me by arranging for a replacement car (I won't tell you what it is ) I was collected from my home at 7.00 this morning by a very nice young lady from Enterprise Car Rental . They also arranged for my car to be recovered and transported to a dealer. I'm now waiting to hear from the dealer where I suspect they will charge me an extortionate cost for a replacement tyre.

Can you use liquid tyre sealants on a run flat tyre? Because if you can then I am getting some.

[ZigmundUK]

Hmmm tyre insurance would hve been good but ships n sailing etc. I found lately run flats have been good re: punctures. I actually have run down two tyres!! In all seriousness sounds like a weird situation and if I were you I'd push the dealers for complimentary tyre based on the fact that clearly something was wrong with the tpms and so could have caused the damage and was a risk to your safety etc etc. worth trying... Btw some people say you can repair many rft punctures...

[Alkidrew]

Originally Posted by ZigmundUK

Btw some people say you can repair many rft punctures...

I've done that loads of times. Five quid and my local garage fixes it.

[rich1068]

Originally Posted by ZigmundUK

Btw some people say you can repair many rft punctures...

You can. Contrary to what BMW or some fitters may tell you.

[Torque of the Devil]

Yep I've had a run flat repaired, just depends where the hole is if they can do it

[stefan4]

Yip. I had one repaired and another one unfortunately had to be binned because it was too close to the edge. Top work from BMW but you will be paying £40 - 50 more for the tyre than you would have else where. I often deal with enterprise and they do seem to have a policy of only employing hotties

[Mr NSB]

Originally Posted by stefan4

Yip. I had one repaired and another one unfortunately had to be binned because it was too close to the edge. Top work from BMW but you will be paying £40 - 50 more for the tyre than you would have else where. I often deal with enterprise and they do seem to have a policy of only employing hotties

I am expecting the additional cost and I know the tyre will be replaced whether it was repairable or not but I was very happy to be kept mobile so it will be a small price to pay.

[ZigmundUK]

Originally Posted by Mr NSB

I am expecting the additional cost and I know the tyre will be replaced whether it was repairable or not but I was very happy to be kept mobile so it will be a small price to pay.

btw how did you find it had a flat with a RFT? I usually have to plug in a gauge to check which is actually deflated. If it was obvious, and the RFT sensor didn't go off and if BMW say you shouldn't drive it etc, I'd really push back on paying for a tyre - sounds like something went wrong with the car and the tyre may have been a side effect, or just the fact that you may have driven on a flat for a while under incorrect speeds and so endangered your life...

[stefan4]

This assumes that tyres have been set to correct pressures and the pressure monitor reset regularly, which im sure was the case. But the puncture warning system is usually very sensitive - was on my old 1 series at least, one tyre only had to be a few psi out and it would trigger.

[ZigmundUK]

Yeah same recently with my e61.

[Mr NSB]

Originally Posted by ZigmundUK

btw how did you find it had a flat with a RFT? I usually have to plug in a gauge to check which is actually deflated. If it was obvious, and the RFT sensor didn't go off and if BMW say you shouldn't drive it etc, I'd really push back on paying for a tyre - sounds like something went wrong with the car and the tyre may have been a side effect, or just the fact that you may have driven on a flat for a while under incorrect speeds and so endangered your life...

I felt the car twitch when going around a roundabout. Even with a RFT the handling will be different if under inflated just not as pronounced as an ordinary tyre. Also it is quite obvious when you look at the tyre because the sidewall is more squashed than a normally inflated tyre.

When I got home I pumped the tyre up and found the puncture probably caused by a screw or something. I can't blame the car for that.

[ZigmundUK]

Originally Posted by Mr NSB

I felt the car twitch when going around a roundabout. Even with a RFT the handling will be different if under inflated just not as pronounced as an ordinary tyre. Also it is quite obvious when you look at the tyre because the sidewall is more squashed than a normally inflated tyre.

When I got home I pumped the tyre up and found the puncture probably caused by a screw or something. I can't blame the car for that.

Cool - it's your dosh

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Vanguard

Yep I've had a run flat repaired, just depends where the hole is if they can do it

Not just where it is, if it has been run-on-flat it needs inspecting inside as it can be delaminating/disintegrating due to being used in anger.

RFTs can look good on the outside after having a puncture, but that doesn't mean it is sound and can be repaired. Even if run at part pressure for a few miles it can still be compromised, hence the need for internal inspection.

BTW, TPWS using wheel sensors (as we do in the UK) is not too reliable unless we check pressures regularly and ensure we reset the system after each tyre pressure adjustment. We can have a drop of over 20% and up to about 30% on a tyre before a trigger.

HighlandPete

[venkata]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Not just where it is, if it has been run-on-flat it needs inspecting inside as it can be delaminating/disintegrating due to being used in anger.

RFTs can look good on the outside after having a puncture, but that doesn't mean it is sound and can be repaired. Even if run at part pressure for a few miles it can still be compromised, hence the need for internal inspection.

BTW, TPWS using wheel sensors (as we do in the UK) is not too reliable unless we check pressures regularly and ensure we reset the system after each tyre pressure adjustment. We can have a drop of over 20% and up to about 30% on a tyre before a trigger.

HighlandPete

Good advice. I would have never have known to reset the system after pumping up the tyres. The dealerships really are doing a poor job!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by venkata

Good advice. I would have never have known to reset the system after pumping up the tyres. The dealerships really are doing a poor job!

And if we tow with cars with TPWS, we should reset the system before and after towing.

HighlandPete

[ZigmundUK]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

And if we tow with cars with TPWS, we should reset the system before and after towing.

HighlandPete

Now that I did not know...

[matx1982]

Good you got a replacement car

I had a puncture on one of my 20" 405M the other day, bad too - ran over something in the road I couldn't avoid .

It held 8psi and no more, once you took off the pump it just emptied very quickly.

After thinking of what to do, trying to pump it up, considering sealant, bmw emergency etc... I drove it against BMW's advice 30 miles at 40-50mph max. Not a problem, I'd do 3 times that without any worry. But the key is take it slow and stop every so often to check for heat or damage. It was a very hot day too.

When I met the tyre bloke at BMW he told me they have to say that... as if you drive it and damage the rim, you can say you were told it would be ok.

They are rated for 50miles @ 50mph max. Well I expect that will be at the most 50% of the actual range it could do... If you ever do, be very careful.

Also - if the tyre holds any air... you're laughing. Even if you have to stop every 30mins.

p.s I would always try to avoid the sealant gunk!

Mat

[Mav12]

Also just had a run flat puncture... Dealer quoted me almost double the cost for replacement compared to online (£470 fitted). I left a message further giving them the option to match and never got a response. I found the same tyre online for £210 and the dealer charged £30 for fitting (I used them since the car was going in anyway). I bought the tyre from www.my tyres.co.uk. (Would recommend based on my 1experience. Delivery was even quicker than promised)

[ZigmundUK]

I had a blow-out on our E61 17 inch RFTs - basically although the middle and outside of the tyre still had about 3mm, the inside was worn completely and blew going about 80 on motorway. I figured i could carry on for a while as we were about 100 miles from home so going 50 mph. Basically a pothole killed that idea - the tyre ended up totally skewed on the wheel, but luckily I'd stopped before it came off or the rim touched the ground...

AA membership so managed to get back home about 3 hours later with a brand new tyre on (i paid tyre cost AA paid for mobile fitting).

I never knew about the RFT repair til about a year ago. Previously we've had all ours replaced, but would have saved $$$ if I'd known it for our 1 series - that guy had 3 punctures in the space of 18 months...

[Poohbore]

I wouldn't use the foam kits on a flat tyre because of the pain of removing it afterwards. I have a slime kit which I believe can be washed off easily at the tyre depot. Anyone tried slime on a puncture ?

[Mr NSB]

Originally Posted by ZigmundUK

Cool - it's your dosh

No its not, company car

I have found this info on the Pirelli website. They recommend no repairs and a replacement after every puncture, no surprise there

http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/gb/en/ca...out_tyres.html click on the 'Run Flat' tab