HELP ! Stress cracks on my 19inch alloys UPDATE

G

gaz711

Member
Hi reference my post of last week on this car was booked into local main dealer on friday and after alot of threats etc they decided to replace under warranty both rear alloys and a offer of less 50% off new runflats !
Had alloys fitted but no way going back to runflats on this wheel (296)
Will be selling complete set of wheels with tyres and replacing with different alloys and conventional tyres.
My battle with BMW isnt done as i will still be taking things up with HQ to try to get full contribution of replacements . . probably no chance but worth trying !
 
Interesting to note that it was the rears that were cracked. Are your rears wider? I'm wondering if there is a link between either the wider rears being more susceptible to cracks, or just that the driving wheels are prone to this. I went through 3 sets of rears in my 5er on RFTs and also a set on my zed (before I bought it)...rears again...
 
mrlozzer said:
Interesting to note that it was the rears that were cracked. Are your rears wider? I'm wondering if there is a link between either the wider rears being more susceptible to cracks, or just that the driving wheels are prone to this. I went through 3 sets of rears in my 5er on RFTs and also a set on my zed (before I bought it)...rears again...
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Yep got the wider wheels on the back but i think its definately a design issue by putting 30 profile runflats on those rims . .a case of BMW trying to put style above customer safety !
 
I have a 2010 3.5 is with 19 inch wheels and run flats and have done 16000 miles, have just been told both back wheels are cracked and have been for some time as they show signs of corrosion. One wheel has apparently got 8 cracks. Car is booked into Dealers for an alignment check (ie 3 mm run out) on Wednesday - reading the posts I am expecting a battle!! but will keep you posted.
 
My dealer and others quote a 2 mm tolerance level.....anything over is out of warranty, and they do a rolling test to check for any huge knocks to the perimeter....
 
I had both my rears replaced free under warranty.
You do know they have changed the 296 style wheel slightly and the thicker rim is further out on the new version :)
 
Ps they tried the old "pothole and out of alignment" stuff with me I just countered with wheels not fit for purpose on our roads then.
They changed them no problem :thumbsup:
 
Maniac you are right my dealer quoted 2mm but I read 3mm on other investigations and assumed i had miss-heard. Thanks to you and others for encouragement ...have to keep telling myself they haven't said no yet.
Since the car will soon be three years old there is a big temptation to change all 4 wheels for non standard ones and do away with the run flats.
 
salcrich said:
Since the car will soon be three years old there is a big temptation to change all 4 wheels for non standard ones and do away with the run flats.
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I had exactly the same feeling but a) I love the look of the 296.. that diamond cut face is fantastic in the right light. and b) unless you pay a fortune, then you'll have the same issue with most non OEM wheels as the cheap ones are very poorly made and just bend on our UK roads. I had thought of the expense of a 326 upgrade, but at over 2 grand, thats a no no. So I'm sticking with my 296.. hopefully the replacements will last, and if they don't, they come up on ebay from time to time. I have a rear in the garage just in case, cost me £150. As Stark has proven, even the 326 are showing failures now. Only real option is perhaps 17 or 18 inch wheels, but that's yet another costly investment and they just don't look as nice.
 
Ref my post of a couple of days ago - took car into dealers for run out check today armed with print outs from various forums and BBC Watchdog programme specifically about cracking alloys. (Incidentally it was a quote from BMW in the write up of the programme that incorrectly referred to 3mm run out (which I quoted) as opposed to the 2mm quoted by Maniac and used by my dealer).

The conversation started with them stating that I was liable for the £117 (approx) testing cost if the job was not done under warranty. I indicated up front that I would not be happy with paying this or for new wheels based on the evidence of a problem on the web etc. Suffice to say they changed both wheels without quibble and indicated that the one with 8 cracks had a slight 1mm run out (so both were within warranty tolerance).

Whilst this is a great relief and a good result I'm still not happy about the whole episode, how am I supposed to change my driving to avoid a repeat - given that the car has only done 16000 miles and I am driving this the same as the 60+ other cars I have owned without problem? My wife has a Scirroco TSI with 19inch alloys with run flats but we don't experience the same bone jarring crashes that we get with the Z4. It doesn't surprise me that the suspension / wheels are stressed.
 
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