Hi All - hope someone can help with my tyre issues - I have a 2.5i Z4, 17in runflats....I seem to be unlucky and get a puncture virtually every year and have had to replace a lot of tyres at the cost of nearly £200 each time. I am a complete novice when it comes to cars, and so apologies if the questions seem very naive!
Anyway, I had a whole set of new tyres replaced at the last servicing in November 2010 and last week I got the dreaded 'run-flat indicator' warning light. This time I measured the pressures - 130kPA in the passenger rear tyre (normal 230kPA), 220kPA in driver rear, 205kPA in the passenger front (normal 210kPA), and 210kPA in the driver front.
So, I thought obviously the passenger rear tyre may have had a puncture (nothing I can see) but needed to make a journey and was unable to organise a time to take in for a tyre change. I inflated all the tyres to the recommended pressures - front 210kPA and rear 230kPA, reset the tyre pressure monitor and just drove.
It then sat on my drive for 4 or 5 days, I checked my tyre pressures again, and all were normal apart from the passenger rear again which had gone down to 190kPA (the runflat tyre monitor warning had not come on). Again, I needed to make another journey - re-inflated this tyre to 230kPA and drove yesterday. Today, I checked the air pressure and it was still 225kPA so it seems to have held its air??
My questions are:
1. How do I know there is definitely a puncture, surely if I inflate it up, the pressure should go down very quickly and very low after a long journey?
2. I want to avoid spending another £200 to get another new tyre - is it safe to just inflate up to normal pressures and continue driving?
3. Is the runflat tyre monitor actually accurate in detecting a puncture, or does it sometimes just detect changes in air pressures - i.e. can it give false alarms, or is it accepted that if it does come on, you definitely have a puncture?
3. Does anyone have recommended tyre places that will be accurate, check whether I actually do have a puncture and potentially repair if possible, without ripping me off??? I was going to get a company to come and replace at home, but it means I have to be sure which is the punctured tyre...
Any advice would be most welcome....
Anyway, I had a whole set of new tyres replaced at the last servicing in November 2010 and last week I got the dreaded 'run-flat indicator' warning light. This time I measured the pressures - 130kPA in the passenger rear tyre (normal 230kPA), 220kPA in driver rear, 205kPA in the passenger front (normal 210kPA), and 210kPA in the driver front.
So, I thought obviously the passenger rear tyre may have had a puncture (nothing I can see) but needed to make a journey and was unable to organise a time to take in for a tyre change. I inflated all the tyres to the recommended pressures - front 210kPA and rear 230kPA, reset the tyre pressure monitor and just drove.
It then sat on my drive for 4 or 5 days, I checked my tyre pressures again, and all were normal apart from the passenger rear again which had gone down to 190kPA (the runflat tyre monitor warning had not come on). Again, I needed to make another journey - re-inflated this tyre to 230kPA and drove yesterday. Today, I checked the air pressure and it was still 225kPA so it seems to have held its air??
My questions are:
1. How do I know there is definitely a puncture, surely if I inflate it up, the pressure should go down very quickly and very low after a long journey?
2. I want to avoid spending another £200 to get another new tyre - is it safe to just inflate up to normal pressures and continue driving?
3. Is the runflat tyre monitor actually accurate in detecting a puncture, or does it sometimes just detect changes in air pressures - i.e. can it give false alarms, or is it accepted that if it does come on, you definitely have a puncture?
3. Does anyone have recommended tyre places that will be accurate, check whether I actually do have a puncture and potentially repair if possible, without ripping me off??? I was going to get a company to come and replace at home, but it means I have to be sure which is the punctured tyre...
Any advice would be most welcome....
