bankerboyz

Approximately six months ago I took my car in for an oil change and my service department discovered that all four tyres had been worn down to the threads. Keeping in mind that at that time I was not aware of the problems that everyone was having with the Dunlops, I shelled out almost $2,000 for four new tyres plus alignment. Fast forward to two days ago and 8,000 miles later, I took the car in for its first overall service check. My service agent called me to let me know that the tyres are worn on the insides and that I need 4 new ones. I was soooo bloody angry you could see the steam emanating from my ears. You mean to tell me that after only 8,000 miles on brand new tyres I need to replace them? I told him to tell BMW that I am not paying for a new set of tyres and that they have to replace them at their cost. He called back to tell me that BMW said that my tyres were not under warranty and that they would not pay for new tyres. After a few choice words I told him to go back to BMW and tell them that I will gladly see their arses in court. He called back a short time after and said that BMW is willing to pay for 50 percent of the cost of new Bridgestone tyres. While I am contemplating this offer, it still disturbs me and is quite unsettling that these Dunlops are utterly unreliable. Do these buggers expect me to shell out money every frigging few months for new tyres? (just needed to blow my gasket a bit). BMW, YOU NEED TO PROPERLY ADDRESS THE ISSUES YOU ARE HAVING WITH THE DUNLOP RUN FLATS, THIS FARCE IS IN ABSOLUTELY BAD FORM, AND TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

Vinman

Wow Bankerboyz thats a lot of bad rubber. I have had 4 sets of Dunlops-non runflats- on my last 2 bimmers and never had a problem. However based on all the bad comments on this forum from so many members with these Dunlop Run-flats I am amazed that they are still being fitted to E60s. I am also more than a little bit curious about the forum members who are running these run-flats and have had rim failure. Everyone who has had rim failure was on run-flats it seems. Are we seeing 2 problems with these tires? #1-noisy poor performance and tread life and #2-rim failure possibly caused by a tire with too stiff a sidewall transmitting a lot of energy to the wheel resulting in some sort of cracking?

I am no expert, but I am more than a little bit curious.

CRRobert

Sounds like some alignment issues also.

teriyaki88

My recommendation would be to invest $30 on a good tire gauge. I've had my Dunlop Run Flats and I'm at 17,000 miles. No problem noticed here. Earlier I did notice irregular tire wear, but after keeping the tires at recommended PSI, I have not had any problems nor early tire wear. I do drive my 545 w/sports package very hard.

TurboDman

Well i figure i should add a comment about this lol...

My rear two tires in the back (Dunlops-Run FLats) had no thread left on them with only 7000 miles on the car...So i went with Michlines all weather sport... I to voiced my concerned to the dealer and after his explanation and some reading online, turns out that run flats are not ment for everyday driving, yea deffinetly the ride with run flats is much more funner the cornering is what i miss the most running a softer rubber with michelines...but if you use this tires everyday for normal driving it will last you for 10000 maybe less... Anyways right now i have 16000 miles on the car so its about 8000 miles on my AV and the tread is still like brand new i use the penny method. Anyways just want it to add my experience.

noonehome

I've have about 8700 miles so far and my tires still look new( well maybe 80% because I can see no real wear ). I expect to get 25K out of them.

In regard to the damaged rims on RFs The RF have a lower profile and may as a result be more prone to damage. The failure ot the rims so far was due to direct impact in the center of the tread area not on the edge where the RF sidwall is very stiff.

For the folks that are getting 8-12k miles on a set of tires... Are you drive the living piss out of the car?

noonehome

How can RF not be for everyday driving? The point of the RF is so you can drive everyday and not have to worry you will get stuck in a poor situation due to a flat.

Is your research suggesting the RF should only be used for spirrited driving or Track use?

bankerboyz

While I am a bit of an assertive driver I honestly dont drive her very hard. I drive approximately 40 miles roundtrip to and from the office on the highway, and I only drive her to the office maybe twice a week.

TurboDman

Well from what i understood and from what one my mechanic friends said this car has a lot of horse power going to its rear wheels....when we took my front tires off they still had a lot of thread life left but unfortunitly with sport package you cant rotate....sense the RF are so hard they get worn out much easier then a softer all weather tire.. the 545 should not be looked at as an everyday car it is a SPORTS CAR....I mean avcorse it does depend on how you drive your car, in michigan we have a lot of problems with Pot holls..well i am not regreding my decision with Michelines, maybe i will put another brand of RF on when it be time to switch tires.

bmwryder

Having had a flat tire (screw embedded in front driver's side) I appreciate the concept of the run flats. I had a hard time finding the Dunlop run flats to replace mine and ended up putting a hundred miles on the car before I could change the tire.

Performance is good but the ride is somewhat harsh on NYC roads. On Westchester roads the ride is smooth.

I haven't noted excessive wear on the remaining tires with 8K miles on the car.

I wonder if Dunlops problem is quality control because the experience reported in this forum is so variable.