Consumers hate the high cost to replace original equipment run-flats and are struggling with their comfort level. Auto manufacturers love offering the selling point of better fuel economy due to the lighter vehicle weight that run-flats offer by eliminating a spare tire. Have you experienced the benefits, or frustrations, with run-flat tires? Share your insights in the comments below.There seems to be love and hate relationships when it comes to run-flat tires (RFT).
Be sure you are getting what you expect when you buy a car, and if it doesn't include a spare, ask if one is available. Many cars today come with just a tire repair kit, rather than a spare tire. We estimate that about 15 percent of the cars sold last year came with run-flats, so be sure to ask the dealer what kind of tires are on the car before you buy it. The owner suggests that anyone buying a car with run-flats inquire about tire insurance and negotiate the price down to make the car deal happen. To be fair, the owner confided that a BMW dealer did make some concessions on the cost of some of the replacement tires, but he no longer has confidence in his beloved car. In this case, a BMW dealer suggested he buy tire insurance for a mere $2,500-an astronomical sum that sounded ridiculous at the time.
We've heard similar complaints from many others. (The Bridgestone Driveguard is an aftermarket run-flat tire currently in-test at Consumer Reports and is widely available, unlike some original equipment run-flats.)Īlthough eight failures is extreme for any car, the issues related to comfort and replacement are not unique to this individual. Plus, they cost a bundle to replace (claimed $500 apiece), and even at that, replacements are hard to find. Adding insult to injury, in the best of times, the owner found the run-flats to be stiff-riding and noisy. Since the initial troublesome experience, the owner was stranded four more times, accumulating a total of eight road-hazard flats in less than 30,000 miles. But he felt that he would have bought a different car with regular tires instead of the run-flats, had he known. The disappointed owner got his car back on the road the next day and was fairly satisfied knowing flats are a rare event.
WHICH MERCEDES MODELS HAVE RUN FLAT TIRES DRIVER
Late on a Sunday night, far from home, the driver spent two and a half hours waiting for a flat-bed tow to get the expensive car to safe ground, followed by an unexpected night in a hotel. Without the option to solve the dilemma on his own, he called BMW roadside assistance, only to be told there was no spare tire since the car comes with run-flats.īecause the flat was caused by a sidewall failure, the owner was told not to drive on it.
Ready to tackle this misfortune, he looked for a spare tire in the trunk, but there was none to be found. When a tire-pressure warning light illuminated, he pulled off the highway, stopped, and discovered a flat tire. This consumer wrote us about driving his dream car, a 2012 BMW 550i, on a long trip. (Even a staff member here has had his own run-flat adventures.) However, the ownership experience can be both expensive and frustrating, as we have heard from owners.Ī reader recently recounted a nightmarish run-flat tire tale that captures the potential downsides to this technology and mirrors other feedback we have received. Run-flat tires promise to remove a key travel worry-being stranded roadside.
0 kommentar(er)
