RFT's and SA roads are Seriously Hurting

[NFCKN'SANE]

This is a Rant on the condition of SA Roads and its becoming seriously costly experience to run a car on RFTS...

Vehicle F30 320D 19inch sport pack rims..

February 2016 - Front right - Rim and Front left Tire (Bridgestone RFT) - R8K later

Two Weeks ago hit a pot hole going onto an on ramp doing less than 60kms - Front Right and Rear Right side walls burst...also replaced left rear for consistency..R 14k later

Last Thursday night picked up a nail Left Rear.Warning tire pressure loss indicator came on, the car was driven under 80kms back home less than 10kms..

Inspection shows sidewall damaged, Busy with contacting Bridgestone on this.

Super quick claims that its driver error the sidewall on the inside is damaged.

My statement is RFTs were meant to be drive in case of a emergency to the closest service outlet, these precautions were taken, so if there is side wall damage it just means its poor manufacture.

How can you sell a product for exactly the purpose of driving it flat and then tell the customer since you had a puncture the side wall is damaged and there is no claim due to driver abuse etc...doesn't make sense to me..the tire has done less than 1000kms.

Any views on this will be appreciated..

Thanks to the cost of tires my xmas holiday is Romania...:blueCry:

 

[Ebo]

This is a Rant on the condition of SA Roads and its becoming seriously costly experience to run a car on RFTS...

Vehicle F30 320D 19inch sport pack rims..

February 2016 - Front right - Rim and Front left Tire (Bridgestone RFT) - R8K later

Two Weeks ago hit a pot hole going onto an on ramp doing less than 60kms - Front Right and Rear Right side walls burst...also replaced left rear for consistency..R 14k later

Last Thursday night picked up a nail Left Rear.Warning tire pressure loss indicator came on, the car was driven under 80kms back home less than 10kms..

Inspection shows sidewall damaged, Busy with contacting Bridgestone on this.

Super quick claims that its driver error the sidewall on the inside is damaged.

My statement is RFTs were meant to be drive in case of a emergency to the closest service outlet, these precautions were taken, so if there is side wall damage it just means its poor manufacture.

How can you sell a product for exactly the purpose of driving it flat and then tell the customer since you had a puncture the side wall is damaged and there is no claim due to driver abuse etc...doesn't make sense to me..the tire has done less than 1000kms.

Any views on this will be appreciated..

Thanks to the cost of tires my xmas holiday is Romania...:blueCry:

Sorry to hear buddy,

Unfortunately runflats are very much "disposables". In other words driving on them when flat for than 20m will result in "wall damage". Yes the sales pitch always sound great - No need for spare wheel, just drive to your nearest garage etc. They don't tell you however that the tyre will need replacing after you "emergency / lack of spare"
Best is to always carry a can of tyre weld, as I too have learnt the hard/expensive way

 

[Photokid]

To be fair, you would've had the same damage on a non-RFT. It would just be cheaper to replace.

Perhaps the problem here is the brand, not the type of tyre?
A burst sidewall on a RFT is scary news.

 

[sash]

As i understand it and maybe those in the automotive industry can confirm, a run flat allows one to drive after it has deflated. THey never mention anything about it being repaired and reused. If you happen to get a slow leak that you pick up without the tyre being driven deflated, you are ok, but driving it flat will put strain on the strengthened sidewalls ending up in damage on the sidewall.

sad to say, but I believe what you experienced with the tyre is how it was designed.

Your other situation is just plain bad luck.

 

[NFCKN'SANE]

In my opinion, I would rather just stick to Standard tires and a spare if the manufactures aren't so sticky..

Standard Tyre , Replace tire with spare or call AA to assist, Plug with mushroom - cost few R100's.. also less susceptible to potholes with better side wall tolerance.

vs

RFTS, drive home under 50kms, Spend R4500 every time you hit a pothole or nail...could be weekly cost with our roads..

Sorry guys I sound so despondent, Forking out R20k in 2 weeks on tires that still had 60% life and one that had about 300kms on it, is such a bitter pill to swallow.

I'm looking at something I always consider as waste of time quite seriously now - Tire Insurance.

 

[Danny2]

I hit a pothole on South Rd one day and there went my RFT.

After that i made the change to normal tires on my car and have a Mobility Kit in the boot

 

[NFCKN'SANE]

I hit a pothole on South Rd one day and there went my RFT.

After that i made the change to normal tires on my car and have a Mobility Kit in the boot

Cars still On MP...

 

[sash]

I hit a pothole on South Rd one day and there went my RFT.

After that i made the change to normal tires on my car and have a Mobility Kit in the boot

Cars still On MP...

THe mobility kit is a BMW product, would they still give hassles on MP?

 

[r0ckf1re]

I hit a pothole on South Rd one day and there went my RFT.

After that i made the change to normal tires on my car and have a Mobility Kit in the boot

Cars still On MP...

THe mobility kit is a BMW product, would they still give hassles on MP?

He probably means with running non RFT tyres, not about the mobility kit.

Sent from the Edge

 

[sash]

He probably means with running non RFT tyres, not about the mobility kit.

Sent from the Edge

Still dont get it.... So BMW would probably not cover anything suspension related or void plan.
Assuming they dont cover just the suspension, the logic would be..., we cannot cover any damage due to you using a tyre with a softer sidewall and even though it will absorb more impact, it could have caused damage.... thats BMW logic...

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Seems like you have indeed had some bad luck.. I have had my own spate of bad luck with tyres, also lost 3 GoodYear runflats due to sidewall bubbles in the past..

Besides a issue earlier this year where some metal ripped my RFT in the Eastern Cape (I still drove the 500Km odd trip on the mobility repair foam and made it back... Bought 2 new ones on my return.. :hammerhead My Bridgestone RFTs are great, I also never had a day's issue with the my Michelin RFTs - which is probably the best RFT I ever had..

But I can relate and it is not cool forking out this kind of cash on 'accidental' damage due to our roads.. Also I don't want to add to your worries.. But please check your rims too after a pothole incident at any speed really..

 

[Danny2]

Sorry i meant that i have a Mobility Kit in the car as i dont have a spare and i am not on run flats anymore.

As for the remark about being on MP. You shouldnt have any issues with having non RFT on the car.
Just confirm with the dealership you take the car to their stance on that.

 

[gavsadler]

I replaced the tyres on my 130i at about 60000kms with (non-RFT) Hankooks. The car was still on plan, and there were never any issues when it went in for servicing etc.

At that point in time (maybe things have changed), but I clarified with my dealership and motorplan. The consensus was that you can fit non-RFT tyres, as long as they are the same size and speed rating as what is specified as OEM on the car. My new Hankooks were the same size, and also Y-rated.

There doesn't seem to be any clearly defined stance on this matter - as Danny says - check with your specific dealership and maybe try get something in writing.

 

[Danny2]

FYI my car is still under plan and has been to the dealership after having changed to non-RFT and have had no issues.

 

[nemo_jhb]

I've had some bad luck with RFT's. I had to replace 2 tires, due to potholes, on my Z4, however I successfully claimed 80% of their cost from the JRA (Johannesburg road's agency). Details on their website. Recently had to change a practically new 19 RFT due to a puncture caused by a spark plug, yes u read right, a whole bloody spark plug! :blueCry:

 

[002FTW]

I hit a pothole on South Rd one day and there went my RFT.

After that i made the change to normal tires on my car and have a Mobility Kit in the boot

Cars still On MP...

I suggest reading up on run flats so you learn about them. One rule if you want to reuse the tyre never drive with it flat. A run flat wall collapses so the rim has a surface to run on.

If you had a flat that is not damage to the side wall, like a nail in the thread this could be repaired and used again if it was not driven flat.

About using non-rft speaking to one dealer is fine, if it's not a nationwide consensus it's an issue. What happens when you out of town and have a break down? They then note it on MP and no suspension work is paid for.

 

[momo1]

OUCH!!
I had a new rear 18inch Bridgestone runflat get sidewall damage because of a pothole, New cost was +/-R3500 and it only lasted a month, so I feel your pain.
is there any chance of claiming from the road accident fund?
surely that should be possible?

 

[Woodies]

After reading all these stories of damaged run flat tyres due to pot holes, would normal "go flats" also have been destroyed? Or are RFT much more prone to pothole damage?
I also always thought you could drive up to 80km/hr on run flats to make it to the next stop etc. But they never made it very clear that driving on a "flat" run flat would destroy it/leave it useless! So what the hell do you do in the middle of nowhere if they can't replace the tyre? Another 80km/hr until you find a place that has the correct tyre for you?
Only positive point for RFT are for people that drive in super crappy areas and are too afraid to stop. Then R4k for tyre is better than getting robbed/killed. But otherwise I will just pull over and change the tyre.
Come on BMW, let the customer choose what he/she wants..........

 

[NFCKN'SANE]

Update- from Bridgestone SA

After my incident I contacted Bridgestone and spoke to various people within the Organization they were very polite in dealing with my inquiry, I was finally contacted by the Director of Sales and Marketing" his response below:

The Bridgestone RFT tire does not hold any warranty or guarantee for damages, The Tire is designed to allow you to continue your journey purely for safety purposes and will have to be replaced once driven deflated as the wall does get damaged which changes the integrity of the Tire - Yes these Tires are disposable, in rare cases the tire can be saved with a mushroom when there is a slow air leak and no wall damaged.

I went on to question the Marketing of these tires as most consumers like me believed the RFT tires means one could drive the car within the Specification of less that 80kms/h <100kms distance and have it plugged and there is no further damage as RFT walls were strengthened for this purpose.

I was told that this is not the case, These tires are purely for safety and must be replaced once they are driven with no Air, He went on to quote success stories of people who had damaged tires in far out locations and were grateful just to get home safely without being stranded.

I agree brilliant considering the SA climate, however market the RFT as disposable Tires then.He also mentioned that it is the duty of the Vehicle Sales Rep i.e BMW to notify his customers on the RFT technology. and not the tire Manufacturer.

I did highlight considering the roads we have, we could be spending a fortune on tires weekly on RFTS, his comment was RFT's were developed for 1st world countries and the Technology is not suited to SA roads, Unfortunately the European manufactures have Standard OEM specifications across the World even though not ideal for most 3rd world countries.

To sump it all up, I was told sorry bud, no claim here, well will have another R4500 of your hard earned cash in good faith we will flick you a small discount.

Maybe your kid can have a really cool R4500 300kms side wall damaged RFT swing for xmas ..ok he didnt say that..lol

Next step, Speak to dealer and confirm I can switch to Non- RFT's + Space saver Spare..

Because - RUN FLATS MUST FALL....

Happy Holidays...

Drive Fast .. Take Chances ... Avoid the Pot holes...:coolShake:

 

[sash]

There a forum member who was driving from newcastle/standerton late at night with his family and hit a pothole or something on the road. I believe 2 tyres burst and there was damage to the rims. He managed to drive the remaining 300 odd km at the prescribed limit of 80km/h. So while the technology works, it just needs to be sold to the customers with ALL the information.

Alternatively, if you have normal tyres, you have to ensure you have a plan B in the event of a flat tyre.