What 165 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 BMW 550i Xdrive

2011 BMW 550I XDRIVE 6000 MILES. 2.5 INCH BUBBLE ON LEFT FRONT SIDEWALL. *TT

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IN THE PAST 5 MONTHS OF OWNING MY BMW 535XI, I HAD TO CHANGE MY GOODYEAR EAGLE LS2 SIZE 245/40R19 RUN FLATS 3 TIMES BECAUSE OF BUBBLE ON THE SIDE WALL. THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF BMW 535XI OWNERS REPORTING SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THIS TIRE ON THE INTERNET. CONTINUING TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH A SIDEWALL BUBBLE POSES A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY RISK. THEREFORE, THE TIRE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

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SIDEWALL BUBBLE ON RIGHT FRONT GOODYEAR RUN FLAT EXCELLENCE 245/40R19 94Y. DOT NE66 JF1R 1510 ONLY 8400 MILES! VEHICLE IS 2011 BMW 550I WHICH HAS BEEN DRIVEN GENTLY. *TR

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I OWNED A 2011 535I BMW WITH SPORT PACKAGE AND I PURCHASED IT ON OCTOBER 2010 WITHIN 9 MONTHS FROM DATE OF PURCHASE 4 OF THE TIRES WHICH WAS GOODYEAR EXCELLENCE RFT - 2 X 245/40 R19 94Y (FRONT), 2 X 275/35 R19 96Y (REAR) THEY WERE ALL NEED TO BE REPLACED. FIRST ONE WAS A PUNCTURE AND THE REST OF THE OTHER THREE THERE WERE BUBBLE(S) ON IT. *TR

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MINOR POTHOLE HIT TWICE WITH < 1000 MILES ON ODOMETER, SECOND TIRE NOW WITH SIDE WALL BUBBLE. DUE TO BACK ORDER FOR TIRES, NO AVAILABLE REPLACEMENT. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND SIDEWALL ISSUES ARE A DANGER FOR BLOWOUT. NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED! *TR

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I HAVE A 2011 BMW 550I XDRIVE AND HAVE HAD FOUR OF MY TIRES GO BUST WITHIN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 10600 MILES ON THE CLOCK. THE TIRES ARE GOODYEAR EAGLE 245/40 VR19 'RUN FLAT' TIRES. ON FOUR DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I HAVE HIT RELATIVELY MINOR POTHOLES. THE RUN FLATS DO NOT BURST, BUT BUBBLE APPEAR ON THE SIDE AND EVENTUALLY THEY DEFLATE. AFTER THAT HAPPENS THEY ARE INOPERABLE UNLESS YOU DRIVE BELOW 30 MILES AN HOUR. HENCE I HAVE REPLACED FOUR TIRES SO FAR AT A COST OF NEARLY $2000. (RECEIPTS AVAILABLE). I HAVE SPOKEN TO BMW NORTH AMERICA,WHO INSTALLS THESE TIRES, AFTER MUCH HAGGLING THEY FINALLY AGREED TO REIMBURSE ME FOR HALF MY COST. HOWEVER I AM REALLY NERVOUS DRIVING THE CAR NOW, AS THE SLIGHTEST IMPERFECTION ON ROAD SURFACE CREATES A MAJOR TIRE PROBLEM.THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS TO BMW (SEE WEBSITE 'BIMMERFEST' (A BMW ENTHUSIAST WEBSITE). THEY KNOW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM BUT ARE TRYING TO DEAL WITH ON A ONE BY ONE BASIS. BECAUSE THE CAR COMES WITH RUN FLAT TIRES ONLY, THERE IS NO SPARE TIRE. HENCE IF YOU REPLACE WITH REGULAR TIRE, YOU HAVE NO BACKUP IF YOU GET INTO TROUBLE. I AM HOPING THAT YOU WOULD INVESTIGATE AND HOPEFULLY PERSUADE BMW TO RECALL THESE TIRES AND REPLACE WITH BETTER TIRES. WHEN I SPEAK WITH BMW OF NORTH AMERICA THEY RESPOND AND SAY THAT THESE ARE GOODYEAR TIRES, AND NOT MANUFACTURED BY BMW HENCE THEY TRY AND TRANSFER THE BLAME TO GOODYEAR. BMW SOLD THIS VEHICLE WITH THESE TIRES, THEY CHOSE THEM. I SUSPECT TO SAFE MONEY ON PUTTING A SPARE OR DONUT WHEEL IN THE CAR. IN MY MIND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THESE EXPENSIVE AND DEFECTIVE PRODUCT, THANK YOU. *TR

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AIR BUBBLES ON GOODYEAR EAGLE LS2 (MADE IN GERMANY) RUN FLAT TIRE 245/40R19 94Y INSTALLED ON BMW 535XI. ! TIRE REPLACED FOLLOWING A BUBBLE IMMEDIATELY AFTER DRIVING THROUGH A SMALL POTHOLE. VERY DELICATE TIRES, CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY. *TR

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW 550XI EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR EAGLE LS-2 245/40/19 TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED WHEN HE NOTICED A BUBBLE ON THE SIDEWALL OF THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, BUT THE TIRE WAS REPLACED. APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH LATER, THE REPLACEMENT TIRE BLEW WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH OVER A ROAD BUMP. UPON EXAMINING THE TIRE, THE CONTACT NOTICED ANOTHER BUBBLE ON THE SIDEWALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING THE TIRE. THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 726. UPDATED 07-06/11 *BF

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2011 BMW 550I XDRIVE WITH M-SPORT PACKAGE HAS GOODYEAR EAGLE LS-2 245/40R19 98V TIRES. THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE DEVELOPED 3 MINOR BUBBLES ON SIDEWALL AND THE LEFT FRONT DEVELOPED ONE MAJOR BUBBLE AND 2 SMALL BUBBLES ON SIDEWALL WITHIN 3,500 MILES AND BOTH TIRES NEED TO BE REPLACED. I'VE DRIVEN ON THE SAME ROADS FOR OVER TEN YEARS AND NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES WITH OTHER TIRES, BUT WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OWNING THIS CAR, I HAVE HAD SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THESE TIRES. THESE TIRES ARE CLEARLY DEFECTIVE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR

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DROVE CAR FOR ONLY 350 MILES FROM NEW. LEFT FRONT TIRE DEVELOPED SIDEWALL BLISTER. NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. NOTICED DAMAGE AFTER RETURNING HOME FROM SHORT TRIP. *TR

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MAJOR ISSUES WITH A SPECIFIC TIRE. NEW 5 SERIES FROM BMW, IF GET 19" WHEELS COME WITH SUBSTANDARD TIRES - GOODYEAR EAGLE LS2 RUN FLATS. THEY BUBBLE AND FAIL AT AN ALARMINGLY HIGH RATE. LOST ONE TIRE WITHIN A MONTH OF PURCHASE. GOT RID OF THEM BEFORE THEY COULD CAUSE ME ANY MORE PROBLEMS. *TR

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BMW GOODYEAR ISSUES RUN-FLAT TIRES INSTALLED ON 5 SERIES CARS ARE DEFECTIVE. THE TIRES CAUSE BUBBLES IN THE SIDE WALL EVEN OVER MINOR BUMPS. REPLACEMENT IS REQUIRED TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY. TIRES ARE GOODYEAR LS2 245/40/19. *TR

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REPLACED 3 TIRES OF BMW 19INCH RFT. BUBBLES ON ALL TIRES. 6K MILES. WE NEED A RECALL HERE BEFORE INJURY OCCURS. *TR

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BLISTER IN TIRE. THIS IS ONE OF FOUR BLISTERS. *TR

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GOODYEAR LS2 RUN FLAT TIRE DEVELOPED A BUBBLE AFTER ONLY 170 MILES. *TR

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DRIVING MY COMMUTE, THAT I PREVIOUSLY HAD TRAVELED ON LOW PROFILE TIRES IN MY PREVIOUS BMW FOR 3 YEARS WITHOUT INCIDENT, I GOT A BUBBLED SIDEWALL ON MY BRAND NEW GOODYEAR RUN FLAT TIRE. UPON DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THESE BMW OEM TIRES WERE FAILING ALL OVER THE US. IT SEEMS THE TIRES WERE ONLY SPEC'D ON THE SPORT PACKAGE WITH THE ALL WHEEL DRIVE OPTION. THE TIRES ARE UNAVAILABLE DO TO I ASSUME THE LARGE AMOUNT OF FAILURES. BMW PUT A SIZE ON THE CAR THAT IN THE OEM SPEC DOESN'T EXIST BY ANY OTHER TIRE MANUFACTURE. THE FIX WAS TO GIVE ME 2 SUMMER TREAD TIRES UNTIL THE OEM TIRES WERE AVAILABLE. ALTHOUGH BMW NEVER RECOMMENDS MIXING SUMMER AND ALL SEASON RUBBER. *TR

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SIDE WALL BUBBLES ON GOODYEAR EAGLE LS2 RUN ON FLATS SUPPLIED WITH 2011 BMW 550XI SPORT PACKAGE WHEN DRIVING OVER SMALL POTHOLES OR ROAD IMPERFECTIONS

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