What 45 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 BMW 550i

I HAVE NOW DRIVEN MY 2012 BMW 550I X DRIVE FOR APPROXIMATELY 22,000 MILES. I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO REPLACE 5 RUN FLAT TIRES IN THE PAST 11 MONTHS. TWO GOODYEAR EXCELLENCE ROF AND 3 DUNLOP SP SPORT MAX GT. THREE TIRES DEVELOPED BUBBLES ON THE SIDEWALL AND I CANNOT THINK OF A PREVIOUS IMPACT THAT STOOD OUT IN MY MIND. TWO TIRES RAPIDLY DEFLATED AFTER COMING IN CONTACT WITH POT HOLES. THE COMBINATION OF THE TIGHT SUSPENSION ALONG WITH THE LOW PROFILE OF THE RUN FLAT TIRES MAKES THIS COMBINATION VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

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REPEATED SIDEWALL BUBBLES WITH 2012 BMW 550XI GOODYEAR LS II 245/40/19 RUNFLAT TIRES. 6 TIRES NEEDING TO BE REPLACED WITHIN 33,000 MILES DUE TO SIDEWALL BUBBLES. SIGNIFICANT ISSUE ALSO APPEARS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE (WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM) AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS THAT I HAVE DIRECTLY SPOKEN WITH WHO HAVE SAME CAR AND TIRE CONFIGURATION. ALTHOUGH I AM FILING A SINGLE COMPLAINT, THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED TO 6 SEPARATE TIRES THAT WERE ON MY AUTOMOBILE. ALL 4 TIRE LOCATIONS WERE AFFECTED. OF NOTE, REPORTED TO BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS BUT THEY WOULD NOT PERMIT ME TO SPEAK WITH OR PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION TO THEIR PRODUCT SAFETY DEPARTMENT IN ORDER TO FILE A PRODUCT SAFETY COMPLAINT. THEREFORE, I AM FILING A COMPLAINT WITH YOUR AGENCY. THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED OVER 2013-2014 BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY MILE 15K AND 33K. ONE INCIDENT OCCURRED WITH A TIRE THAT WAS ONLY 3 WEEKS OLD (IT HAD JUST BEEN REPLACED). INCIDENTS WERE NOT ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH WINTER WEATHER OR POTHOLES. *TR

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BMW 550XI. THE VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR TIRES, SIZE 245/40/R19. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD VIBRATE WHEN DRIVING CARIOUS SPEEDS. IN ADDITION, THERE WERE SEVERAL BUBBLES ON ALL FOUR TIRES. THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED ALL FOUR TIRES WOULD NEED REPLACING. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN AND DOT NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE OF BOTH THE TIRE AND THE VEHICLE WAS 39,000.

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BMW 550XI, NORMAL DRIVING, TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR CAME ON, CAR BECAME UNSTABLE. PARKED VEHICLE AND OBSERVED LARGE BUBBLE IN FRONT RIGHT TIRE SIDEWALL HAD SPLIT, CAUSING RAPID DEFLATION. NO ROAD HAZARDS WERE INVOLVED, MECHANIC STATES THAT THESE TIRES GET SIDEWALL BUBBLES ALL THE TIME. *TR

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WE WERE TRAVELING ON A HIGHWAY, HIT A SMALL POTHOLE AND IMMEDIATELY OUR LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING WENT OFF. MY HUSBAND WHO WAS DRIVING THE CAR, PULLED TO SAFE LOCATION, GOT OUT TO INSPECT THE PASSENGER FRONT TIRE TO FIND THAT THE GOODYEAR TIRE HAD ACTUALLY BLOWN OUT. WE HAD A 4 INCH TEAR IN THE TIRE JUST ABOVE THE RIM. THIS IS THE THIRD DUNLOP TIRE THAT WE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE WITH THE SAME ISSUES IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS. THE FIRST TIRE WE HAD AN ISSUE WITH BUBBLED, THE 2ND ALSO BUBBLED BUT WITH ONLY 100 MILES ON IT, AND THEN THE LAST WHICH ACTUALLY BLEW OUT COMPLETELY. WE HAVE HAD MADE NUMEROUS CALLS TO DUNLOP AND BMW EXPRESSING OUR SAFETY CONCERN WITH THESE TIRES. *TR

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THREE TIRE BUBBLES, FIRST AT 11,000 MILES, TWO MORE AT 12,000. ORIGINAL TIRES ON BMW 535XI SPORT. "GOODYEAR EAGLE LS-2 RUNONFLAT" 245/40R19 BMW QUICKLY REPLACED FOUR TIRES WITH MICHELIN, AT PRORATED COST, SO THEY KNOW THE PROBLEM. TIRES MUST BE RECALLED FOR SAFETY!!!!!!!!! *TR

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THIS IS THE 3RD "RUN FLAT TIRE" WITHIN A 3 MONTH PERIOD THAT COULD NOT RUN FLAT EVEN A MILE. *TR

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BMW 550IX EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR EAGLE P245/40/R19. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH AN ALERT ON HIS DASHBOARD ILLUMINATED INSTRUCTING HIM THAT THE VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN MORE THAN 50 MILES AS THE TIRE WAS GOING FLAT. THIRTY MILES LATER THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AND THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE HAD DEVELOPED A BUBBLE ON THE SIDEWALL, WHICH CAUSED THE TIRE TO SHRED. THE VEHICLE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER OF THE VEHICLE WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE TIRES HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED. UPDATED 12/14/12 *BF THE CONSUMER REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES WITH MICHELIN TIRES. THE CONSUMER STATED TWO OF THE ORIGINAL FOUR TIRES DEVELOPED BUBBLES ON THE SIDEWALL. ON TWO OCCASIONS, THE DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTIONED. THE VIDEO SCREEN FLASHED A MESSAGE INSTRUCTING THE CONSUMER TO RETURN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. IN THE PROCESS, THE VEHICLE LOST A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF POWER OUTPUT AND SHOOK VIOLENTLY WHEN DRIVEN OVER 30 MPH. UPDATED 07/09/13

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FRONT TIRE BULDGE AFTER DRIVING OVER A RECESSED MAN WHOLE COVER-THIS IS THE 3RD TIRE I REPLACED . THE TIRES ARE GOODYEAR 245/40 R19 EAGLE RUN FLATS THESE TIRES ARE DANGEROUS , THEY ARE NOT SAFE. *TR

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1. NEW 2012 BMW 550XI M SPORT PACKAGE W/APPROX. 6,700 MILES ON FOUR OEM GOODYEAR EAGLE LS2 ROF 245/40R19 98V (DOT NE66 JP1R 3411) TIRES. NO RECOLLECTION OF HITTING ANY POTHOLES, SPEEDBUMPS, CURBS, ETC. 2. NOTICED APPROX. 2.5" X 1" BUBBLE ON FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE SIDEWALL AFTER PARKING AT WORKPLACE. NO CRASHES OR INJURIES. 3. VEHICLE DRIVEN DIRECTLY TO BMW DEALER AT LOW SPEED. SERVICE REP SAID TIRE MUST BE REPLACED DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS AND THAT HE HAD SEEN SEVERAL SIMILAR INCIDENTS. DEALER INSTALLED NEW GOODYEAR TIRE (DOT NE66 JP1R 0412). *TR

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AFTER DRIVING ONLY A FEW THOUSAND MILES THE TIRES ON THE CAR FAILED. THE TWO FRONT TIRES "BUBBLED. WITHIN ONE MONTH AFTER, THE LEFT FRONT FAILED BY "BLOWING". IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS ALL FOUR "NEW" TIRES FAILED, WITH THE SAME "BUBBLING" ISSUE. 4 MONTHS, 7 TIRES - SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH THE ENGINEERING OF THE CAR AS IT RELATED TO THE RUN-FLAT TIRES USED BY BMW CREATING A VERY DANGEROUS RIDING CONDITION. BMW SERVICE IN THE ONE SERVICE CENTER I VISITED CLAIMS TO CHANGE UP TO 15 TIRES PER DAY. MULTIPLY THAT BY THE NUMBER OF SERVICE CENTERS NATIONWIDE AND YOU HAVE A VERITABLE BMW EPIDEMIC OF TIRE FAILURE. *TR

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