Good experience with Run Flat repair

[fredfitch]

Thought I'd wait a while to make sure the repair worked before reporting the following:

Anyway, the FTM indicator lit up one fine day. Being a non-believer and lazy to boot (and not planning to do any highway driving over the next week) I reduced the pressure all around to equalize it in all four tires, reset the FTM and drove in and around town for another week or two (20 miles max, 30 mph max) until the FTM lit up again. Given the reports I'd read about not all shops being competent or having the right measure of scruples I decided to call around and ask tire shops if they were familiar with run-flats before taking the car in. The first place I called said they didn't deal with run flats, the second said they were and that if I brought the car in they'd take a look right away.

Long story short, they identified the puncture as being in the tread, fixed it in fifteen minutes flat and charged me a whopping $25 for my troubles. And they were polite and professional throughout. I was so impressed I promised them I'd spread the word - so if you're in San Francisco and need any run-flat work, Larkin Brothers on 370 South Van Ness Ave is the place to go.

[boxboss]

How did they make the repair - a plug? I've heard, maybe incorrectly, that RFT's cannot be repaired.

Thought I'd wait a while to make sure the repair worked before reporting the following:

Anyway, the FTM indicator lit up one fine day. Being a non-believer and lazy to boot (and not planning to do any highway driving over the next week) I reduced the pressure all around to equalize it in all four tires, reset the FTM and drove in and around town for another week or two (20 miles max, 30 mph max) until the FTM lit up again. Given the reports I'd read about not all shops being competent or having the right measure of scruples I decided to call around and ask tire shops if they were familiar with run-flats before taking the car in. The first place I called said they didn't deal with run flats, the second said they were and that if I brought the car in they'd take a look right away.

Long story short, they identified the puncture as being in the tread, fixed it in fifteen minutes flat and charged me a whopping $25 for my troubles. And they were polite and professional throughout. I was so impressed I promised them I'd spread the word - so if you're in San Francisco and need any run-flat work, Larkin Brothers on 370 South Van Ness Ave is the place to go.
Fred - The runflats work by sacrificing their sidewall integrity as you run them while flat. It sounds to me as if you have compromised at least one and possibly all your tires. So, I don't look upon your report as a success story at all. I think you may have traded a few days' peaceful ride for trouble down the pike (freeway). And the fact that your local tire shop could fix your tire is no great shakes, either. Anybody can fix a tire. But you may have fixed one or all of them in a quite unintended way. :scared:

[fredfitch]

I think you may have traded a few days' peaceful ride for trouble down the pike (freeway). And the fact that your local tire shop could fix your tire is no great shakes, either. Anybody can fix a tire. But you may have fixed one or all of them in a quite unintended way. :scared:

Good catch! You reminded me of a critical point that I inadvertently omitted to mention - I made sure the tire pressure never dropped below a safe threshold (the punctured tire never really lost all of the air within it). This worked since it was only a slow leak - there was a nail embedded in one of the treads. The indicator as we know just indicates a differential pressure between tires, not the actual pressure. Have driven over a thousand miles since then on and off the highway with no issues.

To answer the other question, they patched the tire just like any other tire.

I think you may have traded a few days' peaceful ride for trouble down the pike (freeway). And the fact that your local tire shop could fix your tire is no great shakes, either. Anybody can fix a tire. But you may have fixed one or all of them in a quite unintended way. :scared:

Good catch! You reminded me of a critical point that I inadvertently omitted to mention - I made sure the tire pressure never dropped below a safe threshold (the punctured tire never really lost all of the air within it). This worked since it was only a slow leak - there was a nail embedded in one of the treads. The indicator as we know just indicates a differential pressure between tires, not the actual pressure. Have driven over a thousand miles since then on and off the highway with no issues.

To answer the other question, they patched the tire just like any other tire.
I am still doubtful. What was the "new" tire pressure and how many miles and how fast did you travel on all four tires at that pressure? The newer cars have a TPM vice FTM, so you can be alerted that the tire is flat or at least low before it begins to sacrifice itself (assuming you have runflats, which I no longer do).

[BHR4CE1]

I got one of those "FTM" warnings a few weeks ago (on my way to a 6er fest, no less) I took it in and they told me that the air was leaking around the tire valve. All fixed now...guess I was lucky.

[DarrenCT]

I heard that you cannot safely plug a runflat. possibly an interior patch may work, though. I had a nail in mine at 42k miles, so i just replaced the tire anyway :100: :100: :100:

I got a nail in one of the rear runflats earlier this year. I replaced the damn thing. It came down to cost of replacement versus my peace of mind. I chose the latter.

[boxboss]

I got a nail in one of the rear runflats earlier this year. I replaced the damn thing. It came down to cost of replacement versus my peace of mind. I chose the latter.
:stupid:

[Richard in NC]

In 9 months and 10k miles of 650i and RFT ownership, my box score is 2 repairs and 1 replacement. For both repairs, the nail was away from the sidewall, 0 to minimal pressure loss (neither time did the FTM go off before spotting the nail), and a Bridgestone/Firestone dealer that works with RFTs all the time. I believe each patch was $35. They dismounted, checked the integrity of the RFT side wall and patched the tires from ther inside. As mentioned recently, the third time wasn't the charm, the side wall was shreaded, and I needed to use a BMW stealer to replace the tire at $550 installed. FYI, the Bridgestone dealer would have charged $450 to replace a tire but I was out of town during the 3rd incident. With not so good luck getting patched tires, I'd be out a total of $1450 in 9 months with the stinkin RFTs.

In the previous 5 years and $75k miles in the M5 (having standard tires and no spare), I needed only one nail plugged and one set of rears replaced due to a chunk of metal near the side wall in a tire near needing replaced anyways. Since I was a week away from ordering a new set of rear tires, I don't count that as exta expense, just a hassle because I was heading out of town when it was spotted). My point being that even though the RFTs may provide peace of mind in many circumstances of tire issues, I don't think they are foolproof nor are they worth the extra expense.

[m630]

just to chime in and add some fire to the flames...i've had 2 RFTs repaired by BMW service for me in the past year. One was a front and one was a rear. The front was subsequently replaced earlier this year when i destroyed my fronts due to a pothole, but the rear is still on, a year later now and not one issue with losing pressure or performance..in answer to how hard i've driven on the repaired tires, i've driven the car at the VMAX limit for sustained periods and have not had an issue (though I've now said it and I soon will pay for saying so, karma police on board!!!!)