I'm interested in opinions. If I can get Dec 16th free, I'll likely go to the MoS DCMM breakfast and bring a bunch of stuff from Wegman's. If I go to the breakfast, I think I'll also set up an appointment for service. I have three issues. One is a no-brainer, but I'm not sure how to pursue the other two.

1) Groaning LSD. Do I need to know the TSB number? They will know what I mean, right?

2) Cold stumble. I didn't think I had this problem. Maybe I don't. I know that on Wednesday, I pulled out of my uphill parallel parking spot, went twenty feet and then, the engine just lost power completely. It almost stalled, but then chugged back to life and it was fine the rest of the way to work. I don't want a software update unless it's really necessary. I have a nice burble and I don't want to lose it.

3) Pirelli euphorias losing air. I have to add 5-10psi twice a week in cold weather. I confirmed today at Merchant's tire that the tires are leaking at the beads. They wouldn't unmount and seal the beads for me because they said: a) tires that new shouldn't leak, warranty should cover them and b) their machine would likely slice the sidewalls when unmounting. I know that I should ditch the run flats. I have every intention of ditching the run flats. I'd love to ditch the run flats. But if I get new tires that's all I'll be getting from Santa this year. Also, it really offends my sensibilities to throw away tires with only 3k miles on them. I should be able to wear them down before replacing them. Does anybody think it's acceptable to have to add air twice a week to the tires of a brand new car? The BMW drivers with run flats don't think it's acceptable, do they?

So, that's where I stand. I'm also hoping that if my car is in for service while I'm chatting at the DCMM breakfast, I can hear some of your input and opinions in person. I just hope I can get that day free.

 

I had MoS fix mine (they have to replace the fluid), without supplying the TSB #. They found it. It might not be something they can handle on a Saturday visit though - you should ask in advance (they don't have all of their most experienced techs there on Saturdays).Not everyone agrees with that assessment. I love my run flats!No, of course not. But it sounds to me like you have a leak, so they may need to be patched... but if it's happening to all 4 at the same time, that does seem too coincidental. I would think that one way or another, this is a warranty issue. Keep in mind though that colder air will lower the pressure, and temps have been dropping lately! Still, 5-10 psi per week is excessive.

Consider that if this sort of thing happened with non-runflats... you'd be in a lot worse situation. Runflats do have their benefits. Again, Saturday appointments tend to be limited in scope (compared to weekday appointments), so I would check with the SA thoroughly on what they can do then, before you show up.

 

There are no holes to patch. No foreign objects in the tire treads or sidewalls. The friendly folks at Merchant's tire showed me today that one tire has two slow leaks at the bead and the other has one fast leak at the bead. The other two tires have been holding air just fine. There is another thread in the tires forum in which it was suggested to have a tire shop seal the beads, but I guess I have to find a shop that is confident unmounting these tires for that to be an option. Still, I'd be paying to fix a problem that I'm thinking should be covered under warranty.

 

You need to have them put a sealant on the lips of the wheel/on the tire so than the bead of the tire has a nice air tight fit. I had to get that done on one of our Winter tires just recently. Edge, make sure and check your tire pressure soon.

 

My run flats also gave similar problems. The front pair would always loose pressure in exactly the manner you describe. I lived with the problem till the tyres wore. The replacements don't give any problems whatsoever.
I am thinking of replacing the new run-flats for different non-runflats although I am loth as you suggest to was money on quite new tyres.

 

Edge, how do you feel about the run flats in the snow?

 

Well, I have a set of winter snow tires... which are also run-flats... so I love them too, they work beautifully.

 

It looks like you've found the leaks - and that they're along the bead. nevertheless, one often overlooked item is to tighten the valve stems. I have the little tool for it, very simple to do.

I also think I have the groaning LSD, maybe I should get that TSB done. I hope I'm not causing any damage by continuing with the original (obviously incorrect) fluid. Edge - how long did that take for MoS to fix?

 

I don't remember, exactly... I had my car in for a number of things at the same time, and I know they had my car for more than a day...

 

Ok, so I got no response to my online service request sent almost two weeks ago.

I spoke to Mike Arata at the MoS breakfast and he said I should try to reach Mike Creason about an appointment this week. I emailed Mike C yesterday and got no response.

I called just now and they said they could look at it Friday but tires are "never covered under warranty". I also can't get a loaner since I didn't buy the car from Sterling. If I want to try to have them fixed or replaced under the tire warranty from the manufacturer, I have to go to the dealership from which I bought the car (Towson, the only place in the area that had a checkmate in inventory).

On Christmas eve, I need to drive 300 miles round trip to get my Dad and bring him to our house and it looks like I'll have to take Friday off from work if I have a snowball's chance of having the issue fixed in time.

 

If it is deffinately a not sealed bead, than take it to any tire place. I would recommend going to Tirerack and find an installation place. If you have RFs, it should be like $45 to take off and $45 to put on. That is about the average and shouldn't be much more than an hour.

 

Yeah. If I have to pay someone to do it, I'd rather not pay the dealer's labor rate. When you say $45 and $45 are you talking about all four tires? I really only have two problem tires and I could get by with just sealing one of them to get me through the Christmas weekend.

I have an appointment for Friday morning in Towson, but the SA there is already convinced that I have bent wheels. He says he has never heard of the run flats leaking from the beads, ever. Thanks for the Tire Rack idea. I'll make some phone calls tomorrow.

 

I just had mine done about a month or so ago. The actual repair took about 45 minutes - 1 hour. Convincing them that the groaning LSD was the groaning LSD took another hour ahead of that. Before then, they wanted me to pay them to rotate the tires because the groaning noise was coming from the tires (the tires?!). I insisted on a test drive with one of the techs, they gave me a manager and we heard it the first time he turned the wheels. Wasn't the tires - imagine that. We did some 360s just outside the parking lot. I then mentioned the TSB (again) that I had read about on NAM and I was told to not believe everything you read on the Internet! Finally they pulled the **dang TSB and replace the fluid/oil.

Any chance your DSC/ASC kicked in and chopped the power to the engine? Sounds like what happened to me a time or two when I first got my MINI and didn't have a feel for how much ummph I could give it without breaking traction. Plus, if it was cold (both the road surface and runflat tires) perhaps that contributed?

The dealer (MoS anyway) will insist that your tires need to be replaced - they don't repair runflats and tell you they can't be repaired. On my wife's car, that cost us >$200. After that lesson and reading more on NAM, when I needed a repair, I went to Craven's Goodyear on Columbia Pike (near Rt 7, in Bailey's Crossroads). Awesome service, knew exactly how to handle runflats, repaired it and remounted - out for under $30. Everything's been great since.

Hope this helps. Just be prepared for the dealer to want/need to independently troubleshoot and determine that your groaning LSD is the groaning LSD problem in the TSB that you tell them about (which they won't search for and read when you tell them about it).

BTW, I too received no response to the online booking attempt. I was told by the SA when I checked in that I should've called in the first place, because that's the way to get things done - by the phone. Seriously? So I wouldn't use their online booking for some time to come.

 

Honestly, I don't know and don't care at this point. I also thought it might be moisture in the fuel lines, but it only happened the one time. If nothing else, I want to open a dialog about what software version my ECU has loaded, but I'll save it for my scheduled maintenance.

Thanks for that tip. I'll call them first today and see what they can do for me.
It was a fellow mini owner who recommended the online booking but her success was under the admin of a previous service manager....

 

OK, get this. I had to go to Craven's on Lee Hwy because the runflat specialist at Columbia Pike is out today. No biggie. Long Metro ride to King Street.

No leak was detected on the one wheel. No surprise. When temps are above 40, it doesn't leak at all. The other wheel leaked from the bead. They unmounted the tire and found the cause: Drumroll please.....

The manufacturer's (Pirelli) paper sticker was left on the bead of the tire. They peeled that thing off, cleaned the bead, applied sealant and remounted. No leaks detected afterwards.

So, in this case, I'm paying about $30 to fix a problem that can be traced back to Oxford. (assuming they mount the tires there) I think I'm OK with that. I've blown $30 on much stupider mistakes made by me and others.

If I lived closer to Towson or Sterling, I would have been more insistent that they diagnose the problem and I would have went nuts if they tried to bill me for sticker removal. In this case, I got off somewhat cheap, but I still want to make a point at MoS or MoT. I want some vindication or closure of some kind. I want a friggin cookie or something.

 

Ask and you shall receive.

 

Thanks.