I was going to post under the tire forum, but thought folks in general would be interested in a situation that just happened with my Goodyear runflat (6,000 miles on tires). I had just run over a screw with my runflat tire, and luckily heard a small leak when I stopped the car (tire was wet so you could hear a slow leak). Took it quickly to Goodyear down the road, no pressure warning light, pressure was ok. They broke down the tire to put a plug patch on, and came out to warn me that after they pumped the tire back up there was a large bulge on the sidewall, and wanted $387 to replace. No way, it was looking brand new 10 minutes ago, and they agreed that there was no buldge when I brought it in. By the time they showed me the tire, there were now three buldges in the tire, two on the front sidewall, and one on the backside (different areas). I said no way, something must have happened with the machine. Well, they went to take the tire off again, and the machine went through the sidewall completely. The sidewall completely failed. This is a Goodyear shop, and they are accustomed to EMT runflats. Before I could go ballistic, they said that it was obviously a tire failure, and they would have Goodyear replace the tire. In reading the internet, I saw that on the VWForum there were several mentions of the goodyear having a problem with similar sidewall buldges. Most shops will say it is from potholes, etc, but I've had not situations that would have caused this. And, for it to manifest itself during a repair, is quite concerning. Sounds like the shop is taking care of me, but I'd be interested to know if other folks have had issues with these tires. Thanks.

 

I hope these people REALLY know how to deal with runflat tires. Sounds like they F--- up the tire when they took it out from the rim. Also, the tire itself could well be defective. Either case, enforce the Goodyear tire warranty and get a replacement on their dime. $387 for a new tire????

I have a bridge to sell to you...

 

I had the Perellis. I had a bulge on one of the tires. The sidewall construction is different than standard tires, and big bumps can pinch them and cause delamination. This can happen even more often if the tire pressure goes down, or is run low.

FWIW, I drove the tire that way for a while, and replaced the tires with non-runflats as soon as I could.

Matt

 

Hey, that's only $1,548 for all four. What a bargain. Perhaps he thought this was a MINI Enzo. I think tirerack charges $247 before shipping.

 

My Dunlops (Also owned by Goodyear) are around $165 at TireRack. They are the SP5000 16" 195/55/R16 standard MCS runflats. No problems so far.

 

Maybe I should come to that tire shop. I have a bulge in one of my runflats but refuse to replace it with another runflat.

 

Run flats in Hawaii are $392.00 + tax. My recommendation to all new Mini owners is to go straight to the Goodyear dealer and purchase "Road Hazzard Warranty" It costs around $40.00 per tire which will pay for itself with one tire replacement. I was told by the Goodyear dealer that only certified technicians could repair the run-flats.

 

I have a small bulge on my drivers side front tire and a pretty noticable ulge on my passenger front. should I be worried? they are the stock runflats. can these be replaced under warranty? Im getting a little worried now

 

When I had a bulge, I was told that it was a sign that the integrity of the sidewall had been compromised. For myself, I would not continue driving on it for very long. That said, I drove a couple hundred freeway miles... then replaced the runflats.

I would not recommend anyone drive with a bulged tire.

 

Right, I just replaced one last week. Couldn't get it covered under tire warranty

 

Out of curiosity, if u replace runflats w/ nonrunflats is there room in the boot of an MCS for a spare?

 

What is the warranty that comes with the factory tires on the '06 MINIs?

 

Naw, it becomes a big ole tire to drive around with. On a MC there is a spare as it was designed in. I am making a spare out of my bum runflat and a cheap rim tomorrow.

 

So a tire thats about 1 1/2 years old that has bad sidewalls would not be covered under warranty? whats with that? A tire should last much longer than that!