Watchdog last night -Alloy wheels

[Barryh]

Featured BMW owners who had cracked alloys.Their argument was that the wheels should be up to the job.i.e not cracking under the strain of a pothole-so common on todays roads.BMW are not willing to replace under warranty.

I too have had the same with my 18 inch wheels on w211 and MB are same as BMW.

Anyone else see this or had same problem?

 

[timwood2000]

This might be a silly question, but how do you know that they are cracked in the first place?

 

[stumpy1]

Cracked a 19" bentley wheel recently. Yes, our roads are really bad but the current vogue for big wheels doesn't help. Audi replaced wheels on the biturbo RS4 for buckling and porousity but that is rare for a maker to fess up.

 

[davethemus]

This might be a silly question, but how do you know that they are cracked in the first place?

the flat tyre gives it away, my brother had the same problem with his bmw, he bought them off e-bay though.

 

[jaymanek]

Its a common occurence.. we seem to be changing alloys all the time..

Yes the wheels should be made stronger, after all british roads are silk compared to some countries.

Average price for a 17" wheel from MB is £150 so bearable at least.

 

[ringway]

A friend of mine had the alloy wheel problem with his BMW 530D.
He bought the car used (10,000miles) and it came with run-flat tyres and sports suspension.


In addition to the above he experienced another common 5-Series fault where the windscreen was so thin (to reduce weight) that it cracked whilst he was filling the car with fuel.

BMW didn't admit liability to any of the above - He didn't have the car for long.

 

[richard]

In addition to the above he experienced another common 5-Series fault where the windscreen was so thin (to reduce weight) that it cracked whilst he was filling the car with fuel.

Tell him to fill just the fuel tank with fuel rather than the whole car (sorry)

More seriously, I suspect the weight saving (and thus decreased fuel consumption) is why this is happening. Interestingly my Mercedes AMG styling IV 2-piece 19" are *significantly* heavier that the AMG turbine type 18" wheels I removed. If I buckle any of those I will be seriously upset ...

R

 

[Mudster]

Do a quick search on google for this. The numbers involved are huge.

Interestingly it also always seems to be the inners of rear wheels. I would have though if it were potholes the incidence of front/rear wheel failure would be similar but that's not the case.

One chap, Dr A Khan paid to have his wheels tested by MIRA who stated it was manufacturing defect. BMW still refused to pay, so he took them court. I'm not sure if he actually got a ruling or was paid off before it reached its full course but the settlement (from BMW) was a few thousand.

I just can't stand Watchdog, Anne Robinson likes the sound of her own voice too much and simply doesn't give the people invited on to answer one question before she's firing them down with the next...She's no Paxman.

 

[st4]

I blame low profile tyres....

Less profile, less absorbance of bumps, more strain on the wheel. Coupled with firmer suspension and harder suspension set ups the wheels only can take so much....

BMW have used a 0.3mmm screen, other manufactures its a 0.6mm screen from memory.

 

[renault12ts]

^ 3mm and 6mm surely??

 

[G.O'Rilla]

^ 3mm and 6mm surely??

Think so - even so 3mm is extremely thin......

 

[lynall]

Think so - even so 3mm is extremely thin......

The 3mm screen is for the american market so when they have an accident and go through the screen because they didnt clunk clink it doesnt hurt so much.



Lynall

 

[davidjpowell]

Brother had a 335 convertible with cracked wheels. Dealer was very quick to blame him for driving over potholes.

He also had problems actually getting replacement tyres for the car. He was put in a hire car for a week by BMW while they tried to source a tyre. I had a suspicion that somewhere in their compound there was a car missing a tyre in the end, as most tyre repair garages were quoting a 2 month lead time.

 

[rf065]

Do a quick search on google for this. The numbers involved are huge.

Interestingly it also always seems to be the inners of rear wheels. I would have though if it were potholes the incidence of front/rear wheel failure would be similar but that's not the case.

One chap, Dr A Khan paid to have his wheels tested by MIRA who stated it was manufacturing defect. BMW still refused to pay, so he took them court. I'm not sure if he actually got a ruling or was paid off before it reached its full course but the settlement (from BMW) was a few thousand.

None of the wheels shown appeared to have a flat spot, which is normally a sign of pothole damage, they only had small cracks. IIRC the DR guy got £7000 from them, not sure how many wheels he went through.

Russ

 

[Beetnik]

In addition to the above he experienced another common 5-Series fault where the windscreen was so thin (to reduce weight) that it cracked whilst he was filling the car with fuel.

Should've used unleaded

I'll get my coat.

 

[Satch]

Putting aside manufacturing defects, it comes down to the simple fact that some rim/tyre combination are unsuitable for prevailing road conditions in the UK.

If a low profile tyre sidewall runs out of capacity to absorb a shock loading then only one place for it to go: the alloy rim.

One glance at pic should tell you:

!) Why the inner side usually gives way first on cars with positive offsets and anorexic sidewalls. Wider the rim, worse it gets.

2) Why proper 4x4's (i.e those with non drug dealer alloys) have considerable negative offset and 65 or 70 profile tyres

Simples, no?

 

[Dieselman]

I blame low profile tyres....

Less profile, less absorbance of bumps, more strain on the wheel. Coupled with firmer suspension and harder suspension set ups the wheels only can take so much....

I'd agree with that. Heavier cars, stiffer suspension, wider and larger rims, lower profile tyres. The amount of shock passed to the rim has to be significantly greater than previously.

 

[APM]

Audi were replacing their B5rs4 wheels under warranty due to them cracking///////

 

[horsesuitedfool]

Audi were replacing their B5rs4 wheels under warranty due to them cracking///////

I had an Audi RS and went through wheels many times due to cracking and buckling which Audi deemed not manufacturing defects but changed them anyway under good will warranty. I changed the wheels for aftermarket ones that were a little heavier i noticed and never had another issue with them. In my opinion they crack because the wheels are not up to the job as they are trying to save weight as much as poss, decent aftermarket ones are stronger and dont crack or buckle....This is also true on the Range Rover, the factory Range Stormer 20 inch alloys crack and buckle yet the aftermarket replica Range Stormer alloys do not have any such issues......

 

[ewans]

A friend of mine had the alloy wheel problem with his BMW 530D. He bought the car used (10,000miles) and it came with run-flat tyres and sports suspension.

I had run flats and firm sport suspension on my Z4, no cracked alloys but both rear springs broken @ 30K miles. Very common problem aparently, and BMW not interested in recifying it.