[DW_x3m40i]

I have Bridgestone run flats and just found a puncture in the middle of one of the tires (not the sidewall) this morning where it deflated to 0 psi. Tire has less than 8k miles and enough tread where BMW service says it is okay for me to replace just one tire rather than all four. I asked if it's okay to repair it and they said RFT needs to be replaced instead of getting repaired when it is punctured.

However, I found mixed responses online on whether it is okay and safe to repair and was actually able to find a mom and pop tire store that would repair it for me.

Anyone else have thoughts on for or against repairing RFT? Seems like if repairing RFT are not recommended then it can get very costly each time you run over a nail - especially if you need to replace all 4 tires.

What I probably should have done was negotiate the tire warranty in given how crappy the roads are in SF or is it crappy tires that we got from BMW. But I guess I will save that for another thread...

[teaston]

As long as the tyre hasn’t been driven on zero or near zero pressure it’s ok to repair.

If it’s been driven on zero pressure then the structural integrity of the side walls has been compromised.

[DW_x3m40i]

Originally Posted by teaston

As long as the tyre hasn't been driven on zero or near zero pressure it's ok to repair.

If it's been driven on zero pressure then the structural integrity of the side walls has been compromised.

I drove it for a few miles looking for tire shops.

Like maybe 2 miles?

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by DW_x3m40i

I drove it for a few miles looking for tire shops.

Like maybe 2 miles?

You'll be fine. I've repaired 2 different tires 3 times over the last 1.5 years.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by DW_x3m40i

I drove it for a few miles looking for tire shops.

Like maybe 2 miles?

Not worth risking imo.

[popopine]

I had one repaired. A day later the plug popped. I would replace the one.

[Dandle]

I had two rfts repaired in the past but neither had lost any pressure before the repairs. If it driven at all with no pressure then I would replace it (even 2 miles).

[Replicant]

A big reason I carry a portable air pump on the vehicle is so that I can prevent the run flats from going flat. I would replace if I ran it flat or under 10-15 psi for more than a mile or so.

[dereksM3]

Lots of contradicting and misinformation in this thread. It’s a RFT and by design they can be driven for short distances with zero or near zero pressure without internal carcass damage. Regardless, any tire shop you take it to (or dealer) will inspect the tire and decide depending on if there was sidewall damage, the puncture area is outside the patchable limits, etc. Also, it’s worth noting that certain MFG with higher speed ratings don’t allow patched tires (not the case for OEM X3 tires). Either way, ask your shop to inspect and decide. This coming from somebody who has patched hundreds of tires and worked at two different tires shops. My recommendation, take your shops or dealers advice and go from there.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

Lots of contradicting and misinformation in this thread. It’s a RFT and by design they can be driven for short distances with zero or near zero pressure without internal carcass damage. Regardless, any tire shop you take it to (or dealer) will inspect the tire and decide depending on if there was sidewall damage, the puncture area is outside the patchable limits, etc. Also, it’s worth noting that certain MFG with higher speed ratings don’t allow patched tires (not the case for OEM X3 tires). Either way, ask your shop to inspect and decide. This coming from somebody who has patched hundreds of tires and worked at two different tires shops. My recommendation, take your shops or dealers advice and go from there.

That is absolutely not the case!!

RFT's can be driven up to 50 miles on zero or close to zero pressure, that is because as soon as you start driving on it with no pressure the side walls start to deteriorate.

So yes it 'might' be ok after 2 miles, or even 50 miles, but it might not, and repairing and reusing it could result in it blowing out and totalling your car, and injuring or killing the occupants.

[supersebbo]

If you drove it while the pressure was still high enough not to trigger the warning in iDrive, then you're probably fine to repair it.

As soon as that pressure warning goes off, if you're still driving it, you're going to have damaged the tyre and it should be replaced.

[dereksM3]

Originally Posted by teaston

That is absolutely not the case!!

RFT's can be driven up to 50 miles on zero or close to zero pressure, that is because as soon as you start driving on it with no pressure the side walls start to deteriorate.

So yes it 'might' be ok after 2 miles, or even 50 miles, but it might not, and repairing and reusing it could result in it blowing out and totalling your car, and injuring or killing the occupants.

How is that not the case, you are basically reiterating what I just said...

Hence the reason why I said: "Regardless, any tire shop you take it to (or dealer) will inspect the tire and decide depending on if there was sidewall damage, the puncture area is outside the patchable limits, etc." It's all circumstantial, but as I stated driving for a short distance on run flats at low pressure they don't start magically disintegrating, I've changed a few of them over the years...

Frankly, it doesn't matter what the OP wants in regards to tire decision - if the tire is damaged or was driven in a manner that might have damaged it a shop WILL NOT reinstall it. Acting like he is the one that will make the decision and be risking others lives is a gross overstatement and just won't happen. ANY credible shop has severe liability to not properly diagnose a tire that has went flat, on any given day that is generally 50% of the service that comes through these shops.

[DW_x3m40i]

Well I went ahead and got it repaired. Tire shop said the sidewall was fine and that tire was repairable.

Been driving all weekend and it's been all good. Will pick up a pump though just to keep PSI up in case this happens again.

Here's a pic of the patch.

[Jayf30]

Yeah I had mine patched when a screw went through. I woke up that morning with 13psi in that tire, inflated it and drove to the tire shop. I drove about 2k miles on them afterward before switching out to my current non rf tires. You should be fine.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by DW_x3m40i

Well I went ahead and got it repaired. Tire shop said the sidewall was fine and that tire was repairable.

Been driving all weekend and it's been all good. Will pick up a pump though just to keep PSI up in case this happens again.

Here's a pic of the patch.

Originally Posted by dereksM3

How is that not the case, you are basically reiterating what I just said...

Hence the reason why I said: "Regardless, any tire shop you take it to (or dealer) will inspect the tire and decide depending on if there was sidewall damage, the puncture area is outside the patchable limits, etc." It's all circumstantial, but as I stated driving for a short distance on run flats at low pressure they don't start magically disintegrating, I've changed a few of them over the years...

Frankly, it doesn't matter what the OP wants in regards to tire decision - if the tire is damaged or was driven in a manner that might have damaged it a shop WILL NOT reinstall it. Acting like he is the one that will make the decision and be risking others lives is a gross overstatement and just won't happen. ANY credible shop has severe liability to not properly diagnose a tire that has went flat, on any given day that is generally 50% of the service that comes through these shops.

You can't see the damage, it is inside the structure of the sidewall.

[VMMVMMM]

I've driven cars with run flat tires for about 15 years now. You are perfectly fine and should have no issues with that fix. You can choose to be overly cautious, and that will never hurt anything but your wallet, but given my many similar experiences, I would be shocked if you ever have an issue with that fix.

[Akin_stones]

My X3 tire pressure after nail damage has never dropped below 29 psi, yet again BMW service recommended changing it due to safety reasons. Apparently the weight of the SUV leaves the patch vulnerable to an imminent failure.

Important point; in the case (and most probably, they say) repaired tire fails after 15-20k km, then all 4 tires will have to be replaced since the rubber depths should not deviate more than 10% from each other in an AWD vehicle, again for safety reasons.

If lucky enough with only one replacement (i.e. already running on relatively new tires), it might be worth just going for it.

PS: Our 318i R18 RFT tire runs w/o any problem for 1.5-2 years now after repair.

[antgenn]

I had them repaired multiple times and no issues. Pressure never dropped to o though and I added air as needed to get to the shop.
The second set of tires was from Tire Rack and had road hazard coverage. I was "lucky" to rupture side wall on the pothole (actually it was my wife driving at night) and they replaced 2 tires at once as the second had a plug in it. It takes some effort to get the claim put together, but the shop did all pictures and paperwork.
As it comes to the dealer, they will always say to replace. Funny, they told my wife during routine oil change that the pressure is low and all tires need to be replaced. They also showed her the nail! She called me and I just told them to put some air and let her go. No puncture at all.

[rob175]

Point of information:....The difference between a RF tire and a conventional tire is a RF tire has a much stronger TIRE BEAD than a conventional tire, so a flat tire DOES NOT COME OFF THE WHEEL when you drive a short distance for repair or replacement. That's it.

[TJay74]

This is a classic and sadly typical case of a dealer giving out inaccurate info. Michelin, Goodyear, and Continental all allow a runflat tire to be repaired at least once with an internal patch/plug as long as the tire was not driven one while at 0psi and as long as the repair is inside of the repairable zone.

Any dealer who says otherwise is purely just trying to sell a tire instead of built a solid relationship with their customer, so they basically believe in profit over relationship.

[IAmSpeed]

In short, you can repair it once or twice depends on the damage severity. However, it's very sad that nowadays, most shops and dealers always "encourage" customers to replace it.

[HeatJoey]

I have three plugs in my run flats over 13k miles so far, two of them are in one tire. Zero issues .