BMW
is a company that boasts in its adverts that it doesn't just create
cars, it creates joy. But some owners of high performance BMWs have a
completely different experience. Their wheels might promise great
performance but it seems there's one thing some of them just can't cope
with - the great British pothole.
Some BMW drivers are discovering that their expensive alloy wheels
are cracking - making them potentially dangerous, and definitely in
need of replacement at a cost of hundreds of pounds.
But BMW is blaming potholes, speed humps and other road surfaces
that give a bumpy ride. The company says drivers are hitting them at
speed, so the damage is their fault, and it's refusing to pay for
replacement wheels under warranty.
One
particularly annoyed viewer who contacted Watchdog about this problem
is Ian Bolderston. In the space of two and a half years, his BMW dealer
advised him to replace six wheels. They found that one wheel had seven
cracks on it. With new tyres and associated costs, replacing the six
wheels set him back £4,000.
David Morgan is another disgruntled BMW driver. He's had to replace three wheels at a total cost of £1,200.
BMW tested Ian and David's nine wheels and decided that they had all
been damaged by a road impact - such as hitting a pothole. But the
drivers said they just drove normally, and weren't to blame.
"I asked BMW and the first thing they told me was perhaps you've hit
a pothole, you've hit something," Ian said. "I'm a normal driver with
three kids. I'm the wrong side of 40 to be racing around. As far as I'm
concerned it's BMW's fault. They need to get to the bottom of the
problem. It's not potholes as far as I'm concerned. I've driven
normally. There's something fundamentally wrong with these wheels."
David reflected on the fact that that all the cracks appear on the
inside wheel rims, and almost always affect the rear alloys. "You hit a
pothole with a front wheel. I've had no front wheels damaged. There's
more weight over the front of the car than the rear so I'm astounded as
why the fronts haven't cracked," he said.
The problem centres on a particular combination of wheel and tyre.
The cracking seems to only affect BMW 19-inch rear alloys, coupled with
runflat tyres. The tyres are a safety feature designed so that they can
still be driven on when they're flat - the idea is that if you get a
puncture on the motorway at speed, with runflats you won't lose control
and can continue driving to a garage where the problem can be sorted.
Watchdog researchers called BMW dealers posing as customers. These
confirmed, in many cases, that BMW expected the cause to be potholes.
One dealer thought the damage happened because the low-profile tyres
may have been slightly underinflated meaning that hitting potholes at
speed could crack the wheels.
Some of the BMW dealers seemed to wonder whether these flashy wheels
are suitable for British roads. One dealer said, "The wheels and tyres
aren't designed for the roads really as they are in Surrey at the
moment." A second said, "They use the same wheel and the same tyres all
over the world, and I think it's due to our road surfaces. We're the
only country that has a problem with it."
Potholes and other road surface hazards certainly have an impact on
drivers' pockets. The AA reckons there are 1.5 million potholes in UK
roads, and it's estimated that they cause billions of pounds of damage
to car drive shafts and suspensions every year.
But with at least two damaged BMW wheels, potholes don't seem to
have caused the cracks. Self-confessed BMW fan, Dr Aamer Khan, was
outraged when he was told he would have to pay to have three wheels on
his car replaced while the car was still under warranty. So he decided
to pay £1,700 for international experts MIRA to investigate. Their
report strongly suggested that one wheel had a manufacturing defect; it
implied a second wheel had the same problem, and it decided that a
third wheel that a BMW dealer said needed replacing, was not damaged.
Aamer started legal action and 18 months later, BMW paid him £7,000
as a goodwill gesture. "However, they were not taking responsibility or
liability for the damage to the wheels hence they were still saying
there is no problem with the wheels, which I do believe is incorrect,"
Aamer said.
Watchdog wanted to try to get to the bottom of the problem, so we
collected nine damaged wheels and asked engineering expert Mark Brown
to investigate. He's been in the business for 30 years and had never
seen this type of problem before.
BMW dealers had decided that all nine wheels had suffered impact
damage. But Mark Brown could find no visual evidence of this. "There's
just no evidence of pothole damage. There's no evidence of any impact
damage of any significance around the inner rims of the wheels, the
places where the wheels are cracked," he said. He added it was "unfair"
for BMW to refuse to replace the wheels under warranty.
And he questioned the suitability of the wheel design. "It may well
be that driving over speed humps and potholes is causing the cracks but
the wheels should be man enough for the job. They should be able to
withstand that sort of use," he added.
Mark believes BMW should take action to deal with the problem with
these particular wheels. "I think they should seriously look at the
design of the wheel and seriously consider a safety recall," he said.
BMW statement:
"We put customer service and satisfaction at the top of our agenda
and so take any concerns from our owners very seriously. We have been
contacted by a number of customers who have experienced cracks in alloy
wheels. Every one of these has been investigated by our specialist
technicians and in every case the wheels concerned have shown signs of
impact damage, which have resulted in the cracking. This is likely to
have been caused by driving at inappropriate speeds over speed humps or
through potholes. Equally, curb impacts have been to blame in some
cases.
"We have received calls from around 100 customers out of the total
1.3 million BMWs on UK roads from owners reporting problems with cracks
in alloy wheel. Every one of these has been investigated by our
technical experts and in every case the wheels concerned have shown
signs of impact damage, which have resulted in the cracking.
"This is likely to have been caused by driving at inappropriate
speeds over speed humps or through potholes. Equally, curb impacts have
been to blame in some cases.
"BMW takes great pride in developing the highest quality equipment
for all its cars, with some of the most rigorous test standards in the
whole automotive industry. Wheels are tested on all manner of different
surfaces before they are approved for use. However, no wheel is
indestructible and if a car is driven too fast over a speedhump or
through a pothole, damage can be done.
"A road tyre plays an integral part of any vehicle's ride and
comfort systems. If the tyre pressures are not correctly maintained the
tyre will not have the optimum absorbing properties allowing energy to
pass straight into the wheel/suspension components, which in turn, if
driven inappropriately, could damage both.
"If the wheel is above the tolerance then the wheel has suffered an
impact. As a result of poorly maintained roads, it is well publicised
that on average across the UK, six per cent of all vehicles will suffer
pothole damage in a 12-month period.
"In some instances no visible damage will be apparent. As mentioned
above, the tyre can absorb energy to a certain degree. Once beyond this
threshold, the excessive loading is transmitted to the wheel and may
cause cracking, although the tyre may protect it from obvious visible
damage apart from the cracks.
"Under the terms and conditions of the warranty, BMW will always pay
for defects that are attributed to a manufacturing defect. However, our
investigation of these cases has shown no signs of such a defect, but
rather that the damage is due to an impact. In this set of
circumstances there is no case to cover the repair costs under
warranty. If a wheel rim is presented with cracks, a full technical
evaluation is made in every case. If the wheel is found to be deflected
from a perfect circle by 0.3 mm or more this is evidence that an impact
has taken place and this has been the cause of the cracks. In this case
the customer would be responsible for the repair. If the wheel is
deflected by less than 0.3 mm and yet is cracked, then it will be
replaced under warranty.
"If any BMW customer is concerned about this, or any other issue,
they should not hesitate to contact our customer helpline on 0800 777
129."
THE SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS (SMMT) TOLD WATCHDOG:
"Motor Codes Limited is the body responsible for the self regulation
of the motor industry through consumer codes of practice. Supported by
government and the motor industry they aim to raise standards and
increase consumer protection for motorists. Their Codes cover garages,
vehicle manufacturers and extended warranty administrators.
They can be contacted on 0800 692 0825 or at http://www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk."