Hi,

I have just been informed that one of my alloys (M V spoke 72) on the front of my 330Ci has a porous alloy. What this means is that it cannot keep pressure in the tyre, air is getting out through the alloy itself. The alloy has been getting worse over time. Now I have to pump up the tyre daily. They have been working on a "puncture" issue for a few months now.

My car is now 4 years old, therefore out of warranty. I did report the problem of losing pressure inside the 3 year warranty period, but it was diagnosed as needing my tyres replaced (35k miles). I have been told that there is no mention of the problem in their system, just that the tyres were replaced.

BMW are looking into what they can do, maybe sharing the cost of a new alloy. What do you think? What are my legal rights?

Thanks for any help.

Jerry

i think they'll fob you off and say sorry sir we have no record of it on our system. now please f**k off. oh and by the way have a nice day!!! to be honest i don't find BMW dealers any better than the mercedes dealers i used to deal with. but there again as you will see from alot of posts on this forum different people have different opinions on them.

just as an after thought there is a brus hon rubber cmpound that you could apply to the inside of your rim which gives a better seal and should sop it leaking as much we used to use it in a garage i worked in when old alloys started to corrode

Most alloys that leak do so immediately beneath the tyre bead seat. Basically the paint gets damaged and there you go, there's a leak. To test for this type of leak, lay the wheel down, run soapy water between the tyre and the rim, and look for bubbles. 

To fix this, just repaint the bead seat. Sometimes deflating the tyre and pushing the bead off a little gives enough room to introduce enough paint to make a good seal again.

If the casting is truly porous, (unlikely but possible) it could be sealed using a proprietary sealant. Some castings (eg motorcycle crankcases) are routinely sealed when new in this way in the factory.

HTH

cheers

The garage have resealed the tyre several times. Then they looked at the tyre in a full water bath. The leak was coming from the inside of the alloy, nowhere near the rim of the tyre. Water bubbles coming from the bare metal! The tyre guy said it was the first time in 15 year of working on BMW alloys that he had seen this!

Faulty alloy nothing to do with the tyre fitting.

wow!

A blob of araldite on the inside of the rim should sort it out.

At one time all BMW OE wheels were individually x-rayed. Does anyone know if they still do this? Or if not, when they stopped?

cheers

Something to do with German TUV I recall.

Wolfrace alloys (in the 80's) were one of the few aftermarket wheels that tested their wheels using X-rays.

Andy

Badger 540 wrote: Something to do with German TUV I recall. Wolfrace alloys (in the 80's) were one of the few aftermarket wheels that tested their wheels using X-rays. Andy

what was called "NDT" non distructive testing ...is now not common place in manufacters of alloys ..iam sorry i dont know why?..i do know that seating of a tyre on a 4 year old alloy is unaccepable..and you shouldnt be fobbed off at ALL..stick with it and just demand ..the answer   WHY