Carmakers increasingly under fire for using run-flat tires
As the number of cars being equipped with run-flat tires increases car buyers are quickly learning that the new design is not all that it's cracked up to be. One automaker adamant in its decision to equip its cars with run-flats instead of installing a proper spare in the trunk is BMW, and it's now starting to experience a consumer backlash from that decision. Many of its customers are frustrated, not only at the shortcomings of the tire itself but also because of the exorbitant bill they face once the tires need to be replaced. Note that many service centers are unable to fix run-flats, and you can forget about re-treads (though that's probably a good thing). Apart from the high cost of replacing the tires, run-flats are harder to come by and they don't last as long as regular tires either. Though the idea of not having to worry about changing the tire if it gets punctured sounds great, run-flats only have a range of about 50 to 100 miles once the rubber is damaged. Not much solace if you happen to hit a spike in the middle of nowhere.
Along with BMW, Corvette also has run-flats, and Toyota and Honda put them on some minivans.
Apparently, run-flats were introduced because consumers want "the smallest amount of hassle in their lives," according to an engineer from Bridgestone. Perhaps it's time drivers were forced to learn how to change a tire as part of their licensing tests.
[Source: MSN]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
cowboy bob 8:46AM (8/22/2007)
Just another example of catering to those prissy girly-men types who don't know a lug wrench from a turnip. My grandmother could change a tire for Gods sake!
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Ben H. 8:54AM (8/22/2007)
That's an ignorant comment. Some people don't have time to deal with such things. That's why auto-clubs exist. Some plans just send a loaner car out on the road for the driver to head off while the car gets fixed.
no_slushbox 9:07AM (8/22/2007)
Ben H.: Actually your comment seems a bit ignorant of the world. I don't know where you live that waiting for the autoclub's subcontracted towtruck driver to take his sweet time coming over is quicker than changing the tire yourself, but where I live you can save about an hour if you know how to do that basic task.
_Jon, you should be able to unravel the spare tire with the hole next to the license plate and then drive forward a few feet and get it, but that’s just in theory, I’m sure it doesn’t always work that well in practice.
geo.stewart 9:07AM (8/22/2007)
Ben,
yours is an ignorant comment.
15 minutes to change the tire yourself vs. waiting 30-60 miutes for the AAA/dealer group/insurance group to show up and 15 minutes for them to change it.
Ben H. 9:14AM (8/22/2007)
Does it really take 15 minutes? Perhaps longer depending on your circumstances - loaded trunk (you have to empty it before changing the tire, raining, dark night (like the next comment), watching for traffic so you don't get hit. How important is life to some people in that instance? Not everyone is able to change a tire like a pit crew. But if you have those abilities, by all means, use it. Perhaps I'll call on you to change my tire. ;)
Rob 9:23AM (8/22/2007)
15 minutes my ass.
I-94 + rush hour + pot hole + construction zone + rain + loaded Tahoe = Blown tire and a lot longer than 15 minutes.
I'd say 30 minutes is quick and an hour is probably more realistic depending on the location of your tire and jack relative to your model vehicle.
Elliott 9:41AM (8/22/2007)
I know how to change a tire, but I'd rather not. Maybe you feel macho changing a flat in the rain/snow while 18-wheelers whiz by at 60mph, but I think my loved ones appreciate that I wait for roadside assistance to show up.
Arthur 12:20PM (8/22/2007)
I know *infantrymen* who didn't know how to change their tires until they were stuck on the side of the road and *had* to figure it out. Quite simply, there are people (like Ben H), who live in parts of the country where cars aren't the mode of transportation, and people are simply not familiar with them. Nor should they have to be.
Lets turn this around a little bit. Next time I catch a smart-ass motorist like Cowboy Bob totally lost in the NYC or London subways, I'm gonna blurt out at the top of my lungs, "awmygaud my GRANDMOTHER could find her way around in this pansy ass tunnel."
dan 1:02PM (8/22/2007)
Urban pussies, all of them.
"Wahhh the trunk doesn't have an inside handle and I had to touch the icky outside!"
"Wahhh the diesel pump is icky!"
"Wahhh this tailgate is too heavy!"
"Wahhh getting the spare out of the trunk is toooo hard!"
Contemptible cowards that they are, their money is the same color as yours so the manufacturers will cater to them.
Ben H. 8:51AM (8/22/2007)
"the smallest amount of hassle in their lives," according to an engineer.
There's your problem right there. Unless he's spoken with a group of customers, it sounds like run-flats were designed in a vacuum.
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cowboy bob 9:06AM (8/22/2007)
Well Ben H, So you think I'm ignorant. I guess the kind of man you are is solved eh? The spare on older cars was always in the trunk, high and dry. Later save-a-spares were placed in the same location. This is where the spare should be, and this prevents all the hassels of crawling under a vehicle. Today's technology would allow for a jack mount system not requiring someone to lay on their belly to slide a jack under the car as well. Hey wait- they used to use a jack slide hole in the bumper to do just that over fourty years ago! Could it be the little girly engineers of today didn't think of that? Go sit by the side of the road Ben, and wait for a real man from Triple A to fix your car for you, and bring your checkbook!
Ben H. 9:10AM (8/22/2007)
No, I said your comment was ignorant. Not you. But if you want to be ignorant, feel free.
_Jon 8:51AM (8/22/2007)
As someone who has had to change a tire or two on my SUV's, I have a major problem with the design of the spare tire storage / jack system.
These things are designed primarily for storage with very little engineering for ease of use.
I understand that they rarely get used.
But when they are needed, they need to be easy to setup and use.
The idea of needing to half-way crawl under the back of a dirty vehicle on the shoulder of a road is unacceptable.
Try this sometime: Take the jack out and remove and replace a tire on your car. Do it on a nice sunny day in a paved lot. Then try to get everything back in the car the way the manufacturer had it. Good luck.
Then imagine doing that on a cold, wet, rainy night on the side of the road that isn't even level.
It's a nightmare and the engineering sucks!
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PiCASSO 9:04AM (8/22/2007)
You have a valid point. Those scissor jacks don't work well if the surface is unleveled, and they aren't that easy to operate, especially under extreme conditions (too hot/too cold).
One thing that I'm reminded is a guy who tried to change his own tired a few months ago here in Toronto on one of the major highways. A woman slammed into him and his car, killing him almost instantaneously. Changing a tire on the left side of the car, when your car is on the right is very dangerous, and vise versa. You've now become a deer on the road for all those trucks and cars.
no_slushbox 9:27AM (8/22/2007)
never changed a tire on the side of the road; I either go into a parking lot or some other safe spot.
As long as your wheels aren't ridiculously low profile and you drive slowly the worst thing you will do is damage the sidewall on the tire, and need a new tire. However, I've heard runflats can't be patched, so those ALWAYS need to be replaced.
Also, a lot of leaks are very slow, so check your tire pressure once and a while and you won't get stuck.
GOKARTN 9:04AM (8/22/2007)
I know my runflats were gone ASAP after I got my MINI. It really hurts the handling of an otherwise sweet handling car.
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chuck goolsbee 9:11AM (8/22/2007)
I would NEVER buy a car with run-flats. In fact I won't buy a car unless it has a full-size spare either. Changing a tire is not THAT hard. I don't see why people opt for these stupid "innovations" when they really don't get you much in return.
When my son was learning to drive I had him do several practice tire-changes in the garage and driveway, then as his "final exam" pulled over onto the side of the road on a family trip and announced that we had a flat (not really... ) and that he had to change it without any input or help from me.
He grumbled, like all teenagers do, but he did it. Practice indeed makes perfect, so why not have your kid do this? Hell, try it yourself!
--chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
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cowboy bob 9:16AM (8/22/2007)
Well done Chuck. Not only are you the man, but you made your son one as well. Perhaps you can have your son help Ben, when you see him helpless by the side of the road.
Ben H. 10:01AM (8/22/2007)
FYI cowboy_bob (great that you remain anonymous since we wouldn't want to know who you are anyways...)
I change my own tires/wheels every season unless an alignment is required and will teach others who want to, yet still respect those who choose otherwise.
BTW, you've just proven yourself ignorant. Glad to know Autoblog attracts trolls like you.
Billy 12:47PM (8/22/2007)
I think Brokeback Bob is tryin' a little too hard to prove he's a man