Wheel Problems of BMW Z4

S10 appropriate handling - copy of an email to BMW regarding cracks in the wheel. The consumer requested to be reimbursed for expenses incurred and new set of wheels.

See all problems of the 2013 BMW Z4 🔎.

This problem affects wheel style "296" a 19" optional alloy wheel package for e89 BMW Z4. BMW part number 36116785257(rear wheel 19x9) and 36116785256(front wheel 19x8. Under normal driving conditions, multiple cracks developed on inner edge of rim lip leading to large drop in tire pressure and potentially unsafe driving condition. This happened to (1) of my rear wheels. After doing research, I strongly believe this is a manufacturers defect as many owners of the same particular wheel model "296" are experiencing the same problems. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2011 BMW Z4 🔎.

In the morning of October 23rd, I've noticed the low tire pressure warning indicator (tpm) turn on in my car for the rear passenger wheel. It appeared to be completely flat. With the runt flat tire, I drove carefully to the nearest gas station to fill the tire with air to specification of 42 psi. Hours later, I check the pressure to see if it holds. The tire lost significant pressure and the tpm turned on again. I once again went to the nearest gas station to fill the tire with air and hours later, it lost pressure again, eventually going completely flat. It appears that many other owners of this particular make and model with the same rim style is experiencing the same problem and I suspect that the rim has a slight crack driving under normal conditions. It seems to be a flaw in the structural integrity of the rim that allows it to crack and lose air pressure.

Ive noticed that my rear passenger tire was losing pressure even after inflating it multiple times so I brought the car into BMW of murrieta to get the wheels inspected. It was verified by their technicians that both rear rims were cracked and that it would cost and estimate of nearly $1,800 to replace. I denied the repair/replacement as I didnt believe I should pay out of pocket for what I believe is a manufacturer defect. I learned that many other owners are having the same exact issue with the same exact rim style on this vehicle, the rear rims are prone to cracking under normal driving conditions, which I believe is a major safety hazard. I filed a claim with BMW corp, claims department and they denied reimbursing me or agree to fix the wheels under my extended warranty. My vehicle has since been in nonoperation without a loaner vehicle given to me by BMW.

The wheels on the car developed hair line fractures, one wheel was damaged to the point it would not keep inflated. Google has many complaints posted , I inquired to BMW dealer without resolve. I decided to replace the wheels at my expense.

Wheels developed cracks and air was leaking.

See all problems of the 2009 BMW Z4 🔎.

I'm a owner of 2011 BMW Z4 35i with 296 style wheels. BMW's 296 style wheel considered has design defects by most of owners, since they really easily cracked without impact. Reason why 296 style wheels got easily cracked definitely seems flawed design, and it can be proved by other wheels with same diameter don't have these kind of problem. Also fatigue structure failure means, structure strength of wheel design wasn't properly reviewed. Also BMW changed its design of inner barrel to reinforce strength around 2012. There was settlement between owners and BMW na about this issue, but it only covers during initial factory warranty. . Read more...

The tire on my Z4 rub the inside wheel well causing the tire to blow out. When I took the wheel to be repaired, the manager of the tire company said this was a factory defect that he is seeing on most of the Z4's. He said it will continue to happen as the camber can't be adjusted out far enough to stop this rubbing. I contact BMW but they said it was my fault; that I probably hit too many pot holes, I drove too fast, I should have known this would happen since it is a sports car. They also said I should have had the car realigned every year. No where in my manual does it tell me this. It cost me over thousand dollars to get my tires fixed. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed but no one will listen nor do a thing about this. All I got from the lady in spartensburg, the home office, was I'm sorry, you could sell your car! my car only has thiry thousand miles on it, now I will have to face this again and again. Why would any manufacturer produce a vehicle that the tires are too big to fit properly inside the wheel wells? safety is my concern, now and in the future. I have it in writing where the manager said it was going to happen again.

See all problems of the 2014 BMW Z4 🔎.

A tractor trailer hit my car, a BMW Z4 convertible, CT license plate, in the rear left, as I was moving slowly with traffic just before the overpass, right before I hit the tappanzee bridge as I was heading to NJ on Friday, August 1st, 2014, sometime between 11:50-1230pm. I believe it was close or about 12:20pm. My head slammed violently against the top of the wheel from the impact. I looked back after being hit and the driver agreed to pull over when there was room for him after going over the bridge to exchange insurance information. I wrote down his license plate , it was tennessee u514217. I believe the # of the truck was 5318. The driver was a white male, about 40-45year of age. After I sped in front, I pulled over just over the bridge to the right where construction was taking place and I waited for the truck to pull in behind me. The trucker pulled up to the left of my car while he was still in the first lane, and he was moving at a snail's pace; his window was rolled down and he stared me in the face, curled his right hand into a fist, put it up to his neck, raised his right thumb, and dragged his right hand across his neck as if to say he'd cut my throat. He then yelled, "I got somewhere to be! do you want me to drive back up here after we exhange personal information, come to where you live, and cut your thorat!" he had driven past me. I hesitated. I didn't know what to do. , I got a cat scan and had my head wound looked at, and was diagnosed with a severe bruise to the head and recieved treatment for anxiety I was feeling from the accident and the hit and run threat. A month has passed and I am still feeling anxiety over this; not to mention my car has been damaged. I am looking to find the driver who hit my car and caused me the wound and constant anxiety I now suffer.

See all problems of the 2007 BMW Z4 🔎.

Rear wheels on BMW Z4 cracked during normal road usage. Both cracked within a month of each other. These are 19" wheels with run flat tires and 296 wheel design. These wheels don't seem to be designed for public road usage but are advertised as such. They cannot withstand even minor road imperfections. BMW refused to cover under warranty and doesn't acknowledge the wheel design as defective despite numerous reports with this exact wheel. They no longer sell the wheel on new vehicles and in fact even redesigned the wheel in 2012.

When I got into my car one morning the sensor went off letting me know that I had a low tire pressure. I went and filled the tire to the proper level; I thought everything was fine, then the next following morning the same thing happened. I took the car in to get it checked out and they found that the rim was cracked in 4 places. I was wondering how the rim could have gotten cracked cause I barely drive the car, sits in the garage most of the time, I drive on even roads when I do, but I have only had the car for 4 months, purchased it from car max. I went to various posts and found out that there is a problem with the rims that BMW put on the Z4 35i because they are run flat tires (which my car initially had on them). When I purchased the car, run flats wasn't on this car. I think there should be a recall on these wheels (rims) because if the rim failed while on the highway. . . It could have been devastating.

Aluminum wheel (style 296) crack on the inside bead. Car has 22,000 miles on 1/23/14 and 3 wheels currently have cracks. The cracks prevent the tires from maintaining air pressure and lowers the structural integrity of the rim, causing a safety hazard. BMW is only offering to repair one wheel under warranty because the runout on the other 2 wheels was 0. 059" which they are claiming indicates that the wheels are damaged due to a road hazard but offered no visual evidence of damage. Online research indicates there is a high rate of failure of the 296 style wheel and contributing factors include the design of the 19" wheel, the use of 30 series (rear) or 35 series (front) run-flat-tires and the negative camber. The negative camber puts the majority of the forces and load from the road onto the inside bead of the rim. The run-flat-tires have extremely stiff and short sidewalls to allow the tires to be driven with no air, which transmits the forces from the road directly to the rim without the normal cushion of a standard tire. The design of the rim does not add additional strength to the inside bead to make up for the additional loads caused by the camber and run-flat-tires.

I had a slow tire leak so I took my car in to get checked. Turns out my 2 rear wheels are cracked. This is common problem for owners with the 296 wheel on the Z4.

Blow out at 70 mph, replaced rear passenger tire at BMW with same run flats. Next day flat, returned to dealership where they said I had 2 hairline cracks in same wheel, which needed replacement. I noticed a ton of complaints and similar problems with these 296 style 19 inch rims.

This problem affects wheel style "296" a 19" optional alloy wheel package for e89 BMW Z4. BMW part number 36116785257(rear wheel 19x9) and 36116785256(front wheel 19x8. Under normal driving conditions, multiple cracks developed on inner edge of rim lip leading to large drop in tire pressure and potentially unsafe driving condition. This happened to (1) of my rear wheels. After doing research, I strongly believe this is a manufacturers defect as many owners of the same particular wheel model "296" are experiencing the same problems. . Read more...

Both rear wheels developed cracks. These were 19 inch BMW style 296 wheels with run-flat tires.

Vehicle would run fine in the morning before the day heated up. At noon, the steering wheel would stick and more force than usual had to be applied with both hands to operate the steering wheel. Also, there are times the car will jerk left or right upon breaking. If the road is slightly uneven, you have to be prepared in case the car jerks in any direction. I have tried upgrading the vehicles suspension system to no avail. Makes the car feel unsafe to drive. I love the car, but I would like these issues to be addressed before somebody gets seriously injured or even killed if it hasn't happened already.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW Z4 🔎.

I had two of these rims bend and crack ( model 296) I had the rim and tire warranty that I paid extra for and BMW covered a replacement for one and paid to have the other straightened.

The contact owns a 2011 BMW Z4. The contact stated that air was leaking from the rear passenger tire. The vehicle was taken to a personal mechanic and the contact was informed that the rear passenger wheel was cracked and that it was a manufacturer’s defect. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that there were a total of five cracks on the rear wheels. The rear driver’s wheel suffered three cracks and the rear passenger wheel suffered two cracks. The dealer stated that the cracks were caused by potholes. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The vehicle was examined by a personal mechanic, who stated that the cracks were not from an impact, but instead from metal fatigue. The rear driver’s wheel was welded as a temporary fix. The failure and current mileages were 8,900.

My rear rims have developed cracks while driving resulting in quick loss of tire pressure and in some cases destroying tire. This has happened to both the left and right sides, however thus far has always been isolated to the rear (model 296 19") rims. In the 16 months I have owned this vehicle, this has happened several times including on 5/11/2012, 9/9/12, 4/12/13 and 5/23/13. Each time I have purchased a new rim or had the existing rim repaired at the discretion of the dealer. In none of these cases has there been any impact or driving condition that explains the failure.

This problem affects wheel style "296" a 19" optional alloy wheel package for e89 BMW Z4. BMW part number 36116785257(rear wheel 19x9) and 36116785256(front wheel 19x8. Under normal driving conditions, cracks developed on inner edge of rim lip leading to drop in tire pressure and potentially unsafe driving condition. This happened to (1) of my rear wheels. After doing research, I strongly believe this is a manufacturers defect as many owners of the same particular wheel model "296" are experiencing the same problems. . Read more...

This problem affects wheel style "296" a 19" optional alloy wheel package for e89 BMW Z4. BMW part number 36116785257(rear wheel 19x9) and 36116785256(front wheel 19x8. Under normal driving conditions, multiple cracks developed on inner edge of rim lip leading to large drop in tire pressure and potentially unsafe driving condition. This happened to (1) of my rear wheels. After doing research, I strongly believe this is a manufacturers defect as many owners of the same particular wheel model "296" are experiencing the same problems. . Read more...

All four rims are bent. The vehicle has never been taken off-road, nor has the vehicle encountered major potholes. A logical explanation for this occurrence is shoddy manufacturing. Bent rims potentially cause hazardous driving conditions.

See all problems of the 2008 BMW Z4 🔎.

Rear rims cracking on 2010 BMW Z4 with only 7,200 miles. Dealer states issue caused by pot holes, but could not explain why front rimswere not cracked.

See all problems of the 2010 BMW Z4 🔎.

But bought with less than 12,500 miles, they found turned unstable situation, has been unable to find what the reason, at times almost a major accident when driving, the tire does not feel sticky, but on the highway, the car is all over the place (like a drunk driver), the steering feels very loose, not too sensitive. If I do anything more than a slight rotation, dynamic stability control system has been started, if the curve went to the right, I had to "jerk" to go straight to rectify the same, if it went. When a straight road, it will feel very sticky, moving wheels. This is very scary, because it can not be diverted at any time, I will leave the road and down miles of canyon creek. This situation will not occur at low speeds. Unfortunately, I have a lot of problems with my 2003 BMW Z4 steering wheel. This is completely unstable. For example: 1) to maintain pull to the left or right. It requires constant adjustment, so that I can keep the car aligned or center. 2) I met a sudden twitch to the left or right when the road contempt imbalances. I can never predict the road the car pulled me. I struggled for many centers to stop at any red lights keep turning. 3) sometimes, the steering feels like being stuck. 4) I believe that if elderly people trying to drive this car, such a problem, there will be a catastrophic collapse. This is mainly because the driver must be a lot of attention to keep the car centered fact. Otherwise, any second, you might find yourself somewhere off the road, or under a truck. 5) I've been reading on the internet, many Z4 owners have encountered similar problems, I do.

See all problems of the 2002 BMW Z4 🔎.