2009 BMW Z4 wheels problems

Filed Jul 22, 2020 · Wheels · CA

Wheels developed cracks and air was leaking.

Filed Jun 30, 2014 · Wheels · 25,000 miles · MN

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.

Filed May 10, 2014 · Wheels · 21,159 miles · FL

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.

Filed Jan 23, 2014 · Wheels · 22,000 miles · KY

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.

Filed Jul 28, 2013 · Wheels · 23,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed May 23, 2013 · Steering, Wheels · TX

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.

Filed Nov 8, 2012 · Wheels · 15,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Nov 1, 2012 · Wheels · 18,000 miles · CA

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

Filed Sep 13, 2012 · Wheels · 16,000 miles · CA

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. It is noted in the following link: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485935 contacted bmwna customer relations and they declined to provide assistance.

Filed Feb 1, 2012 · Wheels · 17,000 miles · IN

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. It is noted in the following link: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485935 contacted bmw and they declined to provide assistance.