Well that was interesting...

Got a lift home last night on a recovery vehicle! Had taken my daughter skating, got back to the car and no pressure on the nearside rear tyre. They were runflats so I drove half a mile to McDonald's where I was able to call GEM - the recovery service I use.

Quick McDs and 15 mins later a flat bed van pulls into the car park.

Even though these are runflats I didn't feel comfortable driving the 12 miles home as I noticed the rear wheels had excessive inner shoulder wear, bad enough that it started leaking suddenly. These are my winter wheels and all 4 tyres are down to 2mm anyway and need replacing anyway. I would have swapped to my summer wheels sooner but I promised myself I'd only treat them to a refurb once I'd got a job.

Unfortunately they were a 50 min drive away in York rather than at home and I needed to collect them today. Ended up going up in the wife's little car, squeezing all 4 wheels in the back, quickly driving home and fitting the new wheels in the dark!

No problem with GEM, they arrived quickly and sorted us out, I hadn't requested a flat bed but they must have known a 335d can't be towed.

 

Good result getting the flat bed vehicle there that quickly.

 

Bad luck there Dave
I feel for you or indeed anyone who breaks down.....
But, i have to say, that sounds like you took your eye off the ball there Dave...
Winter tyres, no tread left.. come on Dave... that’s something I would normally only credit myself with...
You must try harder next time... or it really will be a bad school report..

Luckily all sorted quickly and no damage done.. that’s the main thing..
Catch up soon
I’ll get in touch shortly.
Regds
Al


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Yeah, normally I'd have changed them sooner, but what with my redundancy and job prospects at the time I ended up putting it off.

 

15 mins and time for a cheeky McDs, a bonus in what could have been a bad evening!
Good news the recovery was so quick, summer wheels on for a month or two then...

 

I had a 535d and miss it; 300+ hp and 35mpg motoring. Being smaller your 335d will be even quicker and more frugal; what a beautiful car you’re lucky to own.

I’m glad you got your flatbed. To tow these things you have to go under the car and unlock the transmission. It’s probably worth owners knowing this when they call for rescue.

 

Thanks, refurbed wheels are now on the car, (fitted in the dark last night!) and it's so much more comfortable than the knackered winter run flats! Bodywork needs some tlc though

Yes you can unlock the transmission from under the car to disengage the locking pawl, but this should only be to move the car a few metres. It should never be towed as the oil pump in the gearbox runs from the engine. The breakdown chap said they have something to slide the car onto the flatbed if the transmission is locked.

 

All noted thanks Dave
Thanks for the xdrive info.
They use nylon skid plates.. if reqd or under wheel rollers....
I had a Volvo estate in my younger days...( another school boy error on my part) the front calliper fell off and jammed in the wheel... causing it to seize.... guy rolled up with the truck and slid the car on the flatbed in no time...
It was harder getting it off at our house though.....
He reversed up the drive, we put a strap round the tow bar of the volvo, and around the wheel of a car in the garage and he drove the truck away, pulling the car off the flat bed....
All after a 12 hour night shift stuck up on the moors above Holme firth..!
Learning curves eh...??
What you need to take from this Dave is the luck you have been afforded...
Winters night, rain , sleet, hail, freezing and 4th lane of a smart motorway.... sometimes life has a way of telling you how to behave at times, by giving us gentle warnings... and it other times it kicks you right in the ...
Great result really..


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Can be coded in with Esys or carly/Bimmercode, etc.

 

These are my refurbished summers, done in shadow chrome, look better in the flesh. Darker than I thought they would be but I think they look alright. They do reflect the light nicely

 

Looks grand to me. The white bodywork off sets some of the wheel darkness.

 

Nice summer wheels.

Sorry to hear about the puncture. We don't carry a spare in the F31. What used to be routine can now turn into a bit of a performance.

I see more models now come with the option of a spare wheel. About time.

 

Nowt worse than a puncture, more so these days, though impressed by recovery....very timely based on how quick a Mickey DJ’s can be devoured,
Those winters are “still” stunning, really suit car

 

Ahhh, no sooner had I put the summers on that I have an issue. Driving on a country road and a big lorry comes round a bend taking up the road and forcing me onto the side of the road with an almighty bang and jolt

Got out and looked at the front wheel, unbelievably no damage at all to the wheel, not even a scratch. However the tyre suffered some sidewall damage. No blebs or loss of pressure but I'll probably need to get another tyre at some point, I'll get a picture up later for your opinions.

Sadly the steering wheel is now slightly off centre when driving straight so I think I've bent a tie rod, steering is fine, so I don't think there's any damage to the steering rack. Will need to get an alignment check now

 

You aren’t having much luck on the tyre/wheel side of things at the moment. Feel for you!

 

Hopefully most recoveries now know that a flat bed is needed for Xdrive vehicles but always best the owner knows so they can ensure it happens.

There is also a procedure to put the gearbox into neutral If the engine won’t start provided the engine can be cranked to build up enough oil pressure, can take a few attempts to perfect though lol.

 

The cars should never ever have been supplied without one in the first place. Madness imo.... even if you can’t change one yourself bmw emerg services / rac etc etc can...
They quoted weight saving once... what a load of balls... 4 alloys with rft’s weigh more than 5 normals without rft’s..space saving agreed...
But that’s about it..some of my colleagues won’t buy a bmw because they don’t have a spare fitted under the car... if you’re touring France fully loaded with no spare, there is some risk involved... for eg.
So in the end, in some instances it has caused bmw to lose out on sales..shame really..


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Bloody hell dave
Your up against it at the mo...
Sometimes life feels a succession of blips, of what next....!! Then follows a period of calm, until the next event...
Greg rang me last night, saying daaaaaad...... wot.. I replied... the clutch is slipping on my car...!
Another deeps sigh later... and just another of those hurdles that must be overcome..
It could have been much worse I suppose....
Darker wheels look great btw with white car....


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Turned out there is damage to both front and back tyres on the nearside Not sure if I hit a stone or a hole but looks like the tyres took the full force of the impact as both wheels are fine. Small mercies eh?



This is the offending object caught the tyres on the outer edge.