Tire blowout in the first 48 hours of ownership.

So... two days of ownership and my i3 is on a flatbed back to the dealership.

My passenger rear Blizzak had a blowout. A large crack developed on the inner sidewall of the tire.
I cannot recall any impact or pothole that may have caused that kind of damage.

The recovery driver tried to fit my summer tires at the roadside (they were in the vehicle at the time on a spare set of alloys).
The spacers seem to be different between the front and rear wheels and he may have caused damage to my brake callipers.

Anyone else had a similar issue with the sidewall failing?

I've not had an issue with mine, but haven't really driven all that many miles. None of mine came with any spacers, so in that manner, I'm not sure what you actually have! The 19" winter tires I have are all identical, and should fit either end of the car. Depending on the model and options, the OEM tire/wheels may or may not be interchangeable f/r. The narrower front ones should fit either end, but if you have the wider rears, they may not fit the front, but you said it was on the rear, so either should fit. Now, if they were aftermarket wheels, and you did need a spacer, the OEM ones do NOT use a spacer, and leaving it in place could be a major problem.

BMW OEM winter tires and wheels on the i3 from the factory. The issue with the summer wheels contacting the brake calipers was that roadside assistance fitted the rear wheels to the front.

The whole set are being sent back to bridgestone for analysis.

Well, that's ignorant of them! But, it doesn't surprise me. While the winter tires would fit anywhere, they are directional, and you need to get the one for proper side to have it work well. I don't think the all-seasons are directional, but I'm not sure. WHen you have them replace the thing, make sure it is mounted for the proper side of the car. WHen I ordered a set of winter tires from my BMW dealer, all four were mounted for the left-hand side - I had to get them to remount two of them so they'd have proper rotation to fit on the car.

jadnashuanh said:

I don't think the all-seasons are directional, but I'm not sure.

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Correct, the all season (and 20" summer for that matter) tires are non-directional.

The wheels, however (at least the non-mega options), are directional.

What happens if you put 175's on the front to replace the skinny tyres?

(Assuming you do the same for the rears)

I ask as I can see from the sticker inside the driver side door, that it can accept multiple configurations - including all four 175 size tyres with a drawing showing 4 passengers/higher load on board.

I had to replace three tires in the first month of ownership!!! However I can't blame the tires because I either ran over a metal spike that stuck in the car or hit an obstacle that blew the out tire. Thankfully I'm happy to report that the last 8 months have been problem free!

TomMoloughney said:

I had to replace three tires in the first month of ownership!!! However I can't blame the tires because I either ran over a metal spike that stuck in the car or hit an obstacle that blew the out tire. Thankfully I'm happy to report that the last 8 months have been problem free!

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Did you replace with 175's or 155 ?

FWIW, from what I've seen, there are two widths of wheels, 5" and 5.5" on the i3 at least on the 19" choices. The recommended tire differs based on the tire width unless I'm really out of it today. The narrower one is specified for the front or all around, the wider one only for the rear. Whether it would fit the front, I do not know. The wider rear is optional on the Mega unless it has the REx, then it's standard, and standard on both the Giga and Terra, regardless of version.

Anyone know the answer? Costco are doing a great deal on the 175 tyres so would really like to do it if it's possible (as the door sticker claims) and getting Costco to do it won't invalidate the BMW servicing pkg and warranty?

The warranty on the car stays intact if someone else works on it unless they can be shown to have damaged the vehicle...IOW, if they do it right, no problems. As to fit...not sure, but you might try calling TireRack and see what they think...plus, if you have a decent BMW service department, they should be able to tell you, or call the i3 concierge.