[whoppa]

A while back, my 2021 X5 caught a flat tire. The tire was a 22" Continental PremiumContact 6 (non RFT). Got my car towed to BMW service but their patch attempts kept failing. They told me that I would need to replace the tire. No big deal, I have Tire and Rim Protection. But they didn't have my tire in stock so they would have to order it. Long story short, nobody had the tire in stock and nobody could say for certain when they would get it in. I was told it would be at least a few weeks. To make matters worse, nobody had loaner cars available and even if they did, I would only be covered for a couple days at most.

After a lot of emails and phone calls, I got extremely lucky. The dealership found the tire I needed on one of their cars. They would let me borrow it until my replacement tire came in. As it turned out, the replacement didn't take a few weeks—it took over half a year! Because the 22" PremiumContact 6 isn't a popular tire, they had to wait until the production run for the spring season.

Anyway, the incident got me thinking... what would I do if I caught a flat while on a road trip with my family?

Spare tire isn't available in Canada. If I could make it to a garage, I could maybe buy whatever pair of wheels that fit but then I'd have to ditch two of the Continentals (and possibly the rims) because there's no way they'd fit inside the car. I don't have a tow hitch. Help from roadside assistance programs would also be fairly limited when I'm far from home. What would you do? I'm stumped.

[LDT]

Is there a reason you cannot get a spacesaver spare in Canada? Do you have a 3rd row seat? Otherwise there should be room for storage underneath the cargo area.

[Condorll]

Buy a tire repair kit and a portable compressor for your road trips. I love the 12V/20V air compressor for topping off my tires in my garage when the temps start dropping going into winter. Better than going to the gas station in the cold. I have run flats btw.

[Torque_lover]

This happened to me last week. Also in Canada. My X5 didn’t come with spare tire and it was a non-RFT. But it has a tire repair kit from factory. Basically a pump with a sealing agent container. It’s extremely easy to use. I drove on the (temporarily) repaired one before getting a new tire.

[MADBMWX5MC]

My 2019 BMW X3 M40i came with just RFT, I immediately got a spare with jack...your scenario ran thru my head and the options were not good, so I got one.

[MattAu]

Originally Posted by whoppa

A while back, my 2021 X5 caught a flat tire. The tire was a 22" Continental PremiumContact 6 (non RFT). Got my car towed to BMW service but their patch attempts kept failing. They told me that I would need to replace the tire. No big deal, I have Tire and Rim Protection. But they didn't have my tire in stock so they would have to order it. Long story short, nobody had the tire in stock and nobody could say for certain when they would get it in. I was told it would be at least a few weeks. To make matters worse, nobody had loaner cars available and even if they did, I would only be covered for a couple days at most.

After a lot of emails and phone calls, I got extremely lucky. The dealership found the tire I needed on one of their cars. They would let me borrow it until my replacement tire came in. As it turned out, the replacement didn't take a few weeks—it took over half a year! Because the 22" PremiumContact 6 isn't a popular tire, they had to wait until the production run for the spring season.

Anyway, the incident got me thinking... what would I do if I caught a flat while on a road trip with my family?

Spare tire isn't available in Canada. If I could make it to a garage, I could maybe buy whatever pair of wheels that fit but then I'd have to ditch two of the Continentals (and possibly the rims) because there's no way they'd fit inside the car. I don't have a tow hitch. Help from roadside assistance programs would also be fairly limited when I'm far from home. What would you do? I'm stumped.

Can you not order the spare from the Parts department? The spare tire mounted on rim, the jack and the other necessary tools are all available to be ordered if you want OEM. Your other option is to get a set from the U.S. I picked up mine from a fellow member in the U.S.

https://shop.bmw.ca/p/BMW_2021_X5-40...116880744.html
https://shop.bmw.ca/a/BMW_2021_X5-40...k/71_1172.html

I was driving a rental car in St. John's NL last October and hit a pothole and although there was no damage to the tire or the rim, somehow a leak developed and when we came out from lunch, the tire was flat. We put the spare on and continued our trip. This kind of peace of mind is worth the price of carrying a spare in my mind. I assume RFT is not an option in your size, or that would have been your other option I suppose.

[felixharri]

Originally Posted by whoppa

A while back, my 2021 X5 caught a flat tire. The tire was a 22" Continental PremiumContact 6 (non RFT). Got my car towed to BMW service but their patch attempts kept failing. They told me that I would need to replace the tire. No big deal, I have Tire and Rim Protection. But they didn't have my tire in stock so they would have to order it. Long story short, nobody had the tire in stock and nobody could say for certain when they would get it in. I was told it would be at least a few weeks. To make matters worse, nobody had loaner cars available and even if they did, I would only be covered for a couple days at most.

After a lot of emails and phone calls, I got extremely lucky. The dealership found the tire I needed on one of their cars. They would let me borrow it until my replacement tire came in. As it turned out, the replacement didn't take a few weeks—it took over half a year! Because the 22" PremiumContact 6 isn't a popular tire, they had to wait until the production run for the spring season.

Anyway, the incident got me thinking... what would I do if I caught a flat while on a road trip with my family?

Spare tire isn't available in Canada. If I could make it to a garage, I could maybe buy whatever pair of wheels that fit but then I'd have to ditch two of the Continentals (and possibly the rims) because there's no way they'd fit inside the car. I don't have a tow hitch. Help from roadside assistance programs asus rog would also be fairly limited when I'm far from home. What would you do? I'm stumped.

Pull Over Safely: Slow down gradually and safely pull over to the side of the road or onto the shoulder. Make sure to park in a safe location away from traffic.

Turn on Hazard Lights: Turn on your hazard lights to alert other drivers that your vehicle is stationary and there is an issue.

Apply Parking Brake: Engage the parking brake to prevent your vehicle from rolling.

Assess the Damage: Determine the extent of the damage to your tire. Check for punctures, tears, or other visible signs of damage.

Retrieve Tools: Gather the necessary tools to change the tire, including a spare tire, jack, lug wrench, and possibly a flashlight or reflective vest if visibility is low.

Change the Tire: Follow the instructions in your vehicle's owner's manual for safely changing the tire. Typically, the steps involve loosening the lug nuts, lifting the vehicle with the jack, removing the flat tire, and installing the spare tire.

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by MattAu

Can you not order the spare from the Parts department? The spare tire mounted on rim, the jack and the other necessary tools are all available to be ordered if you want OEM. Your other option is to get a set from the U.S. I picked up mine from a fellow member in the U.S.

https://shop.bmw.ca/p/BMW_2021_X5-40...116880744.html
https://shop.bmw.ca/a/BMW_2021_X5-40...k/71_1172.html

I was driving a rental car in St. John's NL last October and hit a pothole and although there was no damage to the tire or the rim, somehow a leak developed and when we came out from lunch, the tire was flat. We put the spare on and continued our trip. This kind of peace of mind is worth the price of carrying a spare in my mind. I assume RFT is not an option in your size, or that would have been your other option I suppose.

Thanks! I couldn't find this anywhere when I got the car. Painful how expensive it is and I hear the jack is horrible.

Hopefully I can get the spare but on a road trip with my car fully packed, I'm still not sure where I'd store the flat.

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by Torque_lover

This happened to me last week. Also in Canada. My X5 didn’t come with spare tire and it was a non-RFT. But it has a tire repair kit from factory. Basically a pump with a sealing agent container. It’s extremely easy to use. I drove on the (temporarily) repaired one before getting a new tire.

Here's hoping that if I catch another flat, it's actually patchable!

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by Condorll

Buy a tire repair kit and a portable compressor for your road trips. I love the 12V/20V air compressor for topping off my tires in my garage when the temps start dropping going into winter. Better than going to the gas station in the cold. I have run flats btw.

Which portable compressor did you get?

[nZtiZia]

whoppa
that’s quite a debacle how Canada X5 can’t option the space saver spare (third-row and 45e/50e excluded due to lack of storage area). I chimed in on the thread a couple years ago when I first learned about it

search the classifieds here. I purchased the OEM space saver spare kit from a forum member.

also look at Modern Spare. I don’t know if they ship to Canada, though

**our bimmers run RFTs because we believe in them; they’ve saved us many times over the years with their “run flat” utility. once when my wife’s tire blew out, it was towed to the dealer. they didn’t have her specific RFT in stock but i asked if they had a non-RFT in the same size, which they did! so I purchased it and had it mounted until the replacement RFT arrived. we now have a full-sized spare

***i mention this because ever since the supply issues with the pandemic, one must look creatively when dealing with tire replacements

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by whoppa

Which portable compressor did you get?

I bought this one works great, I can top off two cars with 4-5 lbs in each of 8 tires in the start of winter and barely use 20% of the 20v battery. Charges pretty quick too.

I bought the Ferrari red color (LOL). It's on sale right now a good deal.

https://www.amazon.com/Inflator-Comp.../dp/B07CTGM2LD

[MattAu]

Originally Posted by whoppa

Thanks! I couldn't find this anywhere when I got the car. Painful how expensive it is and I hear the jack is horrible.

Hopefully I can get the spare but on a road trip with my car fully packed, I'm still not sure where I'd store the flat.

mine is stored under the floor where it is meant to be stored.

[zinner]

On a trip that was being interrupted, I would buy whatever tire fits on the wheel and has the correct dimensions, having the same brand/model of tire is certainly desirable, but I wouldn't let that hold up a trip, one All Season 305/35/20 is the same as another for the purposes of keeping a road trip moving along.

I have an F15 X5 and was here gathering info on the New X5's but ECS tuning does sell an 18inch spare kit for around 600 bux. I tow with my X5 so it's worth the premium to let me keep towing to the nearest shop to get the flat one replace.

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by MattAu

mine is stored under the floor where it is meant to be stored.

Huh? Your full size wheel fits under the floor?

I also looked into the spare and you're right, it can be ordered in. But I was told that it won't fit my car because I have M Sport brakes.

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by zinner

On a trip that was being interrupted, I would buy whatever tire fits on the wheel and has the correct dimensions, having the same brand/model of tire is certainly desirable, but I wouldn't let that hold up a trip, one All Season 305/35/20 is the same as another for the purposes of keeping a road trip moving along.

I have an F15 X5 and was here gathering info on the New X5's but ECS tuning does sell an 18inch spare kit for around 600 bux. I tow with my X5 so it's worth the premium to let me keep towing to the nearest shop to get the flat one replace.

This would be a lot easier if my wheels weren't 22". As I'm learning, a lot of places don't bother carrying inventory for this size and they would have to be ordered in. Not to mention, the cheapest tire for 22" I found is over $700.

[MattAu]

Originally Posted by whoppa

Huh? Your full size wheel fits under the floor?

who said anything about full size wheel?

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by MattAu

who said anything about full size wheel?

Me! "I'm still not sure where I'd store the flat."

[MattAu]

Originally Posted by whoppa

Me! "I'm still not sure where I'd store the flat."

Fair enough. I think that's going to be an issue with most of the cars these days. The expectation is that you keep the full size wheel in the trunk (and I get it that it might be packed) but bear in mind, you also now have the space where the space saver spare was stored to pack some of the things that were in the trunk.

[whoppa]

Originally Posted by MattAu

Fair enough. I think that's going to be an issue with most of the cars these days. The expectation is that you keep the full size wheel in the trunk (and I get it that it might be packed) but bear in mind, you also now have the space where the space saver spare was stored to pack some of the things that were in the trunk.

You're right, this does seem to be the norm these days. Not ideal for parents who are always carrying bulky items (e.g. stroller) even on regular trips. At this point, I think I'm going to use that space to store a tire repair kit that I hope will help me get me through any tire emergencies I run into.