NHTSA Complaint #10198606 — 2007 BMW 335I

I OWN A 2007 BMW 335I COUPE. AT 9,000 MILES I STARTED NOTICING A STRANGE SOUND COMING FORM THE TIRE AREA. IT GRADUALLY GOT WORSE. AT 10,000 MILES I NOTICED PHYSICAL SIGNS OF "SCALLOPING" AND ACTUAL UNEVEN (QUITE DRAMATICALLY UNEVEN) WEAR. IT LOOKED AS THOUGH THE LEADING EDGES OF SOME, JUST SOME, TREADS WERE ACTUALLY AS MUCH OF A QUARTER IN LOWER THAN THE BACK SIDE OF THE SAME TREAD AND OF COURSE THE BACK SIDE OF THE TREAD IT WAS ADJACENT TO. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE RUBBER HAS LITERALLY BEEN THROWN OFF THE TIRE. THAT'S HOW BIG THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHTS IS OF THE RANDOM TREADS. THIS WAS TRUE ON BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER EDGES OF THE TIRES AND EVEN THE MIDDLE. THIS WOULD EXPLAIN THE THRUMMING NOISE. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO GET IT INTO THE DEALER AND WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT THE TIRES THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID, "BRIDGESTONE WILL REPLACE THE TIRES UP TO 20,000 MILES AND PAY HALF THE COST". I SAID THAT THESE TIRES WEREN'T WORN OUT, THEY WERE WEARING EXTREMELY UNEVENLY. CUPPING AND SCALLOPING LIKE I HAVE NEVER SEEN. HE SAID IT WAS THE DESIGN OF THE CARS, THAT BMW MAKES THEM VERY AGGRESSIVELY TO HANDLE THE WAY THEY DO AND ANY TIRE WOULD DO THAT. I ASKED IF I COULD GET THEM REPLACED WITH CONTINENTALS SINCE I HAVE HEARD THEY HAD LESS PROBLEMS WITH THOSE. HE SAID NO, ONLY WHAT WAS ON THERE AS BMW WASN'T WARRANTING THE TIRES, BRIDGESTONE WAS. THEY DIDN'T OFFER TO ROTATE THEM, LOOK AT THE ALIGNMENT, NOTHING, JUST REPLACE AT HALF COST. SO 9 MONTHS AND NOW 11,000 MILES INTO A $50K CAR I AM FORCED TO PAY ABOUT $5-600 DOLLARS JUST SO I CAN TALK TO MY PASSENGERS AND BE HEARD OVER THE TIRE NOISE. I REALLY FEEL THAT THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AS ONLY PART OF THE TIRE IS IN CONTACT WITH ROAD AT ANY TIME. *TR