Tension strut failure (driver side, front); this component controls fore and aft motion of the wheel & tire. When it fails the remaining front suspension assembly including the wheel and tire impact the wheel well causing violent bucking and shaking which is worsened when the brakes are applied. My failure occurred when I applied the brakes on a smooth, paved road at less than 55 mph. The car was disabled and had to be towed. I believe that had I been traveling at interstate highway speeds I would have lost control of the vehicle and possibly overturned. This should be a 'never event' in my opinion.

- Tyler, TX, USA

I bought my BMW 335I xdrive brand new...ordered in Jan 2010 and delivered on April 19, 2010. Since I've had the car, the front passenger side tire was replaced 3 times (within 20,000 miles) because of pothole damage to the sidewall of the tire. Also, the car required realignment. In August 2012, I had about 22,000 miles on my car and had to replace all of my tires ( except the passenger side left front, since that was the tire that was already replaced 3 times prior to having 22,000 miles on my car) because they were worn out. The Bridgestone run-flats are expensive for my BMW. The cost to replace one front tire was $430. Luckily, I had purchased the tire warranty when I bought my BMW. The warranty was $1,000. I feel I am being ripped off though. Why, after spending $60,000 on a new BMW should I have to spend almost $3,000 on tires in less than 3-years of ownership which includes the $1,000 for tire/wheel insurance. I have had at least 12 different makes and models of cars since I've had my license and I have never spent as much money on tires for one car as I have for my BMW. I would like to see a class action lawsuit against BMW and the tire manufactures for producing and selling a product that was intentionally designed to fraud the consumer. They knowingly produced and sold a tire that had a short life-span, highly susceptible to damage from a typical pothole, and expensive to replace. They also offered the most expensive tire warranty in the industry...the cost of the warranty indicates that they knew these tires would be replaced often. I will also contact the ftc and BBB.

- Riverside, RI, USA