These days, most new cars don’t actually come with spare tires. Not only does a spare tire take up considerable space inside a vehicle that can be difficult to package around, it also adds weight. Instead, manufacturers have been replacing them with air compressors and cans of tire sealant, although this isn’t a perfect solution. While a 50 MPH cap and limited range with these tire inflator kits is shared with many compact spare tires, they can be ineffective in the case of a large puncture, and incompatible with foam-lined acoustic tires. Still, for small punctures, an air compressor and some sealant will do, but it’s an arrangement ripe for improvement.
While most of these little air compressor setups are similar to the cheap 12-volt-operated ones you can buy online, BMW has a new one that’s used a little differently than most. The brand recently highlighted it in a press release, and it made me do a double-take.
The one-piece Seal & Drive Tire Kit includes a magnet and connector pin to secure it to the hub of the affected wheel. A hose then fills the tire with air and sealant using an integrated compressor. Once sufficient pressure is achieved (>20 psi), the journey can continue with the device safely attached to the wheel hub. Drivers can cover a range of up to 120 miles at up to 50 mph.
I don’t know about you, but driving 50 MPH with an air compressor attached to my wheel sounds crazy, and I wasn’t exactly sure if it was right at first. Thankfully, BMW has put out a video on how to use this new tire-sealing kit, and it seems to go largely how you’d expect, judging by the aforementioned press release.
Well, that looks pretty straightforward, with the disc-shaped inflator clipping onto the wheel, the hose attaching to the valve stem, and the switch being flicked, although the video doesn’t show the air compressor being removed. Perhaps delving into the owner’s manual for the facelifted iX electric crossover, a model already available with this inflator kit, will provide some clarity.
Yep, as it turns out, you’re expected to drive with the device in place. As the handbook states right after the speed and distance warnings, “Immediately contact an authorized service center, or another qualified service center or repair shop, to have the tire repair set Plus removed and the defective tire replaced.” It looks like you’re expected to drive on with the inflator attached to the wheel, with the manual giving an indication as to why.
The tire repair set Plus turns off automatically when the tire pressure reaches 2.0Â bar/29Â psi. If another tire loses pressure, the tire repair set Plus will inflate the tire automatically.
I suspect what that actually means is that if the pressure in the punctured tire drops below 29 PSI, the inflator will automatically kick on in an attempt to maintain pressure. Reducing time outside of a vehicle on the side of the road reduces the danger of being hit by traffic, especially if the puncture’s on a side of the vehicle facing live lanes of traffic.
Still, I can’t help but wonder what the extra mass will do to tire balance. Most of the bulk appears centered over the wheel, but who knows how weight is distributed within the device. For certain, the hose and valve chuck are not helping wheel balance. Presumably, that’s not a huge concern at relatively low speeds and distances, but part of me is skeptical of whether or not you’d feel the device at 50 MPH. I guess the risk mitigation outweighs any potential comfort concerns, although I’d still want to carry a tire plug kit just in case a puncture’s too big to seal with fluid alone.
Top graphic credit: BMW
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Perhaps the most elegant Argentine solution is most fitting…
They’re mandatory fitment for the buses and heavy duty trucks in Argentina as to evade the potential tyre blowouts from lower air pressure.
All this for only $25/mo and a $100 “inflation fee” if you ever actually need to use it. All major credit cards accepted.
Though to be honest, I don’t care whether my cars have a spare or not. The last flat tire I had on the road was in 1989, and I have ZERO desire to be on the side of the road changing a tire in this era of epically distracted idiots behind the wheel, and Teslas that are attracted to flashing lights like moths to a flame.
Maybe the tires are getting better, but my experience is you hit a gigantic pothole 300 miles from home and end up with a gash in your run flat – that while you may be able to drive on, it may wreck the rim. Then when the tire stores open in the morning, you call around and wait – hopefully you only lose one day at a cheap hotel in Scranton. I got the optional spare tire in my latest car.
I pay attention to what is in front of me and don’t hit gigantic potholes at speed. I have been driving for 40 years and never so much as bent a rim. Also helps that none of my cars have wagon wheels with rubberband tires on them. Not saying it can’t happen, but it is FAR down on my list of roadtrip worries (and now I live where potholes aren’t really a thing). The overwhelming majority of the time, when I am farther than AAA towing distance from home I am in a rented car anyway.
I don’t even have runflats on my two cars that came with them, because they suck. Goo compressors in both cars. The one time I came home to the airport to a flat after a week, I just had to pump up the tire and drive home, just a small nail causing a slow leak.
Yet another reason to never own a BMW!!
Ridiculous!!
Why is that exactly? For a nail in a tire, this is far easier than changing a spare and probably less of a mess than the straight tire slime in a can, though that remains to be seen.
For a massive tire blowout, you’re probably calling a tow truck regardless as there’s going to be more damage than just the tire.
BMWs used to come with run flats as of a few years ago. Not sure if this replaces those or is just a supplement. The days of full-size spares like my dad’s E39 are long gone.
a specialty part, that I have no doubt is going to be expensive to replace. It’s a novelty
K.I.S.S- an old saying “Keep It Simple Stupid:” .
I’d argue a jack kit and a donut spare are also specialty parts, and spare tires also go flat, so it’s really a “pick your poison” scenario. This compressor that mounts to the wheel really isn’t any different than the tire sealing compressor kits that come on the majority of cars these days, this one just happens to mount to the wheel and can keep the tire inflated while the car is in motion.
If this is a one-time use thing (and since it releases sealant down the inflation tube, it very well could be), you could always just replace it with a small 12V generic air compressor and have most of the same functionality.
Keeping it simple would be not include anything other than a roadside assistance phone number in the truck.
I guess I’m the weird one. I like it. As an emergency procedure it’s pretty sweet.
But you have to keep that mindset. This isn’t a fix, it’s an emergency procedure.
It has me hanging my ass in traffic for a much shorter window than changing a tire or plugging a hole. That’s a big deal for which I’ll accept a lot of compromise.
That looks fairly secure to me, especially if you have the stock wheels with deep lug wells and follow the directions by keeping it to <50mph. And I imagine it is quite easy for the mfr to design the pump to be balanced in and of itself so it does nothing to the system balance when attached to a balanced wheel and tire. Probably not perfectly balanced, but super good enough.
I would like this better if the use of the foam weren’t a requirement. I’ve been in a couple situations where I’m only a couple miles from home or a tire shop and I just need to keep air in the tire, even if that means stopping at a couple gas stations along the way.
I agree, it isn’t perfect for all situations, but for just getting to a shop with a slow leak it would be pretty great, as long as it doesn’t use some sort of slime that ruins the tire. It also even has a chance of being simple enough to use for the “what, you don’t have AAA? what happens if you get a flat tire”, “wow, you know how to put on a spare tire?” crowd.
If they were cheap aftermarket parts, I could even see a set of 4 of them being nice for reinflating the tires on the Jeep after offroading, but I’m guessing they would be too expensive to justify avoiding the minor inconvenience of stopping for 10-15 minutes with a normal air compressor, and instead just being able to slap 4 on the wheels and continue driving for a bit.
Come on, it’s neither weight nor packaging concerns. We’ve figured out solutions or mitigation strategies for both of those things a while back. It’s simply much cheaper to give the consumer an aerosol can and an Amazon compressor and tell them to go f*** themselves.
The problem lies with people who buy new cars, you know the actual customer to an automaker. New car owners mostly can’t be bothered to change a tire, they just call a wrecker. Automaker mindset says to delete the spare, jack, and associated components across the board.
There’s a problem though, that’s only about 85% of customers, and no spare/inflation kit means 15% of customers would be stranded every time because there’s no cell service and/or wrecker service in that area. Inflator is cheaper than spare, so inflator it is.
Percentages are for explanation sake, not accurate data, however they are close to the actual ratio. This all goes through a DFMEA just like any other customer safety system on a vehicle.
Last I checked, no one is stopping you from buying a full-size spare or compatible donut and throwing it in your trunk.
Agreed, and that’s exactly what I functionally do. All my vehicles are old enough they actually have a full size spare, so I’m set.
My Z3M on the other hand doesn’t have the physical room, but it’s not a commuter car anyway. I keep a plug kit, compressor, and about $600 on hand in case I have to replace a pair of tires on short notice after paying the flat bed driver.
You know, it can be the companies “cheapening out” and weight and packaging concerns at the same time. I sincerely doubt these fix-a-flats weigh as much as a donut, or take up that much space.
The last time I had a flat, I had AAA tow me 80 miles. It was 3 AM, pouring rain, and I didn’t feel like slapping the donut on while parked on a narrow side of the road on an incline.
Bingo. Cell phones made it incredibly easy to call a tow truck compared to changing a flat, in 85% of the country.
In the future, kids are gonna miss out on clapped-out old beaters running around on 1 bald tire and 3 unmatching donut spares.
Part of me wishes I did not have to lug the donut around (sadly F/S won’t fit in the space provided). It would free so much room to put more crap in 🙂
On the other hand, just recently I punctured my tire in such a way that it was apparently unrepairable (no, not on the sidewall and it looked just like an innocent puncture thru the middle of tread).
No matter, I just threw the spare on and 15 mins later was on my way, but had my only option was using a plug, that would have done nothing and my only recourse would be the tow truck, $200+ lighter wallet, ruined day and the car out of commission for at least 2 more.
So in the end, as ancient as it is, I’ll keep my spare.
My E39 has a full size spare. It’s even the same kind of aluminum wheel as the other 4 so you can include it in the rotation if you want to.
I had that in my 2002 Q45. The one car I ever had with a proper spare and perhaps the only I car I never got a flat tire to “enjoy” that luxury.
Yep, my dad had his E39 spare rotated through during normal tire rotations, and I do the same on my Jeep. TireRack has a great article on how to include a full size spare: What Is The Best Way To Rotate Tires? | Tire Rack
I know there’s a diagram in the manual of how to do 5 tire rotation, but I’d most certainly lose the order and mess it up.
Because the E39 was a real car and not this modern cost-cutting bullshit
I mean cost-cutting is definitely part of it, but that’s also a lot of weight and space taken up by something that’s only going to be used once or twice in a vehicle’s lifespan most likely. Knock on wood, but I haven’t had a flat in any of my cars in over 10 years at this point. I’ve had nails in the tires, but I could always inflate the tire enough to get to a tire shop without having to swap on a spare or use a foam sealing kit.
BMWs are already heavy. I’m fine with a bit of cost-cutting and weight-savings on something that isn’t even likely to be used.
Clicked because my early AM brain interpreted this as a compressor in the steering wheel
Me too…
The two hands holding it like a steering wheel didn’t help.
Same!
I was actually hoping for some centralized tire inflation system.
“incompatible with foam-lined acoustic tires.”
So it should be used only on electric tires?
Clicks on article…”They’re having us inflate our own airbags now?!”
This “product” is all kinds of stupid that I’m not even gonna get into…I’m still mad about them getting rid of spares
I’ve had flats too big to seal, but cheap plug kit took care of the hole so I carry that in addition to the compressor in the one Car without a spare. I’m still considering buying the spare kit.
Did they skip step one: paying for the tire inflator subscription? Or was that just assumed to have been done?
I’ll keep my spare thanks, with two of my last 3 flats coming from large sidewall punctures inflaters aren’t enough.
I blame CAFE, they should put exceptions to spare tires in the EPA test.
I’d rather a full size spare be required on any vehicle above 4k lbs, and space saver at minimum under 3k lbs.
The reason for space savers or inflator kits is cost/customer volume (as the space saver name implies) not weight.
I’m assuming this runs off an internal battery, which has to be charged in order to function. Safe to assume somewhere in the owner’s manual is information about charging intervals so it’s ready to go when you need it?
It provides air and sealant, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a one-use thing and the dealer sells you another as part of the tire repair.
The used one might be thrown away, recycled, or returned to BMW for refurbishment.
I would think the power is from the wheel itself. Like the impeller spins with the wheel and the housing is stationary…
That would require the entire body to mount to the wheel, including the hose, so the compressor can free spin, or an internal generator that can free spin about the hub axis. Both are much more complex and failure prone than a one time use tank and pressure regulator.
Yes I was trying to think about how a round device would create enough compression to add significant air to a tire … sounds magical, so I hope this is how it works.
You could do it either way. As long as there is relative motion between. The impeller and housing.
Why would it not just be plugged in all the time when not in use?
Maybe!
Personally, I carry these in my car and I can’t recommend them highly enough: https://www.stopngo.com/
I’ve used this kit to fix a screw hole in the tire of my Polestar instead of filling it with goo and necessitating a whole new tire (the foam lined Michelins on it will be absolutely wrecked if you fill them with tire goo).
Same here. I have a stopngo and 12v compressor in every vehicle and have used it a few times on small punctures. The repairs have lasted the remaining life of the tires.
Those foam lined Michelins are a pain in the ass to repair. My wife’s Polestar got a screw and the shop refused to repair it. I took it to another shop when it happened again and they were able to repair it but the process to remove that foam is a real burden.
As with most other recent BMW videos, I can’t get past the ugliness of the dash. So what was that video about again ?
DAMN that’s an ugly dash !
It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? BMW went from having some of the most elegant and beautiful interiors and exteriors of just about any car, to being…… well, what they are now. Which is, basically, a laughingstock. Quite a fall from grace.
From the name it sounds like both an inflator and a can of fix a flat in one. So it first injects the goop then runs the compressor as you drive and coat the inside of the tire I suppose. Neat idea really, but I’m sure another unit would run $500 from a dealer.
Sorry. The idea is very far from neat. It’s insanely dumb, and I had to triplecheck whether it was released on April 1st.
This is wrong at so many levels I don’t know where to start. It’s a solution looking for a problem, it goes on a wheel that – errr – turns, it has to be perfectly balanced, it can peel off and kill someone, whew !
I’d give it one point against the negative ten points, if it has some sort of inertial dynamo inside that would generate electricity to recharge a battery to make the inflator able to constantly top off as needed, but nah. And that would only bring it to minus nine.
“ it can peel off and kill someone, whew”
If it has to be removed by a dealer, the pin that holds it on (in addition to the magnet) is probably not removable without a special tool. So, barring a significant manufacturing flaw, unlikely to fall out.
Maybe the pin mechanism has a spring that helps hold the device against the wheel, so that if the magnet end lets go the spring slaps it back down.
I’m pretty sure the dealer will replace the device with a new one when you get the tire fixed so there shouldn’t need to be a huge battery or to recharge it.
I think this is gonna be a cash cow for dealers- keep people from going to Discount Tire or whatever.
Somebody already beat me to a “subscription” joke, but I wouldn’t put much past BMW at this point.
Still of no help when the sidewall gets split, which so far seems to be the most common type of tire failure for me.
Mine is nails/screws, but I work in an area filled with industrial parks. The last time I split a sidewall was when I ran over a plain ol’ brick at 50 mph.