We took a trip to central Nevada to go hiking over the weekend in our literally brand new NX 450h+. The car ran great, but we unfortunately hit a pothole on a rural road, resulting in a bulge on the tire. The vehicle came stock with Bridgestone Alenza run-flat tires in a 235 50r20, which we quickly learned are not a great option when you are outside of a major metropolitan area.

Our incident occurred on Sunday morning of July 3. Lexus roadside assistance wanted to tow the car to Reno, approximately 140 miles away, and let the dealership handle the problem on Tuesday. We needed to be back in California for work by Monday night, so we had to find other options. We limped into town to the only tire shop that offered after-hours service. They replaced the existing tires with a Sailun Atrezzo 245/45zr20, which was the only tire that was available to get us home.

Our big lessons are as follows:
- only use run-flat tires if you never leave major metropolitan areas
- the stock NX tires are a hard-to-find size, so you will need to be flexible on sizing if you need new tires
- the stock Bridgestone tires are also a relatively fragile tire
- no one seems to like run flat tires
- Lexus roadside assistance is really only useful if you are close to home

In terms of a report, the Sailun tires ran great! The ride was a touch softer than the stock tires. I noticed no difference in performance on the highway and none in the mountains between Reno and Sacramento. I was happy with the performance and the price.

We will be buying winter tires come fall. I will choose a slightly smaller rim and not buy run-flat tires.

 

Getting rid of the runflats was pretty much the first thing I did. My 350h came with 18inch runflats and I got a set of regular 19s which I think is the sweet spot. Now it really feels like a Lexus. I not only does it provide a softer ride, it's also quieter.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have purchased the tire and wheel protection plan from Lexus. If I change the tire to something else (ex: non-flat tire option), would the tire/wheel protection plan still cover any incident if it happens after I change the tire?

 

may i ask if not for runflats and say it was a regular tire and they included a donut, wouldn't it have been the same result? you can't drive the donut over 80km/h (50mp/h) and/or ~110km (70miles) distance.

unless you had a full size tire with you, wouldn't result have been same?

i don't like runflats for the weight/price and likely won't replace them with runflats after stock tires are done, but i don't do long trips and will just have a patch kit and use roadside and have them tow the car if that doesnt work..so end result is no different than runflats in terms of what happens should tire be damaged

 

If you change run flats out with regular tires, what do you do when you have a flat?

 

Short version:
Good roadside assistance (call for help)
Fixaflat / tire repair kit / air compressor (DIY if can't call)

If living or visiting remote areas or with low services, consider bringing a spare. Above story shows runflats aren't immune to remote travel issues either. Not just for tire issues. At that point may also be bringing some emergency food, water, etc. Decide on the risk tolerance for yourself and your situation.

 

I totally agree with this perspective. We would have been fine if we were close to home in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to get far away from a dealership around here. Our home dealership is Freeman Lexus in Santa Rosa, which is unfortunately on the other side of the mountains from the ocean and about 50 miles away. I would not feel comfortable driving mountain roads on a run flat for that distance.

Our previous vehicle is a 2012 RX350. The only tire problem I ever had in it was a flat in my driveway. It does have a donut, but we always carry a tire repair kit, an air compressor, and five gallons of fuel for long trips.

We travel long distances and live in earthquake country, so we tend to be better prepared. Our emergency gear in the NX 450h includes the following:

tire repair kit- portable air compressor - jumper cables
noco boost portable jump starter
tesla charging adaptor
food
water
extra layers
first aid kit
camp stove
jack and tools (not included in car)

I will be adding a full size spare as insurance for longer trips as well.

 

I don't know if the wheel and tire protection will cover this, but we will find out! It does not cover repairs outside of a Lexus dealership, that much is certain.

We bought it as well, so when I recover the tires that came off I intend to get them to warranty them.

 

1. Use a repair kit and a compressor to patch the damage
2. WIth regular tires, you can head to the nearest tire shop where they can actually help you. Not a possibility with run-flats.

 

In theory, yes, but in reality no. Run flats can have catastrophic (sidewall) damage that negates the run flat feature. Run flat tires use the sidewall strength to support the weight of the car if the tire is punctured. If the sidewall is damaged, you are stuck right there. A donut seems to me to be a step better than that. I also carry a patch kit and compressor which I can use to fix minor issues. A full size spare is ideal.

 

You can patch runflats as well, I've done it on my bmw ... Drove it to the tire shop and they patched it

 

Yes that's a good point..if have catastrophic sidewall damage (I guess big pothole or hit curb bad enough your rim is cracked as well) , a donut can be used if rim is cracked

I prefer run flat over a donut since I can drive a runflat instead of changing it.

..but full size spare is ideal but those don't exist except for some SUVs like land Rover discovery and old RAV4 that have it on the tailgate

 

Keep in mind the tire has weight and that is one big reason why they removed it. I understand a spare or donut will be great in any case of a blown tire, but what happens when you blow 2 tires? At the end it may end up being the same. Having a spare in the trunk over the years of driving the car and never use it means lost in efficiency. Touching wood in saying this... for the cars I've driven over the past 25 years, I only needed the spare tire once. Other times the spare tire is still brand new when the car is time to go. I did swap out the full size spare one time, so that I didn't need to replace 2 tires in one repair, but at the end - unless you are very unlucky or you live in a construction zone, I don't see the point of hauling a tire everywhere and use more gas.

 

I've been using run flats for years on all my German sedans. Never had any problems with noise, performance et al. If concerned bring along a donut. I just don't get the fuss.

 

You just might have gotten used to the noise, and the German cars are typically tuned with the stiffer run-flats in mind, so their suspensions are more forgiving. The first time I switched from run flats in my old BMW though, the silence was a bit unnerving, and it felt so much more comfortable and compliant.