At a warranty service for an exterior trim item, the mini tech went to verify my mileage and also examined my run-flat tires in detail (goodyear 225/45 r18 efficient grip). he advised that two tires had defective sidewalls and said they needed to be replaced. he even recommended a different brand. the tires were under warranty and i really had no choice but to have them replaced under warranty terms. because it was an awd vehicle, i chose also to have all four replaced. 4000 miles later, i noticed a sidewall bulge on one of my front tires. i complained to mini that the tires they were providing were defective and had i thought more about the mini tech's actions in the beginning, i would have suspected that mini was aware of the problem at the outset. mini usa response was as expected, giving me a lecture on what causes a tire to wear and fail etc., and advised the problem was between me and goodyear. i told them that their response was not adequate and i would file a complaint with the consumer protection agency, which i did. my situation concerns me. i noticed on-line that there were numerous complaints about run-flat technology and wonder if this is a faulty conclusion that the weight saved by eliminating spare tires, jacks, etc justifies the gas consumption objectives. i am not surprised how "stand-off-ish" the tire dealer and mini are, simply because this is a serious safety issue to boot. *tr