dcjwlee

So, I hit a pothole in the middle lane of 495E and immediately got a flat front driver's side tire. Speed approximately 60-65 mph.

Pulled over onto the shoulder, changed the tire and was on my way in about 10 minutes flat. (The jack point and the jack are pretty good).

The car pulls to the right now. I corrected the spare tire psi from 48 to 60 but it didn't fix it. All other tires were at the correct psi.

I'm going to the dealer first thing in the morning, but any of you guys have any ideas?

I tried pushing down on the hood on the affected tire, no strange noises and it bounces back fine.

NJBNZ

You probably knocked your alignment out of whack...get a wheel alignment and you'll be good to go

dcjwlee

Thanks for the quick response. That was my first guess. Should I get it towed to the dealer?

I tried to get one of the MB roadside reps to tell me whether or not there was a risk of damaging the car from driving with the front end misaligned but I couldn't get a straight answer out of him.

15 mile trip @ avg speed of 35 mph and no faster than 45.

I'm not going to hold you guys liable...so feel free to give your two cents.

RLE

It's probably caused by the dissimilar spare. You can get pulling even from unevenly worn tires. I have been through this myself.

You can certainly drive it and with a new tire installed, then worry about misalignment.

aekara27

I agree you need to replace the blown tire and drive it before you get it alligned. How hard did the car hit the pothole? Most likely you will need to allign it but get the tired changed first.

I know what you mean man. 495 here in NVA and DC is just a mess with pot holes. A MESS.

C300Sport

For future reference, if you can get some pictures of the damage and the pothole or road condition that caused the damage, you can likely get the agency responsible for the road to pay for repairs.
Municipalites are the easiest and the Feds tend to be a bit harder to pin down but it is always worth a try.

NJBNZ

Ahh read your post wrong...didn't realize you still had the spare on. Yes, 1st get the tire changed and if you still have some pulling (which I expect you will considering how fast/hard you hit the pothole) get an alignment.

Do you have the tire and wheel protection package through Mercedes? If so that's covered under it.

dcjwlee

Have you ever fired a shotgun before? It sounded similar and almost as loud.

I believe it [pothole] was deep enough that the underbody hit the ground. And this is in the MIDDLE LANE of one of NY's busiest highways... The plastic molding right by the jack point is looser than on the other side.

Unbelievable, and to think that a green Lambo Gallardo was in front of me and got by it somehow...

Niti24

the same thing happened to me here in the city. I hit a pothole and they said I chipped a small piece from the subframe and thats why my car was pulling to the right. It cost $3500 to repair it. Sucks but hopefully you only need an alignment.

Ron Jr

Good luck doing that in NY. The same happened to me in my SAAB but I lost both passanger side tires, actually cracked the front wheels. County said it was my fault as the pothole had been reported a couple of weeks before and I should have been aware of it. Didn't matter that I had not driven on that road in well over 6 months.

C300Sport

If you could have those idiots put that in writing, I would have been in court. For them to admit they had known for a couple of weeks and still not repaired a road hazard severe enough to damage both wheels and tires would have been pretty cut and dry...of course going to court is a pain in the butt, but for something that severe, I would have.

dcjwlee

C300, you try running out into the one of the busiest four-lane highways in NYC-area and snapping a picture. Screw that.

dcjwlee

Yes, I do have the tire and wheel protection package.
However, if I damaged a tie rod or the brakes. That wouldn't be covered, correct?

C300Sport

lol...I hear you...that's why I said "if"...that pic won't do you much good in the grave.

kevink2

The spare is likely slightly smaller in dia than the reg tire (true on our lux 4matic). At left front pos'n the smaller dia will create more drive force at contact patch vs right front, creating pull to right on a 4matic like yours.

alexlev

I had the same experience over on the Belt Pkwy going towards LI. This was a few days after the first snow storm of the season hit and there were pot holes all over the place, one which was unavoidable and bent my rim as well as tearing the sidewall of my tire.

Niti24

I read an article about potholes. The DOT went to 25 random sites where potholes where reported and out of 25 sites only 5 were completely repaired. Most were half fixed or not at all.

dcjwlee

Dealer scheduled for 11:30 am tomorrow. The E coupe will have to crawl out of the garage for now.

side note: The dealer DID say I could come in and they would put my car on priority since it was an "emergency". However, it was not guaranteed to get fixed today. Apparently, the snowy weather has taken its toll on the roads. They claim another nearby service center had over 40 people come in with spare tires...

btw, I used Helms Bros. Service Center in Bayside, NY. It's at a nice off-dealership site. But that also means I can't poke around the new cars while I wait.

Peabody

The what what what???

I just bought a new pair of front rims from the dealership, and I've ordered a new set of summer tires to replace my old ones because there was some sidewall damage on 2 of them and you're telling me this could have all been covered by Mercedes????

Sportstick

Not sure if it's just MBUSA or worldwide, but I was offered this as well. Covers damage to wheels/tires...essentially an insurance device...for an amount of $$$ which is ultimately profitable to the seller! I declined.

NJBNZ

It's kinda like an insurance package for the wheels and tires. Covers any damage to the rims and tires...whether you get a flat, nail in the tire, hit a pothole, hit a curb, etc. Cost $800 at the time I picked up the car.

Well worth it IMHO given how expensive the rims and tires can be. I've had some bad luck with my tires...I had a nail in 3 different tires and a huge bubble in another tire from hitting a big pothole...Dealer replaced them all at no charge. I also curbed one of my tires during the last snow storm (couldn't see where the curb was b/c of the snow). Dealer also replaced the rim at no additional charge. 4 tires, a rim and labor would have definitely exceeded $800 if I didn't have the coverage.

nyca

I've gotten two flats on my C300 this season - the roads in the NY/NJ metro area are the worst I have even seen. And DOT doesn't seem to care. So much for 787 billion in spending for "shovel ready" jobs - filling potholes isn't a shovel ready job I guess.

dcjwlee

It's a third-party insurance that may cater exclusively to MBZ. It's called Safe Guard.

NJBNZ

Agreed...it's like driving through an obstacle course after this past winter around here...and I'm not talking about small, shallow potholes...the majority are the kind that bottom out your shocks and force you to pull over to see if your rim shattered

E92-Lighting

i would try get a wheel alignment first, it should help with the pulling to the right