2012c350

My 2012 C350 failed Pennsylvania's yearly inspection. It failed because of insufficient tread on the rear tires. Is this normal? The dealer wanted to charge me $600 to replace them. I told them to shove it up their @ss...why would I put those tires back on if they can't survive a year.

I asked if the tires were warranted and they claim there isn't any warrany. Is that true? I would think OEM tires should have some warranty and that less than 10,000 miles is not normal. They're 245/40R17 ContiProContacts. If I have to replace them I'm going to try the Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season.

So, is it normal to not get a season out of tires? And do they have no factory warranty?

Breitling65

Why would you go dealer to replace tires? Search TireRack or go any local tire shop like Costco or Sears. Stock Conti's are horrible joke as I stated in another post, but Continental making other good models you could pick. I use to drive PZero on another car, they are pretty good.

Ron Jr

P-Zeros also wear quick in my experience.

Sportstick

Actually, those awful Contis did you a favor by wearing out so quickly...I threw mine away before they wore out. Now, you can get some decent tires and appreciate what you car can do. But, you can do a lot better than those Pirellis in the same category (ultra high performance all season). Look for Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position (they do tires better than they do names). If you had some more time, Michelin is about to launch the new Pilot Sport A/S3 (replacing A/S Plus), but right now, I would go straight to the Potenzas. Check out tire rack for more info.

BTW, it is typical on our cars for the rears to wear out first. But, don't be lulled into thinking you can just replace the rears if you're getting a new/different type of tire...you need to replace all four to maintain handling balance.

kevink2

Unless you are driving it like your '98 Cobra "kit-car", you have serious alignment/suspension problems. The ex's A4 would get 30K+ from those tires, in a 205-55-16.

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Breitling65

I am glad I drove stock Contis first 2-3 days in November while weather was not as cold and I have time to replace them after. But I would say any stock tires are like this, I almost got killed on stock Bridgestone tires on my former Acura TL. Companies are picking cheapest tires deals for them on stock's and even MB are.

Sportstick

Vehicle manufacturers have different priorities than do consumers. The top two issues are rolling resistance and cost. Low rolling resistance helps them get better CAFE numbers to avoid potential corporate fleet penalties. This results in harder rubber compounds which are noisy, handle less well, and have less traction, although they usually do last longer....not sure what happened to OP. Then, cost is the next major factor. Aftermarket tires are always a better choice if one can afford to replace the OE ones even when new.

kevink2

The OEM michelins on the '08 were fine for DD & some snow ... a 2nd set was purchased. Of course I made sure they were cross rotated evry 5K for dead even wear. I had the same oem tires on another '04 car, and they were hard as a rock from the start. Michelin must have changed their compounding ingredients by '08 .

btw: Rubber compounding machines are real tough. Twin 12" dia rollers with a narrow gap, and the thick, semi-viscous phase of the rubber is fed into the gap in by hand, and the separating forces on the rolls are huge.

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ancker

The stock Yokohama Advans on my Evo wore out at like 8k.

The Conti's on the C300 are about 50% worn. No idea how many miles on them, bought it CPO. Likely putting on some Kuhmo tires when these get too worn.

MDMercedesGuy

I'm at 10,500 miles and am more than halfway to the wear bars on my 18" Continentals. Not terribly happy about the wear, but I've also not been the nicest to the tires so I am not going to complain too much.

It seems this is about normal, sadly

2012c350

No doubt I'd never get tires from the dealer. In fact I won't have them do any more inspections either. I only went this time figuring I could show that I had taken it to the dealer at least once. I don't trust that dealers will exaggerate wear and tear on items during inspection time just to get extra service. I have a mechanic where I take my other vehicles to. Family has known his family for decades and he only points out what is truly bad because he knows I'll do the work myself. Yea, I've been checking out Tirerack. Just still surprised (angry?) that they're worn out already.

2012c350

Thanks for the tire recommendations. I'll check them out.

2012c350

I drive the Mustang Cobra (not AC kit) pretty hard and still get 20K out of tires and that's with soft Z rated tires. Even though the C350 is a "sport model" I feel that I drive it very non-sporty. Heck, I don't even drive it in the "P" mode but rather keep it in "E". I think I intentionally spun the rear tires just one time to see what power it had but nothing major such as a brake stand...

I figure if it was alignment or suspension then the dealer would've been more than happy to do the work... I'm at a loss...

2012c350

I've read several of your posts where you definitely sound like you drive yours harder than I do mine, yet you still have tread. I guess I'll be replacing them soon and hope that the next brand fairs much better.

2012c350

So the consensus seems that these tires suck... No word on tire warranty. I'm guessing there is no treadwear warranty on these?

2012c350

8K? Yikes!

kevink2

That's a huge assumption that I would not make. Your suspension/alignment is ill.

Real Cobra FTW!

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victort

15k on my stock tires and still looks brand new

Richard2011

My stock contis lasted ~18K. Got some conti extremecontact DWS, and they've been great in all conditions and not wearing fast at all.

2012c350

Good point. When I get new tires put on I'll have them check things. I'll be honest, despite working on cars way more times than I can recall I don't even know if the C350 is a solid axle or IRS. If it's solid then there's not much that can be done with alignment. But in either case I'll get it checked out if for no other reason than peace of mind.

2012c350

D*mn! Good for you...sux for me.

Acapulco Bill

@2012c350: My first set of Pirelli's lasted all of 5k miles, all 4 had to be replaced (and this was in 1968 when they were made durably). Seeing last week that in the Malaysia GP the F1 Pirelli's didn't even last 6 laps makes one wonder.

The Primacy HP Michelins that came OEM with my 2010 C300, to date show no wear, and this with terrible roads on trips sometimes averaging over 100 MPH for hours. Mounted on 17" AMG rims, the Primacy HP's are hard and NOISY when correctly inflated, however as for durability, grip and safety there is certainly no complaint.

Check the TireRack database, sounds like you drive with lots of "spirit", and choose a replacement that according to consumer responses, is long lasting with the driving characteristics you require. Best of luck.

R-N

Just hit 8k on my E class on Conti tires, they still look new and ride is fine.

Cy3

Same problem, 2011 C350 with conti's near the wear bar at just around 12,000 miles. I have looked into the warranty and it looks promising. I just have not had the time to do anything about it. Here is the pamphlet. If the link doesn't work, go to continentaltire dot com -> customer FAQ (on left) -> Continental Tire Original Equipment Tire Warranty (1st link in "customer top answers")

continentaltire.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/4778/0/filename/Original+Equipment+Limited+Warranty

These things are terrible...to think with a 33month lease @10k per year I would have to be responsible for a set of tires is a little nuts.

awstansbury

If you're looking for a decent, all-around, SUPER-quiet tire, I suggest checking out the Nitto Motivo.

I read about them on another thread and decided to give them a try when replacing my rears about 5k miles ago (with 27k miles on the odo, btw) -- so far, they're great. I'm getting the fronts replaced this week since I slashed my sidewall the other day. They're ~$125/piece from discounttiredirect.com (Free shipping too!) and my local dealer installs them for $30/piece (I let the dealer do it for my peace of mind). They are much quieter than the stock tires and have a nice treadwear warranty (60k miles).

Good luck!