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Apologies in advance as I think there is a thread for this, however I could not find it.
I know the run flats are garbage as far as noise and harshness, however was swapping my summers rims to winters today, and found my fronts separating (see pictures). They only have 25000kms on them and 90% of my driving is highway, and very limited "spirited" driving. Has anyone else had this happen? If so did you get any help from Mercedes? I've owned many high end cars with and without AWD, and never had or seen anything like this!! Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.
You and I both brother.
To be honest, I feel bad posting negative stuff about this car because I don't want to rain on anyone's parade....but this has the be the lowest value for money car I have ever had. The rate at which it destroys tires and brakes / rotors is mind boggling. Did a 4 year lease on mine and counting down the months when I can finally give it back. Sad because I have been a huge proponent of it on the BMW forum I'm part of.
You and I both brother.
To be honest, I feel bad posting negative stuff about this car because I don't want to rain on anyone's parade....but this has the be the lowest value for money car I have ever had. The rate at which it destroys tires and brakes / rotors is mind boggling. Did a 4 year lease on mine and counting down the months when I can finally give it back. Sad because I have been a huge proponent of it on the BMW forum I'm part of.
Yeah, not gunna lie, I came from regular family cars and the best one was a Lexus ES350. I am not very happy about the number of problems given the price tag of this car. Unless I get a steal, I will likely try out another brand.
Last edited by jonathan358; Nov 4, 2018 at 06:26 PM.
@5ilver-5urfer I hear you, I hate being negative as well. The funny thing is my car was in the dealer for another item and they remarked on the work order front tires wearing unevenly, remedy was to buy 2 new runflats for $1400 !?!? When I asked what could be causing it they said it was the roads I drive on, which is of course the major 400 series highways that hundreds of thousands of people drive on every day. SMH. The problem is I can’t think of a car that offers the performance, practicality and comfort this one does for the same money. If I had to decide “today” I would likely get a BMW 240i. I feel kind of trapped in a weird way.
@5ilver-5urfer I hear you, I hate being negative as well. The funny thing is my car was in the dealer for another item and they remarked on the work order front tires wearing unevenly, remedy was to buy 2 new runflats for $1400 !?!? When I asked what could be causing it they said it was the roads I drive on, which is of course the major 400 series highways that hundreds of thousands of people drive on every day. SMH. The problem is I can’t think of a car that offers the performance, practicality and comfort this one does for the same money. If I had to decide “today” I would likely get a BMW 240i. I feel kind of trapped in a weird way.
Based on the fact the tire pressure you were running was correct, and closely examining the photo of the failed tire my observation is the failure was the result of a manufacturing defect.
$1400 for two tires is outrageous. Sure hope you didn't go for that ripoff. For comparison just replaced four Bridgestone DriveGuard tires on my vehicle paying $210 each.
We see that often on these cars, I attribute it to the very aggressive alignment settings for a car that is not being raced. Coupled with the garbage Pirelli tires, they wear on the inner edge and start to separate while the rest of the tire is still in decent condition.
You and I both brother.
To be honest, I feel bad posting negative stuff about this car because I don't want to rain on anyone's parade....but this has the be the lowest value for money car I have ever had. The rate at which it destroys tires and brakes / rotors is mind boggling. Did a 4 year lease on mine and counting down the months when I can finally give it back. Sad because I have been a huge proponent of it on the BMW forum I'm part of.
Guessing you were going through rear rotors more than fronts?
Yeah, not gunna lie, I came from regular family cars and the best one was a Lexus ES350. I am not very happy about the number of problems given the price tag of this car. Unless I get a steal, I will likely try out another brand.
Exact same boat as you. This car replaced a 2013 RDX which was at close to half the price - probably the best value for money car I have ever had. I know it's apples to oranges, luxury sports coupe vs. luxury boat, and the RDX isn't an "enthusiast's" car...but 2 years later, I dont think my c43 is worth the 32k CAD premium over it's replacement.
Originally Posted by GWSHARK
@5ilver-5urfer I hear you, I hate being negative as well. The funny thing is my car was in the dealer for another item and they remarked on the work order front tires wearing unevenly, remedy was to buy 2 new runflats for $1400 !?!? When I asked what could be causing it they said it was the roads I drive on, which is of course the major 400 series highways that hundreds of thousands of people drive on every day. SMH. The problem is I can’t think of a car that offers the performance, practicality and comfort this one does for the same money. If I had to decide “today” I would likely get a BMW 240i. I feel kind of trapped in a weird way.
I drive on the same highways as you. Don't buy the bad roads excuse...these are the same tires they put on 4 series models and that forum hasn't had nearly as many complaints about their cars eating through these tires. Yeah - trapped is a good way to put it....I know exactly what you mean. If I was deciding "today", I'd be really interested in seeing how much an M2 runs, or seeing if i could land a good deal on a 540i.
Originally Posted by HTXgearhead
Guessing you were going through rear rotors more than fronts?
Rear rotors replaced with first rear pad change at about 47k KM. Definitely on the low end as far as pads go relative to similar cars. Way too soon to have to change rotors as well imho.
Just as a side note - I'd be kinda bummed out reading these posts if I was still waiting for delivery and that's the last thing I want to have someone feeling because of a handful of negative experiences some of us have had. The C43 is an absolute blast to drive because of it's dual personality. It's suited and booted when it needs to be, and obnoxious as heck if need be as well! If I had swapped out my RFTs for quality non-RFTs from day one, I would be a lot happier with my overall experience - take that as you may!
Is it just a handful of incidents? You all are having me second guessing my order..
Well it's not a major issue. Tires are a wear item but just note that 1. the stock ones are bad and 2. you will run through them faster than a regular car due to unnecessary camber.
We are just being nitpicky that the car should be a bit better at the price point. This segment is not as competitive as, say, a compact CUV around 20-30 grand.
Is it just a handful of incidents? You all are having me second guessing my order..
I wouldn't listen to the posters above. The runflat tire issue is easily solved by switching to Michelin PS4S or another non runflat. The rear braking complaint just shows they don't know their own car well enough. Mercedes incorporates torque vectoring via rear braking, so the more aggressive you are through corners, the faster the rear brakes will wear out. The info for this is listed all over the Mercedes website.
On the subject of perceived value, the sales data speaks for itself. The 43 line is selling VERY well with the exception of the SLC43. If the car wasn't priced right, people wouldn't be buying so many of them.
Last edited by HTXgearhead; Nov 5, 2018 at 02:32 PM.
Is it just a handful of incidents? You all are having me second guessing my order..
No need to double guess your order...different strokes for different folks. There's clearly some people on this forum that are extremely happy with their cars and have no issue with the car asking for tires and brakes substantially faster than it's major competitors...because that's what the website said.
No need to double guess your order...different strokes for different folks. There's clearly some people on this forum that are extremely happy with their cars and have no issue with the car asking for tires and brakes substantially faster than it's major competitors...because that's what the website said.
I don’t think you know the features on your own car very well and you have no proof that the C43 will wears faster than other sports sedans, it’s the nature of owning a sport car, some parts are going the wear faster. Any car with (brake) torque vectoring will have the same issue, that’s just how the technology works. All sports cars that come from the manufacturer with P-Zero RF tires will have the same issue (read the reviews on tirerack).
My car had a ton of issues when I picked it up, I almost had Mercedes buy it back, but everything works properly now. Most C43s don’t have any issues, mine is (or was) a borderline lemon.
I don’t think you know the features on your own car very well and you have no proof that the C43 will wears faster than other sports sedans, it’s the nature of owning a sport car, some parts are going the wear faster. Any car with (brake) torque vectoring will have the same issue, that’s just how the technology works. All sports cars that come from the manufacturer with P-Zero RF tires will have the same issue (read the reviews on tirerack).
My car had a ton of issues when I picked it up, I almost had Mercedes buy it back, but everything works properly now. Most C43s don’t have any issues, mine is (or was) a borderline lemon.
Sure, you can think whatever you want - you're entitled to having an opinion just like everyone else on this thread can have one too.
For reference - and I'm going to make a direct comparison to the F30/F32 xDrive BMWs...those handle just as well as these cars and I've seen the rear rotors on those cars last about 2x as long as I've seen them last on the C43. Brake induced torque vectoring or not, you're basically arguing that it's okay to have the same level of performance at twice the rotor cost as a competitor? That's cool too man - once again, you're entitled to have an opinion that differs from mine.
Also, I've owned 3 cars that came with Pirelli PZero RFTs off the lot...one of them with the exact same size tires as the C43 with the staggered set up. The Pirelli's, albeit uncomfortable, actually do have some really decent longevity on a decent tire respecting platform...which this is not. Regardless of what you've read on TireRack, my real world experience begs to differ. Anyway - your experiences have clearly led you to believe one set of things that differ greatly from my own experience. To each their own. Good luck bud!
@HTX thanks for the tutorial on vectoring, my TL had SHAWD which is essentially the same idea and never went through brakes even at 95000kms they were original. With respect to the point of swapping the tires, to non run flats , how does that resolve the excessive camber and destroying those tires in a similar manner. You may not have an answer, but thought I would ask. Thanks
@HTX thanks for the tutorial on vectoring, my TL had SHAWD which is essentially the same idea and never went through brakes even at 95000kms they were original. With respect to the point of swapping the tires, to non run flats , how does that resolve the excessive camber and destroying those tires in a similar manner. You may not have an answer, but thought I would ask. Thanks
The stiff sidewalls on RF tires have almost no flex, so you will wear the side of the tire faster. Non RF tires allow flex in the sidewall, it won’t solve all aggressive camber issues, but it helps the tire wear more evenly and you also have more tire options. You could get a high tread rated tire that lasts 50,000 miles if you really wanted, you would just sacrifice grip.
Dont take my word though, use the C43 section forum search and look at how happy people are with their cars after they get rid of the RF tires.
Top 3:
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-04
Continental ExtremeContact Sport
Agreed on the Bridgestone, anything they offer is going to be a good tire, the S-04 is fantastic, but not the quietest tire I've ever had. I've run them on several cars and always loved them.
Is it possbile to go 265/30 R and 235/35 F on the OEM 19" wheels (without being too beefy) if spacers are added? Or what are preferences? Thanks, and sorry for derailing...
Is it possbile to go 265/30 R and 235/35 F on the OEM 19" wheels (without being too beefy) if spacers are added? Or what are preferences? Thanks, and sorry for derailing...
Yes you can. Some fatter models of tires might touch the steering knuckle but if you use spacers it should be fine. Rears will be fine.
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