Still no mention of the OP's Brand of tires!

 

My dealer offered this as well but made it clear that once the car was driven off the lot, it was no longer an option (might've just been a hard sell though).

I didn't take the option (but maybe I should have, given what I'm reading in this thread) because $800+ seemed like quite a bit to pay for tire/rim insurance relative to the cost of the 3 year lease. Also, I'm fairly certain that it didn't cover normal wear-- so I figured with these low-profile tires, I would need to replace them at least once during the term of the lease anyway (and I'm not sure if the the warranty would've covered the replacement tires if I didn't get them from the dealer). Also, if you get replacement tires from a third-party, isn't "road hazard" coverage often included/available?

 

If they are Conti's, here's their OEM tire warranty:

http://continentaltire.custhelp.com/...541670&p_olh=0

Basically, it seems that during the first 12 months they will replace the tire unless it was caused by cuts, snags, punctures, bruises or impact breaks.

 

Don't even get me started. These massive potholes form literally overnight. Once night you are driving home from work and you are fine, the next night you find some potholes on the same road. Don't know if this is true or not but supposedly they use this tar like substance mixed with gravel to fill in the potholes. Its quick to do it because all you have to do is just heat this mixture, pour it into the pothole, smooth the top and let it cool. The downside is that it falls apart real quick especially when its really cold out. If they were to use concrete it would last much longer because concrete is much more durable but you can't do that because then there would be no roads to fix

 

Most tire bubbles are a result of an impact of some sort.

Last year, we hit a pot hole an bent 2 wheels and blew out a tire (sport suspension). We had to pay for the 2 wheels and one tire, the dealer replaced the other 3 without cost.

The original tires were Michelins as are the new one's. They replaced the other tires because the original tire was not available and on a 4 Matic it is not recommended that you "mix and match" the tread.

I actually went to the Tire Rack site and was ready to buy the 4 replacements. I am sold on this dealers service and its treatment of us as customers.

Going from a non-sport suspension (E-320) to a sport suspension (E-350) made the car more stable and enjoyable to drive daily.

 

I'm almost certain my tires are 18" pirrelli
P245/X40/R18 93 ym+s tires. If this makes sense.

These are the tires in question. Any thoughts?

Again, no way in my mind, can 3 out of 4 tires get bubbles within 6 months time. Something is not right.

 

Your tires were either defective or damaged. With 3 tires bad I would lean towards defective. Your dealer should replace them at N/C no questions asked. However be prepared for other tire issues during your ownership of the car as they are low profile tires. I would prefer not to have low profiles on any car. Its a major trade off in the interest of appearance and its not worth it. This is not unusual with these tires.

 

Sorry for the late response but thanks for everyones input... I am determined to fight this somehow. Besides the lease price of this vehicle I had to purchase a park-assist ($1000) and bluetooth ($550) separately. I did my best to drive this vehicle on the weekends to the city and back, and now it's going to cost me another $1000 to fix the tires. This is borderline ridiculous for a "luxury" vehicle.

 

Do not understand why you would have to purchase those items separately. On the 09's Blue tooth is std. The tires are not related to anything else. They actually carry their own warranty. MB just purchased and installed them. There would be no way to tell if they were defective. My thought is that a defective tire would be covered by warranty and damaged tires would be covered by your insurance. If your deductable is high that was your decision to assume the risk for that amount. I do know people in this area who have had similar issues and the dealer (and MB) provided a new set of tires, no questions asked.

 

I've been lucky.. Both my cars came with Michelins. They are very good, long wearing tires. My '04 had 17's, my '07 has 18 Staggered Sports set-up. Considder replacing the 4 tires with Michelines.

 

Hey, Barry, the other night, News 12 Long Island had a report on the high rate of theft of wheels from cars parked on the street and in driveways in Nassau County. Made me think of you and your recent wheel theft.

 

Back when it happened to me, there had been 1 or 2 occurrences, now that they are as fast as a pit crew, and very bold, its happening several times a week from Bellmore to Massapequa ...maybe up as far as Hicksville.

Apparently they do their best work between 3 AM & 6 AM. ...I got new wheels & tires for about $150. out of pocket expense after insurance, which replaced the ones on the car with 20,000 miles on them, ...so I came out OK, but now they know where to get a brand new set if they want to come back, & I would hate to submit another claim or pay for a new set of 4 out of pocket, so I hope they catch them. Its an easy crime to commit & probably quite profitable. I've been watching Craigs List & Ebay for my wheels & tires but havent seen them listed.

For the "non locals": http://www.newsday.com/news/local/na...0,356462.story

 

How effective are wheel locks you can get from MB ? Are they worth it or is it childs play to get around them ?

 

Nobodyspecial, from my understanding the MB dealer wheel locks are actually McGard locks. If you look at McGard's website you'll see that they don't list late model MBs. I once heard that they made a deal with MB for MB to sell them and then McGard wouldn't sell them directly.

They look identical. McGard's are supposedly the best out there, and if they are the same then they should be worth getting, imho.
http://www.mcgard.com/Home/Automotiv...cts/WheelLocks

 

p.s., wheel locks are never 100% but at least the thieves will usually move on to the next (easier) target. Unless they really, really like your rims.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothrea...ostid=50729850

 

I bought a set from the MB Parts Dept when my wheels were stolen between 2 AM & 7 AM one fine Sunday night. They are rather substantial & look like they were made by McGard. They had no effect on wheel balance or any other ride charactaristics. (1 Wheel lock each wheel.)

 

Potholes? IMO the tires are defective. Consider the % defect tires as determined by the manufacturer. What would you guess % defect. 1 in 4000? .025% defect and this might be a tolerable defect rate. So what are the probabilities of 3 defects out of 4. If I do the math correct this would be .025x.025x.025 the possibility of 3 defects would be roughly 1 car in 1,560,000/4 = 390,000 would have 3 defects. I suspect the odds of this same car hitting 3 pot holes on both sides of the car to be higher. Consider I have only had 1 tire in 45 years of driving with a bubble/blister.

The blister/bubble is caused by delamination of the rubber/belts with a break that allows air to pass between the laminations. This is very low probability unless,,,,,,,,,,,,, There is a MAJOR tire problem from the manufacturer

I have experienced many tire issues with our E500 and found that they were TIRE issues and each manufacturer denied the problem when I specifically talked to them. I also found the Michelin tire is constructed much different from the "other" tires used on MB and I have switched to Michelins. After using the Michelins ALL of my tire issues have gone away. Now granted even Michelin can make a defect and even Michelins can be damaged on road surface.

So my conclusion on all this is that 3 blisters is a MAJOR tire issue and I would expect NO support from the tire mfg but I would call them direct and discuss this with them.

I would immediately switch tire brands (let us know the brand that is blistering) and really consider filing a report with NTSB of tire failures which could result in accidents and personal injury.

But your results may vary and there may be others who still believe pot holes are the destroyer of tires as all tire MFG will tell you.

Have a great day, drive safe and help someone when you can.

 

While anybody can produce a defective product now and then, I believe Michelin is the only tire maker that has never had a recall campaign.

 

I don't know that for sure, But I drive on Michelins because I started using them on my 1970 Pontiac and they have always exceeded my expectations.

 

This year seems worse than most for potholes on the roads I travel regularly here in northern NJ and metro NY areas.

I'd hit a couple of bigger potholes since having had my winter tires/wheels installed in December but then a seriously large impact on the driver's side on the way to Newark Liberty Airport 2 weeks ago gave me some serious vibrations.

The result: two seriously bent wheels, but luckily they're low cost MSWs from the Tire Rack so ordered two replacements for $133 each. But the really nasty surprise came when I had the new wheels swapped on with the tires and the tire shop tech found a bubble on one tire (Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3) on the sidewall...AAARRRGGGHHHH! Luckily Tire Rack again had one and shipped priority FedEx overnight and I had it installed this afternoon.

The two other wheels were also found to be bent but not badly and most of the vibration have been tuned out through balancing. I'm just glad they were the aftermarket winter wheels and not the AMGs!

 

Yeah this winter has been murder on tires, wheels, and people. I bent a tire also (same tire from Tire Rack) with Blizzak WS60's. Potholes are out of control this year.

 

I know I'm a little late in responded but felt the need to jump in. I have owned a 2008 C300 since February '08. Since I purchased the car, I've had to replace all 4 tires...2 of them on multiple occasions...due to impact bubbles on the sides of the tires. I've spent well over $1,000 having my tires either fixed or replaced.

I don't drive very far. I have a 3 mile drive to work each morning on suburban Long Island streets. The roads are smooth. I rarely drive into the city, but when I do I am careful to avoid potholes.

Just last week I had to replace 3 tires due to impact bubbles. $516.00 total.

I truely believe it's a scandal. This is my first Mercedes but to me, Mercedes always meant quality. Maybe Mercedes should consider utilizing different tires, or different types of tires on their vehicles, as a measure to prevent such frequent damage and tire issues.

And to those of you who are talking about rims...despite all of the damage I've had to the tires, never once have I had to replace a rim. My rims are in perfect condition. Like someone said above, the hole I would have had to go into to do damage to 3 tires should have damaged my rims as well. There is something most definitely wrong with the tires they are using.

 

Can't help but wonder what brand tire it was?

I have the same issue on my diesel truck and tires for it are a bit pricy. I have switched to Michelins' on the truck and have had no failures. At least not yet!

 

They are Continentals. I plan on writing to Mercedes Customer Service next week with my issues and will be requesting them to replace my tires at no charge with Michelins. It seems like everyone is happy with their Michelins.

 

Guess I am a bit surprised at the Conti's giving a problem. I wore them out on our e500 before replacing.