Cativo

So, we bought our '09 E350 about a month and a half ago and we just noticed a bubble in the sidewall of the Michelin Tire. I know the "certified" Mercedes dealer that sold us the car probably didn't see that, or it just cropped up recently. They bought the car off an auction with only 15k on it, and it was in cherry condition. It has the AMG wheels on it; too. This is the right front tire too...

So my question is, do you think the dealer should warranty these tires? I mean they only have 16k on them, or am I screwed and hive to buy a new tire on my own. Shouldn't this fall under a Michelin Warranty or something? Really could use some advice on this one. I know these are not cheapo tires too...

Thanks in advance.

KEY08

Bubble usually means a bent rim, in my experience so you may have more to deal with and yeah they should honor this and fix it.

PlatinumPi4u

You can always take it to an American Tires spot, and they will give you their professional opinion for free.

When I had a bubble develop in the past with a different car, on one of the front tires. They said that as long as it wasn't too big that it was fine... But I shortly after, I replaced the front 2 tires, and called it a day.

With 16k on the tires they may be due soon anyway.....

justinrhenry

call the dealer and find out...

Cativo

We will call the dealer and see what they say. I am pretty certain there are no bends on this rim, but probably a separation of the inner walls. Typically from an impact or flaw in the tire. Since we haven't hit the tire on anything, and the rim appears to be straight, I am guessing that tire is faulty.

We'll see what the dealer says...

Thanks,

dsm2925

true

dsm2925

im sure the wheel is atleast slightly bent on the inner side of the wheel.

Taylor-Made'90

Bent rims don't always cause air bubbles in sidewalls.

Air bubbles are caused either by a flaw in the tire itself or a tear (or puncture) on the inside of the sidewall, allowing air to get in the sidewall core layers.

Options:
1. Replace the tire.
2. Have a tire shop try to find the tear, then patch (and see if it holds). If so, keep rolling.
3. Put the tire on the back (of your car).

I had a bubble in one of my Pirelli Scorpion P-Zeros (a few years back). Local tire shop was able to patch it. I got another 2 years worth of wear out of it before replacing.


Just my $0.46.

2slowcdi

Pot hole hits can and do cause most bubbles on tires and you may never know you did it.
I drive to far and to fast to take a chance on a tire that has a bubble on it.
A few weeks ago I replace a tire that a nail within a inch of the side wall after finding a tire and $225 later I was back on the road.
Not what I wanted to do but there is only four small spots where the rubber hits the road.

Cativo

Ya, I knew about the bubble on the sidewall, but I think if the rim looks clean (Damage free), you used to be able get the Manufacturer to cover the tire under their defect policy. Of course, the dealer would have to eat the initial cost. I am guessing I will be fishing money out of my wallet for this one. Sucks, but that is life. Lets see how much the dealer is interested in making a customer happy.

I think a bent rim is the initial cause of the bubble (Meaning an impact of sorts). The tread separation or sidewall separation can happen because the tire was flawed during the manufacturing process or was low on air causing it t overheat. Since its about 50 degrees around here and we don't drive very far, I know its not that. lol

Thanks for all of your inputs...

MasterMoparSB

I have the same wheels, the OEM tires are POS, and a bubble usually means a bent rim or a cracked rim. That was the story with two of my wheels.

I have the extra wheel/tire insurance, got three new tires and two new wheels out of it.

Cativo

MasterMopar...

Did you have the Michelin Tires on your car? Just curious....

benze550

i had 3 bubbles on my 07 e550, on the stock continental tires. those tires were BS. the rims werent bent at all. bought 4 bridgestone Potenza

dsm2925

WOW i thought the continental or harder then the michlins. i was wrong

Mad Dawg 350

Bubbles/bulges in the sidewalls of tires are usually the result of an impact of some type, i.e. pot holes, debris laying in the road, etc. While a manufacturing defect can cause a bubble/bulge to appear it is unlikely the reason for your problem. Be prepared to pay for a new tire if not two for I doubt the dealership will cover claiming a road hazard caused the damaged sidewall.

MB4tronic

Nope tires are never covered.. I messed up my rim.. had the same issue.. went on Craigslist and found the identical tire with 9/32 worth of tread (almost new) for $60 and had it installed for $20. So $80 back to new... no need for a brand new tire if you are buying just one.. waste of money and they will wear uneven.. so its a great chance to buy a good used tire.

You can find a lot of tires of ebay too sometimes, many people ditch OEM tires when they buy the car.. so tire's are only expensive when they are new.. after that they are pretty worthless.

Then when you buy new tires.. get the full blown warranty with road hazard protection and it'll cost you like $15 in the future. I've liked Justtires, they pricematch on new and have a good goodyear warranty with road hazard.

Cativo

OK, well the dealer is working on other warranty issues for us, so we mentioned this bubble to them, and they said they would look into it for us. If the tires were installed on the car when it was new, and this happened, I know the dealer should typically replace the tire under warranty, if its truly a defective tire. When a bubble occurs and its not due to an impact, then its a manufacturer defect that should be covered by the OEM, or the company who installed it. The installer is supposed to be a representative of the tire manufacturer, so they are the direct link to getting warranty replacements. I'll keep you posted on what happens. If the dealer doesn't replace it for free, then I will probably look for a used tire on Craigslist, as I don't want one new and one used on the front end.

Cativo

Yes, they are Michelin's why???....

MissMyBenz

Just recently replaced a rear tire on our 07 E350 sport w/ stock 18". 3 days at dealer. I drive it straight home w/o incident and have a flat when I pulled out of garage in the morning. Long story short. Tire shop where I bought says it was definitely an impact that caused bubble and flat. Dealer says fine when I left, but if I had bought from them I'd have tire protection. Not offered by tire shop since it's low profile. Bought new tire from tire shop at about $320 and got dealer to agree to some compensation without admission. Now I am paranoid about these damn low profile tires and wish I could swap for some 17s. The roads here in the bay area are awful and only getting worse. Hope you have a good outcome. So, I guess it was long story long, lol.

Cativo

Yes, I can sympathize. I'm in the South Bay, near you MISSMYBENZ, so I know what you mean. I have a feeling these stock tires will be a pain in my ****. Can't wait until they are worn and I can buy some with a road hazard warranty. My wife drives this, so it will be a pain for sure.

MB4tronic

I guess replying to this thread was bad luck... turns out I have a nail in my tire in the sidewall and will be taking my own advice to source out another used tire.

Cativo

Bummer, sorry to hear that. The tires are definitely expensive. Let us know what brand you go with.

kkowalski

Today i was driving out of my work parking lot at a max speed of 5mph and hit a pot hole, thinking nothing of it. As i was walking out of the gym about 3 hours later i notice a huge bubble in my front passenger side tire. It sucks because i got in an accident on Jan 31 on the passengers side and its a brand new Continental tire and rim. I've only driven about 1000k miles on it. My best friend owns the body shop who repaired my car. He replaced the tire/rim, do you think i can get warranty on the tire?

WEBSRFR

Was that a low profile tire or a regular tire?

Cativo

I guess the lesson to learn with these lower profile tires is, buy the protection plan when you get the new tires installed. The bubble on our tire is small enough that the tire shops don't think I have an issue. The tire have about 17K on them, so I figure if I can get about 10K out of them, I will buy new tires and spend the extra cash on the road hazard warranty. Otherwise, you just end up feeling like you have to drive like a granny.