Well it was bound to happen one of these days, so why not today...

Wife hits a major pothole, blows out a tire on a 2014 GL550. Tire can't be repaired and needs to be replaced.

We have 9000 miles on the car and all 3 remaining tires are 8/32 tread left vs 10/32 new. Went to the dealership, they tell me to replace all 4 (duh) because they need to be absolutely same which is just ridiculous.

Do you guys think I will be fine with just installing a new tire and having a 2/32 difference in tread?

Or should I go through the trouble of shaving a new tire off down to 8/32 to match other 3?

How sensitive is the GL AWD system to a 2/32 difference in tread depth?

Thanks in advance for any educated opinions.

 

I would imagine you will be fine.

 

I tend to agree with BlownV8, you should be fine. At absolute worse case you could buy two and match fronts and backs.

 

The fact is 9000 miles is 9000 miles - and you list a GL550 - I congratulate on the conservative driving - but frankly the last 25%-30% of tread is going to get a bit harsh feeling for a GL550.

If it was me - I would quote 2 replacements from Tirerack -with Road Hazard - then challenge the dealer to match - install on front - then have a match 9K pair on the rear - with one 9K tire in your garage as a spare...

 

I would never in a million years replace just one tire after 9000 miles, dont be cheap on things like this, get all 4 replaced, even if the other 3 are safe (which I doubt) you will at least have 100% peace of mind. Get a couple quotes than ask MB to price match. Get the rim and tire warranty next time. Its a relative bargain given the replacement cost of tires/rims.

 

I would agree with this approach as well, did something similar on my W212 last year.

 

I ended up getting a tire shaved down to match the other 3 off tirerack. Getting installed tomorrow.

Seems like the most cost efficient approach.

thanks everyone for their input!! This forum is very helpful as always.

 

Give all that we know about tire wear on our GL's ..... I agree with the above!