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GLC43AMG Polar White, 21" Alloys, Prem Plus Package, LED Intelligent Light, 360 Camera
I have just had the 21" tyres on the front replaced by MB and it seems to have resolved this issue. The tyres are not All Weather but still Summer tyres.
Thanks. I went looking for the second memo and found it on the dedicated crabbing site. I forwarded it the the salesman I deal with at my dealer.
This is a MBUK memo, and it's not at all obvious that it applies to Australia. The MBUK memos date from February, don't they? If so, why did MBA issue the first one - requiring a waver to be signed - only in the last week or two, and not move straight to the second one?
My guess is that the issue is less prevalent here than in the UK. From what I've read, it is worse in cold & wet conditions, and we get less of that kind of weather here. So I think MBA is hoping to avoid the cost of the tyre swap solution. This reflects very poorly on them.
Does anyone have a scanned copy of the memo that I could slip my salesman? He is having a crisis of conscience over this issue, and I'd like to give him some ammo. He's good value and I'd not like to see him leave the brand.
The first memo asking for the signing of the waiver was issued about 2 weeks prior to the memo admitting the fault. There was a LOT of bad press in the UK motoring press and that's what prompted them to issue the 2nd memo. I collected my car weeks after the waiver memo and told the dealership I wouldn't be signing any waiver and was never asked to.
Have not heard of anybody signing waiver in UK, just refuse.
As memo refers to RHD cars I cannot see how they cannot apply it in Australia.
You are correct about being worse in cold conditions, mine is on summer tyres and no sign of issue, that is why I am getting the all weathers in November.
As memo refers to RHD cars I cannot see how they cannot apply it in Australia.
If it came from MB HQ then perhaps, but my impression was that MBA is separate from MBUK and from MBUSA etc, and so I don't see how an MBUK memo could be binding on MBA. The fact remains that they've issued the earlier memo and not the second. I think it would require a similar bad press here for them to issue the second memo.
GLC Coupe, 250d AMG Line, Premium Plus, Night Pack.
Mercedes have fitted Vredestein Quatrac 5's in place of the Conti run flats on my GLC Coupe 19in wheels. So far the crabbing has improved, economy's improved and the ride's a little smoother and quieter. Time will tell how well the crabbing has been masked, I must admit to listening for it during every sharp turn. Looking at potential future replacement vehicles it's difficult to find anything with anywhere near the same spec as the GLC Coupe, AMG Line, Premium Plus within £10k, the Range Rover certainly isn't. Maybe I'll get over the crabbing and stick with the GLC, it's a lot of car for the money. Hmmmmm The Maserati Ghibli looks nice.......
Mercedes have fitted Vredestein Quatrac 5's in place of the Conti run flats on my GLC Coupe 19in wheels. So far the crabbing has improved, economy's improved and the ride's a little smoother and quieter. Time will tell how well the crabbing has been masked, I must admit to listening for it during every sharp turn. Looking at potential future replacement vehicles it's difficult to find anything with anywhere near the same spec as the GLC Coupe, AMG Line, Premium Plus within £10k, the Range Rover certainly isn't. Maybe I'll get over the crabbing and stick with the GLC, it's a lot of car for the money. Hmmmmm The Maserati Ghibli looks nice.......
Goot to hear Rick, hope it stays all quiet on the crabbing front.
Interesting comment on the Vreds. They are on the list to replace the tyres on another car I have ( 3 year old Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV).
They are an "all-season" tyre from a Dutch manufacturer which rarely seems to supply OEMs. I've had their winter tyres before which I thought were fantastic.
Interested to hear how you get on and from any others who have them.
No news, for several reasons. One - I am on the other side of the planet and will be there for the next month. Two - crabbing is not a problem that I've had to any great extent. And not since I've switched to 19" non-run-flats. The climate where I live is cold this time of year, but not in the same way as a UK winter, and certainly not as wet. So I don't often get crabbing conditions. I only posted in this thread because I thought the MBA position would be of interest both to others in this country and more generally.
Hi to all from down under. Well you can forget WINTER I live on the Sunshine Coast Australia and temperatures might get to 12 degrees celsius in winter but I've experienced the problem from day one in temperatures around 25 degrees celsius. Very disconcerting, my new pride and joy feels like I'm bulldozing the front of the vehicle at low turn speeds. My neighbour has a Macan....no such problem!
Update on my GLC43 crabbing issue or tire skip as MBA refer to it downunder.
Car is booked in on the 15th June for new front tire compound and complete front end alignment.
No cost to me and I believe but not sure it will be done at the cost and direction of MBA.
They believe it will reduce the issue by up to 80%
They also told me that all new buyers will be demonstrated the issue before purchase and will need to sign a waiver.
Not sure of make of tire yet, but we did discuss the continental 5 star rated tires that fellow members have had success with in the UK.
My GLC 43 did not suffer in the summer time in Adelaide, but only became noticeable as the temp drop below 14c and became a nightmare below 9C.
I will give my dealer it's due with a little reminding they have been very good the last couple of weeks with pushing the case.
Fingers crossed
I'll update with more details once the works are completed.
Hi wmc021. Thanks for the info on the GLC 43 crabbing issue. I am currently emailing my dealer and await the reply. I did have an MB bulletin read to me (on this subject)which gave little interest in fixing the problem.
My Porsche Macan neighbour gave me a wry smile. No problems there !!
Look forward to your update after the works are complete.
Thanks.
I have been following this thread and have been feeling grateful that up to this point I have only experienced the issue slightly in car parks with slippery surfaces.
However in the past week a fairly cold rainy winter has hit Sydney and the problem is now very evident on tight roundabouts in the wet under 15 deg C.
I am on 20 inch Bridgestone Runflats with about 20,000km on them and this didn't seem to be an issue last winter.
It is bad enough that passengers comment. The vibration/skipping is uncomfortable and not acceptable in this kind of car.
Never experienced this on my ML350 (2010) or Range Rover Sport (2007).
Time to see what the service department have to say!
Check for tire graining wear across the tire face and distortion on the individual tread blocks, if you know what normal tire wear looks like, the above will stand out.
Even if you cannot notice the Tire skip , judder, crabbing what ever you want to call it.
The tire wear and crabbing is caused by a combination of tire compound and the steering geometry which is different to LHD cars. Hence why only RHD cars suffer with the issue.
The colder it gets the worst the crabbing will get.
Continental 21" MO tires on the GLC 43 from my research seem to suffer the most and dejongi the thread starter …. Poor guy.
Not good enough on a car that cost over hundred thousand dollars.
Ask MB dealer to lodge the issue with MBA….. what might let you down is you waited for 20,000KM to lodge the issue?
Check for tire graining wear across the tire face and distortion on the individual tread blocks, if you know what normal tire wear looks like, the above will stand out.
Even if you cannot notice the Tire skip , judder, crabbing what ever you want to call it.
The tire wear and crabbing is caused by a combination of tire compound and the steering geometry which is different to LHD cars. Hence why only RHD cars suffer with the issue.
The colder it gets the worst the crabbing will get.
Continental 21" MO tires on the GLC 43 from my research seem to suffer the most and dejongi the thread starter …. Poor guy.
Not good enough on a car that cost over hundred thousand dollars.
Ask MB dealer to lodge the issue with MBA….. what might let you down is you waited for 20,000KM to lodge the issue?
Good Luck,
I can't see why being on 20,000 km should make any difference. It only just got worse and the car is well within warranty and there is plenty of tread left on the tyres.
I'm amazed, just had the car serviced for the first time (16k miles) and printed out the 'internal memo' about the crabbing issue. At first the garage said that it was an old memo and it might have been superseded but I kept pushing and they agreed to replace all four tires for all weather tires. Just had it done yesterday and it feels like a different ride. Added to that I took it for a motorway drive today and am absolutely gobsmacked by the MPG. OK, so I was sticking to 60mph or so and no overtaking but, still, the max I usually got on a long run was around 40mpg. Now it's 70mpg??
Hi rexgold could you advise what brand etc of tyre MB supplied for you. Are you still happy with the result?
My dealer has replied to my email as follows: "You will have seen that they are working on securing tyres which will reduce this sensation when cornering at low speeds. I am happy to see if we can get assistance from head office to get A REDUCED PRICE on these if you would like to get them fitted."
I would hardly expect to pay after only travelling 1400 kms. !!!
The impression I got from dealer was the replacement tyres would be provided free of charge. At the moment the crabbing is less of any issue due slightly higher temps in the U.K. So haven't yet pushed the dealership to replace my tyres yet but don't think it is appropriate that anyone with this should pay for the replacements. Also interested to find out what tyres are being proposed
The impression I got from dealer was the replacement tyres would be provided free of charge. At the moment the crabbing is less of any issue due slightly higher temps in the U.K. So haven't yet pushed the dealership to replace my tyres yet but don't think it is appropriate that anyone with this should pay for the replacements. Also interested to find out what tyres are being proposed
Definitely free of charge in UK, I have ordered mine through the dealer for fitting in November, all agreed with them and MB. Dealer was going to get them in and I could phone him whenever I wanted them fitted but at the moment they can't get 19 inch all season tyres for the GLC43.
Regarding them not making a difference in the winter - incorrect - not saying it will fully eliminate it but will be a vast improvement, why do you think Land rover fit all weather tyres to their cars.
Regarding MPG, logically as the all season tyres are softer in theory mpg should be slightly worse as they are grippier.
Similar to what I believe I've agreed with the dealership in Edinburgh but they've gone very quiet- I was asking them to confirm the brand and type of tyres proposed- all I know is that they'll be all season. I've got 20inch wheels on my GLC but not as wide as the AMG 43 so I suspect there will be different types depending on wheel sizes. Last I knew was they were still sourcing the tyres.....interested to hear if anyone has actually had their tyres replaced yet.
Similar to what I believe I've agreed with the dealership in Edinburgh but they've gone very quiet- I was asking them to confirm the brand and type of tyres proposed- all I know is that they'll be all season. I've got 20inch wheels on my GLC but not as wide as the AMG 43 so I suspect there will be different types depending on wheel sizes. Last I knew was they were still sourcing the tyres.....interested to hear if anyone has actually had their tyres replaced yet.
Not sure what size his tyres were but posted on another forum, he lives in Lincoln:
Haleluya, at last Listers fitted the Vredestein Quatrac 5 AS tyres to my GLC Coupe yesterday with no further hicups. The ride is slightly smoother and quieter than on the Conti MOE run flats they replaced but nothing major, the run flats didn't crab much, only time will tell if the crabbing has improved. Kind Mr Mercedes gave me another Tyrefit kit so I now have two which may prove to be handy one day. I kept the run flats as they're only 2 months old with aprox 1000 miles on them, I plan to stick them on Ebay, Gumtree and any other selling site. The worse case scenario is they don't go and I have to scrap them which is no hardship, I couldn't let Listers keep them and most likely stick them on another car.
GLC43AMG Polar White, 21" Alloys, Prem Plus Package, LED Intelligent Light, 360 Camera
Originally Posted by dazzler4mb
Hi rexgold could you advise what brand etc of tyre MB supplied for you. Are you still happy with the result?
My dealer has replied to my email as follows: "You will have seen that they are working on securing tyres which will reduce this sensation when cornering at low speeds. I am happy to see if we can get assistance from head office to get A REDUCED PRICE on these if you would like to get them fitted."
I would hardly expect to pay after only travelling 1400 kms. !!!
Hiya
Since the tyres have been replaced, I haven't experienced the issue again. The tyres is Continetal ContiSportContact 255/40 R21 Y XL 102Y Extra Load. The tyre is no more different in noise or handling to what I had before.
Are the 21 inch tyres the same size front and rear, my 19 inch ones are different, also in UK at moment MB cannot source all weather 19 inch ones for the 43.
2016 GLC 250d AMG pack, 2017 GLC Coupe 250d AMG pack , 2002 BMW 330Ci convertible, 2021 BMX X1 sD20i
Originally Posted by Mikeyking
I'm amazed, just had the car serviced for the first time (16k miles) and printed out the 'internal memo' about the crabbing issue. At first the garage said that it was an old memo and it might have been superseded but I kept pushing and they agreed to replace all four tires for all weather tires. Just had it done yesterday and it feels like a different ride. Added to that I took it for a motorway drive today and am absolutely gobsmacked by the MPG. OK, so I was sticking to 60mph or so and no overtaking but, still, the max I usually got on a long run was around 40mpg. Now it's 70mpg??
How are your tyres going now ? Not sure if we can source this brand in Oz.
My Pirelli run flats have just done 31,000km. I expect to get around 42,000km but with the recent cold snap and wet road conditions in Melbourne, Aust, I'm not sure. I have had the crabbing issue logged with dealer for last 12 months and have had to pay both times for wheel align's to ease the issue. Inspected front left tyre yesterday and noticed several small 'chunks' of missing rubber on outside leading edge.
Tyre crabbing when cold worse when reversing from out concrete driveway and onto bitumen street as well as some right hand turn roundabouts when wet and road camber high. Might try and see if dealer had any further 'advice', given their stony silence to date - nothing from MB Oz either.