[QUOTE=seattlemag;7963366]I had the same issue with my 2019 GLC 43 with 21 inch Contis every time I pulled out of driveway in reverse. Got worse when the wet and cold season started. I replaced them with Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season tires and haven’t had the issue since. They are not exactly the same size, but I haven’t noticed any issues, though YMMV. Bought them from Tire Rack:

Do you think the will cover the replacement of the tires

 

You guys, this is normal & is due to the way the steering geometry is designed. Higher-end vehicles that offer increased performance and are of a sportier & more capable nature use this design, which is why you'll find this is a common "issue" on many Porsche models & many RWD Lexus models as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackerm...ering_geometry

The "slip" occurs at full lock when the tires travel over two different surfaces, such as during parking maneuvers when the tire travels over the painted lines and the unpainted floor. This is completely normal & is something you just have to get used to.

 

Not sure, I didn’t think to ask the question as I figured it was my own preference. Switching to All Season made sense for me with the weather in Seattle.

 

I too have the problem on my GLC43 here in NORCAL.

Very annoying, scares the crap out of me every time it jumps while parking plus the wear has not been good.

I argued with the AMG dealer in San Rafael but he refused to help cover the cost of new all season shoes.

Next step is an email to MB HQ but thus far it looks like the Pirelli Scorpions Zero’s are a reasonable cure?

But yeah, apart from that, I smile every time I drive the 43.

 

I didn't read all the posts so this may have already been mentioned. As a new GLC 63 owner (well wife's) we noticed this "noise and bump" also. Having another vehicle that has a locked spool, this is the same thing I have experienced with it. I believe the issue is with a locking differential. A vehicle going in a tight turn will have the inner wheels having to travel a shorter distance than the outer wheels. If the axes are "locked together" (or very tightly aligned to each other), the inner tire will have to "give" and it does so by "skipping/thumping". I am going to have the wife replicate this while I am outside to see if I can witness this happening.

 

So as I was reading through this thread this morning the folks from MB HQ customer service called.

Bottom line is they may assist with replacement tyres but only the same summer tyres sold through the dealers, which does nothing to solve the crabbing problem.

The gentleman was very clear that this issue could not be elevated further up the food chain.

This constitutes some of the worst customer service I have experienced, a known problem with a car that they flatly refuse to acknowledge, let alone resolve.

I have time so my quest will continue.

 

PSA:

I am running Continental extremeContact Sport Summer tires in 40 degree weather daily. I have not experienced this issue since i dumped the stock SportContact tires.

 

I experienced the same issues with the Conti ContiSport Contact 5P tires on my 21" staggered wheel setup. My dealer was worse than useless, telling me it's the result of driving summer tires at low temperatures ... despite me telling him I had never driven below 50 deg F and the crabbing regularly happens when the ambient temp is above 70 deg F. An alignment helped a little, but then the front tread depth was down to just below 3 mm at 8,000 miles, plus the vehicle hydroplaned a couple of times (Continental HQ told me I should continue to drive them until 1.6 mm tread remained!). So I changed tires to Dunlop!

I'm now 2,000 miles into using the Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 tires. They are marked "MO" and I have experienced no crabbing to date. I can back out of the garage and turn on full lock to drive down my drive, something which would have resulted in lots of banging with the Contis. The ride is quiet and there's not the continual noise of road grit, etc being flung around the wheel arches. Still early days yet, but there is no measurable change in tread depth from new. I'm happy!

 

So I managed to get MB to pay for replacement fronts only. I will do this in the next couple of weeks then next time replace all 4 with other brands such as the dunlops.

One thing is for sure, between the dealer and MB HQ they are fully briefed as to how to handle this situation and the shutters go up immediately.

Will make me think twice about buying another MB.

 

A month ago, at 25,000 miles, I replaced the factory ContiSportContacts with Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season Plus, 1cm larger than stock (265 vs 255 front and 295 vs 285 rear).

Recall that I had to replace the front tires at 10,000 miles due to the outer shoulders being worn smooth. After getting the front end aligned by MB, the crabbing improved a bit and I got 15,000 on the second pair before they were nearly as bad. The rear tires were practically worn out at 25,000, although the wear was even across the tread. After about 18,000 miles, the rear tires really started "thrumming." At my 20,000 mile service, I asked the MB service rep to check whether a wheel bearing or the differential was going bad, but he said it was the tires.

The tire shop where I purchased the Pirellis said they could install the K-MAC bushings that I have, but the service rep at the tire shop said the front end alignment is well within factory specifications, so they didn't see any purpose in me incurring the labor expense of having the adjustable bushings installed.

Since installing the Pirellis, I made a 1,000-mile round trip road trip across the Mojave Desert with 60 miles of very twisty mountain roads in the middle. Otherwise have been teleworking due to COVID, so it might take a while to see whether the outside shoulders of the front tires last any longer than the Continentals. It might just be a deliberate Mercedes suspension geometry engineering design quirk that, when turning, results in the inside tire leaning so hard on its outside shoulder and scrubbing off the rubber there.

The ride on the Pirellis does feel different than the Continentals, although in my experience is brand new tires seem a little "squishy" until the top 1 or 2 millimeters is worn off. I will say I am perfectly satisfied with the way the Pirellis handle the twisty mountain roads, even with only a few hundred miles on them. Plus, I will feel more comfortable with the Pirelli All Seasons taking the car off highway (not off road) and driving in a bit of snow.

BTW, I bought a telescoping 17mm lug wrench, a bottle jack, and a Safety Seal tire repair kit to keep in my trunk ( https://www.safetyseal.com/ ). I actually had to use the seal kit to repair a punctured tire on my daughter's RAV4. It works.

 

Clevis: "The ride on the Pirellis does feel different than the Continentals". We replace the rear tires with Federal Couradia and the ride was noticeably softer (better). Could it be because the Continentals were worn to the tread wear indicators...not sure. When the fronts are worn (almost new) we will replace the Continental tires with the Federal as they seem to be a nice tire for half the price. And no, we don't go tracking it, but straight line acceleration is just as good with these.

 

I took the one-day AMG Performance Driving school at Laguna Seca last year, and all the cars I drove there were on Continentals. No question that those tires allow cars to do amazing things on the track. If racing was my hobby and where I preferred to spend my discretionary income, then I'd probably drive on Continentals if I wanted to be competitive. But my '43 is my daily driver, and 90% of my driving is commuting (although I do get to drive on the Arroyo Parkway between Pasadena and downtown LA, which can be fun if there is no traffic -- but there is almost always traffic), so I need tires that don't cost me $800 to $1,600 to replace every scheduled oil change. I REALLY hope the Pirellis are those tires.

 

So when I first picked up my 2020 GLC 43 there was no hint of crabbing/tyre skipping (nor in the demo car) so I thought it must've been fixed by MB on the facelift version. However, after only 2,700km in a month of ownership it is starting to become quite apparent... The tyres are ContiSport Contact 5P 21".

I had a very close look at my tyres today and took some measurements with digital calipers. From outside to inside of the tyre, the rear tread readings were about 5mm, 5.4mm, 5.72mm and 4.95mm. Running 32psi in the rear but might inflate that a bit higher to try and ease wearing on the outside and inside edges.

The fronts are a problem though. Starting from the outside moving in, the readings were about 4.2mm, 4.8mm and 4.7mm at 32psi. I have since increased pressure today to 38psi to see if that helps even the wearing.

I was at a dealership today with a mate looking at an A45S and casually mentioned the tyre skipping and tread wear issue to the sales guy. He said he knew about it on the pre-facelift 43 but didn't know it causes tyre wear and in any case thought it was fixed for the facelift. I flagged with him I might drop it in for a warranty assessment as this level of wearing can't be normal for only 2,700km! The fronts are actually approaching the wet weather replacement warning indicator...

Glad to see others here might have a solution with different tyre brands.

 

Thank you very much for our detailed, precise report! I too am in the market for replacement tires and eyeing all-seasons. I particularly appreciate you contrasting racing needs with commuting needs. It puts the whole thing into context.

 

For the community's benefit, I'm reporting back on my experience. I also replaced the factory ContiSportContacts with Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season Plus, 1cm larger than stock (265 vs 255 front and 295 vs 285 rear). Here is my two weeks report.

First, my starting point
My ContiSportContacts were sufficiently worn out that they wouldn't pass the Massachusetts inspection. Crabbing was an ever-present reminder, even when the temperature was in the high 60s, low 70s. A simple full lock quarter-turn of the car would elicit multiple "banging" through the steering column. During 40 degree weather, I once counted 14 bangs in a quarter turn!

Second, the new PSZ tires
Pros

• Crabbing is gone, although the lowest temperature I have experienced is ~60 degrees.
• The ride is noticeably plusher
• The tires look good!
• Perfect fit, no rubbing

Con

• Marginally "slow" speedometer due to extra 10mm tire width, which translates to a few mm of extra height and circumference

Main surprise

The tires squeal much, much more easily than before. In one year of ownership, I may have squealed the OEMs once in a very aggressive on-ramp maneuver (tail wagging). Just this past week, I've squealed the PZeros a half dozen times. It happens as you would expect: when taking tight turns, either pulling into traffic or spirited turns. If I still lived near highways and on-ramps were a daily occurrence, I think I'd find the squishiness unacceptable. Now that I mostly put around busy neighborhoods, it's not a huge deal. These tires clearly illustrate the ride/handling trade-off. When they wear off, I'll look for something in between, performance-wise.

Hope this helps.

 

Good to hear your having some success. How far have you gone on the Scorpions? My experience (and bit of research) tells me its only a matter of time before the crabbing returns regardless of tyre selection. When that tread becomes less flexible (read: thinner), it returns. I'm on my 3rd front, 1st rear of Contis, and get no crabbing for the first 8k ish, then it returns. I have to have summer tyres where I live. Interesting you upped the size, that opens up new manufacturers and models for me if its safe. I had one tyre shop said they wouldnt do it for me, which made me very hesitant as it exceeds the recommended tyre/rim config. Some on this forum have done it though. Your on 21 inch right?

 

You are right, I'm on the 21 inch wheels. In the two weeks I've had the tires, I've only covered a couple of hundred miles. Hence those are early impressions. To your point about crabbing potentially returning, that strikes me as completely likely and, in fact, expected. With less rubber, there is less wiggle to accommodate the turning angle. On the plus side, for Scorpion users, that might mean less tendency to squeal over time. With any luck, crabbing won't return for 20K miles or more.

Looks like your tyre ship didn't want to take the risk of an unsatisfied customer. I ordered from the Tirerack, who, to their credit, called me to make sure I knew what I was doing. And the independent tire shop I selected was only on the hook for installation and balancing, so they didn't care about tire size.

 

Add another to the crabbing list. Started two days ago and my 63 has a whopping 1800 miles on it. Summer PZeros. Inflated them up to 42/41 with no effect. Temperature around here has been in the 40s/50s and the crabbing happens when maneuvering in/out of the garage, in/out of parking spaces, etc. When it happened today I thought I had run over something.

What's the best course of action here? I'm leasing so before I try the Scorpion All Seasons I'm a bit concerned that if I turn the car in with those tires that they'll dock me....plus I'm not in a big hurry to spend ~$1200 on tires when the car's this new. Seems like step 1 is to contact MB and see what they'll do, it'll probably involve a trip to the dealer to show it to them?

 

40-50 degrees on summer tires is going to cause this. Don't tun the steering wheel all the way when it's cold. It is a compromise but I have lived with it on most of my high performance AWD cars.

 

I put a set of the Pirelli Scorpion All Season on my 43 a few months ago, and now have about 5,000 miles on them. The alignment was within MB specs. I have felt no crabbing at all, but weather has been quite warm. I'll post again as soon as I have 10,000 miles or have the opportunity to use them in sub-50 degree weather, when the Continentals would crab especially hard.

 

Just got off the phone with MBFS.....surprisingly, they don't care what tire is on the car when it comes back in after lease, they just care that it's the correct size and has ample tread remaining. Left voice mail for my MB service advisor to see what he thinks as far as next steps or what he's seen MB do in these cases, if anything.

 

My Buddy has a Macan Turbo with the crabbing issue. I have a GLC43 with 21s... no issue. I am sure others do, though - not questioning it.
I personally don't drive around with my wheel at full lock.... so I am not worried either way!

 

Because it's nothing to worry about, but people always love to complain.

EVERY car would do it on the tile floors in the shop, just from the difference in turning circle at full lock and tires slipping on the surface. It's just a noise, and it goes away when you aren't at full lock. I can't believe this is still something people complain about.

 

I have a 2018 GLC63S RHD in Melbourne Australia. The crabbing issue is very bad at below 17-18 degrees C at anywhere from half to full lock turns at slow speed in reverse and also going forward with problematic forward turns including turning down side streets and going around roundabouts.

The noise is horrendous and embarrassing driving around the neighbourhood in what should be a prestige car. I've driven the car fairly carefully and after 18,000kms the front tires are worn out and need replacing - and back tires are fine.

I was thinking of replacing the front tires with all seasons and leaving summer tires on the back. Anyone had any experience with that?

I have notified MB and they have said they cannot fix the problem. The last joker I spoke to said that all season tires (or any tire) will not fix the problem in his experience.

I have reported the matter to the ACCC and Consumer Affairs Victoria and intend to take it further to VCAT. Does anyone have any knowledge of similar cases which have gone to consumer tribunals? Eg I understand there is at least one case decided on by the UK ombudsman.

Consumer Affairs Victoria has said they will issue a public warning notice if I provided an independent report on the issue. Does anyone have an independent report that shows the issue is a manufacturing design defect that applies across the GLC43/ GLC 63 RHD range?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

That is just normal behavior on an all-wheel drive AMG. Using the proper tire, for the weather prevents most of it. I have no issues, on Summers down to about 45f, colder than that, it is the wrong tire.