Is anyone else having issues with how many miles they’re getting out of the tires? At 10,000 miles I had to have all four replaced due to the Cooper recall. I now sit at 19,000 miles and I’m being told the replacement Coopers now need to be replaced. The dealer wants to charge me $1300 for a set of Michelin tires That he says they’re getting around 20,000 miles. I just can’t believe that after 19,000 miles I’m going to be on my third set of tires. There has to be something wrong here.

any thoughts?

 

My experience from my 14 GL is that this model eats tires. I ended up needing new tires every 10-20k miles (Cooper, Continental, Michelin). Get the deepest tread possible (Pirellis seem ok so far) w longest warranty, rotate religiously and get ready to cash in big time on that warranty at say Discount Tire as those tires turn into banana skins before their time.
YMMV.

 

I got only 12,000 miles out the Cooper SRX LE Discoverer tires on our 2020 GLS 450. Two were at the wear bars and two had about 2/32" of usable tread remaining. All four were evenly worn and had been rotated at 7,700 miles by the local Mercedes dealer.

I lodged a complaint with Mercedes customer service and got absolutely no assistance. They insisted I had to go to an authorized Cooper dealer with my complaint, which I did. However, Cooper does not warrant tread wear for OEM tires -- only REPLACEMENT tires. Cooper offered a $200 "good will" credit toward the purchase of a set of Michelin Primacy A/S tires, which I accepted, reluctantly.

The Cooper dealer rep mentioned that the SRX LE tire is built to Mercedes-Benz specifications and the standard Cooper SRX model is of much higher quality. I'm disgusted that Mercedes would spec such a very poor quality product for their flagship SUV and then dodge responsibility for the product. GM and Ford both handle tire defects at their dealerships, while Mercedes kicks the customer to the curb. The GLS is my first Mercedes and considering this experience it will be my last.

 

The statement your dealer made that the standard SRX model is "much higher quality" is false. Quality wise both tires are going to be the same, the issue comes in from the Vehicle Manufacturer....in this case MB. MB will work with the tire manufacturer to make a tire that is more compliant to their vehicle. So in this case they more than likely tuned the compound to be a quieter and softer ride. This tuning will take mileage away. This is a great example of why some tire manufactures prefer not to be in business with certain vehicle manufactures because the reputation of the tire becomes a problem when in reality it is what they were forced to do from the vehicle manufacturer. What your dealer should have said is the the non-oe tire will provide enhanced mileage due to the compounding but may be slightly louder.

Remember, the vehicle manufacturer does not care about mileage of a tire, they want the tire to meet low cost, high uniformity (roundness) and then exhibit certain characteristics that many times take significant amounts away from mileage to attain. All vehicle manufactures require this from their tire vendors. That is why when shopping for tires you will see the manufacturer approved stamps such as M0 for MB. This means the tire was tweaked for the original vehicle. Many times the tweaks are really not wanted by the customer which is why you shouldn't just automatically buy a tire speced for the OE. If you bought the MO Michelin you may find you have the same lack of mileage issue as MI does the same thing as Cooper.

 

GL/GLS eat tires. It’s the wheelbase, alignment settings (mainly), tire pressure settings (also large contributing factor), soft rubber compound, and assist systems (lane keeping etc). It’s not because the GL/GLS is “heavy”. I have seen that posted many times on this site and it’s bunk.

MB sets alignment for stability at high speed lane changes at or near GVW. Think autobahn with Karen, her four kids and two dogs in the car, with luggage to visit grandma.

MB’s design choices gobble tires like a sumo wrestler at a sushi restaurant. No offense to sumo wrestlers.

 

Story from earlier this year about my '14 GL and tires........I bought 4 Michelin Premier LTX tires from my MB dealer on July 6 2018 for my 2014 GL450. Mileage was 56.211. Rotated when service was due. Went to dealer last week for state inspection. They would not pass it since the the rear tread was down to 2/32. Mileage was 77,500, so 21,300 miles on the tires. Fronts were about 4/32. Came home and checked Michelin site. Tires were supposed to have 60k treadwear warranty. Emailed the service adviser who came back with a less than satisfactory response. Went back on the Michelin site and sent them a msg about the treadwear. Next day I got back a msg that was certainly written by at least 2 lawyers. BUT they gave me a case nbr and said to visit the nearest Michelin dealer. The nearest dealer was a small shop around the corner. I looked some more and found that Discount Tire was an authorized dealer. I went to them as I had purchased tires there for my GTO a couple of years ago. Due Covid they had a tent set up outside with staff. I pulled up, told them the problem, and was invited to park. A young man came out, said hello, checked the tire depth front and rear, and motioned me inside. He went behind the counter and I showed him the case nbr. He said he didn't need it as Discount Tire was an authorized settlement agent for treadwear warranty claims. He typed some stuff into his terminal and said he could offer me $133.00 credit each for all 4 tires. I said "done" and bought 4 Michelin Cross Climate tires with a 50k treadwear warranty. Needless to say I was pleased. Moral of the story? Be polite, be firm, and most of all, never give up."

 

OP, not sure what your tire size is? Are you on the 20 inch wheels (all the same size all around), or are you on the 21 inch wheels (different sizes for the front and the back)?

I'm on the 21's and replaced the OE Pirelli's at 25k (now at 34k on the car) because the back tires were getting too close for my comfort level (probably had another 3k on them before wear bar). Last thing I need is the rear of this car to lift on water. The front tires were fine though, probably had another 20k left on the tread. The car is perfectly aligned, and the tires cannot be rotated. I replaced them with the Michelin's that also fit the car all around. I'm not a fan of Pirelli tires, but do like Michelin. Interesting notation on the Michelin's, which come with a 50k warranty - the fine print on the warranty says 50% reduction in tread life for tires that are not of equal dimension all around (paraphrasing here). Basically, it acknowledges that on the 21' staggered setup, the rear will wear twice as fast as the front. Probably because they can't be rotated front/back.

I expect an annual $1,500 tire bill for this car to be honest. I knew the X166's were hard on tires too. The salesman on ours noted how the suspension helps to keep the car level when going around a turn (we were going around a freeway cloverleaf ramp when he said that). I suspect that's true and likely means more weight gets pushed down onto the tire instead onto the suspension components. That weight transfer has to go somewhere. He said it would help to preserve the tire tread life. Total BS on that part if you ask me.

On my 2014 W212 sedan though, it's very easy on tires (AMG 18 inch rim and tires). Had the Conti's on there for years and finally switch them over to Michelin's at 52k miles. Still had tread left on them (two were original, two had been replaced along the way around 30k miles due to pothole hits). To Chassis comment - he's right on how MB sets up their suspension dimensions. My 212 had additional alignment bolts installed around 30k miles that allowed the alignment techs to make them perfectly straight (I can't remember caster or camber and don't know the difference by memory to be honest). But the fact that a MB dealership would have these add-on bolts in stock and recommending them, tells you something. Will something like that happen for this GLS? I don't know, might be hard given the air suspension.

German cars in general I believe have a suspension trajectory that is set for far higher speeds than we drive in the US. I have a 2015 GTI as well, and those rear wheels are kicked inward by design to keep that rear end planted on turns. I think they all do that to make sure the rear tires have full traction on the outside wheel in a turn.

 

If you already don't like your Mercedes simply because of your Cooper tire related experience, then just wait a couple more years.... Oh boy!

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My 2020 GLE with the OE Bridgestones was basically at the wear bars in 20,000 miles. Seems like we just need to budget for tires every year or 18 months...

 

Also remember the Ford-Firestone episode. German companies as a rule are terrified of the litigious environment in the US. Regardless whether with Ford-Firestone it was the vehicle suspension or the tires, German carmakers want to avoid the scenario entirely. One result is that the GLS has a tire addiction.

With VW Dieselgate and MB Bluetec mini-Dieselgate it seems the Germans weren’t terrified enough. Arguably the stakes were lower, comparing “a little bit” of air pollution vs vehicle rollovers.

 

I have the 22"s with Yokohama Advan Sports in staggered set up.
my 2020 X167 is now passing 27000 miles and I'm on my 3rd set.

 

My previous 2017 Ford Explorer passed 28,000 miles before I had to change its original Hankook tires (20" inches)
My previous E350 had 41,000 miles on it and the Michelin tires were still good.

This GLS 450 has 21" PIrelli tires and has 7,000 miles.

 

Speaking of tires. I'm getting PHENOMENAL mileage out of my original PilotSport 4s's! I had these on my 911 too. GREAT tires!

I'm going on 12k miles and tread is STILL good and quiet. On my previous GL63 I had the Continental Summer tires and budgeted for new tires every year around 8k miles max. Same on the 911 with the PS 4s's. Once an all season option came available for the GL63 I went that route to keep me from stressing in the fall getting off the rocky mountains. They went for 25k miles++ and quiet and good.

Unfortunately as we all know, no other options for the staggered AMG set up so, I'm beyond happy (for now) with the mileage I've gotten so far (1/2 highway and 1/2 city).

One big suprise at 7500mi, warped rotors! Are you kidding me? Two rotors warped and I think maybe ONLY one or two full ABS stops. Pads still at 9 so didn't replace those. I think very soft metal, bad set of rotors or very poor ventilation, or........? Luckily, I got them when I did. Only two sets in the country when I got them. I was NOT happy. I haven't had warped rotors in 25++ years of performance cars.

 

Take it to a performance tire shop. Tell them to set camber etc to 0. You dont need that ****ake for regular degular driving and in the event of collusion avoidance you'll gain more from knowing how to drive than camber. After owning the gls for a few weeks...came from cadillac. Benz is retarded - the only thing they really have is pretty sheet metal and what equates to self drive capability. The 2022 diesel denali with super cruise, after market audio, a few interior tweaks with leather, sound deadening material, adding rear heated/ cooled seats would eat the gls alive. Probably will never buy another benz after i drive this one into the ground.

 

Did you stop hard and then hold the brakes after comming to a stop to sit still or put it in park? That will do it everytime.

 

Not sure what model you have? Do you have the 580 and do those have the AMG sport brakes? If so, I’d bet that is your problem. If they’re drilled rotors, that would indicate sport brakes.

those of us with the previous generation E350 (W212 model) with the AMG appearance package (otherwise known as the sport model) have these drilled rotors on the front. They look great, but ALWAYS seem to warp or allow too much pad material to transfer to the rotor causing the pulsing sensation. Wrestled with it for years. Then finally tossed in the white towel and replaced with aftermarket (FCP Euro) regular rotors and ceramic pads (akebono) and smooooooth braking ever since. Went through two sets of MB OE on that car. Never made it past 12k mikes before the warp returned (and groaning noise). No more….

 

It looks like I’ll be getting 8K miles from my 22” Advan Sport tires on my 2021 GLS63. Yikes. I do drive it hard.