Rotate Tires
 

Does the regular schedule A and B included rotate tires. If I rotate the tires myself will the tire pressure monitor pick up the the correct corner or I need to bring it back to dealer to have them to update it.

Neither include tire rotation, you would have to request it in addition to the services.

Also keep in mind the services are at 10K mile intervals and if I remember correctly MB recommends the tires be rotated every 5K. Double check to be sure.

I got a free tire rotation at the MB dealership at 5,000 miles.

& No, A&B Services do not include tire rotation.

I have a good relationship with my local Discount Tire shop where our family has used them for all/many replacement tire purchases/services, so they'll balance & rotate our tires for free, cause they know that we'll be back to them for tires down the road...

From what I heard the original tires won't last long enough to warrant any rotation. I would like to know what kind of mileage people are getting out of the Dunlops, although it may still be too early (does anyone know if they were installed on M series vehicles before the 2012 MY?).

There has always been a debate about the validity of tire rotations. If wear is uneven it is probably indicative of a bigger problem. That seems to make sense. But it also makes sense to rotate in order to maximize and even out tire wear so I'm not sure. This was especially true when you had a real spare tire. I have always rotated my own tires with no problem but I don't keep a car long enough to go through more than one set. Although I could a price, I might not bother with rotations on this ML just to see what happens.

The Good, Bad and Ugly of my '12 ML Tire Rotation.
 

Good:Factory installed lugs are very easy to remove. Vehicle has excellent Jack points.
Great Brake Pads, almost no wear at 15000 miles.
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...ps509cebbb.jpg

Bad:Wheels are Mexican(by-product of NAFTA), Tires are American, where is the German?
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...ps225defa8.jpg

Why so much rust? Its never seen a day of road-salt in its life.
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06fb57f3.jpg


Ugly: Found this in the tread. No air leakages yet, will keep an eye on it.
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...psc26bef52.jpg

The ML Diesel/4Matics are known to eat through tires. I can attest: this is accurate. @15000 miles half the tread is gone.

*spare was rated to be kept at 61PSI. I checked it today and it was only at 34 PSI. FYI, I don't believe the factory ships them at the appropriate PSI.

20" twin-spokes are US made, DOT & JWL compliant and mine came with Pirellis (don't say where made).

A common issue on many cars. Use some silver anti-sieze on the mating surface (Loctite even has it in stick form).

Mine was close when I received it. Should only go down a couple PSI a month at most, but good to check.

I'm not happy with the ride quality of these tires at all. I just rode in an older ML that has smaller rims (17") and larger sidewalls. Much more comfortable ride!


Any suggestions of how to improve the ride quality on the ML (specifically the tires) should I down size rims or are there better tires out there?

You didn't say which tires you have.

ML350 stock 19" OEM Dunlop tires (2012) GRANDTREK

horrible quality of tire.

That's what I have and although I've not noticed any problems with them so far, I doubt they will wear very well. When the time comes, what brand and model are most people buying to replace stock tires? Can anyone do it or is there something special about mounting tires because of our tire built in inflation meter?

First, with relatively fresh tires you need to address tire pressure for your own judgment as to ride/feel/trad life.

1) MB factory recommended tire pressure is found inside the fuel filler door flap - totally disregard the tire pressure label inside the driver's door.

2) To extend tread life MB dealers choose to deliver new ML/GL's at 40-42 psi which is far above MB recommendation

3) Tire manufacturers, to further extend tread life, increase their recommended tire pressures even further to 50psi +

4) I recommend starting at 40 psi, then drive for a couple of weeks - then reduce by 2psi to 38, etc - until you firnd your own drive feel that is best for you

5) Last 25%-30% of tread life on tires for a Mercedes gets pretty rough

fuel door recommends 35psi all around

at 35 all around the ride is tolerable. I don't understand the psi differential of 15 psi from mb mfg rec to tire mfg rec?

I don't believe that is the recommended on any tires, only the maximum or the amount of pressure to handle the maximum load of the tire. Some tire manufactors provide charts for truck tires of max load vs. pressure. I have seen a chart for auto tires before but can not remember which maker provided it.

The Australian Tyre & Rim Association publish a manual which lists these pressure v. load tables. Unfortunately their website must be down at the mo so I cannot quote a list. ( tyreandrim.org.au )

Presumably there is a similar group in the US or EU with similar info.

what are most people running their tires @ for the 19" stock rim?

Dunlop Grandtrek
Front 36
Rear 37

I run my Dunlops at 35 all around.

That's too high! Look at the inside part of the fuel door and it will show rec tire PSI of 33 psi for normal load. The manual will state that lower pressure for normal load. You are putting high pressure for max load that is on side of your driver's door which contributes to your harsher ride. I keep 33 psi front and rear on my 19 inch Pirelli Verde all seasons on the ML350 bluetec and its comfty and smooth. The older 2010 Ml350 with 19 inch and Michelin latitudes was 32 psi front and rear with normal load. Drop the pressure to 32-33 cold and you will feel a difference. Also, Dunlops are bad tires with poor ride quality and ratings on tirerack. Switch to the Michelin lattitude tour HP or Pirelli Scorpion verde all seasons which have excellent ratings.