As far as 21’s on 10° rear axle steering, I do have 21’s on mine. I also have 1/4” spacers and the rear axle steering works perfectly well. No rubbing no nothing except tight turns.

What size is this spare?

I have a 2022 S-class (W223) and had 6 flats in 6 months. I was told by a service tech at my local dealership that the 5000 lb car is too heavy for the 21" wheels w/ low-profile Pirellis that MB paired with the bloated W223. MB really fu**ed up with this 7th gen S-class. I love the handling and feel of driving this car, but that's far outweighed by the faulty tech, which is terribly designed and even more terribly executed.

The S-class should no longer be considered the benchmark for cars because it's really no good anymore. I've asked Mercedes to make the situation right multiple times ... [crickets]. Apparently, all they will respond to is force. So be it. Fortunately, CA has strong consumer protections. Once a car is repurchased under the the state's lemon law, the title and registration of the car must be marked “Lemon Law Buyback,” rendering it worthless for resale, except for parts. It's a total loss and a black eye for the manufacturer. I've begun legal action to force them to buy back this POS.

The dealership told me 'offline' that the W223 is known by them *and* MB corporate to be highly problematic and they're losing "a lot of loyal [s-class] buyers" because of it. It's so disappointing because I really wanted to like this car.

That will never happen. If you get to a point where you qualify for a Lemon Law buyback, MBUSA will step in and offer to repurchase the car. You’ll get your money back, MBUSA will turn around and auction the car off and it will never be branded a “Lemon.” Best of luck to you.

This is an old thread but the problem is still occurring. I drive a S580 December 23rd tire blew and replaced, December 31st another tire blew and was replaced. Today is Feb 12 I hit a pot hole on a major intersection not so deep and bam to passenger front and back blown. I see the problem I have the tire package warranty and I keep getting ****ty tires. We’ve had the same problems with these tires on the S class since 2014 on the different models. I was told the car is too heavy for these tires and therefore they blow out easily. So which is it defective tires from Pirelli part of the tire package warranty so they keep replacing crap with crap or is the car in fact too heavy for these tires. So tired of the tows and inconveniences but I still love an S class.

Based on your rim; you're pretty rough on the S580 (I've never seen curb rash with the automated parking system and advanced sensors). I've not had a single blowout with Pirelli's. I know others have but depending on potholes and given the weight of the car, I don't know that any tire can overcome the properties of physics behind potholes, speed, weight and tire brands.

I gave up on my 2021 S580 with the 21 inch tires. I had 5 S-Class cars in a row but it is only the most recent one where I had such a major problem. MBUSA bought my car back. I have moved on to another manufacturer until MB can get their act together. I had a lot of other problems with the vehicle beyond the tires/rims. The quality is simply not what it used to be.

Looks like you have Pirelli P Zero tires. Bite the bullet and replace them with Michelin. Sidewalls on Pirelli simply too flexible (flimsy) and hitting those pot holes causes the rims to flex to the road, causing it to cut the tire. I had 3 failures with Pirellis on San Diego’s 3rd world roads, moved to Florida (better roads) and hit a very small pot hole and had my 4th blowout. Changed all 4 to Michelin with its stiffer sidewall and so far, no problems after 5 months . Expensive but worth it.
And, again, Mercedes refuses to acknowledge their problem, super low profile tires with weak sidewalls (pirelli) on 21” wheels on the very heavy S Class. It sure will influence my next luxury car purchase . PS I had 31 years in the tire business and never liked Pirellis!

Remember that old Olympia Beer jingle? “It’s the water, the water, the water, the water that makes Olympia Beer…..”

It’s the 21’s, the 21’s, the 21’s, THE FRIGGING TWENTY-ONES—that don’t belong on a car like an S Class! They look sexy, but at the end of the day, EVERYTHING else about them is a nightmare. MB should be offering customers with 21’s FREE, straight across exchanges for 19” or 20” wheel/tire packages AND should refund the 21 option price. The factory never should have offered 21’s, with such low profile tires on the very heavy W223. It was a mistake and they should own up to it and resolve it, PERIOD! This of course, in my personal opinion.

I hope you're right. But so far, my experience with MB USA has been an absolute nightmare to deal with. I've come to detest the company and their horrendous customer service.

Dons550
you are correct I have a teen that has driven it a few times and damages the rims. But where I live there is so much construction and potholes anywhere from Miami to Palm Beach which is where I travel through. On any given day it’s a pothole.

Sjdille thanks so much for the extra time you took to explain that resolution. I will follow up with my dealer on this to get the P’s out and swapped for M’s. Thank you so much

Yah me too, I have had a S500 for the last 3 years on 21inch + P0s - lost 4 tyres to potholes - just ordered 19inch with Ps on them - https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 - anyone got experience of change in ride or handling after going from 21inch to 19inch on a W223

I too have rubbed up against a curb or two since I got my S580 just over a year ago, and my E63 before that. And all the parking assistants, as good as they are, can't help you if you're trying to squeeze your car into the only shoebox-size parking spot remaining in a crowded lot. Or at least that's what scuffed my wheels. The first time it happened on my E63, my dealer was able to recondition my wheel for less than $200. The second time was in my S580 with a few thousand miles on the odometer. I too hit a pothole on I285 in Atlanta. Thankfully the rim wasn't damaged, but the tire was toast, and it did scuff the wheel. This time my dealer recommended a third-party guy that did it cheaper: Just over a $100. You have to look very hard to see where he did his work.

If you're like me, I like keeping my car as pristine as I can, and a few hundred dollars is a small price to pay for that pleasure.

Below is a pic after I hit the pothole and then one after I had the wheel restored.

Wow!! do you not use the parking assist feature? I do every single time and even if I park on the corder parking lot where the end is the curb, my car notifies me well in advance of curb rash; even with my 10º rear wheel steering and aftermarket rims (with spacers). Just wow!

Well count me in the 21 inch S class Pirelli tire debacle. Owned my 2021 560 for 8 mos and have had 2 blown tires. Quick question that may have already been answered .. sorry I did review the thread but didn't see it. Can you replace the Pirellis with Michelin Pilot Sports one at a time as the Pirellis fail, or do you need to replace all 4 tires at once. Thanks in advance for any help!

I wouldn't run different brand/model tires personally.

Technically, yes you can - but then you end up with 4 different tires on 4 different replacement schedules, with maybe 2,3,4 different response characteristics. I would change same axle (front/rear) at a minimum.

I actually like the look of those new 19" S-Class wheels for the W223 - before that, I really didn't like any of the S-Class 19" wheels.

Has anyone looked into the aftermarket 19" wheels that are made to look exactly like the 21" S-Class wheels...?

Different brand tires aren't exactly the same height. Not good for the 4matic.

Change all 4 if you can. Worst case, change 2, either rear or fronts.
i popped for 4 new Michelins, not cheap but peace of mind is worth it.
And still…….MBZ refuses to acknowledge their problem and responsibility!

brother thank you for this write up any feedback on how the tires are holding up ?

One year ago today I purchased my 2022 S580 new from a local Atlanta dealer. Yesterday, I picked up a nail in one of my rear 21" Pirelli tires. My local tire shop patched the tire free of charge.

Unfortunately, while my car was being serviced, the advisor told me my two front Pirellis were worn down to the wear indicator bar and needed to be replaced. I have 17,000 miles on the odometer. Back tires still have 30% tread remaining, so those didn't get replaced today.

Based on all the feedback in this community, I chose to go with the Michelin Pilot Sports over the Pirellis for the fronts. Total cost for two Michelins with four-wheel alignment today (on my 1-year anniversary) was $1271.01.

As some may remember, I hit a pothole on I-285 two months into ownership, blew the front driver side Pirelli at the cost of $547.95. Since then, I've been driving with one eye constantly on the road ahead to avoid even the smallest pothole.

I'm hopeful that the Michelins are a better option going forward. The rear tires will be replaced with Michelins when the time is ready for them to be replaced.

Thanks to all in this forum for the recommendations!

Where you run into trouble is that it's hard to maintain 100% uptime on your vigilance, and that you sometimes don't see potholes in heavy traffic until it's too late. Don't get me wrong, vigilance works elsewhere, but here it doesn't seem like it's enough: The forum has many who said they ran 21s before, and that you just had to be careful, that then found themselves on the side of the road in their not so distant future. Many. You have to ask yourself in these situations why it would go better for you...

You don't need to do all that and buy this warranty from the dealer. I am in California and there is a tire store called America's Tire Company. They are known for extraordinary service and they provided warranty/certificates for tires. You can even take your new car there and get the warranty on them.

I bought my s580 and immediately took it to America's tire company I'm got the insurance (known as certificates) for each tire which ended up costing a total of $280.

I've had two flat tires within the first 3000 miles which is ridiculous. There are warranty is states that if they can't fix the tire, then they will give you a new one for free. The sidewall was damaged on both tires which is not fixable and they had to give me new tires.

I got each tire for free and only had to pay $70 to get the warranty on each new tire they gave me. Each Pirelli tire would have cost around $550 to replace, but again it was for free. They are a big company and can get the tires fast. The first tire took one day to receive and change. The second time, they had the tire in stock and replaced it the same the. I have been using them for 15 years and they have been nothing but fantastic.

As for the rims, you will have to be careful and not drive on them if you get a flat. Usually repairing a rim can cost a few hundred dollars.

However, I think all the above is better then having your card towed to the dealership, we're tires are the least of their concern, and waiting weeks to get a new tire.