mike82212

704set

Run flats. No spare.

I have been running around with a screw in my tire for 3 days. Come to find out no tire center could find the Goodyear tire model on my car. But the MB dealer had it. MB doesn't patch the tire. The only option is to replace it. Are the Goodyear OEM only made for Mercedes? Give me back the spare. I will gladly give up the 0.5 mpg for the extra weight.

etaynor

I only get flat tires when i have a plane to catch or at 11pm at night. To enhance the comfort of my beautiful E300, i have a full size spare in the trunk, at all times. Comfort level is high, trunk space is low. For me it is an okay tradeoff.

johnmc1

Etaynor, does that mean you have a spare run flat tire and wheel in your trunk? How much did that set you back?

etaynor

Alot. I will have the car for five yrs and i paid $900. So i kinda mentally amortized the tire at $180 a yr. I also juggled the need for it by thinking it was 'insurance' against being stranded somewhere for two extra days.
When i bought it, the service manager said that he had had three different visits from people the week before, all of whom had flats on the notorious belt parkway in Brooklyn. I had just driven that road, and hit two pot holes.
I immediately thought that this would be my demise. Fortunately i did not experience a blowout.
Thats my story.

dudley07726

The_Judge

My 2018 E400 Coupe came with Michelin run-flat tires. One thing to know — they ride like they're made of cement if you inflate them beyond the recommended levels printed on the tag inside the gas flap. They ride OK at the recommended PSI, but the handling is nothing to write home about, IMHO. When the time comes i will probably replace them with "regular" tires and get a spare for the trunk.

ua549

+1
I'm looking for a small diameter steel wheel with a collapsible tire that will have the same rolling radius as the regular tires. There are many sized tires that will work, but I haven't found a 4" or 5" wide wheel. I have one that fits a Porsche but not an MB.

Tippy

Good luck. I spent some time looking for an aftermarket solution space saver spare before I bought the car. When I came to a dead end I told the dealer I would buy the car only if they can sell me the MB space saver. They agreed and it was shipped from Germany in a week. Same with getting the jack. So, they can get you one if they want to.

ua549

How much did that cost?

Egonvdv

I don' have a tire at all. just an electric pump which will also inject some product into the tire for a short-term fix.
not the most reliable solution I guess, but I do have a ton of space in my trunk/boot :-)

superangrypenguin

Define short term? How long can you drive using this once deployed, and wouldn't it just absolutely destroy the balancing of that tire?

Racin_fool

Usually the stuff is just tire slime to help seal the puncture. Won't help with cuts in the sidewalls or blowouts. Also, there is a good chance it will damage your tire pressure sensor when putting this in your tire.. If it was an emergency, sure go ahead and use it. Otherwise it will probably be cheaper to get a towtruck or have someone take the wheel off and take it down to a tire shop.

superangrypenguin

<Le Sigh>. So depressing that this is a tradeoff I have to think about if I buy this W213. Thanks for the info though.

Egonvdv

i don't even know if it was an option.. all my other Mb's had a full size tire,
so bit surprised this one didn't.

more info here they talk about 200kms at max 80km/h, but they don't mention if it's bad for the tire or valve...

jim300

I got a full size spare with wheel (their cheapest) for about $250. That, an electric air pump and a plug kit, and I feel pretty secure. Not much trunk space left, though.

ua549

Tire shops here won't repair run flat tires. That said my dealer replaced flat tires free courtesy of MBUSA.

Racin_fool

Technically, any Mercedes service shop (dealership service area) is not supposed to repair or patch any tires (run-flat or not). Same thing goes for the wheels. Unless you are just repairing cosmetic damage, you are not supposed to repair cracked or severely bent wheels.

ua549

I was referring to tire shops such as Tire Kingdom, Tires Plus, etc.

Tippy

Wheel/tire assembly was Cdn$649. Jack, Jack Ratchet, Socket wrench and container were Cdn$541. Not cheap, but it was a necessary expenditure.

Tippy

My 2017 E400 uses an indirect system and does not have TPMS sensors mounted in the wheels. Is this the case for all the E models of that year?

ua549

AFAIK is the valve stems are metallic the TPMS is in the wheels.

Pcar98

What wheel and tire size is the spare? Do you have part numbers?

robert c

I have an interesting run flat story. I hit a large piece of concrete a couple of weeks ago with my Lexus and busted the tire that was not a run flat. My local tire service center informed me that he has had several situations that they could not get quickly the proper size tire if the run flat was not repairable thus stranding the car owner.
This weekend I was coming back from a Florida vacation on I 95 and the alternator quit on the Lexus (261,000 miles) and of course it quit and had to get a tow. The tow driver was telling me about his tows and he frequently tows cars off I 95 with run flat tires that become "flat". He frequently is called later to tow the vehicles from tire centers great distances from the rural area to a dealership because of non availability locally. I wonder if run flats are some sort of auto industry compromise that is not the best solution in rural areas. Our new E300 of course has run flats and I hope to find a spare tire. Any comments?
Robert

guhvies

No, just of the spec for your country. I think Canada doesn't get TPMS whilst the USA does. The UK does as well.