Tina L

Hi guys,

I have a 2018 Facelift C43 in Australia, it has the tyre skipping/crabbing issue.
So when I lock turn the steering wheel either direction, it will make a noise and car judders.
Sometimes just turning and not even taking it to full lock it will have this issue.
I have asked Mercedes and the response was 'it's only a comfort issue, and it is completely normal', which i find ridiculous.
This has impacted the entire driving experience and safety as when the tyre skipped, the car wasn't able to drive smoothly and accelerate quick enough as it should have.

I would like to know if anybody else has the same issue?
Did you go back to the dealer and have it somehow fixed?
Or are there any other way of fixing this issue??

Thanks

waisoserious

I did not know this issue had a name or that it was even a known issue. My GLC does this at low speeds. This is normal they said??

MasterTowlie

For an AWD car this should be seen as abnormal. In a 4WD vehicle this is what you see when you can diff lock, but the whole point of AWD is you can actually take a corner and the tire speeds will not lock to the inner circle (what 4WD does). I'd personally definitely work to get this take care of.

superswiss

This is pretty common in AWD vehicles. Pretty much all Audis do this to some extent for example. Newer ones have more advanced differentials that mitigate some of it, but the C43 has a fixed torque split AWD system. It has to do with the diffs binding during very tight turns. It should only happen during tight turns at low speeds, though. There is also something called the Ackermann Effect. It's exactly what you describe and is created by the inside and outside wheels traveling at different speeds and distances. Most cars resolve this issue using the Ackermann steering geometry, but performance cars often don't use a 100% Ackerman geometry for better handling and performance at higher speeds. The cars are designed for better handling and performance at speed and not for slow speed parking lot tight turns.

Here's an example of an extreme case. The 2014 Corvette Stingray is known for this. Other performance cars are not as extreme, but I even get this in my C63S sometimes.

http://www.mcgrathautoblog.com/autom...ette-stingray/

TModelle

Completely normal. My Audi is even worse.

ShakyTom

This happens almost never now that I changed to PS4S tyres.

Tina L

I only knew this was a common issue after online research, i thought it was just my car. Apparently a all seasons tyre change in GLC could help, but I don't know if c43 has a all seasons tyres and even if it does i believe it may affect performance? Dealership response was it is very normal, just comfort issue which i find is all excuse.

Tina L

I asked the dealership and response was it is very normal to have this issue, well they don't call it an issue, they said it is totally normal and it is due to temperature change, in colder temperatures the tyre will be like this - and it is normal. Do you have a C43 too? do you have this issue?

Tina L

Thanks for the explanation!
But this didn't happen in warmer weather, only happened in colder temperatures. The dealership also said it is happening because it is colder now, and it is normal to be like this. It makes loud noises and it is super embarrassing when I am parking or making a turn. It happened when I was right turning into a street from being stationary, the tyres would skip so I felt unsafe to turn when cars are coming in the opposite direction. I'd think quite an expensive car like this shouldn't have these sort of issue. I hope there is a solution to this, or else that means pretty much I may have this issue half of the time in a year.

Tina L

I didn't notice this issue in warmer weathers, only now the weather is colder.
Are there any solutions to this? or do we have to just put up with this?

Tina L

What's PS4S tyres? Maybe I'll need to change to these too!

superswiss

This has to do with how much the tire is able to deform and how much grip there is. In warmer weather the tire compounds are softer and deform more. Also the grip is higher. As it gets cooler the tire compounds harden and the grip gets less, so the tires are more likely to skip.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. It's pretty much the leading summer street performance tire at this point. Has an excellent contact patch due to nylon belts vs metallic belts that gives it superior traction.

To be honest it does sound like something might be a bit off with your car. It should really only happen with the steering wheel close to full lock and at low speeds. Not when you are turning into a street. Take your car in to have the alignment checked and adjusted. I have a feeling that it might be off.

Spaggettio

my ps4s stopped this for like 20,000 kms, they are getting lower and it happends again. Still changing from those continental runflats was worth it

Dalle1985

Absolutely not normal! Juddering and crabbing is definitely something to be very concerned about. Avoiding crabbing and juddering is the entire purpose of having open diffs in an AWD car. Otherwise they would all be built like a 50 year old land rover.

It is most likely due to an issue with the diff. I had a car previously with a famously weak diff/torque splitter and juddering was the last warning to get the unit serviced before the entire thing just went! I would get the diff and torque splitter serviced as some issue with either of these units is the most likely culprit.

MasterTowlie

Yeah, a 2018 C43 with the original tires on it still. I've never had it do that, even in the cold.

Steveclem

It only happens on right hand drive cars.

TModelle

No wonder.

Michael Foster

I took delivery of my 2019 C43 a month ago. 5500km on the clock at time of purchase so practically brand new. I am in love, like a teenager. The car is a beauty and it is brutal. My best Mercedes yet. No 5. Called it MAX. I am 52 and this is the first of countless cars owned that I named.....go figure...

However a resounding YES to your question. I have this fontv wheel j"umping skipping noise" issue. First morning I heard it I thought my Benz was broke. I crapped myself at the noise coming out of my new C43. Mercedes said it was normal. I can't belive or accept that. I have researched extensively now. So happears to be a tyre issue and amplified by extreme cold weather. General consensus it seems. I however live in South Africa as you In Australia. So we don't have that weather.

My initial thoughts were syncromesh issue on the all wheel drive. Mercedes vehemently denied that. Although admittedly acknowledge that yes the car does make this characteristic noise they call it. Like it's supposed to be some kind of quirky little thing. They call it normal to. So is it a quirky characteristic or is it normal? It can't be both. I would bet that it was never designed to make this Noise?? Never part of the design teams greater plan....right??

The issue I have, whether tyres or syncro on the 4matic box....the car makes a noise in full lock. FACT. The tyres are pushed they do not turn or rotate adequately. That is the noise we hear. That is ultimately the mechanical fault or problem. No quirk. Also a quirk that probably does damage to tyres. Mercedes Benz AG design cars to purposely damage tyres and make noises??

Maybe no that much, tyre damage perse, but i think any new car that has a quirky noise caused by what I hear and see and feel is not all the wheels rotating simultaneously or evenly creating terrific noise and damage to my tyres is a design flaw and an engineering blunder. Not a quirk!

CMON Mercedes you have ro do better than that guys. Its no quirk. I didn't spent my money on a Mercedes Benz AMG to have it make a noise that I think I'm breaking my car every morning I maneuver out of it's parking. And Mercedes can't turn a blind eye and brush it off as quirky characteristic of the C43. We need a better statement than the one here where it is brushed off as a characteristic particularly prevalent in the C43......

I really want to see adequate response and know how my car will be fixed or made normal as you guys call it....

Disappointed
South Africa

TModelle

After reaching around 3/4 of a year of ownership and tyre wear, the sound started to happen on my car too. But it doesn’t bother me at all as I have driven enough AWD vehicles across various German Makes to know that this is normal.

W205C43PFL

Not defending Mercedes at all but most tire manufacturers recommend snow tires at temperatures below 7 degrees celsius/centigrade because of the differences of the rubber of winter tires vs what we have stock (summer performance) tires. At below 7 degrees, the rubber starts to harden for summer performance tires and the opposite happens for winter tires. It doesn't matter if it actually snows or not, as long as the temperatures are below that threshold, the rubber is affected.
However, if the crabbing happens even when above those temperatures, then there may be an issue.
I do not notice the issue when I have snow tires in winter.

TModelle

The C450 4Matic platform has been around since late 2015 starting as the 2016 model year. The crabbing issue has been around since then. I doubt Mercedes is going to do anything about it, especially since the W206 is literally around the corner. Just as Mercedes has moved on and left us behind, we are expected to just move on and get the next model or a different make altogether. The Audi B8 AWD had this same problem and Audi did nothing to change the model too. This was ten years ago. After awhile, it’s all forgotten.

zizi8862

Yes this tire skipping is normal, I was notified of it by the dealer when I bought the car

TModelle

Totally normal. When it first occured, it didn't seem strange to me. This is built in for many other cars too, including Porsche and Audi. I recently drove and Infiniti Red Sport and i also occurs some times in certain conditions.