perlfather

A couple of interesting things I learned after getting a flat tire in northern NH about 100 miles from the nearest MB dealer
1. The car came with PIRELLI P ZERO ALL SEASON RUN FLAT. tires, 265/40R21. I like them, $500 and UTQG: 500 A A. Unsurprisingly, these are not readily available at non MB shops in northern NH.
2. I got a flat tire from a screw in the middle of the thread
3. As the car came with all-season run-flat tires, it did not come with a spare, jack, lug wrench, or tire fix kit. Argggh.
4. As someone suggested on this forum, I called the MB Premier number (855.502.3851—for Maybach and EQ cars). They gave great advice and were competent and helpful. I suggest you call this number first! They called the towing company and continued to follow up on developments during the day.
5. It turns out that MB will tow your car to the nearest MB dealership (Manchester NH for me) for free and arrange for the tow. I called MB Manchester, and they promised to order a tire for me to be delivered at the end of the day as they did not have one in stock.
6. A run-flat tire can be used to drive for 50 miles at <50 mph, however, it did not seem like a good idea to do it for 100 miles. Thus the ride on the flatbed to MB Manchester.
7. I also learned that a run-flat tire cannot be repaired even when the screw/nail is in the middle of the thread. Thus, there was no argument from the insurance company (IA American) for a replacement - the dealership called the insurance company and arranged for payment.
8. I was "forced" to purchase a Tire&Wheel warranty when I leased the EQS580 in the summer of 2022. (I would never buy insurance, however, cars were hard to get so it was custom ordered, MSRP—$7.5k—$7.5k + MB ppm, +ext protection, and +this tire and wheel.) Summer of 2022 was a different time. I paid off the lease on Audi ETRON and sold it for $10k more.

With Run-flat all season tires, If you will be "far" from a tire place or MB dealership, it seems like a good idea to have an appropriate jack and lug wrench so that the offending wheel can be removed and repaired without having to take the entire car to the repair shop. Live and learn!
Any thoughts?

streborx

When did the replacement tire arrive?

hlothery

I always, in all my vehicles, carry a tire inflator and a Dynaplug kit, so that I can at least try to plug it, and can probably reinflate it, unless there is a catastrophic puncture or tear. This might have helped you. You might have had to stop and reinflate several times, but you might have been able to self-rescue. Just food for thought. However, if you do not have a spare, you may not have a 12v plug for the inflator, so that may not be possible.

streborx

I have a Fanttik tire inflator with its own rechargeable battery.

perlfather

I called MB Manchester in the morning, and the tire arrived the same day at 5PM. I now see that MB Manchester is owned by Group 1 Automotive, also owners of 2 large MB dealerships in MA (Hanover and Westwood). Thus, 3 dealers within 70 miles.

perlfather

Thanks, good advice!

perlfather

Good idea. Will purchase one.

MB37

I had a BMW loaner with run flats. The tire was punctured by a nail, and you can hear the slow leak. I drove to a Discount Tire after an approval from the dealer about what I was going to do, and DT repaired the run flat tire. I think as long as you haven't been driving the run flat for any number of distance, and the run flat tire is approved to be repaired.

wildta

I bought a tire patch kit after watching this video even though I have a spare tire. I figured it's cheap and it's nice to have another option depending on the situation of the flat tire.

nosnoop

It's cheaper at Costco. Appears to be the same with different model name for Costco.
If you have power tools at home, you can also consider tire inflators by Ryobi/Ridgid/Dewalt/Milwaukee... etc with its easily changeable/replaceable batteries.

MB2timer

What I learned from this thread is, if you don’t have a full size spare, don’t get a flat tire.
I get a big kick out of donut spare tires, only good for 50 miles, on the same highway day after day, being driven at highway speed, and a lot of times weaving in and out of traffic.
All I can say about donut spares, is if I ever run over a deployed tire spike strip, I hope I have 4 donut spares installed.

Soulman

Thanks for the link Streborx, that looks like a great inflator, especially for limited space.

icwhatudidthere

I've got the Fantik inflator which is really convenient but the tube it came with only has a screw on connector which is pretty hard to use if you have one of the aero cover wheels that Mercedes offers.

superswiss

Did you get an instant flat from a screw? I've had my share of screws and nails. None ever led to an instant flat. I always check the tire pressures in the instrument cluster when setting off, and I've caught all these screws and nails by noticing one tire being a couple of psi lower than it should be in the morning, but still plenty of air in it to drive to the shop later in the day and get it repaired. Don't have runflats with my AMG, but so far haven't had to use the TIREFIT kit or my dynaplug that I carry. Screws and nails tend to somewhat seal the puncture long enough, but key is to pay attention to the pressures and act as soon as they are out of spec. The nice thing with the AMG cluster is that it has a specific display that shows the tire pressures and temperatures and I pretty much have that up all the time to know when the tires and everything has warmed up and I can get on it.

perlfather

The flat was not instant as I only noticed it (on the APP) about 6h after parking the car in the garage when disconnecting the charging cable. Indeed, these types of punctures lead to a slow leak. I could have inflated the tire (bike pump) and driven it for a while - something I considered - if the nearby shop would have had the right tire in stock.

c4004matic

I have the same. Forget the goo that comes with the reair kit. Find the hole plug it withiany of the cheap repair kits you buy at an autoshop and inflate it with the inflator. Note that its just a temporary fix. Take the tire to be properly repaired or replaced ASAP.

hlothery

I once drove my 2014 E350 from San Antonio to Pinehurst, NC, with a slow leak from a nail in the rear tire, which we discovered about 4 hours into the trip. I had to reinflate it each day (two day drive) and again after it sat in the parking lot at Pinehurst for a couple of days, then after the overnight stop on the way back. I got it repaired after I returned to San Antonio, after the golf trip. Of course, you have to have a 12v plug to do that, which some EQS's do not have.

MB37

Well, the updated version of those 12v tire inflator are the USB rechargeable ones now selling for $36-$88 on Amazon. I actually bought one for my daughter and one for myself to maintain good tire pressure monthly. They are very convenient for 5psi inflating, and the battery last long, too. Plus, they are small and portable compared to pulling out a full blown 120v inflator or even the 3-5 gallon pancakes.