Does anyone have a pic of the spare in ur SL 550. Sales person says that spare not available but I can find it on mb parts links.
Can u tell me how to get to the spare. I read it is under a panel below the first floor panel.

 

My 2008 R230 came with a doughnut spare. Neither my 2017 or 2019 R231 came with a spare.

 

LJ12530, there is no spare in R231 SL and never was. What you might have read is that some people on these boards (like me) added a donut/temporary spare themselves but which was never designed for SL.

My former SL and spare in it:







Since I just sold my SL, I will be selling it (among a few other items) once I get a chance to put it in marketplace on these boards.

 

Thank you both for taking the time to respond. My confusion is due to the fact that the CPO checklist states that the spare, jack and associated tools were checked and found to be "OK - Passed" (inspection). The data pack on the car also has an invoice showing that service charged sales for "checking air pressure including spare".

I owned a 2014 for several years and thought that perhaps the post-2014 refresh had added a spare. I knew it was too good to be true.

 

The issue is that even if you have a donut, there is no place to put the flat tire. it will not fit in the trunk, the passenger seat or behind the seats. The only solution in such a scenario is to drive with an open trunk and straps are required as the trunk lid is designed to open fully. Or you can leave the wheel behind...

 

I didn't think the 2018 SL 550 model had a spare...my '14 didn't. I know that the SL underwent a facelift since 2014. When I read the cpo checklist it said that the spare, jack and accessories, and the service department submitted an invoice for checking the air in the spare. I then checked some part websites and they showed a spare, jack, etc that said it was for an '18.

I bought the car long distance so I did not have a chance to inspect it myself. I relied on the cpo info. As usual, a BIG mistake. Not having a spare doesn't bother me especially. It's just that I thought MB finally got the message and had an option for a spare on faceift models.

Thx to everyone for their response.

 

Since you say CPO, I am assuming you bought your car from an authorized MB dealer. If you just recently bought the car, as I am also assuming, I would really pressure them on this. OK, so it was a mistake, but it was THEIR mistake and now you have something that is not quite what they said it was. There is money to be had here, if you feel like pressing the issue, which I certainly would. I’d tell them that the car is not “as advertised” and tell them you wish to return it and receive a full refund for all expenses incurred, including transport, both ways. That should get their attention. Then, if you really want to keep the car, settle the matter for a few thousand dollars.

 

I couldn't imagine going through that whole exercise only to ask what to do with the tire!

 

A trunk lid mounted luggage rack would do the trick. As horrifying as it would be to drill into an R231, If I were to even think of going on extended road trips in an SL, that’s the way I would go. you could carry your spare there and swap with the flat, should you get one out in the boonies. All that said, as comfortable as my SL is, it pales in comparison to my big S560, which, in my opinion, is the only vehicle to drive long distances in.

 

After numerous flats and a couple cracked rims I got rid of my SL. I am a careful driver but the car seemed plagued. Loved the car but it left me 150 miles from help twice, had to tow it back to the dealership both times and left us stranded once as we couldn't ride back with the tow truck because of Covid. Done with that. Agree, the S is the way to go for long distance driving. Nothing more than a 19" either.

 

We had several cracked rims with our R230 SL, never on the R231’s. Those typically happen only on the inner rear barrel so the rule is to increase the tire pressure on the rears by 2-3 psi. This will prevent cracks and inner tire wear. Something that SL’ are known for for decades...
This always worked for me with zero side effects...

 

Interestingly the inner wall was exactly where the majority of fails occurred. No idea about the two cracked rims. The whole tire issue became too fragile for me, always checking the pressure and concerned about getting stranded. It was a great car.

 

Thank u for ur response. I've had 3 MB roadsters. SlK300, SLK350 and SL 550. The 550 had 5 spoke amg tires. Not sure about the others. I probably bent 3 rims, and blew 2 tires hitting chuckholes on the Interstates around here. I get the '18 SL 550 Monday. It has multi spoke wheels on it. I will follow ur recommendation regarding the tire pressure, but my worst incident in the 300 was the front left tire, rim and rear left tire. I hope the 231 is better than the 230.

 

Ah yes, one of the very few “perks” to living in Southern California: virtually no pot holes, especially in south, coastal, Orange County, from which my SL never strays.

 

Here's what I have in place of a spare on my 2013 SL. It has an inflater that can pump air and/or sealer from a canister. Seems a better option than a can of Fixflat since those are always under pressure and can eventually leak. Fortunately, I haven't had to test it yet.

 

I have a similar compressor and sealant kit from one of our Hyundais. I also carry a plug kit since replacing the OEM runflats and wheels with aftermarket wheels and Michelin All Season Pilot Super Sports for winter.

 

All of you complaining about cracked rims are running RFT's, right? My ride significantly improved after I ditched the run-flats.

 

That's always been the option, non run flats equal better ride and fewer incidents. However if you get stranded with a flat tire that can't be plugged or fixed and you are in the middle of nowhere that really won't be comforting. At least the non run flats will get you 50 miles, of course you end up with other issues.

 

Are you sure this is compatible with MB rims? I was told that using fix a flat would ruin my rims. MB also makes a kit. I changed my tires first thing and got rid of the run flats and have Pirelli P zeros now. Amazing difference in the drive and the run flats are what causes the rims to crack. Both my rear rims had cracks when I bought the car. Thanks for the post and I will research this as well because this reminds me I must do something.

 

Good question. I'm not sure why it would harm the rim other than it would have to be cleaned out. Would probably need a new valve stem and maybe TPMS sensor.

Any one know?

 

Go to YouTube and search "Project Farm". The guy is always doing comparison tests of different products (engine oils, tire sealants, etc.). He recently had a six or eight way comparison between tire sealants. They all seamed to work to one extent or another (except, ironically, Flix-a-Flat, which did nothing other than blow out of the leak and make a big mess). He tested them all for damage to untreated aluminum, too, and none had any adverse effect on even bare metal, let alone coated. So no worries about wheel damage. Some also specifically claim to safe on tpms, which he did not test for. The very best sealants were Slime and also a really thick grey product that was primarily for off road use...can't remember the name. None of them looked like they would be any trouble to clean out of the tire or off of the rim, probably just hitting it with a stream from a garden hose would do the trick. I'm getting some to go with my portable 12V inflator.

The comment about the inner rear rims being the most common locations for cracks is rather interesting, as I've noticed recently that the rear wheels on my SL are aligned with a visually-noticeable amount of negative camber. That certainly would place the inner edges of the rims in closer proximity to the ground than the outside edges. If you were to specify an alignment with zero camber on the rear it may well mitigate that effect, though it would no doubt increase the tendency for oversteer. Btw, wouldn't the stiffer sidewalls of run-flats provide greater protection for the rims, rather than less? Those stiffer sidewalls are still far softer than the aluminum rims, and I would think they would absorb more over-all energy from any kind of sharp edge trying to get to the rim than a softer sidewall would. Non-runflats ride better precisely because their softer sidewalls have a lot more "give" on smaller bumps, and so transmit less force to the rim/suspension...that is, until the bumps become large enough to collapse the softer sidewalls altogether. Bump...meet rim!