i posted this in the general tech before i realized that there was a separate thread for s-class drivers! sorry!!!


I went to the Benz dealership today because the rear right tire keeps on wearing out MUCH faster than the other three. On top of that, it's only the outer edge that wears out. The inner part of the tire looks perfect, with the treads intact, while the outer edge is virtually bald! This has happened over and over again. The car now has 45000 miles on it and consistently the dealership has told me that this is NORMAL and that all S-class Benzes do the same thing. What do you think? The only suggestion they had was to switch to Michelin tires. What makes me mad is that they told me to get a wheel alignment back in January, suggesting that the wheel alignment was the cause of the uneven wearing out of the tires...WASTE of $160!!!

 

I have the same problem in my s500 2000 but is on both rear tires on the inside.

 

that doesn't make any sense!! at least according to the benz dealership in walnut creek it doesn't. they said that it's normal for the OUTSIDE tire to wear out, and not for both tires, but for only the rear right tire. clearly someone is being lied to...and that someone is us!!! i'm reporting the dealership's auto repair shop to the california bureau of automotive repair. i'm sick of being lied to!

 

I have a 1986 s-class and a 1989 s-class both the inside of the rear tires go first but faster on the 86 than the 89 but i think its cause the 89 has self-level rear.

 

again, the inside of the tires, NOT the outside of the tires. when you asked the dealership or repair shop about it, what did they say?? i'm taking the car to another dealership to see if they have another opinion...

 

My 96 S600 MB owners manual states (p. 105)
"Shoulder wear on the front wheels and tread centre wear on the rear wheels are characteristic."
It suggests rotation every 5-10,000 km, but in any case before serious wear becomes established.

 

I recently bought an '04 S600 with 14,400 miles and the original Michelin tires. The tires are all wearing evenly and are in terrific shape. The dealer said I probably have another 10,000+ miles of wear left on the treads. I had the same problem with a C4 Corvette that I bought new, with the outside treads of the right rear tire wearing more than the others. I also had a vibration like feel of the tire/wheel being out of balance whenever I went faster than 60 MPH. They changed wheels and tires, and performed several wheel balances and alignments with no success. Finally, and after many failed diagnosis, one of their mechanics found that my right rear strut was bent, probably happening when the car was taken off of the new car carrier delivery to the dealership. Try having someone look at the struts, and wheel assemblies.

 

Sounds at first like alignment problems.
Do little people and even the average tire shop know how to properly balance/align BMW/Mercedes wheels to the proper specs.

And as far as the outher edge wear on the right rear tire, came from a theory that states that we genrally make more left turns than right turn in turn causuing that tire to have to rotate more often to keep up with the rest because of the larger turning c ircle it must complete thus giving it more wear. Just a theory I heard from mechanics. But I'm not yet giving it any truth credit just yet.

See, I had a mechani look at my Mercedes right after I bought it, and first thing he said was that he notice the front tires are mostly new, but the shoulders are rounder than the rear, whicch is due to the fact that the steering input goes to the front wheels. A nice rotation solved that problem so that all tires would wear evenly.

Then you must factor in tire pressure, rim irreularities, road textures, driving habits,and load, and even the way the wheel is bolted to the car. Have the proper tightening sequence been followed?

 

well i thought it was alignment too, but like i said, the dealership body shop REFUSED to look at the car again. he said that he "wasn't going to take any abuse" when i demonstrated anger at his refusal to recognize that ONE tire balding was very strange. then another mechanic who walked up blamed it on the continental tires and told me not to buy those tires ever again as if it were the tire's fault that it was wearing out unevenly!!! like i said, the complaint has been filed with the California Bureau of Automotive Repairs and the benz dealership's comments about continental tires has been forwarded to the continental headquarters. lol.

 

Hm it's a little odd and shady that a repair shop flat out refuse to double check on anything. Usually it's suppose to go that if you don't agree with the first guess then you have a choice of returning to the same shop and asking for a second guess and or going to another shop for a second opinon. For a shop to refuse to take a second look is a shop that is full of themselves and probably don't know what they are doing in the first place.

And then if it was the tires, I would understand that theory if it was both of the rears, or both of the front, or even two tires on one side of the car, but just ONE tire and blame it on the tire manufact. is a little out there. Unless of course you just so happen to get a lemon tire.

To tell you the truth, tires are the hardest thing to file a complaint on because the shop will blame it on the tire company, the tire company will blame it on the car manufactuer, and the car manufactuer will blame it on the shop and tire company. They will send you in circles for days as long as it saves them a dollar or two. If they spend all that money on replacing people defective alignments and or tires for free, how can they buy that new house on the hill?