2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Tires & Wheels Problems

COMPLAINT CONCERNS THE MICHELIN TIRE NO. 2255516 MXM4 95V THAT BLEW OUT ON THE SIDEWALL WHILE TRAVELING AT A NORMAL RATE OF SPEED OF 45 TO 50 MILES PER HOUR. THE TIRE HAD ONLY BEEN USED FOR 30,634 MILES AND THE BLOW OUT OCCURRED ON A HIGHWAY. THE BLOWOUT OCCURRED AT AN AREA ON THE SIDE OF THE TIRE THAT LOOKED LIKE A SEAM WITH THE THREADS SHOWING. BECAUSE THE TIRE FLATTENED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE A THREAT TO LIFE IF THE VEHICLE WERE TRAVELING AT A HIGHER RATE OF SPEED. ALSO, THE MICHELIN TIRE IS GIVE A HIGH CONSUMER RATING AND THIS SHOULD--BY ALL REPORTS--NOT BE HAPPENING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIMELY RESPONSE. *TR

NORMAL DRIVING ON HIGHWAYS.CRACK IN ALLOY WHEEL (INSIDE EDGE) LOSS OF TIRE PRESSURE. MERCEDES 2006 E500 3RD INCIDENT IN PAST TWO YEARS, RESULTING IN NEED TO REPLACE. 1 TIRE & 3 ALUMINUM ALLOY WHEELS MERCEDES # A2114011702. *TR

PREMATURE WEAR ON THE INSIDE CORNER OF MY TIRES. THIS WAS ULTIMATELY DISCOVERED ON ALL FOUR TIRES. THIS LEAD TO BELT SEPARATION ON ALL TIRES AND A LOST OF BELTING ON THE LEFT FRONT OF THE CAR THAT CAUSED DRIVER SURPRISE THAT DEMANDED A DRAMATIC EMERGENCY STOP. THIS EXPOSED ME TO HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AND ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT WHILE PULLING OVER IN A SHOCKED AND CONCERNED STATE. THESE TIRES WERE RECOMMENDED FOR MY CAR BY THE RETAILER AND MET BOTH THE SPEED RATING AND PERFORMANCE REQUIRED. HOWEVER, I DON'T FEEL THEY SHOULD BE SOLD FOR THIS CAR BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE. THEY DON'T HOLD UP TO THE CHALLENGING DEMANDS OF THIS APPLICATION. THIS FAILURE IS DANGEROUS. HAD IT HAPPENED AT NIGHT OR ON A WET SURFACE, THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE SEVERE. NOTE: THIS WAS ON A CAR THAT WAS FULLY IN ALIGNMENT, WITH FACTORY WHEELS AND SUSPENSION. THE CAR WAS DRIVEN ONLY AS A COMMUTER. NO RACING OR OTHER EXTREME DRIVING. *TR

DEAR SIR/MADAM, I HAVE A SERIOUS COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CONTINENTAL CONTIPROCONTACT TIRES THAT CAME WITH MY MERCEDES BENZ E550 AND ALSO THE NEW ONES I RECENTLY PURCHASED. THE CAR HAS ONLY 20K MILES ON IT AND THE SIDE WALLS ON THE TIRES ARE VERY WEAK. I HAD 1 BUBBLE EACH DEVELOP ON 2 OF THE TIRES THAT CAME WITH THE CAR AFTER DRIVING OVER 2 SMALL POTHOLES RECENTLY. I ALSO HAD A SIDEWALL ISSUE ON THE THIRD TIRE THAT CAME WITH THE CAR AND THE NEW ONE I JUST PURCHASED. THE RECENT INCIDENT WAS THE WORST WHERE BOTH SIDEWALLS BURST OPEN WHEN I HIT A POT HOLE. I REALLY THINK THAT THE QUALITY OF THE TIRES IS VERY POOR BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO BE IMPACTING THE SIDEWALLS. I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS WITH SOMEONE AT THE SUPERVISOR AND DIRECTOR LEVEL BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS COMPLAINT. I AM ALSO GOING TO PLACE A COMPLAINT WITH THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT FOR THEIR LACK OF FIXING THESE POT HOLES ON-TIME. I AM THOROUGHLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE ROAD CONDITIONS. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, MY CAR HAS EXPERIENCED FLAT TIRES DUE TO A CRACK IN THE WHEEL/RIM. I BELIEVE THE OEM RIMS MAY BE DEFECTIVE AS IT IS UNCHARACTERISTIC FOR A RIM TO CRACK, AND TO HAVE IT OCCUR TWICE IS EXTRAORDINARY. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS IS A RESULT OF HITTING A POTHOLE, ETC. THE RESULTING FLAT TIRE WHICH OCCURRED ON A BUSY EXPRESSWAY CAUSED A HAZARDOUS DRIVING SITUATION. IN EACH CASE, DUE TO TIRE DAMAGE, I HAD TO REPLACE BOTH THE TIRE AND THE WHEEL/RIM AT A COST OF OVER $600 PER EVENT, OR ABOUT $1,200 TOTAL. THE SERIAL NUMBER ON THE INSIDE OF ONE OF THE WHEELS IS: A2114014702. *TR

AUTO HAS LOW PROFILE MAG WHEELS. TWO RIGHT WHEELS CRACKED WHEN HIT A CURB IN SEPT 2009. TWO WHEELS AND 4 TIRES HAD TO BE REPLACED SEPT 10, 2009. THE FOLLOWING JUNE ONE OF THE REPLACED WHEELS DEVELOPED A CRACK. NOT KNOWN WHY CRACK DEVELOPED AS I DID NOT HIT ANY POTHOLES OR ANYTHING ELSE. THEN JUST THIS YEAR IN OCTOBER RIGHT FRONT WHEEL DEVELOPED A HAIRLINE CRACK CAUSING THE TIRE TO SLOWLY LOSE AIR. WHEEL HAD TO BE REPLACED. TOTAL: 4 WHEELS REPLACED IN 2 YEARS, INCLUDING FOUR TIRES. *TR

A SET OF MICHELIN TIRES WAS PURCHASED FROM COSTCO AND MOUNTED ON MY 2006 MERCEDES ABOUT ONE YEAR AGO. THE MORNING AFTER THE FIRST 6,000-MILE TIRE ROTATION, THE FRONT TIRE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE ON I-40 WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM. COSTCO PAID FOR A REPLACEMENT TIRE AND DAMAGE TO THE RIM. THEN, ON MAY 13, 2009 ANOTHER ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SET OF MICHELIN TIRES SEPARATED IN A SIMILAR FASHION AGAIN ON I-40, NEARLY CREATING A MAJOR TRAFFIC FATALITY. THREE SEMI-TRUCKS ADEPTLY SWERVED TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH MY VEHICLE. THIS TIME, I HAD TO PAY $1,724 TO REPAIR DAMAGE TO THE SHOCK ABSORBER AND WHEEL WELL ON THE REAR END OF THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE COST ALSO INCLUDES $880 THAT I PAID FOR A NEW SET OF MICHELIN TIRES FROM THE MERCEDES DEALERSHIP, WHICH INFORMED ME THAT THEIR TIRES WERE NOT COMPROMISED BY EXTENDED STORAGE IN WAREHOUSES (I.E., DRY-ROTTING). COSTCO OFFERED TO PUT ANOTHER NEW SET OF THEIR TIRES ON MY VEHICLE, BUT I REFUSED TO TAKE THE RISK OF HAVING OLD DRY-ROTTED TIRES PLACED ON MY VEHICLE AGAIN. CONSEQUENTLY, COSTCO REFUSED TO PAY ANY OF THE $880 CHARGE FOR THE NEW MERCEDES DEALERSHIP TIRES. NOTE: THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE POLICE AND AAA TOWED THE CAR ON BOTH OCCASIONS. *TR

IT HAPPENED HAPPENED THAT WHEN WHEELS CAME IN CONTACT WITH A POT-HOLE, THE RIM BENT, DAMAGED TIRE, AND DRAGGED THE CAR. FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED AT 35100 MILES ON FEBRUARY 15, 2009 TO THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL, AND SECOND TIME AT 42300 MILEAGE ON MARCH 13, 2010 TO THE FRONT DRIVER-SIDE WHEEL. READING COMPLAINTS ON WEB SITE, IT APPEARS THAT LOT OF CUSTOMERS ARE SUFFERING FROM THIS PROBLEM. THIS APPEARS LIKE A POOR DESIGN WHICH CAUSE UNSAFE DRIVING SITUATION, AND HUGE FINANCIAL LOSS.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES BENZ E350. THE VEHICLE HAS A SET OF CONTINENTAL TIRES. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, TWO TIRES FAILED BEYOND REPAIR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WERE AT LEAST 3,000 MILES ON THE TIRES. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VIN, TIRE LINE, SIZE, AND DOT NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

MY CAR, A 2006 MERCEDES E350 HAS HAD FOUR (4) FLAT TIRES IN ABOUT ONE YEAR'S TIME. I HAVE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH AT LEAST THREE OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR MERCEDES'. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS DUE TO THE LOW PROFILE TIRES ON THE CAR. THEY SUPPOSEDLY PROVIDE BETTER HANDLING BUT ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLAT TIRES WHEN HITTING MINOR POTHOLES ETC. FOUR FLAT TIRES IN ABOUT A YEAR IS UNACCEPTABLE FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT. THIS CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH THESE TIRES IN PLACE. THE DEALER DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THIS ISSUE. *TR

MERCEDES BENZ E350 TIRE EQUIPMENT BURST WHILE DRIVING.***NO ANSWER REQUIRED***. *MR THE CONSUMER REQUEST REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE COST OF THE NEW TIRE INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE. *NM