Have now spoken with my dealer who confirms that his dealership is waiting for official confirmation as to exactly which models and what action they are allowed to take. He is confident that the C Class 4Matic will be covered but he said it's important to officially log the complaint with the source dealership as waiting until next winter when the crab's return may not work in the owners' favour; get his point but not sure MB will get away with that but it doesn't take too much to make your dealer aware of your concern; make sure it's in writing. It would also appear that MB will probably not take your word that you have significant crabbing and will need to test the car for themselves but as I said to him come the summer that would be a worthless exercise. He agreed!! More to follow on this I think.
what about 18" i have 18s lol
i am going to log a complaint also....
I spoke to my dealer last week about getting All Season tyres on our GLC and was told it could be a couple of months while MB source sufficient quantities of the special tyres. Being reliant on special tyres concerns me, as its unclear what MB's policy will be in the long term - are they just supplying a single set? I would hope supplying special tyres in the warranty period means they will supply replacements as and when required, while under warranty - Thoughts?
I also asked whether C class 4Matic owners would also be receiving the tyres. No, the statement from MB UK is GLC and GLC coupe specific, they are not planning to fit tyres to C class vehicles.
If C class owners are experiencing the same level of crabbing and juddering, and not just wheel skip. I would suggest complaining and ensuring your concerns are fully documents and passed onto MB UK.
Tony
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I'd be surprised if there's more than one set of tyres up for grabs for each car. I'd also be surprised if they're special tyres too, more likely a big run of all season tyres in the right sizes.
jenks52
New Member
This effect happens to other cars, a pal of mine who lives in the West Midlands said it has happened on his BMW Z4 and also a Porsche Cayenne.
He works in the car industry and suggested that whilst there may be an underlying issue as it seems only to be RHD cars, it is a characteristic of "performance" cars with a more aggressive front suspension alignment. He also suggested that the lower the profile of the tyre the worse it will feel.
His last comment is that MB can easily cure the effect by restricting the available lock. Given the less than stunning lock this is not something I'd want.
MB is suggesting all season tyres will help, simply because they have more flexibility in the tread blocks. Probably correct.
Based on what I know now I'd demand 18" wheels, not the larger ones even if i'd ordered them, and negotiate replacing the OEM tyres with Michelin Cross Climate tyres. They would make the car better when the road temperature is less than 10c and wouldn't significantly hurt hot weather performance. Based on experience in another car they are also quieter than summer tyres.
I would not cancel the order.
He works in the car industry and suggested that whilst there may be an underlying issue as it seems only to be RHD cars, it is a characteristic of "performance" cars with a more aggressive front suspension alignment. He also suggested that the lower the profile of the tyre the worse it will feel.
His last comment is that MB can easily cure the effect by restricting the available lock. Given the less than stunning lock this is not something I'd want.
MB is suggesting all season tyres will help, simply because they have more flexibility in the tread blocks. Probably correct.
Based on what I know now I'd demand 18" wheels, not the larger ones even if i'd ordered them, and negotiate replacing the OEM tyres with Michelin Cross Climate tyres. They would make the car better when the road temperature is less than 10c and wouldn't significantly hurt hot weather performance. Based on experience in another car they are also quieter than summer tyres.
I would not cancel the order.
Can't remember exactly which Post but sure someone with a C 4Matic has already been offered replacement tyres from their dealer. I'm sure there will be someone that will remember the details.
I thought there was sufficient evidence from C owners that they too also experience this.
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That was me. On Tuesday my dealer emailed me and said the new tyres for my C43 Coupe will be here in a couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for the update. What's your take on the earlier post re the just for GLC line? Also assume you are going to have them now and not wait until next winter?
Some of the better and more helpful dealers have already fitted winter tyres free of charge for a few GLC customers. But the vast majority of GLC owners were asked to purchase these tyre options, even after taking delivery in Decenber. The statement on 24 February clarifies e position that all GLC owners will receive these tyres if required, as not all owners have the problem.
All I am saying is don't take it for granted, because there hasn't been a statement specifying this for C 43's, like I said the Service Manager I spoke with is not fitting them for his C 43 owners.
Tony
Just to clarify - most of the affected GLC's are 170 - 200 bhp Diesel engine family cars, not performance cars. If you are happy to live with this characteristic, that simply isn't experienced on any of MB's huge range of very, very sporty cars, that's good for MB. I'm a year into living with this behaviour and know that if your car crabs and judders now, I can guarantee it will be massively worse next autumn / winter - fitting 18" wheels would be a good fix that I'm sure MB would be happy to help you with
Just in case you have not seem the problem > https://youtu.be/g2wfEMQY0nc
Nice looking car
In my opinion, fitting 18" wheels would 'break' the sleek sporty look. If MB sell standard wheels, regardless of size, the car should drive just as well on whatever size they supply. This is how it works for the left hand drive cars + virtually all other competing manufacturers cars!
Tony
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Yep. But it's not just the C43 it's all C Class 4Matic models that could suffer with this.
Hey folks,
Just an update from me. I got a call from the Sales Manager from my dealership on Friday as I had raised an official complaint with MB-UK around this issue on my C43 (in order to have an official reference #). He seemed sympathetic to the plight and and the issue has been brought to his attention by a number of customers.
However like it has been mentioned, then announcement does not make reference to provide All weather tyres to C-class 4-MATIC owners at this stage. So he would not be able to extend the offer to me. He also mentioned the sensation was not apparent on LHD models as by law LHD european Countries needed to fit winter tyres. No mention of US LHD vehicles however.
I also received a call from an MB-UK representative asking me how my call had gone - and I spoke to the gentlemen at length about the issue. He basically said the same thing - the offer applies to GLC vehicles and not to C class vehicles. They will apparently address this soon, but not sure on the time frame.
I also questioned him regarding this reference to the 'Characteristic', why it was only apparent on RHD models and not left. He said it was down to the compound of the tyre and that winter tyres would reduce this issue. I then mentioned why this was happening for Australian drivers, when temperatures rarely drop below 10 degrees. He had no answer and referred to the fact MB-UK are working to minimize the issue.
Looks like for us C class 4MATIC owners, we're still playing the waiting game.
Just an update from me. I got a call from the Sales Manager from my dealership on Friday as I had raised an official complaint with MB-UK around this issue on my C43 (in order to have an official reference #). He seemed sympathetic to the plight and and the issue has been brought to his attention by a number of customers.
However like it has been mentioned, then announcement does not make reference to provide All weather tyres to C-class 4-MATIC owners at this stage. So he would not be able to extend the offer to me. He also mentioned the sensation was not apparent on LHD models as by law LHD european Countries needed to fit winter tyres. No mention of US LHD vehicles however.
I also received a call from an MB-UK representative asking me how my call had gone - and I spoke to the gentlemen at length about the issue. He basically said the same thing - the offer applies to GLC vehicles and not to C class vehicles. They will apparently address this soon, but not sure on the time frame.
I also questioned him regarding this reference to the 'Characteristic', why it was only apparent on RHD models and not left. He said it was down to the compound of the tyre and that winter tyres would reduce this issue. I then mentioned why this was happening for Australian drivers, when temperatures rarely drop below 10 degrees. He had no answer and referred to the fact MB-UK are working to minimize the issue.
Looks like for us C class 4MATIC owners, we're still playing the waiting game.
Unfortunately the usual sales person bull****. I really don't get why these guys and girls keep doing that and where they get that nonsense from.
It is simply not true that LHD European countries have mandated by law that cars need to have winter tyres. That is absolute and utter bull****.
It is even worse that he/she is saying that as Mercedes themselves issued a bulletin explaining why there is a difference between LHD and RHD cars, and I can tell you one thing, it isn't the law that is different
It is a mechanical difference.Certainly not. But I would get winter tyres for cold weather especialy when driving in Europe during the winter, the same way as probably every C/E 43 driver will do in Germany, Austria, Switzerland etc.
Would you have fitted winter tyres for the winter we've just had here in the UK?
I had read that DRIVER200 - but didn't want to bring it up to see what the dealer / MB-UK view was. I think it's more a company line - avoiding commitment until completely necessary. The user who managed to get their dealer to swap tyres must be one of the lucky ones.. as Tony said, don't take it for granted as C-Class owners are not explicitly included in the announcement.
