Emergency Alert ATTN: Mercedes/Runonflat/Goodyear

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runflat

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Sep 15, 2016
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1
Car
Maybach
I ordered a 2016 S600 Maybach, it came with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 Runonflat tires.
Within approximately 9,000 miles on the tires, I had 3 tires where the belt came through the edge, see pictures.

All 3 of the tires happened within a month of each other. It happened very quickly and I didn’t realize it was a problem tire. Because of what I was told, I could drive with the runonflat tires, the 2nd time the tire did not last 6 miles without the tire completely disintegrating and destroying the rim. The 3rd time, I went approximately 9 miles, at no more than 18 mph, as soon as I saw the alert come on my dash that I had low tire pressure. At that point I knew that another tire had failed. I did not have phone service, I did have the emergency button in the car, which I called and they informed me they could only call 911 for me. I was on a very small 2 lane road, that I could not stay on. I drove to the first pull over area where I had phone service, less than 3 miles. The tire continued to disintegrate, causing damage to the bumper, the side of the car, destroying the rim (see pictures), brake system sensor, wheel sensors.

I called Mercedes service, they sent a flatbed. It was approximately $14,000 in damage. Mercedes warranty said they would not cover it. This could have been catastrophic. Anybody with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 Runonflat tires, that Mercedes provides, please inspect your tires. This is an absolute flaw in the tire and calls into question Mercedes engineering, testing procedures and safety (what else have they overlooked on supposedly one of the safest cars in the world?)

Please inspect your tires now if you are running with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 Runonflat tires. I have replaced all of my tires with Michelin. I did everything according to the manual. I can’t imagine what I have done wrong here.

3 upsetting points:

1. The tires are defective and they do not last.
2. The runonflat system is a joke! They need to give you a spare tire or do more testing to find a runonflat tire that does work.
3. Mercedes and the dealership are totally not honoring their warranty. Even the head of the service dept. said he was in shock that they were not covering the repairs. The president of the dealership, Paul Devers, of Vin Devers Autohaus in Sylvania, Ohio said that Mercedes USA will not cover it.

I am 56 years old, I have owned literally 100’s of cars, drive over 50,000 miles per year, have never been in an accident, except a fender bender which was not my fault, and I have a clean driving record. I would love to hear from you if you have this problem. This is an extremely condensed version of the events, however, I have not left out any facts. I have tried to be as accurate as possible. This is simply a system that does not work, especially with this defective product and engineering. Please answer back to my thread and let me know if you have had any similar problems.
 

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Only explanation I can offer is that your car was possibly equipped with MOE tyres [ Mercedes own idea of runflats] To improve normally inflated ride characteristics these tyres have slightly thinner re-inforced sidewalls than the ISO standard ROF tyres meaning that their endurance distance/road speed/load characteristics are considerably reduced- they are run flats but not so robust. Explanation here---- Tire Tech Information - Mercedes-Benz Original Extended Tires (MOExtended or MOE)
Many manufacturers recommend ROF tyre replacement after any extended period of running flat anyway citing internal damage to the sidewalls that may not be apparent on inspection which tells me the re-useable aspect of such tyres is pretty marginal at best. They can be a godsend in many circumstances allowing a vehicle to exit a potentially dangerous situation on a busy freeway for example but their limited endurance may make their use questionable in countries where large distances exist between tyre service stations as opposed to say an urban environment. :dk:
 
I think the issue is that tyres are wear items and not covered by warranty other than for manufacturing defects. at 9000 miles it's borderline, yes it's a bit on the low side, but at the same time it's not entirely unreasonable that
they reached the end of their service life, and they do seem to be low on thread. Ask any C63 owner what mileage they get from their tyres...... so yes if MB USA wanted to exhibit exemplary customer service they should have covered the tyres, but if they chose to go by the book and not cover catastrophic damage to 9000 miles old worn tyres then you can't really throw the book at them for that. But poor show to MB USA.
 
To me, the problem would appear to be poor wheel alignment which has caused the tyres to wear through on one edge. With the edge worn through like that, you can't expect the runflat aspect to be viable. Get a proper 4 wheel alignment done when the car is fixed.
 
Those tyres look very similar to the old Pirelli's that used to part company with the tread.
 
These tyres could have come from anywhere as wheels are not identifiable!

The general opinion elsewhere is that this guy is a scammer and we'll hear nothing more from him....or should I start eating my hat?

Ernie
 
These tyres could have come from anywhere as wheels are not identifiable!
They do genuinely say "Goodyear" on the tyres, and the "inside" label is on the inside... but that's as much as you can tell.

To me it looks like the kind of damage you get when you buy re-treads, then destroy them with burn-outs because they cost you nothing. :rolleyes:
 
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