WARNING TO CLS OWNERS!!! 8000 mile tyres!

[robbydso]

I own a CLS 320CDI 2008.
Bought it March 2009 with 10,600 miles on the clock.
In August I was told by the dealership that I needed a new set of rear tyres.
The clock was reading 18,975 miles. A brand new set of tyres that lasted 8375 miles! These were Michelins. No choice had to get two new ones fitted. Cost £411.70. Fitted Continental this time.
Went in to the same dealership last week to get a sat nav problem fixed and the technician phoned to advise me that the rear tyres were completely bald!
The car has now covered 27,000 and I have to spend another £400+
Any tyre that you put on the back of the CLS will last 8000 Miles!
Something wrong here.

The message is.....Check your tyres. They will probably only last for 8000 mile and you won't notice that you are driving on illegal tyres!
How long was I driving on illegal tyres. Don't know. What I do know is that it carries a three point penalty for each defective tyre you have. Not to mention a hefty fine!
If anyone else is having this problem please post your comments.

 

[Swiss Toni]

Welcome!

How often do your check your tyres pressure and tread depth?

If you don't check the pressures, then I'm not too surprised that the tread doesn't last that long?

8k miles doen't sound like much, but it has to depend on how you drive and whether you look after the car or not - never checking the tyre pressures or tread depths is maybe not a good sign?

 

[Gridlock]

Don't buy a C63

 

[robbydso]

Reply to Swiss Toni

Tyre pressures are checked every two weeks.

The dealer said that the tyres had worn very evenly and suggested that everything was fine with correct tyre pressures and no sign of abuse.

I am a very careful driver. I don't corner quickly anf I don't accelerate rapidly.

 

[HR17]

Get friendly with your local Kwik Fit guys. Its surprising what'll they'll find for you and how much they'll knock off the price to get your business, especially if you can make it mid week when they're quiet. Alternatively, try a cheaper brand. People think cheap is bad, but ultimately they have to be half decent, otherwise they wouldn't be on sale, and if a set only lasts 8K, they're worth a try.

 

[Shude]

Thread moved to wheel/tyre section.

Welcome to the forum! Hopefully other E/CLS owners will chime in with their own experiences however I suspect that you have at least one of the following:

1. Very-grippy but fast wearing "high performance" tyres (price for two suggests this!)
2. Incorrect tyre pressures
3. Suspension/alignment problems
4. Let's say "overly cautious" tyre fitters

Monitor the pressures and tread depths by checking once every couple weeks. Before the car goes in for a service check and write down the tread depths so you KNOW whether they really need changing or not. Exactly which tyres are fitted? Check on this forum for alternatives to the tyre brand and model/size to make sure you're getting the most out of them!

Unless you're using your car for track days I suggest that 8000 miles is poor, even for a 320CDI.

 

[Roger Jones]

You said "the technician phoned to advise me that the rear tyres were completely bald". Also, "Tyre pressures are checked every two weeks." You didn't notice lack of tread when you checked before the satnav job?

That engine delivers serious torque, but Michelins are among the longest-lasting tyres. Given your declared driving style (similar to mine), it's a puzzle. The shortest life I've got out of Michelins was on the front of a Golf VR6, but they lasted 18k, and I get well over 20k out of the Michelins on my MBs, including the W124 twin turbo (still 4+mm on the rears after 12k).

 

[Gridlock]

The shortest life I've got out of Michelins was on the front of a Golf VR6

 

[christopherwk]

hmmm I had 10,000 miles out of Pirelli P7s, and about 17,000 miles out of Michelin Primacy HPs. I've now got Tigar tyres fitted on mine (Kwik Fit cheap brand), so I'm seeing how long they will last for.

 

[EDZ649]

I can't understand anyone would be driving such a car without checking the condition of the tyres regularly. For them to be in such a poor state the OP couldn't have checked them ever! How can you not notice your rear tyres are completely bald? Ok so the car eats rear tyres, so what? The fact of the matter is that you have a duty to make sure your car is in A1 roadworthy condition all the time, not just when it happens to go in to the garage for something. You are very fortunate not to have had an accident and hurt someone.

 

[Happy Bunny]

Hi
I've got a cls 55 amg. Before I bought it the previous owner showed me all of the receipts and warned me that I would go through a set of rear tyes (MO-conti sports) every 10K miles.

Given the amount of torque it delivers then the (s)miles per set of tyres is not outrageous.

If the price is an issue and you don't need high performance tyres then I suggest you try some Falken 452's.

 

[timskemp]

Mine have hit 3mm in 11k miles. If the wear is even then it's purely down to tyre pressure and right foot. Most I've had from the rears is about 15k from Goodyears, the bigger 18" tyres all seem to be a bit softer and shorter lasting too.

My XR4x4 in my younger years would eat all four every 6-8k miles, my Volvo S60 would destroy the front tyres in 12k driven in a spirited fashion, 6k driven like a hooligan.

 

[BlackC55]

I never expect more than 10K on a set of tyres.

 

[davidjpowell]

Blimey. I'm disappointed by 12K, and normally expect 18k. Best ever was on a 406 pug - 55K from the backs. And even then they were replaced when one blew out rather than down to minimum tread.

 

[robbydso]

Holier than thou!!!!!

[FONT=&quot]Dear all,

Thank you for your responses.

Just as I expected.... Some helpful comments and quite a few "holier than thou" remarks.

To all of the latter.
I am not used to this Mercedes tyre phenomenon. The last car I owned was a BMW 745i. This car had a 4.4 V8, was a lot heavier and more powerful than the CLS and yet I got 25,000 miles from the rear Continental tyres. The cars previous to the 745i were a BMW 735i and a BMW 525i. All of which performed to between 22,000 and 25,000 on their tyres.

So you see it would not even occur to me to check the tread on the tyres at 8000 miles. My point is that 8000 miles was when the technician noticed them being bald. They may have been shot a lot earlier. This is a genuine problem. Not just a case of premature tyre wear.

To those of you who doubt that I drive very carefully.....How is it that I could achieve 25000 miles on a set of tyres and how on earth have I still got at least half the tread left on my front tyres at 27000 miles. I live in Milton Keynes which, as some of you may know consists mainly of roundabouts. This normally leads to abnormal wear on front tyres.Not so with mine. Surely if I drove like a boy racer, the front tyres would need to be replaced before 27,000

I am still waiting to hear from a CLS driver. [/FONT]

 

[Mactech]

My 59 plate CLS clicked over 8000 miles yesterday. I checked the tyres yesterday. Dunlop 18" SP01 with the 275 rears. 2mm worn from the rear and a little over 1mm gone from the front. I have only owned the car for half that milage, but is in line with what I would expect from the wear rates of previous E and S Class Mercedes.
I fully expect 3 times the tyre life that you are seeing!
My cold pressures are at 31/33 and the car steers well with just a hint of left pull on cambered roads.

 

[robbydso]

Message to Mactech

At last! A response from a CLS 320 owner.

Thank you so much for your assistance with this.

You have confirmed what I have been telling the Mercedes dealership.

This is abnormal wear on the tyres.

Once again.

Thank You:bannana:

 

[Mactech]

I see no real reason that the CLS should be any different to an E320.
It is, in effect, an E Class in a party frock sharing the same mechanical platform. There are a few differences, but should not really change the tyre wear. They are:

The shell is stiffer. (Oh! and looks different!)
The spring and damper rates are slightly different.
The C of G is lower.
The wheels have about 10mm more offset to give a slightly wider track.

The wheel offset makes the car slightly more prone to 'tracking' on uneven roads, but if the car is correctly aligined, then I can see no reason the tyre wear should be anything but the same as an E320 (Sport?)

 

[EDZ649]

[FONT=&quot]Dear all,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your responses.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Just as I expected.... Some helpful comments and quite a few "holier than thou" remarks.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To all of the latter.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am not used to this Mercedes tyre phenomenon. The last car I owned was a BMW 745i. This car had a 4.4 V8, was a lot heavier and more powerful than the CLS and yet I got 25,000 miles from the rear Continental tyres. The cars previous to the 745i were a BMW 735i and a BMW 525i. All of which performed to between 22,000 and 25,000 on their tyres.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]So you see it would not even occur to me to check the tread on the tyres at 8000 miles. My point is that 8000 miles was when the technician noticed them being bald. They may have been shot a lot earlier. This is a genuine problem. Not just a case of premature tyre wear.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To those of you who doubt that I drive very carefully.....How is it that I could achieve 25000 miles on a set of tyres and how on earth have I still got at least half the tread left on my front tyres at 27000 miles. I live in Milton Keynes which, as some of you may know consists mainly of roundabouts. This normally leads to abnormal wear on front tyres.Not so with mine. Surely if I drove like a boy racer, the front tyres would need to be replaced before 27,000[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I am still waiting to hear from a CLS driver. [/FONT]

That's all very well, however, you shouldn't be waiting to check your tyres at 25K just because you think they should last that long. Tyre maintenance is a fundemental part of motoring and should be checked weekly for any problems, not just wear.

How often do you check your oil? Do you wait until the light comes on?

If you had checked them regularly you would have known about the problem earlier.

 

[219]

It does sound as if something is amiss .

Perhaps it would be worth booking the car in to 'Wheels In Motion' who have received numerous good reports on this forum and are regarded as experts in suspension and geometry setup . I have no personal experience of them but if you do a search on this forum you will find a few threads from satisfied customers . They seem to be able to solve problems that leave a lot of dealers baffled .

Given the amount you are spending on tyres at the moment , a visit to them would probably be a wise investment . Even a phone call to them to discuss problem would not go amiss .

Link to their website below -

Car Tyres Fitting and Wheel Alignment Specialists