Worn front tyres 7 weeks after purchase

[Andrea64]

Hi there
I bought a Mercedes GLC 220d 4 matic on a 2022 plate 7 weeks ago and I am the main driver. it has 16900 miles on when I bought it and I have done 1500 miles since then.
My husband rarely drives my car but recently he took it to work and noticed that both front tyres were worn on the outer edge. I took it back to the dealership where I bought it for an inspection and they said it was tyre skip caused by the way the tyres connected with the ground. When I asked if the tyres were legal they said yes but it would be worth getting the tracking checked to make sure it was ok. I am 100% certain that I have not hit any curbs or potholes and the car has not been involved in any collision. I have had the tracking checked today and both the rear wheel and front wheel tracking was out. The car also needs two new front tyres as the ones that came with the vehicle are illegal! My question is would a pre sale inspection have been carried out on the car and will there be any documented evidence of the tyre condition before I collected it? Also shouldn't the mechanic who inspected it when I returned it to the dealership have noticed that both front tyres were worn given that's why I took it back? I'm having to pay £600 today for tyres and tracking! I'm apparently getting a call from Mercedes tomorrow when the used car deputy manager is in the office to discuss this. I am hoping they'll pay up unless they can prove the tyres were legal and the tracking was correct. when I bought the car. Any information or advice very welcome.

 

[geoffus]

There is no way they would check if the tracking was previously OK, the tyres may have been legal when sold to you, but very near worn out. So not sure if they would step in for a goodwill contribution.
I bought the wife a B200 from a well known Merc specialist who advertises here, after a few months I noticed my fronts were wearing very rapidly on the inside edge, after a quick Hunter alignment it’s as good as new. I guess it’s part of buying a used car. You never know if it’s hit a few curbs in its short life.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Pity you have not still got the old tyres. Lots of fitters don't really know the tyre wear rules....if the wear was on the very edges its could be still be legal as only the centre 70% counts as actual tread. The inner and outer edges can be devoid of tread i.e. 'bald' in usual language so long as the central part has a minimum of 1.6mm and its like that all the way around the tyre. But Id like to hope that most dealers would not send a car out like that....legal or not.
Main dealer purchase?

 

[stressd]

I suspect you'll need to rely on dealer goodwill. Tyres are consumable items and they may have been fine when the dealership checked it, particularly if the knock which put the tracking out was just before they took ownership. And your 1500 miles has just made it noticable. I don't know what the average life is of the OEM tyres, but I would have thought 18,500 miles is getting pretty close to replacement time anyway. So maybe ask for a contribution towards the overall cost of the new tyres.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , really sorry to hear about your tyre problems.

I doubt that the supplying dealer would check the tracking on any car they sell.

From my understanding tyre type and manufacture are paramount to reduce the issue of tyre wear.

I am sure that I have read that tyre issues are not uncommon on right hand drive cars on your car model.

Hopefully members who have your Mercedes car model will be able to offer advice.

I hope that I am not correct but I have a feeling that tyres on your car have to be replaced as a complete set. ( 4 tyres )

 

[BlackC55]

Welcome to Mercedes tyre wear...... I dont think I've owned a MB that hasn't worn its tyres unevenly.

Most adverse tyre wear is due to lack of pressure. I see it day in day out. I expect in its former life the tyres were either not checked, adjusted for loads or an accurate gauge used. An alignment and suspension check is worth doing when the tyres are replaced with new.

 

[BoristheBounce]

Hi Andrea,

Welcome!

I'm fairly local to you so assume its Sytner Teesside you are dealing with ?

If it is I would be very surprised if they helped in any way, they are a load of tossers, I would never buy a new car form them, let alone a used one.

All they ever do is try to absolve themselves of any blame!

Good luck.

 

[GrahamT]

Front lower control arms ! Wear in the ball joints can cause this kind of tyre wear. Don't ask how I know......

 

[JHS]

I would be surprised if the tyres had shown no signs of heavy wear after 18000 miles.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Andrea , welcome along. Google 'Right hand drive Mercedes Benz GLC Crabbing issues'

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

Welcome to the forum Andrea, I wish you had joined us for better reasons though.
You mention that you had to (past tense) spend £600 for front tyres and tracking, hopefully you haven't already bought your tyres as IMO the best option for you in the cold North East would be to shod your car with all season tyres. This does help with and in some cases eliminate the tyre skip on your GLC.
My wife has the pre-face lift GLC and we have found that all season tyres are by far better suited to this car for all year round driving.
If you haven't already bought your new tyres, I would recommend either Michelin Crossclimate 2 SUV or Pirelli Scorpion Verde.

I'm with Nev above I don't think you'll get any joy from Sytner Teesside (if in fact it was from there), but it's worth a try.
As Pete has already mentioned, you should search for crabbing or tyre skip issues on this forum. It is mostly, but not limited to right hand drive 4 matic cars, GLC in particular.

 

[Andrea64]

Pity you have not still got the old tyres. Lots of fitters don't really know the tyre wear rules....if the wear was on the very edges its could be still be legal as only the centre 70% counts as actual tread. The inner and outer edges can be devoid of tread i.e. 'bald' in usual language so long as the central part has a minimum of 1.6mm and its like that all the way around the tyre. But Id like to hope that most dealers would not send a car out like that....legal or not.
Main dealer purchase?

Yes we bought it from a main dealer. I would also like to think they wouldn't have sent the vehicle out with tyres like mine were. Thanks for your reply

 

[Andrea64]

Thanks everyone for your input, it's really appreciated. I've had two new front tyres put on today and they're the same as the original ones, i.e.summer tyres. I can't afford to replace all 4 tyres right now but I'll see how it goes now with corrected tracking and new front tyres.

 

[Andrea64]

Front lower control arms ! Wear in the ball joints can cause this kind of tyre wear. Don't ask how I know......

Can those issues happen in a car that's not quite 2 years old?

 

[DanE350cdi]

We had a similar problem with my mrs's m140. BMW Williams after 8 weeks and no we weren't driving it like fools like most do. Eventually after a lot of emails passing back and too they eventually payed for full set of tyres and a voucher off its next service. So much for a 180 point inspection!!!!

 

[BlackC55]

Front lower control arms ! Wear in the ball joints can cause this kind of tyre wear. Don't ask how I know......

Not with mileage that low and on that car its a slightly different set up.

 

[GrahamT]

Can those issues happen in a car that's not quite 2 years old?

It did with mine at 34K

 

[Funkyboy]

Couple of things you really need to sort out with the selling dealer. First of all the right hand drive GLC model all have crabbing (Google it) the left hand drive vehicles don't. Your vehicle has permanent 4 wheel drive so your new front tyres will have 8mm of tread if the rears tyres are on less you can damage the transfer case as the vehicle system will detect what it thinks is lack of traction in rear due to difference in tread size. Would have been better to have taken vehicle back to main dealer so they could inspect tyre conditions. Complain to the dealer principal at the branch. Send it in an email so you have a record.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

First of all the right hand drive GLC model all have crabbing (Google it) the left hand drive vehicles don't.

LHD GLC also experience tyre skip, as do other Mercedes models and cars from other manufacturers. It’s reported more in the UK because we don’t have any legislation to ensure use of winter tyres (or all season tyres) in winter, and the winter weather isn’t severe enough in most of the UK for drivers to choose to use winter tyres (or all season tyres) in winter.

It’s not just a RHD thing, nor is it a 4matic or just a 4WD thing. It is not just a GLC thing nor just a Mercedes thing. It happens to many cars fitted with very wide, very low profile, high performance summer tyres with stiff sidewalls in cold weather. In cold (and wet) weather road driving they are unable to warm up sufficiently to reach and stay in their operating temperature window.

As a result the compound makes stiff tyres even stiffer, and the lack of sidewall and width of tread means that the tyres is unable to full absorb the lateral forces to to flex progressively enough for the tyre to slip smoothly on the road surface. Instead the lateral forces are released in high frequency bursts and hence the tyre jumps causing the vibration sensation and understeer.

 

[ALFAitalia]

The ALFA Giulia is famed for it.....sounds like you are a hooligan with amount of squealing they make on multi story car park floor. But its worth the noise to have, what is universally reckoned to be, one of the best steering cars on the market.....just rear wheel drive too. Its caused by the Ackermann effect (or anti in this case) engineered into the steering.

Happens on lots of cars with wide tyres. The Ackermann effect describes where the inner wheel in a turn describes a smaller radius than the outer. If you imagine a tyre on a full lock, and a number of lines on the circumference from inner to outer, the sections of tyre travel a different distance during the turn. Something has to give and the tread blocks slip/judder to compensate which, as mentioned above, is more noticeable when the rubber is cold and less flexible.

https://www.stelvioforum.com/attachments/02-003-17-chattering-noise-while-steering-pdf.24423/

Ackermann steering geometry - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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