[NumeroPaul]

New owner in 3 weeks!

I sent an email to my dealer only this morning to start a discussion on tyres/steering/crabbing, just to know where I stand. I wasn't expecting any quick response and maybe a vague or a standard MB 'line' but instead received an email within 2 hours followed by a phone call.

I'm told that MB's standard is to deliver with all weather tyres fitted, my salesperson had checked with the service manager who in turn confirmed the last 2 GLC's delivered to them had been fitted with all weathers on delivery

On top of that the dealerships own policy is that if there is a steering/crabbing issue they will pursue under a warranty claim with MB and replace the tyres up to 19,000 miles (seems in line with other posts I've read) but a promise of good service straight away!

So 'so far so good'

But of course hope I'll see no issues at all and wont need to revert to the dealers

I'll let you all know as time goes on

Paul

 

[Teckno]

Congratulations and great news.
Let us know later brand and Tyre sizing, front and rear.
Let is know if all seasons are run flats or not as well please.
Enjoy your GLC.
FROM Australia.

 

[Philamg]

NumeroPaul, the "policy" that has been stated before is that they will replace SUMMER tyres with all weather up to 19000 miles, if you have the all weather tyres fitted to yours on delivery you won't have the issue.
It took me 12 months to sort the issue out on my 43 and I had to go to the motoring ombudsman to get a resolution. Regarding the dealer taking it up as a warranty issue, this has been said before but doesn't happen, MB claim that it is a characteristic of the car and is NOT a warranty issue, owners have to take the issue up with customer services themselves and they sort it as a goodwill issue. Dealers will say anything to sell cars, but if you get the all weathers then you will be ok.

 

[NumeroPaul]

Thanks for the information

Ill stay 'glass is half' full for the moment

 

[Gallacpt]

New owner in 3 weeks!

I sent an email to my dealer only this morning to start a discussion on tyres/steering/crabbing, just to know where I stand. I wasn't expecting any quick response and maybe a vague or a standard MB 'line' but instead received an email within 2 hours followed by a phone call.

I'm told that MB's standard is to deliver with all weather tyres fitted, my salesperson had checked with the service manager who in turn confirmed the last 2 GLC's delivered to them had been fitted with all weathers on delivery

On top of that the dealerships own policy is that if there is a steering/crabbing issue they will pursue under a warranty claim with MB and replace the tyres up to 19,000 miles (seems in line with other posts I've read) but a promise of good service straight away!

So 'so far so good'

But of course hope I'll see no issues at all and wont need to revert to the dealers

I'll let you all know as time goes on

Paul

Got my GLC Sport on March 8th - Summer tyres fitted - Hankook sevo suv tyres. 18" Crabbing hasn't been an issue YET

 

[Pg220]

Hi NumeroPaul

I got my new 250d AMG Prem + on 1st March. My sister also ordered exactly same car and we had been wondering about what tyres they would come on before delivery. I was fully aware of the tyre crabbing / cluncking issue having had two previous GLC’s.

On 1st March mine arrived shod with Goodyear Eagle Sport All Season (20” AMG wheels, tyre size 255/45 R20 105W) These are marked as OEM Extended ROF (Run on Flat). No tyre repair kit or compressor in the vehicle. My vehicle had a mid January 18 build date.

A few days later my sisters car arrived shod with Vredestein Quatrac 5 All Season tyres (20” AMG wheels, tyre size 255/45 R20 105)
There is a compressor and tyre repair kit in her vehicle.

So two identical vehicles with different tyre set up on delivery. The only thing we don’t know is the actual build date on my sisters car.

Last week and with just over 500 miles on the clock I got a small thin nail through the rear tyre which resulted in a very slow puncture. First port of call was to consider a new tyre. Availability of the Goodyear’s was extremely limited (2 suppliers with 4 day delivery times) and prices started at £210.

By way of contrast the Vredesteins were reasonably easy to source and around £30 cheaper.

Second port of call was considering having the puncture repaired. Checks with Goodyear reveal RF tyres are indeed repairable if the damage falls within the British Standard guidelines ( mine was right on the edge of the repairable area). Numerous calls to high street tyre suppliers met with a straight refusal to repair a run flat tyre (despite Goodyear’s position). This is apparently due to potential damage caused to the tyre structure if it is run on flat which I can fully understand. Mine had a very slow puncture with pressure never falling below 2.0 bar pressure and had only been driven a few miles after activation of TPMS.

I eventually had it repaired locally and was happy with the condition of the tyre (nail had gone straight in) and it was a simple repair in accordance with BS.

The reason I mention this is the conflict between a preference for RF or normal tyres. If I had been away from home and not had the luxury of time to explore options I don’t know what I would have done other to press the button and let MB sort it out. I understand they possibly make an emergency repair to the tyre with a plugging kit to get you mobile again but you are then still left to source a very rare replacement tyre from wherever you managed to get to on the repair.

Personally I am considering changing two of the cars Goodyear’s RF’s to Vredesteins (This is acceptable as the GLC’ s set up is not affected by the characteristic difference between the two types) for the simple reason that they are repairable and far easier to source as a replacement should I get a puncture whilst away from home or on holiday.

Hope this helps in some way.

 

[Adam]

Have to say with all the posts about crabbing and tyres, if this is the only issue with this car, then I’m really looking forward to collecting mine in June.

 

[Philamg]

Have to say with all the posts about crabbing and tyres, if this is the only issue with this car, then I’m really looking forward to collecting mine in June.

Adam, you are absolutely correct, I moved to GLC from a Discovery sport, have a look at their forum and you will see how good the GLC is. Land rovers have all season tyres fitted as standard, I'm sure MB will go along this path with their 4 wheel drive cars and the issue will disappear.

 

[Teckno]

To PG220.

Congratulations. You hold a very special place in the Forum currently with access to 2x GLC’s; one with Vredestein conventional All Season tyres. And the second with Goodyear All Season, run flats, MOE.

Can you possibly provide us with your impressions of ride characteristic of both, with Tyre pressures the same ?
Are both cars steel springs, or Air suspension ?

We have a Coupe and a wagon and the Michelin tyres were replaced with Goodyear All Season run flats, on the Coupe, my wife believes the ride is harder, harsher with Goodyear’s. She has air suspension.
I had Pirelli Scorpion Verde, summer tyres, before they were exchanged for the Goodyear’s. I have steel springs.
The comparison between Vredestein and Goodyear’s would be great, please.
Cheers

 

[NumeroPaul]

Morning
I'm as interested as Tekno on your impressions on the tyres
My own experience is with a BMW 635 (an ex directors car which I drove waiting for my own) and I didn't enjoy the ride experience. Both very hard and lack of rear wheel grip (nothing to do with my right foot at the time!!)
So far I've always purchased a spare wheel separately, not trusting the repair kits. No choice on this occasion as far as I can see.
Meanwhile I have a colleague in Yorkshire who runs a 17 plate 220d wagon and changed his tyres (on his own volition at 15,000 miles last November) to Goodyear all season run flats and says he is very pleased (I've not asked what he had before) with steering and comfort
Looking forward to seeing what mine arrives clad with

 

[EwokTim]

I had this piece of info from my dealer whilst trying to specify tyres for my May delivery:

"Further to NN 10262, we would like to remind you that all GLC March 1st production onwards have now been amended to summer tyres with tirefit (Code R01 +B51 or R05 + B51) as per the Pricelist effective from March 2018 onwards.

Customers can choose the no-cost option of all-season tyres with run flats (Code R02 + R66) which address tyre skipping but increases CO2 to 143g/km. "

 

[Philamg]

Good piece of info, would be good if all dealers said the same thing but not sure about run flats.

 

[EwokTim]

On a related note I've been trying to check the configurator on the MB UK site and it will only list the 350d variants of the GLC. Is this a website error or is something else going on?

 

[Philamg]

On a related note I've been trying to check the configurator on the MB UK site and it will only list the 350d variants of the GLC. Is this a website error or is something else going on?

Just checked and as you say only 350d available, happens now and then especially if they are updating it.

 

[Pg220]

Techno / NumeroPaul

I haven’t driven my sisters car but will do so over the weekend and let you have my thoughts.
Both are running on the same light load tyre pressures 2.2 bar and both are on conventional steel springs.
My two previous GLCs ( That’s another story) were 220d’s running on the 20” AMG wheels with Bridgestone Dueller RF’s. I personally find RF a little hard but on my latest one they are quite acceptable. A common factor with all 3 was when travelling at reasonable speed if you hit a slight imperfection in the road the back end would fidget and sometimes this could be quite unsettling. I put this down to the stronger less flexible side walls of the RF’s. I have never really felt confident cornering at speed in any of them.
On a positive note the AllSeason RF,s have significantly addressed the crabbing/ cluncking issues so widely discussed to the point that it is virtually eliminated on my new one.

 

[Pg220]

Quick update on the tyre review I promised.
Goodyear Eagle Sport AllSeason Run flat - V - Vredestein AllSeason non RF.
Both on new identical GLC 250d’s AMG Premium Plus with 20” AMG wheels and standard suspension.

Drove my sisters car today (shod with the Vredesteins) in order to compare them against my Goodyears. Both cars were set to comfort mode.
Local streets and A roads of Leeds which means speed bumps, crappy road surface and plenty of pot holes.
On any decent surface there really is very little difference between the two, perhaps a little more road noise with the GY’s. On poor surfaces or over speed bumps you can feel the difference as the GY’s are a little less flexible so you do feel it more. The Vredesteins are more forgiving which you would probably expect. At about 60 mph on a dual carriage way with a poor road surface the Vredesteins are more comfortable and help to smooth out the poor surface. As I’ve previously said the GY’s tend to crash over the surface making the back a little fidgety but nothing to dramatic.
I’m obviously no expert on the subject so just giving my considered real world opinion which is, there really is very little to choose between the two, certainly nothing that would turn me against one or the other. The Vredesteins are probably the more comfortable all round tyre which may be nothing more than one would expect in relation to their design and purpose.

Given the choice I think I would be tempted to take the Vredesteins, not just for the little extra comfort but more for the fact they are far more readily available, cheaper and repairable in the event of a puncture. With the GY’s you’re pretty much limited to replacing like for like and in my experience that’s easier said than done.

Sorry there is nothing earth shattering but that’s the reality of it, there is very little to choose between them so if you are a fan of RF’s you’ll be very happy, if not you might not even notice the difference.

 

[Teckno]

Many thanks Pg220, really appreciate your help and efforts. Great to have real user, familiar with the car offer their opinion.
We cannot buy the Vredestein in Oz and MB do not fit or import them. The treadwear rating on Gy is 560 from memory, the Pirelli summer Verde was 400 treadwear. Any idea, look later ! Of what the rating is for the Vredestein ? Higher number indicated higher km or Tyre life when treated same.
Again, well done.
Cheers from The Land Down Under.

 

[Pg220]

Many thanks Pg220, really appreciate your help and efforts. Great to have real user, familiar with the car offer their opinion.
We cannot buy the Vredestein in Oz and MB do not fit or import them. The treadwear rating on Gy is 560 from memory, the Pirelli summer Verde was 400 treadwear. Any idea, look later ! Of what the rating is for the Vredestein ? Higher number indicated higher km or Tyre life when treated same.
Again, well done.
Cheers from The Land Down Under.

Techno
You’re very welcome, where would I find that number,is it on the tyre wall?

 

[Teckno]

Yes normally on sidewall, includes Temp rating, will say Treadwear with a number.
If not there, no stress, some manuf do not need to do it, depending on market they they sell into.
Thanks again.