2008 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wheels Problems

“I have owned this vehicle for 2.5 years. Since may of 2013 I have had to replace three wheels (rims). It has gotten to the point where they are so hard to locate I have had to purchase after market wheels. Once the crack was rather large and the last two were noticed when I replaced the tires on the vehicle. They were smaller and eventually would not hold air in the tire. This has to be a flaw in the product.”

“Small pothole hit. Rim destroyed along with tire. I have put approximately 12 tires and three rims on this vehicle in two years. After a search I now find out that rim and tire problems are very common on these cars. My wife has driven for over 40 years and never had a tire/rim problem.”

“On two occasions I had loss of tire pressure on front wheels. Examination showed the alloy wheels to be cracked. This has happened two times in approximately 90 days. I have not hit any pot holes. Some typical road bumps maybe but no deep holes. I've had many vehicles since 1958 but never had wheels cracking. Research has shown quite a bit of people with the same low profile tires used on this vehicle are also having cracked wheels and loss of tire pressure. Besides being very costly, this indeed can be a dangerous situation. …”

“While traveling at ordinary speed on even interstate surface (I-64) east bound the rear right tire of my mb e350w4 blewout. I was able stabilize the car and exit the highway as I was just then in front of a an exit. My tires had been recently inspected during a regular service of my car. There is no reason or event which could have caused the sudden tire failure. I have filed a complaint with continental tire customer service, but the company has failed to acknowledge that their product may have manufacturing issues. Now I have observed a blemish developing on the sidewall of another tire. …”

“Mb e-350 2008 is equipped with low profile tires contipro contact 245/40 r 18 the tires contact distance from road surface to bottom of rim is app.2 inch. The rim diameter is app.19+ inches. The weight of the vehicle further reduces the contact distance. The momentum of the car at normal speed when comes across a small pot whole or an object the rim of the car itself burst the tire resulting into tire explosion and bending of the rim. …”