I have to say I am quite disappointed in Mercedes. This past weekend we were installing the summer tires (OE Dunlops P225 50R16 92V) and noticed cracks between the treads on at least two of the tires. I can't believe it - there is only 11,000 kms on those tires! That's only like 6900 miles! Even if the tire warranty kicks in I am very upset about the added costs that I'll have getting the tires mounted, balanced, blah, blah, blah...

Has anyone else had this issue so early? I called Mercedes and of course they are hiding behind the "we don't cover the tires" banner.

Not impressed...

Are you for real ?
I agree with M-B........they DON'T make the tires.
Go and talk to your Dunlop dealer, or get a decent set of tires.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

ARE U for Real? It was M B that choise to put these tires on the car, I't must be nice going through life with such low expectations! Many parts on a car are built by outside manufacturers and installed on the car at the plant it's being built, does that mean these parts should also not be warrantied by the car's manufacturer?
Mister J

How and where did you store these tires?

1. Store tires in an area that is clean, cool, dark, and well ventilated, but with a minimum of circulating
air. Avoid areas that are wet, humid, oily, greasy, or in direct sunlight. Do not store in the same
area as an electric motor or other ozone generating source. If there is a question, check the ozone
level to be sure it does not exceed 0.08 ppm.
2. Do not store tires directly on black asphalt or other heat-absorbent surfaces. Avoid storage adjacent
to highly reflective surfaces.
3. As a rule, tires should be stored in an upright position to prevent distortion or disfiguration and to
make mounting work easier.
4. If tires are stored while mounted on rims, they should be inflated to 10 psi
5. Storage area should be level, well drained. Care should be taken to avoid prolonged contact with
petroleum based substances: oils, fuels and asphalt.
6.Wrap each tire with an opaque polyethylene covering to minimize the effects of oxygen and ozone.

We stored the clean tires in a cool, dry, well-ventilated basement. We don't use any equipment down there that would have any effect at all on the rubber. Besides, they were only off the car for four months! I'll bet that the cracks were there when the tires were on the vehicle in January! Sounds like M-B chose cheap tires for this car!

Actually, we also had a similar problem with a set of Dunlops on a motorcycle recently - cracks at very low mileage - shame!

See the above!

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I am not a big fan of dunlop tires. I have noticed this problem before.

Michelins are still and always the best. Why MB is cutting corners, I dont know?

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

Well, the verdict is in. Dunlop has agreed to replace all four tires, covering almost the full cost of the tire. The tech's opinion was that something was probably wrong with that batch of rubber...