[JuanR]

Some vans had the recall completed when it initially came out last year before the recall was “closed” by MBUSA due to parts issues. Once the recall was reopened this year it did say to check if the first recall was completed and tires replaced, of so just replace the stickers. I did get confirmation from MBUSA that if tires were already replaced. They would not be replaced again.

 

[focus805]

I got my new Continentals and Goodyear spare this week. I had set up the appointment last week, but when I got to the dealer the service department thought the recall only meant the sticker. I explained that my Michelins wouldn't meet the specs of the new sticker, and that the recall meant all new tires. Fortunately, I had followed this recall on MetrisForum.com, so I was more ready than they were.
There was one thing missing that they had to get from out-of-state, so I did leave the van overnight. But they did clean up the tires before handing it over to me.
The new tires ride well, maybe a bit firmer than the Defenders, but they are all-new, so that is nice.

It pays to be informed -- great work!

 

[JuanR]

Just FYI, recalls technically do not expire. The original recall was "closed" by MBUSA. The recent one was released earlier this year. I don't think the dealer was being un truthful. If you recently bought tires I would wear them out until you need to replace them and let MB pay for the new set under the recall. Also if you need tires and recall is not open, I would just find some used tires to get you by, since MB will not reimburse for tires purchased. I recommend just paying for the alignment after recall is complete. $300 for complete set of tires and alignment is not a bad buy. Unless you're DOT required, then you don't have much of a choice but to get the recall done, regardless of tire condition.

 

[ManVan001]

I have confirmed that my new sticker came in, and anticipating tire upgrade! From what I've gathered only the tire placard is changing. Some on here have mentioned a derate in GVWR - is that true? If so, can someone who has already gone through the recall repair tell us the derated GVWR?

 

[focus805]

I have confirmed that my new sticker came in, and anticipating tire upgrade! From what I've gathered only the tire placard is changing. Some on here have mentioned a derate in GVWR - is that true? If so, can someone who has already gone through the recall repair tell us the derated GVWR?

I'm (the) one who said it and I was wrong. The new sticker says 2545#, same as my old one.

 

[icerabbit]

Interestingly.
My 2020 135 cargo has 1104 kg / 2434 lbs on that sticker. ( Where did the 111 lbs go?)
And my listed tire pressures are 45 PSI for 225/55R17 without mention of XL, like your original sticker.
So, a new tire: 1 cm wider tire, 11 mm more in diameter at 4 PSI less.
( Not to derail this thread, just thinking out loud )

 

[focus805]

Interestingly.
My 2020 135 cargo has 1104 kg / 2434 lbs on that sticker. ( Where did the 111 lbs go?)
And my listed tire pressures are 45 PSI for 225/55R17 without mention of XL, like your original sticker.
So, a new tire: 1 cm wider tire, 11 mm more in diameter at 4 PSI less.
( Not to derail this thread, just thinking out loud )

That is interesting -- sounds like maybe they knew about the tire issue in 2020?

 

[pounce]

That tracks with the recall being 2016-2018 vans.

 

[focus805]

That tracks with the recall being 2016-2018 vans.

I never really did the math on the negative load differential created by the 225's. 111# is very minor, gotta admit, like 28# per. In retrospect, I'm surprised Daimler didn't warn owners earlier -- I guess they guessed right that nobody would get hurt . . . .

 

[ManVan001]

New tire day!

 

[cafebmw]

I got 5 new tires at the Santa Rosa CA Mercedes dealership last week. And they did the other 4 recalls too, among which i received a new rear view camera which has a much bigger field of view.
Regarding the tires, 35k miles ago i put bigger Toyo AT III on the van (besides a suspension lift).
They had a load index of 103 and despite the moderate mileage were worn down to 20% in the front.
To make sure mercedes gives me new tires, i replaced them with used hankook tires with the original specs ($280 incl mounting) and then went to the dealership.
When i bought the van, it didn’t have a spare wheel. I bought a new rim online for $100 and brought it to the dealership a few days later.
The new Continental VanContact area much quieter than the Toyos and the van feels more planted. Also the speedometer indicates correctly again. The bigger Toyos showed 5% less.

 

[focus805]

I got 5 new tires at the Santa Rosa CA Mercedes dealership last week. And they did the other 4 recalls too, among which i received a new rear view camera which has a much bigger field of view.
Regarding the tires, 35k miles ago i put bigger Toyo AT III on the van (besides a suspension lift).
They had a load index of 103 and despite the moderate mileage were worn down to 20% in the front.
To make sure mercedes gives me new tires, i replaced them with used hankook tires with the original specs ($280 incl mounting) and then went to the dealership.
When i bought the van, it didn’t have a spare wheel. I bought a new rim online for $100 and brought it to the dealership a few days later.
The new Continental VanContact area much quieter than the Toyos and the van feels more planted. Also the speedometer indicates correctly again. The bigger Toyos showed 5% less.

Happy to hear you got your due, even though you had to go through tire swap gyrations like I did!

 

[ColoradoDave]

I, too, had all 5 of my tires & the sticker replaced a few weeks ago. No hassle! They service writer didn't even talk about alignment, which I do not feel is necessary to be done on my 2017 now as the wear on the Michelin Defender XLs, with about 55,000 miles on them, was very even -- I have rotated the tires every 5,000 miles or so. I am pleased that this recall happened now, as I most likely would have been needing to replace the Michelins in about 5,000 or 10,000 miles. This saved my a bunch of $$$$$$!

 

[focus805]

I do kinda miss the Defenders. Very high quality product with great performance, except off road.

 

[Finn]

I have 2 Metris Vans , a 2016 & a 2022. I just brought the 2016 in for the Recall & got 5 Brand new continental Tires. They even let me keep the old tires . I decided to pay the $275 for an alignment considering the tires wore uneven before. No hassle at all!

While I was there they let me know the 2022 had a recall for the Fuel pump & they replaced it the next day when I picked up the 2016.

 

[chmedly]

I'm curious about alignment specs. I had severe front tire wear on my 2016 initially and it took a lot of snooping and conversations before I had a set of alignment specs that I took to a tire shop to get decent wear on the front. I have noticed some uneven wear again on the front in the past year (inside edge of driver side tire). I think it does need an alignment and I may as well get it done with the recall.
Is the consensus that the MB dealers actually have the correct specs now?

 

[jrc22ski]

I have a 2017 Metris Passenger and never acted on the recall.

Any chance that is still an option for me?

 

[pounce]

Any chance that is still an option for me?

Yes. There isn't really a time limit on recalls.

 

[Washburn]

I never really did the math on the negative load differential created by the 225's. 111# is very minor, gotta admit, like 28# per. In retrospect, I'm surprised Daimler didn't warn owners earlier -- I guess they guessed right that nobody would get hurt . . . .

If I read the specs correctly, it’s actually 111 pounds of increased load capability, PER TIRE. So that is actually 444 pounds of increased weight capacity for the vehicle now.

I also read somewhere else in this thread, where someone was saying that, even with the new sticker, the load rating of the old tires would’ve fallen well within the total new weight. But I don’t think you can run that kind of calculation because you can easily load the rear of the vehicle heavier than the front and have uneven amounts of axle weights. I say this because I just did a major camper conversion of my used 2018 Metris that I bought up here in Victoria BC. To get it re-classified as a class B motorhome I had to have it officially weighed. They weigh the front and rear axle separately and, while I stupidly discarded the small weight receipt, so I can’t give an exact number, but the front and rear axles had different weights; in my case, the rear axle was heavier than the front. This means that while you can still be well below the weight limits of the overall capacity of the vehicle (in my case it weighed in at 2810 kg) you could easily come close or above The load capacity of just two tires by loading the back of the vehicle.

And I am in a bit of a quandary about this myself. When I purchased my used van from the Mercedes dealer here in town, we still had not received any letters about the recall, and I had negotiated to have all weather tires put on the vehicle because the ones that it had were due to be replaced anyways (and the dealer was going to do that on their own because of their Standard used vehicle resale policy). So we agreed to put on the Falken wildpeaks at the old size which have the 101 load index. These tires, then are brand new as of the end of October last year.

As an aside, I really wish I had found this thread before I bought the vehicle because I would’ve asked for the 235 width wild peaks which have the 103 rating.

So here’s the quandary. Now that I know that the new spec for this van is a 103 load index or higher tire, if I have some kind of incident that involves either as a primary or secondary issue the failure of a tire and that incident causes liability damage to other persons or property, I could run the risk of legally being on the hook for the accident because I now “knowingly” ran my vehicle with an improperly specified tire.

But if I accept the replacement of the tires, I’m going to be getting a set of non-All weather tires that based on my driving conditions no longer meets my needs (I often drive on highways that require winter rated tires for a good part of the year - hence, my negotiation to have an all weather tire installed when I purchased the van). I doubt the dealer is going to be willing to put on the heavier wildpeaks instead of the standard new continentals that MB is specifying. I’m going to have that conversation, but I doubt it will be fruitful.

 

[pounce]

Bear in mind the way they rate is based on the actual plus a percentage. So as been said many times the vans are still safe either way. It just didnt meet the calculation by a small amount due to an error.