Tires
 

Cold weather makes air contract, lowers pressure.

Contact a Mercedes dealer. They will tell you that 16-20,000 miles is expected on Mercedes tires. I was shocked to learn that. That’s for runflats. With regular tires, you’ll need a spare. Does your model have room for a spare?
That said, a Jeep dealer noticed the front tire wear on my wife’s Cherokee. Said it’s from TV roundabouts.
Who to believe??

The theory may be wrong but how can it be a scam to sell more tires, his tires were worn and that's why he needs new ones and is going to the Michelin dealer after reading that they wear prematurely. There is no scam involved, the young lady was giving here thoughts as to why they wore down, she didn't wrongly state that they were worn or he wouldn't be going back to Michelin. Another thing, remaining tread doesn't mean they are safe to drive on especially in this climate. My wife's car had 41,000 miles at the 5 year mark and I got rid of them for her safety, still plenty of tread left on them.

wheelies

i'm curious, do you routinely rotate, like when you go for an oil change? that solved a prob i had years ago on a different car

Low tire pressure will accelerate tire wear, just like on your golf cart....

Just when you think you’ve heard it all…..

JMO, but you may want to get a better-rated/constructed tire. That tire starts at 8.5/32 tread depth, which is one of the lowest I've seen. I just bought tires that had an 11/32 tread. You need to replace tires at 3/32. While 14k miles driven is not a lot, if the tire is not aq good tire, that number of miles will wear the tire down to 3 or 4/32 pretty quick.

I was going to suggest this also, sticky high performance tires for your high performance suv. Unfortunately they don't last long and cost a fortune.

Why? Because racecar!!

Joe

Really? So if you rotate your tires they don't wear out? Must be magic!
I never rotated tires on cars owned between 1980 and 2020, 40 years. . .
and I did 20K + miles per year. . .

The only result from rotation is even wear between front and back. . .
If you don't rotate, you don't buy 4 tires at once. . .

There is a wear ratio between front and back. . they wear out at different rates. you can't change that factor.
CoachK's all wheel drive got hit by lightning while parked in a tstorm. Blew out the sensors to keep the front and back tires rotating at the same RPMs. . . rear wheels wore out significantly faster, like 2x and got 35K on a 60K tire. . also Michelin LTX.

Front wheel drive cars also have about a 3x wear factor on the front than the back. . . If you don't rotate, the rear tires easily get 1.5 x the rated mileage life for just getting towed along.

What a beautiful story. You have to be kidding. If the sidewall’s were goofed up because of the brutal heat of the summer that would be believable but roundabouts wearing tires down that quickly, that’s the leading joke of 2023 so far.

You ignored the word "premature" the the poster you responded to mentioned tire rotation...

All I can say is rotate your tires every oil change. Keep the tire pressure where it is supposed to be. Florida roads get very hot it does heat up the rubber on the tires quicker and they don’t make tires last like they used to. But don’t fall for their scams about needing new tires so quickly

You're front tires do all the turning thus causing more wear on the outer edges. You clearly need to slow down while going through the RABs or take the roads without the RABs

It's the pressure.
Wear at inside and edges = too low
Wear at the center = too high

(Wear at the outside edges mostly = squealung around those roundabouts at 50 mph.)

Abnormal tire wear
 

Abnormal tire wear is usually caused by alignment issues, tire balance or tire inflation issues, and unless you are going into the roundabouts at 60mph normal roundabout use will not result in abnormal tire wear. Someone wants to sell you tires!!!!

Never said that, obviously. And you ignore the word "premature." Tire rotation was mentioned as one of many factors that can lead to premature front tire wear. If you elect to not rotate your tires, that is fine with me. But, rest assured that doing so will guarantee that your front tires wear out much sooner than the rears. Rotation is simply a means of distributing the wear, and helping all four tires to wear more evenly.

On my Ford F-150, I replaced the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT tires at 55,000 miles. Those tires were "rated" for 50,000 miles. They were not completely worn out, but it was time for a change. I religiously rotated those tires every 5,000 miles...each time the vehicle went in for an oil change.

You should also remember that most, if not all, tire manufacturers require tires to be rotated at specified intervals (usually every 5,000 miles or so), or the tire warranty is voided. Also, all vehicle manufacturers recommend tire rotation as part of regular service. Again, certain warranty claims can be negated by failing to follow basic service requirements.

In my opinion, failing to rotate vehicle tires on a regular basis is unwise and potentially unsafe. Then again, I am often amused at the antics of the "hold my beer and watch this" crowd!

Soft rubber compounds are great for handling, but wear quickly. Low tire pressure also plays a factor. Your car probably has both.

Never heard such a thing I have them here in Az roundabouts

First thought. Front end alignment needs to be checked.

Gatorgreen
 

I had a similar type of tire wear on a chevy pickup. Cause was pulling into a parking space with the tires turned hard right or left and bumping into the cement curbing which knocked the alignment out causing excessive tire wear.

Sounds like a sales pitch to me. If this was a problem, I think that it would have been discussed on this forum multiple times. I've never heard anyone mention it in the almost eleven years that I've been here.

Many years ago up north I brought my car in for an oil change. The guy writing out the bill told me that my tires needed to be replaced. I told him that they only had about 20,000 on them and he said that that was all they were supposed to be good for. I found my paperwork and found that they had a 40,000 mile guarantee. The guy then tells me that they won't pass inspection. (All cars must have a yearly safety inspection in Massachusetts). I paid for the oil change and left.
Several months later the car passed the inspection. I asked the inspector how the tires are and he said they were fine with plenty of life left.

It's not just tire business. There are unscrupulous people in every business.

I have not had any issue with our cars tire wear. Tire pressure, regular rotation (about 5,00 mi.) and alignment checks make a huge difference.

Many Things To Consider
 

The Mercedes ML is a heavy vehicle, 6400 + pounds, with a high percentage of that weight in the front. It was available as both 2 wheel and all-wheel drive. If yours is a 2 wheel drive, the front tires will wear faster when compared to the all-wheel model.

Regular balancing, rotation, and the occasional check of the alignment are essential to getting good milage out of a set of tires. At 100K miles, your shock absorbers and bushings may need replacing, certainly the shocks. Proper inflation is essential and having low pressure in the front tires is certain to result in premature wear and an early replacement.

Finally, the Michelin Premier LTX has some unusual features. It was designed to provide a comfortable ride with good performance in the rain and short stopping distances, all while providing 60K mile of service. These things are difficult to combine in a single tire and it is likely that strict adherence to proper inflation, rotation etc is more important than with more ordinary designs.

Finally, the Premier LTX has an unusual and interesting feature in its tread design. As the tire wears, the primary grooves become wider and additional grooves open up. In this manner, the LTX maintains its performance in the rain and in stopping distance instead of suffering lesser performance. In fact, verified tests have shown that the LTX's performance is better as it wears and these additional grooves open. Thus, there is at least a chance, though unlikely, that the person who inspected your tires did not know the features of the LTX and misinterpreted what she observed as excessive wear.

Most likely, the tires did wear prematurely due to improper inflation, lack of rotation etc. The good news is that the LTX has a 60K mileage guarantee and you should get some help when buying new tires.

There is a wear rating code associated with each tire. They are just like the speed rating code letter. You can pick out high mileage tires on line - and then shop locally.

You said she needed to add air to your tires. There is the real problem, low air equals need to buy tires early. I know we don’t want to, but tires should be checked and inflated to correct pressure monthly. Yes monthly. We don’t want to do it but alas, that is what is procedure. I’m pretty good at checking them, but sometimes I let it slip too. It’s amazing after just 6 or 7weeks my tires can be as much as 5 lbs low. In practice I usually add 1 or 2 lbs every month or two depending on weather. Amount of miles driven seems to have little to do with it..