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2007 R320 Explodes during blizzard

22 messages,  Last post on Dec 18, 2008 at 2:44 PM

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#13 of 22 Re: Conclusion: Driver Error [ncrews] by moparbad Mar 16, 2007 (2:01 pm)
Replying to: ncrews (Mar 16, 2007 1:39 pm) It is not the drivers fault that they accelerated the rear wheel to a speed of 200 mph?   Gee, simply taking foot off the pedal would have prevented this problem.   Blame the vehicle.
#14 of 22 Re: Conclusion: Forensics Report on Mercedes R320 Explosion [ncrews] by gagrice Mar 16, 2007 (8:33 pm)
Replying to: ncrews (Mar 16, 2007 1:39 pm) Are those Pirellis rated as snow tires? I think you have an uphill battle with MB over this one. If you over rev your engine trying to get unstuck and blow up the engine, you are on your own. I do not know of a manufacturer that will warrant abuse to a car. Many cars with traction control are not very good in snow or on ice. I cannot say I understand what all happened to your car. It does seem that there was some high revving of the engine to get that kind of speed out of a tire. Hopefully your insurance will cover the damage under comprehensive.   PS An Acura MDX would not have gotten out of that snow drift.
#15 of 22 Conclusion: Forensics Report on Mercedes R320 Explosion by ncrews Mar 18, 2007 (4:52 pm)
#16 of 22 Conclusion: Forensics Report on Mercedes R320 Explosion by ncrews Mar 16, 2007 (1:43 pm)
The car was purchased new from Mercedes of Colorado Springs, Colorado.   Pictures and complete forensic expert report: http://www.landxml.org/R320   Summary: A defective Mercedes "4Matic" system caused the rear tire to explode causing $25,000 in car damage and   $1500 damage to home. Mercedes and the dealer will not stand by the car and only tell us that it is an   insurance issue. Automotive warranty items, including factory defects are not covered by insurance - only   the resulting damage is. To date, the dealer and Mercedes refuse to simply "undo the deal" giving us our money back and paying   actual out of pocket expenses related to the damage caused by the Mercedes factory defect.
#17 of 22 Driver error and negligence by moparbad Mar 18, 2007 (9:37 am)
Driver accellerated tire to extremely high speeds with minimal traction present causing high friction and heat in the tire resulting in failure of the tire.   The proper action to take when a tire is spinning due to lack of traction is to reduce throttle and/or change the conditions at the wheels to increase traction.   Unfortunately, people frequently lack the education or experience to make the correct decisions when driving.   Blaming Mercedes for a exploding tire is a just another example of a person failing to take responsibility for their actions in today's blame and litigation prone society.   Thankfully this incident did not result in any injuries. Replies to this message: ncrews (Mar 18, 2007 11:02 am) gagrice (Mar 18, 2007 4:51 pm)
#18 of 22 Re: Driver error and negligence [moparbad] by ncrews Mar 18, 2007 (11:02 am)
Replying to: moparbad (Mar 18, 2007 9:37 am) This kind of uneducated, knee jerk reaction is shared by the Mercedes dealer.   Perhaps you did not read the forensic expert report posted on the web site. Read the engineering report and learn something about modern traction/stability control systems. You can look up his resume at www.robsonforensic.com; but he is far and away an unbiased expert on the subject.   The explosion occurred in 5-10 secs after applying positive throttle. This could have happened to anyone, including you. There was simply no time for a driver reaction.   The bottom line is the car was not moving because of a single high centered wheel. However the stability control module thought the car was traveling 20KPH (recorded in vehicle diagnostics log) so it inappropriately applied all engine torque the single, free-spinning wheel. Somewhere between speedometer indicated speeds of 35 and 50MPH (x4 = 140-200MPH), the 130MPH rated tire exploded from extreme centrifugal loading. The car should have applied the brakes to the wheel as soon as it's rotational speed was 3 MPH greater than the opposing wheel. This is according to Mercedes technical documents.   Had the car functioned as designed, the event would not have occurred.   Why is that so hard to understand? Replies to this message: gagrice (Mar 18, 2007 4:51 pm)
#19 of 22 Re: Driver error and negligence [ncrews] by gagrice Mar 18, 2007 (4:51 pm)
Replying to: ncrews (Mar 18, 2007 11:02 am) Were the snow tires OEM from MB? If not have you asked Pirelli to compensate for a defective tire? I read the report and his conclusion. It is what I would expect if I paid such a company to investigate my claim. You have to remember that Mercedes probably have people that will write an equally compelling case against your claim. Because you have decided to carry it beyond just getting repaired, it will require a court of law to decide if your wife or the car was to blame. The risk there is you could end up spending more than what it would cost to buy a new and different vehicle.
#20 of 22 by zombiereef Dec 18, 2008 (12:18 pm)
What ever happened with the R320? did m-b buy it back? did they settle out of court? who's fault was it? i have been trying to follow this story. Replies to this message: gagrice (Dec 18, 2008 2:09 pm)
#21 of 22 Re: [zombiereef] by gagrice Dec 18, 2008 (2:09 pm)
Replying to: zombiereef (Dec 18, 2008 12:18 pm) That is a good question. I don't think they got the kind of sympathy they expected here and quit posting. They posted on every forum they could find. None seem to have a followup. The website they linked to is no longer available. Maybe they settled with MB and dropped the case.
#22 of 22 by zombiereef Dec 18, 2008 (2:44 pm)
i am really curious because i have seen the car and wow! that is all i can say. it blew the curtain airbags, shredded the l/r fender, the front bumper is hanging off of it, the l/r door is mangled, l/r quarter panel is hit, sunroof panel broken, driver's door damaged and of course it has a spare where the aftermarket pirelli used to be. the tire wasnt factory. they put the pirelli scorpions on shortly after purchasing.

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