Mercedes-Benz hired American Michael Fink—famous for his work on the CLK and the Maybach 57 among other work—to design their new executive size sedan, the CLS 219. The C219 was produced from 2004 to 2010 and was a tremendously popular model among consumers. Some owners report that the rims on their C219 keep cracking.
“Rims” is just a fancy term for the wheels on which your car tires are mounted. The rims help carry the load of your car, and keeping them in good condition should be a top priority to any driver. Cracks in the rims, no matter the cause, are dangerous and need to be attended to immediately. Chances are good that if the rims are cracked, the tires will need to be replaced as well. Unfortunately, it seems that the nature of the C219 rims makes them susceptible to cracking.
Although rims should stay good for a tremendously long time, there are several factors that can contribute to or cause their premature failure. It could be that the load the car has been carrying is simply too great, or that the rims are old and have been mistreated for many years. Conversely, the rims might be too low profile for the car in question, in which case any sort of direct pothole hit could cause them to crack. It might not even be that the potholes were hit too hard, just that the rims are not the right size or were designed poorly.
Issues surrounding the rims and tires should be treated with a serious amount of attention and care. Because a crack in the rim could result in a serious accident, your best option is to take your C219 to a local Mercedes-Benz maintenance mechanic for a complete going over and repair.
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