What should I do to inspect my tires?

ANSWER : An inspection is only as good as the time spent and the person doing the inspection. I can say that a plug may be hard to spot. If the plug was there for a while, then it would be road worn and even harder to spot. If the dealer wanted to do the right thing then they should help you out with a replacement tire. However, various dealerships will obviously have different policies for handling these types of situations.

ANSWER : 205/55R17 may be too tall for your vehicle. A couple of good sources to check size compatibility for your vehicle would be tirerack.com or maybe discounttire.com. Sites like Tire Rack specialize in winter tire packages and is a good source for fitment options. I have personally used Bridgestone and Dunlop snow tires and would recommend either. However, it is highly recommended that winter tires be mounted at all 4 corners. Having different tires with different capabilities not only makes the vehicle unstable, it will effect systems like the anti-lock brakes and traction control. Winter tires perform much better than summer or all-season tires do in ice and snow conditions. Having two tires with good winter traction and two with poor traction will have the anti-lock brake system working overtime. Also, sticking with a smaller tire for winter use is advisable. For ice and snow driving, you want the opposite for summer driving. Wide, low profile tires improve warm, dry weather driving. Tall, narrow, tires provide better control on snow and ice. Consider keeping your stock 16 inch wheels for winter use with winter tires mounted on them and maybe a nice set of 17 inch wheels and tires for summer use. I’ve done that with nearly every vehicle I’ve owned whether front, rear, or all-wheel drive.

ANSWER : I owned a 2008 Sonata and currently own a 2015 Sonata Sport 2.0T Limited. With your generation as well as my 2015, the Sonata with the 2.0T engine has larger brakes so the 18 inch wheels make more room for them. Since yours is a 2.4 Limited, it only has the 18 inch wheels for appearance as all 2.4 ltr versions whether Base or Limited, have the same size brakes. I do not recommend a 215mm section width with the 18 inch wheels. The ride and handling will deteriorate badly. If you are sticking with the 18 inch wheels, then stick with the 225/45R18 tires. You can most certainly change down to the 215/55R17 tires AND wheels. Any 17 inch wheels listed for the Base, SE, GLS, etc will fit fine. The ride and handling will be different. It will ride a bit smoother as you are increasing the sidewall aspect ratio – 55 vs 45%. The will also be narrower – 215mm vs 225 mm. It may not grip as well in dry weather but you may notice a little better traction in wet and snowy conditions as there will be more weight concentrated on a narrower tread area. Your speedometer may be slightly off however. The average overall diameter of a 225/45R18 tire is 25.9 inches. So that makes for roughly 802 revolutions per mile. The 215/55R17 will have an average diameter of 26.3 inches and approximately 790 revolutions per mile. A slight difference that may only cause your speedometer to be off by 1-2 mph. On the up side, you may get a slight bump in miles per gallon. The taller tire will reduce engine rpms at highway speeds slightly. So if you are willing to reduce the wheels from 18 inch to 17 inch, then go ahead with the 215/55R17 tires. If you are keeping the 18 inch wheels, then stick with the 225/45R18 tires.

ANSWER : Most tire stores are not allowed to repair a tire with a plug anymore due to the possibility of damaging the internal cords of the tire. They would have to remove the tire and patch it from the inside. A tire should not be repaired if the puncture is less than one inch from the outer edge of the tread that meets the side wall of the tire. A patch will not be able to sit flat inside the tire if it is too close to the side wall and won’t stick, starting to leak soon after installation. A tire plug is considered a temporary repair and may not last very long. It will last an even shorter amount of time if it is in or near the side wall.

I recommend having a certified mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to determine if your vehicle is perfectly safe and suggest a course of action to rectify any issues that come to light.

ANSWER : Hey there. As long as you sprayed soapy water on the area and no leak was found then you should be okay to operate the car without too much worry. If there was a leak, you would begin to see air bubbles where air is purging out of the tire. I would still bring the car to a tire shop to double check and make sure that it is okay to drive on.

ANSWER : A clicking noise on turning is very characteristic of a failed outboard CV axle joint. Sometimes, in such a circumstance, you can see that the rubber outboard boot is actually torn and leaking grease. If you see that (look behind the wheel toward the axle end), the axle for sure will have to be serviced. If you change the axle, be sure to install a new rubber seal on the transmission output side so that you do not have transmission fluid leaks with the new axle (a common mistake is to overlook that seal; if an old, left-in-place seal leaks after the axle is put in the job has to be done all over again). Vibration without actual shaking of the steering wheel "might" be related to the axle issue. On the other hand, such vibration could also be due to a failed wheel bearing, especially with over 200,000 miles on the vehicle and if those are the original bearings. If you were to need both an axle and a wheel bearing at the same time, and on the same side, that’s actually not that bad because the steering knuckle that holds the wheel bearing has to come off anyway to replace the axle. But, backing up here, the very first thing to do is get the issue properly diagnosed so you spend the minimum possible. If you want to obtain a diagnostic, please request a vehicle CV/wheel bearing noise inspection and the responding certified mechanic will get this taken care of for you. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

ANSWER : Hello. On your 2002 Mercedes Benz SLK320, all of the tires have to have the same tread design an the same amount of tread. Any variations will cause the computer to not read the sensors correctly which will cause these issues. You need to purchase two more tires that are the same as the new ones, and install the tires to replace the other two tires. If you want to have this looked at before replacing the tires, a local expert from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose your car’s pulling issue.

ANSWER : There is a technical bulletin from the manufacture to check the alignment camber, and if the camber is out of specification, replace the right rear lower control arm to correct the alignment. As far as the other tires, you should have the complete system alignment checked, and if out of adjustment then the suspension checked for damage or worn out parts. Your camber is out of adjustment if it is wearing on the inside or outside of the tires. Make sure you get the alignment done at a place that has a state of the art newer machine, and not some old machine that may make things worse than they are now. Alignments need to be very precise to keep the tires from abnormal wear.