C180 7G losing traction on wet roads/surfaces

[Gukkie]

Hi people, it seems that my C180 1.6l 7G-tronic is losing traction on wet roads very often and it's getting very out of hand.

 

My car has only got 10k of mileage and the tyres are still as good as new.

 

Everytime when it rains and when the road is very wet or when the carpark floor is wet, my car does not hold grip, it slides from side to side when it goes over the wet surface.

 

Even at 20-30km/h it starts to slide.

 

Im on staggered 17" stock wheels.

 

The PSI on all 4 tyres is at 38psi and its on the stock ContiSportContact 5 tyres.

 

Damn scared to drive alone when raining..maybe im too light..lol

 

Prior to this, at about 5k mileage, my front left tyre blew out as it was pumped at a very high psi by CnC above 40 PSI I think and it went over a small sharp stone, and I changed the blown tyre to the exact same one. Might this be the issue?

 

Any ideas on what might be causing my lost of traction?

[arkaneslayer]

Is your dstc off?

[Gukkie]

Hmm im not sure actually but theres no dstc indicator light on the instrument panel..

 

It shud be on if im not wrong.

[blackmercs]

U didnt see any ESP flashes? means is off.

[blackmercs]

G WARNING

Switch on ESP® immediately if one of the previously stated conditions is no longer met. Otherwise, ESP® cannot stabilize the vehicle if it begins to lurch or when a wheel spins.

G WARNING

The SPORT handling mode should not be

switched on during normal driving.

Switching on the SPORT handling mode will result in the following:

Rno restriction to the engine torque Rsystem supported traction control is

limited

The SPORT handling mode is designed for driving on closed tracks when the vehicle's own natural oversteer and understeer characteristics are desired and requires a highly skilled and experienced driver able to handle these critical driving situations.

You could lose control of your vehicle and cause an accident.

Please be aware of these limits when you switch on the SPORT handling mode.

Do not switch on the SPORT handling when a spare wheel is mounted.

G WARNING

When the å ESP® OFF warning lamp is lit, ESP® is deactivated.

If the ÷ ESP® warning lamp and the å ESP® OFF warning lamp remain lit, ESP® is not available due to a malfunction. When ESP® is deactivated or not operational, vehicle stability in standard driving maneuvers is reduced.

Adapt your speed and driving to the prevailing road conditions and to the non-operating status of the ESP®.

G WARNING

Switch off the SPORT handling mode and

switch on the ESP® immediately if the aforementioned circumstances do not apply anymore. Otherwise the SPORT handling mode will only stabilize the vehicle to a limited extent when it is starting to skid or a wheel is spinning.

If you deactivate ESP®:

RESP® no longer improves driving stability.

Rthe engine's torque is no longer limited and the drive wheels can spin. The spinning of the wheels results in a cutting action, which provides better grip.

Rtraction control is still activated. RESP® still provides support when you

brake.

If ESP® is deactivated and one or more wheels

start to spin, the ÷ ESP® warning lamp in the instrument cluster flashes. In such situations, ESP® will not stabilize the vehicle.

X To deactivate:(Y page 192).

The å ESP® OFF warning lamp in the instrument cluster lights up.

! Avoid spinning the driven wheels for an extended period with ESP® deactivated. You could otherwise damage the drivetrain.

X To activate:(Y page 192).

The å ESP® OFF warning lamp in the instrument cluster goes out.

Deactivating/activating ESP® (AMG vehicles)

Activating/deactivating SPORT handling mode

ESP® is activated automatically when the engine is started.

It may be best to activate SPORT handling mode in the following situations:

Rwhen using snow chains Rin deep snow

Ron sand or gravel

[Gukkie]

Thanks blackmercs!

 

The ESP shows the icon of "Traction OFF" and says below it, "System:ON"

 

What does that mean?

[Ah Bui]

BM.... Very pro info leh.... or U cut and paste????

[Machi]

Gukkie, ur right foot too heavy lah...

[Gukkie]

Gukkie, ur right foot too heavy lah...

 

Cant be, even at 20-30km/h..the traction is lost, even when im not on the accelerator pedal and the car is rolling on a smooth wet surface like the ones in the mscp, still slides..

[Merceman]

I'm in the same set of tyre as yours and have the same experience always on wet and smooth ground surface.

I'll loose traction and rear tyre spin when stepping on too hard and too fast. Whenever that happen, traction control will be activated as I can see from my dashboard.

Thought is normal or tyre not good?

[blackmercs]

Thanks blackmercs!

 

The ESP shows the icon of "Traction OFF" and says below it, "System:ON"

 

What does that mean?

 

System "ON"? Hmm let me check my walking dictionary.

 

BM.... Very pro info leh.... or U cut and paste????

Aberden! My england CMI leh.

[Cklasse]

You changed only front left tyre and front right wasn't changed. There is an imbalance of tyre wear and when left right traction is different, the car will tend to swerve.

During the active safety driving, it has been demonstrated in the ABS driving.

Do you know is the front swerving or the rear tail wagging?

[Gukkie]

I'm in the same set of tyre as yours and have the same experience always on wet and smooth ground surface.

I'll loose traction and rear tyre spin when stepping on too hard and too fast. Whenever that happen, traction control will be activated as I can see from my dashboard.

Thought is normal or tyre not good?

 

hmm I do not see the traction control light coming on when that happens.

 

 

 

You changed only front left tyre and front right wasn't changed. There is an imbalance of tyre wear and when left right traction is different, the car will tend to swerve.

During the active safety driving, it has been demonstrated in the ABS driving.

Do you know is the front swerving or the rear tail wagging?

 

Im not too sure, i cannot seem to replicate the problem on dry surfaces..i have to try it again on a wet surface..

[Tanzy]

I say CSC 5 is rubbish.

[tzehou]

It's quit normal. Noted, it's on wet smooth cement flooring at mscp. Happens often to me with whatever tyres be it csc5 or pilot sports series. If your car is awd (less of an issue but problem is still there), the grip will be better - based in my previous experience with my awd rides in the same location and settings at my mscp.

Main thing you should look out for if the same is happening to you on normal tar roads. If so, there is a case here. Those whom claims that their fwd or rwd can corner tok gong and handles well on smooth and wet surfaces with super good tyres, can welcome to try my mscp cement flooring when in wet condition. Haaa.... Almost lost my life and car when I tried to be a hero back then during my younger days thinking I'm good to go with a good car, good rims and good tyres.

Just my 2 cents

Hi people, it seems that my C180 1.6l 7G-tronic is losing traction on wet roads very often and it's getting very out of hand.

 

My car has only got 10k of mileage and the tyres are still as good as new.

 

Everytime when it rains and when the road is very wet or when the carpark floor is wet, my car does not hold grip, it slides from side to side when it goes over the wet surface.

 

Even at 20-30km/h it starts to slide.

 

Im on staggered 17" stock wheels.

 

The PSI on all 4 tyres is at 38psi and its on the stock ContiSportContact 5 tyres.

 

Damn scared to drive alone when raining..maybe im too light..lol

 

Prior to this, at about 5k mileage, my front left tyre blew out as it was pumped at a very high psi by CnC above 40 PSI I think and it went over a small sharp stone, and I changed the blown tyre to the exact same one. Might this be the issue?

 

Any ideas on what might be causing my lost of traction?

[Gukkie]

It's quit normal. Noted, it's on wet smooth cement flooring at mscp. Happens often to me with whatever tyres be it csc5 or pilot sports series. If your car is awd (less of an issue but problem is still there), the grip will be better - based in my previous experience with my awd rides in the same location and settings at my mscp.

Main thing you should look out for if the same is happening to you on normal tar roads. If so, there is a case here. Those whom claims that their fwd or rwd can corner tok gong and handles well on smooth and wet surfaces with super good tyres, can welcome to try my mscp cement flooring when in wet condition. Haaa.... Almost lost my life and car when I tried to be a hero back then during my younger days thinking I'm good to go with a good car, good rims and good tyres.

Just my 2 cents

 

 

 

Thanks for the info, so I guess its normal, just have to be extra careful

[tzehou]

Thanks for the info, so I guess its normal, just have to be extra careful

You're welcome. No worries, merc is a good car. Enjoy your ownership newer mscp carparks now are better. After feedbacks, some of them have rougher surfaces at areas where the cars travels up and down - eg ramp up and down areas. This is to prevent the car from skidding to a certain extend when the grounds are wet on the smother surfaces. If you travel slowly, should not be any issue. Anyway, if I'm not wrong public mscp speeds are only 15km/hr or less - see the signboards in your carparks.

Cheers!

[hawkeye]

What does your user manual say the recommended tyre pressure should be the PSI with your car weight and configuration.? That could be your problem.

Hi people, it seems that my C180 1.6l 7G-tronic is losing traction on wet roads very often and it's getting very out of hand.

 

My car has only got 10k of mileage and the tyres are still as good as new.

 

Everytime when it rains and when the road is very wet or when the carpark floor is wet, my car does not hold grip, it slides from side to side when it goes over the wet surface.

 

Even at 20-30km/h it starts to slide.

 

Im on staggered 17" stock wheels.

 

The PSI on all 4 tyres is at 38psi and its on the stock ContiSportContact 5 tyres.

 

Damn scared to drive alone when raining..maybe im too light..lol

 

Prior to this, at about 5k mileage, my front left tyre blew out as it was pumped at a very high psi by CnC above 40 PSI I think and it went over a small sharp stone, and I changed the blown tyre to the exact same one. Might this be the issue?

 

Any ideas on what might be causing my lost of traction?

[Gukkie]

What does your user manual say the recommended tyre pressure should be the PSI with your car weight and configuration.? That could be your problem.

 

It seems that both in E mode and S mode im having the exact same problem..Theres no difference..And im also thinking its the pressure of my tyres that's causing the issue.

 

My tyre pressure label says for 3 passengers it shud be 36 front and 36 rear and if its 5 passengers it shud be 38 front and 44 psi rear for the 16inch wheels, but mine are the 17 inch..Im very very sure that when I got my car the pressure was over 40PSI because when I topped up my car with nitrogen, it was pumped at 34psi and the run flat indicator warning came on..im at 38 PSI on all 4 now but im still sliding like crazy when the road/floor surface is wet..But at 40 or over 40 PSI the ride is too hard for me..

 

My front and back tyre sizes are 225/45 R17 and 245/40 R17 respectively..

 

[hawkeye]

This is from my car. Don't understand why yours do not have different wheel sizes since merc models allow wheel size changes. You may want to consider a lower setting for a trial. As Tito the tyre warning, you have to reset it when you set a new pressure setting.

What happen to this sites undercarrIge experts. There are many here I understand can help you intelligently.

My many years of driving and many types of cars never had to pump more than 32psi (even wheels in the 16 in range) unless you drive a pickup, van or lorry or everyday carrying more than 4 x 160lbs and a boot-full of stuff.

Hope this helps.

[kepiting1sg]

This is from my car. Don't understand why yours do not have different wheel sizes since merc models allow wheel size changes.

 

His rims are proabably staggered with wider rims behind.

imho my tyre pressure settings are front 32psi & rear 33psi. 

[Gukkie]

Thanks hawkeye, im so cofused now..why is it that your petrol lid states all the different tyre sizes and pressure but mine does not?

 

Im going to reduce the pressure to 34/36 and see how it goes..I got a feeling that if im driving alone, the rear tyres are not in full contact with the road therefore causing the car to slide..

[hawkeye]

I'm on staggered n since day one been using 30/30 around. on occasions if I intend to have 4 person often I go to 31 or 32. touchwood had no incident of aqua-planning regardless of road condition.

if you r comfortable with 34/36 it should b fine. you could try kepiting's recommendation, his contribution has always been professional n excellent.

I still think it should less. u can experiment n decide what's best for u n family.

[Gukkie]

Ok I have checked with continental tyres and my pressure for my tyre sizes and vehicle should be 28/32

 

But im just going to go with a max of 34/36 and play around with it till I feel comfortable 

 

Thanks for all your help

[Spacer]

It' happen to me too. Mine is C180 FL 1.6. I experience skid in basement car park when the floor is wet.

Wheels are stock. Happen to me in my first month already. Think it's the tyre.