I was driving on highway 1, at about 45 mph, on my way to work in a light rain. I may have just transitioned into the #1 lane of traffic as I was about 500 feet from the red left turn signal light where I make my normal turn. I just remember my car suddenly hydroplaned across the double yellow line into the oncoming lanes of traffic and hitting the opposite shoulder of the road. My car ended up in a ditch. Luckily it happened at about 0630 in the morning and no one was injured as this is a busy roadway. The tow truck driver noticed that the center tread area of my tires was bald, but the outer tread still had tread on it. I bought my car brand new 14 months ago from Mercedes. Only my wife and I have driven it. The car only has 16,000 miles and the tires should not be in this condition. I brought it back to Mercedes and the service manager said they see this a lot with these tires, which should only last 12,000 miles! this is absolute nonsense. And it does not match the tire manufacturers claim on their website. In the Mercedes service area is a 3D display showing how low tread causes hydroplaning! I continue to drive this same stretch of road to work. I now noticed it is actually on a slight incline, and there is no area where water would pool, causing me to hydroplane. I believe there is a serious defect in these tires. Had circumstances been slightly different (closer to big trees, had I been going faster, had there been pedestrians, had there been other cars on the roadway) this could have been a fatal or very serious injury collision. Chp & fire arrived on scene, but I did not request a police report. There is a record in their dispatch call.

- Carmel, CA, USA