Verified: 22 March 2026 11:25 pm CET
Industry: Automotive Parts & Tires
Jurisdiction: Germany
Primary Regulator: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) for severe tire safety recalls/emissions only.
Important Safety Warning: Beware of fake customer service numbers on search engines. Only use official channels. Scammers frequently buy ads to promote fraudulent “mobile tire repair” phone numbers, sending unverified technicians to your location who demand exorbitant cash payments upfront. Continental staff will never ask for your account password, or demand you pay a “warranty processing fee” via a generic payment link sent via SMS.
Level 1: Customer Support (Kundenservice)
- How to complain:
- For Statutory Warranty (Gewährleistung/Defects on purchase): Stop! You must complain directly to the retailer (e.g., your local tire shop, ATU, or online vendor) where you bought the tires. Continental is not your legal contractual partner for the initial purchase.
- For Manufacturer Guarantee (Garantie) or General Complaints: Contact Continental Tires Customer Service by calling their central switchboard at 0511 / 938 01 or emailing mail_service@conti.de.
- Source Verification: Impressum - Continental Reifen
- Availability: The central customer care hotline operates Monday to Friday during standard business hours (CET).
- Timeline: Continental typically requires an authorized dealer to formally inspect a defective tire before customer service can authorize a “goodwill” (Kulanz) replacement or guarantee claim.
Level 2: Formal Written Complaint & Mahnung
- Who to contact: Formally escalate your dispute by sending a registered letter with return receipt (Einschreiben mit Rückschein) to the legally responsible party:
- For Purchase/Defect Disputes: Send the Mahnung directly to the Management Board of the Retailer/Dealership.
- For Manufacturer Disputes (Tires): Address it to the Management Board, Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH, Continental-Plaza 1, 30175 Hannover, Germany. (Do not use the old Vahrenwalder Straße address).
- Source Verification: Impressum - Continental Tires
- Timeline: A legally binding deadline of 14 days (set via your Mahnung) provides the company a strict timeframe to resolve the issue before they legally default (in Verzug geraten).
Level 3: Regulatory Authority / ADR
- Authority: The correct ombudsman depends entirely on who your dispute is with:
- Retailer Disputes (Repairs/Purchases): If you bought the tires from an authorized Kfz-dealership, you can submit your case to the local Kfz-Schiedsstelle (Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board).
- Continental (Manufacturer): Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH explicitly refuses to participate in voluntary consumer arbitration boards like the Universalschlichtungsstelle.
- Safety Recalls: Report severe safety or structural defects (like tire tread separation on a massive scale) to the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA).
- Source Verification: Kfz-Schiedsstellen - ZDK
Level 4: Legal Action
- Pre-Litigation: Before initiating formal court proceedings, seek case-specific legal assistance from your local Consumer Advice Centre (Verbraucherzentrale), the ADAC (if you are a member), or a specialized traffic/contract lawyer (Verkehrsrechtsanwalt).
- Source Verification: ADAC Rechtsberatung
- Court/Arbitration: Because Continental blocks arbitration, your only legally binding escalation path against the manufacturer is to initiate the judicial dunning process (gerichtliches Mahnverfahren) online to obtain an enforceable payment title against Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH, or file a civil lawsuit. For claims under €5,000, you can file at the local district court (Amtsgericht Hannover). For claims exceeding €5,000, you must file at the Regional Court (Landgericht), where hiring a lawyer is legally mandatory (Anwaltszwang).
Community Action: Is your tire shop refusing to honor their Sachmängelhaftung for a defective set of WinterContacts, or is Continental ignoring your manufacturer guarantee claim? Reply below (do not share your passwords, full VIN numbers, or PINs), and our community will point you to the right legal templates!