MAXC55

I have a 2005 CLK 500 with about 19,000 miles. I have owned it for about 4 months and noticed that it whines like a bad supercharger at lower speeds as you drive around town. It does not seem to matter if it is warm or cold. it never goes away.

Could this be the alternator or is there some other pump that could create this annoying sound. None of my other V8 Mercedes has made this much noise in the past. I want to get it fixed while still under warranty. It would be helpful to steer the MB service department in the right direction so I dont get it back with the standard "could not duplicate problem" response.

thanks!!

omar26

most likely its your ac compressor, mines going in the shop today for the ac compressor and idler pulley

ghettobird

I've heard of other cars whining when it has something to do with the belt. Belt too tight or something, not really sure. I've also heard that when the power steering is going bad or the fluid is low it will also make that noise. Regardless, it's under warranty....bring it in for service.

chen38

I actually got the same thing....
I dont know about yours but i had 2 Stealerships telling me that it was the power steering pump.
so they changed the whole power steering pump and everything.
$700 later. still there. bothers the hell out of me! let me know if u get it figured out!

b_lum81

There's a whining noise from mine at idle but it only happens when the aircon is on. when i turn off the aircon it goes away.

Is that the same as anyone else?

chen38

Not for mine... still there until about 90 km/hr i dono if its cuz the road noise or cuz its gone...

ghettobird

That's your belt.

RW C55

Does it go louder as you rev up?
is it like this?


If so, it's the oil pump, and its covered under warrenty

trikoid

Consider looking at the idler pulley. Mine shredded apart on me at some point because it was wearing (55K miles). THAT was scary fun, yet nothing bad really happened except no power steering and a bunch of warning lights. The pulley was only $15, and I replaced it myself quite easily (need to hold the tensioner pulley in place to do it).

It was emitting a friction kind of noise, not a whine, per se. I would first guess that it was one of the pumps (water, AC, steering), but since those cost so, so much more to work on, you could try the idler pulley instead, and you can't hurt anything by putting a new one on.


My advice is probably like the drunk guy looking for his keys near a light post at night. Someone asks if he lost his keys near the light post, and the drunk guy says "No, but this is the only place that has enough light for me to search."

jamesbond007

I have a similar noise on mine that you can only hear at low speed. Slightly more when the engine is warm. Mine has under 30.000 miles on the clock. I have shown to 2 different dealerships here in Paris and they both said "it's standard for that engine". I seem to remember something similar with my 430, but less noticeable. I did not let go and one of them took me around in an ML 55 and it is true I heard a similar noise (although less obvious as the ML is such an agricultural noisy vehicle). I just try to forget about it now. When the roof is down, you can't hear it anyway.


Edit: one of them has kept the car for a full day and has tested everything (pulley, pump and otherwise).

Vabene7

I definitely have a similar noise, but not as severe as the previous video clip.
Now, i am little concerned.......Is it "normal" or am I losing a pump or pulley or something......

Or is this like watching someone yawn, where you yawn right after they do.....

trikoid

------------

WOW, that is an annoying whine. My idler pulley didn't sound anywhere at all like that, and didn't change with RPM like that. My 04 CLK500 does not sound like that (sounds more like a regular car), so I would say that there is something wrong with yours if it sound at all like that.

chen38

Was this problem resolved?

MAXC55

I have not got the car back yet but the dealer tells me that the whinning is coming from the A/C compressor. I will let you know if the noise goes away with this repair.

MAXC55

Received car back today. Original noise gone but a new noise has reared its ugly head. It sounds like the belt or something like that is too tight. It screams when you rev the engine. The noise is definetly not normal.

Frustrating since the dealer had the car for several days and now it will need to return. Do the technicians really care about the quality of their work? How could he not have been hearing the same thing that I hear the minute my wife drives home with it...idiots!!!!!

If I performed like they did I would be out of business.

NewShockerGuy

Not to bump a super old thread but still doing research... this is what mine sounds like:




Does it sound like that? I've isolated a squeaking noise to the alternator pulley but not sure if it would make that noise in my video...when i free spin the pulley it definitely squeaks.. Going to scope out more sounds this week and then replace the alternator in mine and go from there...

-Nigel

mrbobby

If it is the power steering pump you should notice a difference in pitch as you turn the steering wheel. From your film clip I wouldn't suspect that because the pitch didn't seem to change as you maneuvered backing out of the garage. I'd be looking at the A/C compressor. One way to find the noise is to use a long screw driver as a stethescope. Be very careful but by putting the screw driver tip in the area of the turning mechanism you will hear the noise much louder. Be very careful as you have rotating mechanisms that can cause serious damage or personal injury if you place the tip in the wrong place.

krutoydiesel

Was this ever resolved Nigel? I have the exact same noise on my 2005 CLK320, the noise is coming from the tensioner assembly, or the alternator pulley assuming that we are talking about the same thing.

NewShockerGuy

Yep I fixed this a while ago. It ended up being the AC compressor/pulley. I replaced the ac compressor and the problem went a way. I believe I have a thread over at benzworld under the w209 section *just search for my username, the same.

I did replace however the tensioner/idler pulley first. That did not fix the problem. I then found a slight squeak with the alternator so I replaced that while I was there. It wasn't until I scoped that I knew 100% it was coming from the ac compressor. My guess is that the bearings were shot on it. I should have taken a note but didn't realize that when you'd turn the ac on that the ACC OFF red led would come on first. That should have been an indication that I should have looked there first.

If you can scope the problem do that to make 100% sure where the noise is coming from.

They are about $10 from Amazon but they come in handy when you need it.

-Nigel

krutoydiesel

Yeah, I found your thread after I posted this, the sound from your video is almost identical to the whine on mine. I really hope it's not the AC compressor.

Sepungusafaris

I have a 2012 Viano 3.5 PETROL. Has a very irritating whining noise when aircon is on and it seems to be in sync with gear changes. Switch AC off and it is gone.
Mercedes Constantia in South Africa replaced the pump as they said my vehicles pump is faulty.
The noise is exactly the same costing me R8300 later which was 50% of the warranty.

Took it back and now they say that it is normal. Now i just get a cold shoulder from the workshop manager as to why they replaced a AC pump which is not faulty.

I want my money back and will take it the the consumer board if I have to.

Looks like I will have to sell this vehicle as it is rather embarrassing driving a luxury vehicle being so noisy.

Sepungusafaris

I have a 2012 Viano 3.5 PETROL. Has a very irritating whining noise when aircon is on and it seems to be in sync with gear changes. Switch AC off and it is gone.
Mercedes Constantia in South Africa replaced the pump as they said my vehicles pump is faulty.
The noise is exactly the same costing me R8300 later which was 50% of the warranty.

Took it back and now they say that it is normal. Now i just get a cold shoulder from the workshop manager as to why they replaced a AC pump which is not faulty.

I want my money back and will take it the the consumer board if I have to.

Looks like I will have to sell this vehicle as it is rather embarrassing driving a luxury vehicle being so noisy.