dejongj

GLE is good shout. I looked at an E63 Estate previously and the rear seats are basically for two with the middle seat really not viable for Granny to sit in comfort

Note to self; when going to the dealer to check this out take out a GLE coupe as well to see if that model is doing is

rexgold

Well.. I did test drive the GLE Coupe and it did not do this crabbing crap hence I would go back to it..!

dejongj

Which weakens Mercedes's argument even more that this is normal doesn't it Sure I know it is a different model, but as you said your ML didn't do it, nor did my GL.

decorily

Isn't that what roof racks were invented for?

rexgold

Absofreekinglutely.. this is what I told the robots in the customer services when they told me this was normal..

rexgold

I thought that was for Mother In Laws

dejongj

Both correct; Granny = Mother In Law in our case :P

JustinS

For those that are having their glc43 looked at by mb soon, have you demanded that a 4 wheel alignment be done? Seems to have helped Tekno's glc.

rexgold

Mine is being looked at on the 18th and I will take a print out of the alignment issue to show them..

dejongj

I did indeed, and was expecting to be their first step in investigating the issue I'm having with the vehicle. Or to check that the lug nuts are properly fastened You know anything, or something like that.

But nope, they even refused to take a look at it and immediately put the shutters down and said it is normal, the car needs to be on winter tyres.

They plainly refused to even look at the car, and that behaviour which seems to be across the board in the UK by Mercedes Dealers and only propagated by Mercedes UK not willing to engage either causes this to become a much bigger issue with now publicity in national press. I think it could have easily been avoided if Mercedes took their customers serious.

A 4 wheel alignment with adjustment of air suspension is not a cheap thing to do. I know I've had two done on my GL But on a brand new vehicle Mercedes needs to take this seriously.

Teckno

Hi Guys,& Gals !
For what it's worth, I would hold my alignment print out ' in reserve'.
No point laying all your cards on the table. It might cost you initially to have dealer do alignment, but insist before the car is taken away for a print out from the machine at the end.
It will have your Rego, vin, etc on it too, that way you know it's your car.
Also my data is for a GLC 250 d, with AMG PACK, 20" Rims, run flat Pirellis, and standard steel spring suspension.
The specs for GLC43 or those with air suspension might be different, you never know. Given different tyre sizing for front and rear on both the Coupe and the GLC43.
Keep up the good fight and good luck.

dejongj

Thanks Techno, fully agree with that

I've just been filming and photographing my car. It has done about 3,200 miles now, and I was surprised at the tyre wear pattern emerging on the nearside of the vehicle (aka passenger side, or standing behind it and looking towards the front on the front left).

453 - is the nearside tyre
451 - is the offside tyre

The pattern on 453 does seem to show exactly what we feel inside the car.

I'm editing the video I took of driving it.

dejongj

A little video of what I'm experiencing.


My apologies for not switching off the parking sensors.

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dejongj

I wish it was just that. Unfortunately those on 18", 19", 20" wheels are also encountering these issues.

But ues yes it is unacceptable.

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dejongj

I was referring to your suggestion it is the low profile tyres

Action, including legal action is being undertaken, however it is good civil duty to make others aware of the inherent issues in the GLC. Others will search and find it. Including social media channels.

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Philamg

Dejongj, that is unbelievable, your dealer ought to be ashamed if he says that is ok, worried now about my choice of car.

Teckno

Dejongj,
Excellent post, photos tell a thousand stories, print copies on A4 and leave it with service dept. insist tech in workshop sees it.
Often those on front desk have no idea and interpretation is poor.
Font of house did not know alignment machine could generate a detailed before & after written report !!
I had little luck at dealership until I went back with photos of scrubbing to front left passenger tyre (from sitting in car), we are RHD.
Cheers

speedeye

I'd like to bring up a possible cause that I have not seen discussed in other posts. I have spent the last couple hours reading all the posts in the various forums regarding the GLC scrubbing and judder problem. I’ve watched (and listened to) the videos and looked at the photos that have been posted, and I fully appreciate why owners are dissatisfied. At about 1:06 in dejongj’s recent video, you can see the tire suddenly slip sideways and then regain traction.

The center differential in the GLC (and many other modern MB 4matic models) has a multiple-disc clutch with a "basic locking force of 37 foot-pounds (50 newton-meters)." (Quote from the original GLC press release.) The center differential in the GLC does not employ electronics or hydraulics to lock or unlock. It is strictly a mechanical device with a breakaway clutch. I would call it a limited-lock differential.

The breakaway clutch causes the front and rear driveshafts to be locked together -- turning at exactly the same speed -- until sufficient torque is exerted to cause the breakaway clutch to slip. Until that clutch slips, the drivetrain behaves like an old-fashion 4x4 with no center differential. When the front axle is trying to turn at a different speed from the back axle, torque is exerted on the breakaway clutch in the center differential. How much torque? Well, that depends on how much grip there is between the tires and the pavement (or ice or snow or whatever the tires are touching).

If you've ever used a torque wrench, you know that 37 foot-pounds isn't much torque. But the GLC43 has a 3.69:1 final drive ratio, so that's 137 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels. Can a GLC43 with cool 21” “summer” tires turned to full-lock on wet pavement generate that much torque? My intuition says yes, but I’m really just guessing.

What would happen at low speeds if the tires didn’t have enough grip to cause the breakaway clutch to slip? Well, pretty much everything that GLC owners have been describing in the forums I’ve seen. The vehicle would act like an old-fashion 4x4 with no center diff (or a locked center diff). At low speeds with the steering wheel turned sharply, the front tires would scrub and jerk and the vehicle would understeer (ie, act like it doesn’t want to turn). As the tires alternated between slipping and gripping, the drivetrain would alternate between slack and taught, and various unpleasant drivetrain noises would ensue.

Could the size or type of tire make this problem better or worse? If the vehicle consistently has enough tire grip to overcome the “basic locking force” of the breakaway clutch, then the symptoms would go away. The rubber compounds in the treads of winter tires are soft and grippy, even when cold. So winter tires would probably improve – or eliminate – the low speed, full-lock scrubbing symptoms.

I am very skeptical that there is a design flaw in the steering geometry. And I’m fairly skeptical that this is an alignment issue. I am puzzled that this seems to be limited to RHD models. But the symptoms make me suspicious of the breakaway clutch. Specifically, I wonder whether there was a manufacturing problem that caused some (but not all) clutches to have a breakaway torque of more than 37 ft-lbs. Lots of things could cause this: thickness of the clutch plates was out of spec, a change to the compound or supplier of the clutch discs, a change to the specs or supplier of the lubricant in the differential, etc, etc. (Many moons ago, I was a warranty engineer at the Honda factory in Ohio, USA. I’ve seen a few things.)

For what it’s worth, I took my wife’s GLC43 (with 19” Pirelli snow tires) out today and could not duplicate the symptoms that others are experiencing. It was 15*F. Roads were either dry or had a thin layer of packed snow. The next time it rains, I will try again on wet roads.

Teckno

Speedeye,
Thank you for a very insightful explanation. This could well be the " Holy Grail" everyone has been looking for. Unfortunately if it proves to be the cause, only MB can fix it !
Agree tyre compound may play a big part, I still think alignment might "exassibate" the problem.
Well done (Brave Zulu).
A TV ad in Australia has a Meerkat who at the end says "Simples".

dejongj

Speedeye very interesting post and detailed analysis. As I'm used to old fashioned 4x4 vehicles it is exactly how I likened it in the first place.

No the the interesting part is which may add more validity to this theory. I'm sure I've read somewhere that LHD models have dual clutch whilst RHD have a single. Could that be making sense why this is more so experienced on RHD vehicles?

dieseldoc

I do not know if this has anything to do with this but the X204 GLK and W204 c class 4 Matic were not available in RHD due to engineering issues with the driveshaft to the front wheels. The GLC RHD 4 matic is new engineering and it would not surprise me if it was different from LHD 4 matic.

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