penguin7890

I am getting nowhere with my local dealership and hope people can help. Bought a brand new 2012 GLK 4Matic in March, when I drove it off the lot, I heard a whining sound when letting go of the gas (but not pushing the break) that I could only describe as a "whooooo" noise. Called the salesman, he said that a 4matic would be louder than my old c-class and I would get used to it.

The noise got worse, and after a 5 hour road trip, you couldn't get my husband out of the car fast enough. This shouldn't happen in a new car. It sounds like you are blowing air in a glass bottle.

Had the shop foreman drive with me, he heard it right away said it was a faulty transfer case, a replacement would solve the problem immediately, but that there was nothing actually wrong with my car, just an annoying noise.

So we brought it back to have the Transfer Case replaced. They said that my noise wasn’t loud enough for Mercedes to pay for it – that you can’t just replace your transfer case, the entire transmission has to be replaced. Then they change their story that Mercedes would pay for it, but that it could be much worse, and then Mercedes wouldn’t do anything for me, if it was much worse.

Then they said that the 4matic is much louder than a 2 wheel drive, and that loud whining noises are very normal with all 4matics and that I could trade it in for the RWD GLK if I wanted to. Then, that maybe even I would enjoy a Hyundai instead. !!! I really hate this place and am at my wits end.

Is this normal? Are 4matics loud and whiny? (I don’t believe so). Will a brand new transmission fix it or make it worse? If this happened when the car had 18miles on it, and is MUCH worse a 8k, what will happen later on? Do I just want a RWD?

rmfnla

That is not normal for the 4Matic.

Is there another dealership in your area?

If so, I'd go see them.

GLKKa2H

Certainly is problem with the transfer case a known GLK issue, often noted by whining - or wirrey noises, however so far reported at an ODO of 35+ or so, and above. Note the two threads:
https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...trans-29k.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...rey-noise.html

Your "whooooo" noise sounds different and so does your mileage as well, but this is definately not "normal" for a GLK 4MATIC.

If you have a chance, let your dealer offer you a test drive with another 4MATIC and see for yourself.

If the dealer will not let you - then its time for a second opinion at another dealer.

iewoals

how loud are all these whirring noises that people hear from the transfer case? I hear a slight whine when I let go of the pedal and the speed drops to around 30-35 mph. But as soon as I step slightly on the gas it goes away. I thought what I was hearing was from engine braking. I didn't even notice it as I usually have the radio on. I've only got 15k on mine though.

ewc

Wow, sounds like you need to go to another dealership. They sound like jerks. My subaru wrx manual tranny made all sorts of whining and noises, but that was an econobox performance car. A luxury suv should not whine.

I have the same issue on our 2012 Glk. Also purchased this spring with less than 10 miles and had the problem from the get go. Light, high pitch whine when off throttle. Most prominent at local speeds of 35-50 mph. Any faster and wind and road noise drown it out.

Dealer also diagnosed it as faulty transfer case. No replacement trannys to be had, so we are waiting for one to be built.

We now have 10k, and still driving it until the tranny arrives. I hope my dealer doesn't change its mind like yours.

Our whine is most prevalent when the car is warm, so maybe if you drive it around some before taking it to the dealer you can replicate it again while taking a ride with the tech.

iewoals

Hmmm... perhaps that's what I'm hearing. And you're right when it's cold I don't hear it at all. Only after I drive for a while, then it seems to appear. It's not really noticeable at the moment unless I try to listen for it. I do wonder though, about repairing it now and then having it die again just out of warranty.

Mr. JLT

The rear diff may not be serviced correctly. Ie fluid level. And the rear diff or rear end has nothing to do with the tranny. The dealer is misleading you telling you that the tranny needs to be replaced also. Perhaps try another dealer in your area.

Oldengineer

I've got a 2011 GLK 4Matic with 20K miles on it. Its drivetrain is dead quiet. I had a 2006 Jaguar X Type AWD, and, that car had a drivetrain whine that drove me nuts. Either take the car to another dealer for diagnosis, or, make your dealer bring in a factory rep to look at your car.

Regards:
Oldengineer

Tonythegreat

I bought a used 2008 c300 4matic back in 2012 at 42000 miles and at about 60000 I had a loud whinning noise, so I took it o MB and they told me it was the transfer case, so I had it replaced tranny and all, for about 6500, after they replaced it I could still here a type of whining noise, but I wasn't like the first whining noise. I took it back and they said that 4matics make that sort of whining noise. So idk I still think that theres more to this noise. I didn't have this noise when I first bought the car.

ble2716

How old are you tires?
Worn out tires do make noises too.... something to consider.

n8nu

My 2010 GLK at 40,000 km started whinning. Took it in and the service guy said he knew exactly what it was. He said that it's a bearing in the transfer case that Mercedes knows is prone to failure.

They swapped out the transfer case and transmission without a fuss. Now my transmission is quiet.

My only problem is do mostly city driving and the transmission has become 'lazy' so i tend to drive in manual mode or S.

Tonythegreat

My tires are just a few months old, what's odd is that it doesn't start to whine until it gets to about 40-50 miles an hours. I can let off the gas and the whining goes away. When the bearing went out on my transfer case, it was doing a whining noise but it was a whole lot louder. They replaced the transmission/transfer case/torque convertor. What sad is that the warranty of those parts are for only 12,000 miles. Its funny how a luxury car company doesn't stand behind its products. If we could start a class action suit for all these faulty transfer case issues, then maybe they would change their tune a bit.

Tonythegreat

I wish mine were quiet too, I told the advisor about the whining noise it was making and he said it was "normal" for the 4matics to make this noise, I don't know if there's any truth to that or not.

ble2716

Can you bring your car to another dealer and have them to take a look?
Only this time try not to mention about the transfer case/transmission has been replaced. Just to see what they say the problem could be.

I know it's frustrating when you spend that much $$$ and the noise is still there.
Best of luck.

Pete7874

Is the transfer case on the GLK integrated with the transmission? Another words, when then transfer case fails, does it necessitate the replacement of the entire transmission?

That's how it is on the current C-Class. Ours already had the whole thing replaced due to a whine noise that developed before 60K miles. The wife will be looking for a new vehicle soon, and the GLK is on her list, but if the GLK has similar issues with the 4matic as her current C-Class, she'll likely cross it off her list.

Road_Ghost

If it whirrs then it probably has an oil leak and low on fluid. (that was on my Montero from years ago)

If it happens to someone else, first flush it all, inspect fluid for bits and replace fluid. If it continues, then its definitely bearings.

iewoals

I believe they are the same drivetrain in essence. So yes, the transfer case is integrated with the transmission. That's how they make them cheaper. Of course as you said it also causes problems in trying to fix them if the transfer case fails. So I'd say cross it off if that is your concern.

Pete7874

Thanks.

I haven't been following this forum much, but has there been a number of transfer case failures reported here, like in the W204 forum? Granted, the GLK was launched later, so it may take a little more time before people accumulate miles and these issues surface.

iewoals

I believe there have been a few reported on here. Not sure if it's widespread or not. But I imagine that since the GLK is C-class based that it should be similar %-wise.

jrct9454

Our '10 GLK had the transmission replaced at about 16k miles because of the transfer case problem. It was handled with no questions and no hassles by the dealer in Henderson, NV last year [we were on a vacation trip when the problem arose].

This should not be an issue with current models - it was fixed at the OEM level quite some time ago.

Pete7874

When exactly (which model year) was it fixed?

I'd be interested to get a link to some official literature on this, if you happen to have it.

jrct9454

I'm told by the local dealership that the problem was addressed at the factory level well before the start of the 2013 model year. How reliable this info is...well, I have no idea.

I do know that the dealer is always the key in these situations - we had absolutely no pushback from anybody on the decision to replace the trans in our '10 GLK - the tech correctly diagnosed it as the transfer case, and immediately ordered the new trans.

Pete7874

Oh, I know the dealer will take care of it during warranty period. They're well aware of the issue. My concern is that we want to hold onto a vehicle for a long time, way past warranty, and don't want to be stuck with an expensive repair down the road.

On our C300, the cost would have been around $8K if we had to pay for it out of pocket. Thankfully, the car was still under the extended MB warranty.

cmasten

just started to hear this whine at 45,000 I bought a 2010 CPO about a year ago, took it to Penske in West Covina, CA and they just ordered a new trans, said it would be here in 2 days and they would replace the entire unit under warranty.

cottager777

I have a 2013 GLK. It developed a vibration in what I thought was the steering when I turned it more than 1/2 way. The dealer ended up doing a "service" on the transfer case.