jhepworth

Hi all,

Have had the 2007 rclass for a couple years now and really like the car. I am trying to get the dealer to fix a couple of items that seemed to have popped up AFTER they fixed a couple of things.

1 - the car was making a very loud rattling sound, the dealer replaced some cat converters and mounts - not for sure what but the loud rattle went away - BUT the car has been quite a bit louder at start and acceleration than before the "fix" - anyone have ideas of what this could be?

2 - Check engine light came on and they had to replace some solenoids in the fuel delivery system? I am no mechanic so i trust they handled this properly - BUT now the car when at idle and either in reverse or drive has a very noticeable vibration that was not there before. Any ideas?

The local dealer is worthless so if i can come in with some concrete data i can make them fix it - but otherwise their MO is to fix as little as possible until the warranty goes out then make you pay for the fixes. They just tell me - hey we don't see an issue and the other rclass for the shuttle is the same way...

These are not huge issues - just annoyances that i am concerned may turn into bigger problems later.

Thanks,
JH

TINMan22

JH,
What is the nature of your relationship with your service adviser? I have found over the years of owning my Benzes that having a good working relationship with the SA goes a long way toward having him or her go the extra step in meeting my needs. I ask him about his family, tell him how much I appreciate his being available when I call to discuss my concerns. On one occasion, when I had a concern that wasn't being well taken care of, I spoke with the service manager and asked whether they were treating all their customers with the apparent lack of concern that I was feeling. I got a lot more attention and positive response after that.

You don't say where you live. Is there another MB dealer available? If so, unless they are owned by the same folks, they compete with each other for customer dollars. If you're not happy with Shop A, go to Shop B and explain why you've chosen them to take care of your needs.

Best wishes!

cyeung65

I have a similar problem:

https://mbworld.org/forums/r-class-w...h-09-r350.html

I took it to one dealer about a year ago and had it checked. They said everything was niormal. I will be trying another dealer. I may also test drive another R350 for comparison.

Is your exhaust tone noticeable at idle? I can hear my wife pull up in the driveway with an exhaust rumble. That noticeable.

bzliteyear

Treating your MB SA like a customer goes a LONG way....
PL

jhepworth

yes my sa does get his favorite $50 750 ml rum each time i come in.

I am not too annoyed by these problems, my exp. with other luxo brands (this is my first MB) - range rover, lexus, acura's - these brands have always bent over backwards to make sure i felt comfortable an was satasfied. The "german" philosophy is to prove me wrong until there is a major failure. In my exp. this was the approach used with the service/warranty on my VW and Porsche so it doesn't surprise me too much.

I like the car and i will keep it a long time. I just get a little worried, given my past experience with other mfg's, that these small issues turn into large ones after the warranty goes out and the mfg just tells you to pay up. (this exact thing happened with my vw and porsche)

If the car runs for quite some time with maintenance then i am very happy, other than my RR this is the most solid, most versatile and fun car i have ever had.

if anyone has any insight into these issues on the r-class please let me know. The loud exhaust i can live with - this new vibration is the thing that is making me nervous - tranny or some other major item it worries me may be the cause of the symptom.

cyeung65 - it sounds pretty loud to me at startup from inside the house when the car is in the garage and the engine is cold.

cyeung65

Just got back from a 3 hour trip and the exhaust drone is unacceptable. Maybe its because of 12k miles on the clock, maybe its because my new Q7 is so much quieter - but I am going to add Hushmat to the floorboards. The noise is VERY intrusive.

Does anyone else find a significant and noticeable exhaust drone at about 65 mph when applying throttle in the R350? Its a lot less intrusive when going 70 + mph.

smokersteve

Have you looked for a new dealership?

smokersteve

Not nearly enough to make it uncomfortable but I do have a very slight rumble.

How many miles do you have on your r350? Is it stock?

cyeung65

I am going to try another dealer and even take another R350 on a test drive to compare. Mine has just over 12k miles.

It is all stock except for 2 K&N air filters and a Sprintbooster. Can't make that much difference in noise if any at all. I do have 19 inch Michelin runflats on it. And as most people say, these tires make more noise than the non runflats. So if anything, this mod should drown out any engine noise. But the exhaust drone overpowers the tire noise by a tremendous margin.

I jacked up the car and inspected the exhaust from as far as I could see up the engine carriage cover all the way back to the exhaust tips. No noticeable leaks or anything that my be loose.

Maybe the factory installed R63 mufflers on it.

a930rocket

Ours was making a vibration noise when first started up. After a few minutes/mikes, it went away. Turns out the mounting bracket for the driver side cat had broken the weld. Very hard to see or tell it had cracked. MB wouldn't warrant it, so I drilled and ran a bolt/nut through the two pieces to clamp it closed. No problems to date.

cyeung65

I wish the problem was that simple to fix. I dropped the R off at the dealer this morning and they found nothing out of wack. They are keeping it to do some vibration and sound tests on the exhaust system.

I rode in a nearly identical R350 Courtesy shuttle, and I am certain it has less exhaust drone. Its noticebale - but not intrusive to the point it tires you out after an extended time at 60 mph where the resonsance is strongest.