bandillero

There is no doubt that many S-Class (W221) cars have serious vibration problems (shimmy, steering wheel vibration). The internet and forums are full of hapless owners who have been saddled with high priced lemons. Most unlucky are the ones without warranties. The MB dealerships have tried all kinds of things from all manners of balancing, tire changes, etc, and everything that MBUSA's LI00.90-P-050323 (below) asked them to do.

(LI00.90-P-050323 – 221 except 4MATIC, steering wheel vibrations/shimmy @ highway speeds. Vibration caused by wheel/tire balance/uniformity; torque strut bushing; or steering rack (vehicles with EHPS up to VIN A351230))

Still the vibrations won't go away. It is sad that one gets a cushier ride from a 15K Hyundai than from a $100K S-Class. The service managers have let it slip out that there is a manufacturing defect that MBUSA has not acknowledged. Just search the web and see the tales of woes from people who thought that acquiring a Mercedes S-class should be a dream of luxury driving and not one of having one's insides turn from excessive steering vibration and front shimmy while driving.

My brand new S400 has spent more time in the dealership that in my house. Everything has been done without a solution. Only thing that has happened is a change in what speeds the vibrations start.

What should be our recourse to get Mercedes to acknowledge this problem and deal with it appropriately. Should we recourse to a class action lawsuit? This has been the only way to get a reaction from MBUSA

I am frustrated by my experience. Do you still have the vibration problem? What do you think?

RajwanyS550

I am in the same boat as u are. They have done everything to it . Vibes are still there. New tires, bushings etc. tbh the bushings have made my ride worse. 2011 with only 11k miles on it.

jwxspoon

Wouldn't surprise me at all if there isn't such a lawsuit eventually on this model. My vibration went from making the car undriveable to tolerable, but still there.

jw

cool_lagoon

Dream own to those who think someone else is going to take the battle for your behalf while you guys intend to just enjoy the result, work for it and start organizing the group or forever keep your silence, no one has ever prosecuted the giant MB

steveb9771

Could all those having the problem report the type of tire and size? This might reveal a pattern.

RajwanyS550

Contis definitely make it worse. Michelins are much better for the first few hundred miles. this has nothing to do with the tires, the new electric steering system is to blame introduced in 2010. try any 2010 or later car off the lot you will have this problem. i recently drove a new 2012 S550 with similar problem.
changing bushings, adjusting steering and changing tires makes it a little better but the vibes never go away, in fact in my case they keep coming back every few hundred miles.

roosn

I had this problem on my 2010 S550. The shop was unable to fix after 3 visits. I traded for an S63 which did not have electric steering. I now drive an S350 which has 4wheel drive. It does not have the problem and in fact , drives better than the S63. MB has a real problem and will not be fixed until they get rid of the current electric steering provider

cool_lagoon

mercedes benz design and creations are good looking and luxuriously address but it has one of the worlds problematic vehicle with tons of technical issues which the company will never admit nor address and will never add it to their recalls, wise guy germans. cruel to their loyal consumers.

RajwanyS550

i am seriously thinking about it now!

RobertM

Curious . . . did they change out the wheels and/or tires ?? Remember that NOT all wheels and tires are round.

I currently have a 2012 s550 as of a couple of weeks ago and it has the factory 20" amg wheels and the ride is PERFECT.

I traded in a 2007 that was a CPO car and had the 19" amg wheels and there was a vibration at around 65 mph, I changed the wheels a couple of times (I ususally change just to be a little different and for fun) and had no issues with the vibrating at those speeds. Just a thought

RajwanyS550

u either got lucky or it hasn't started yet. i drove 3 brand new cars at a dealership on Friday with the SM and everyone of them beautiful machines had the vibes except a 4matic, but i am so happy 4 u, enjoy the car. for the rest of us its major annoyance. they changed the tires twice, still the same. they have already acknowledged the problem with the electric steering in the cars.
please keep us posted if anything changes on your car.

RajwanyS550

I am actually gonna give them more time to fix this problem for me, I love the car and their service is still great. Guess we will try different rims or something.
Will keep the forum posted...

RobertM

Find out if they road balance the wheels and tires prior to installing them back on your car. The wheel shops that specialize in high end wheels have the machines. There has been more than a couple of times where they had to reinstall the tire on the rim based of outcome of the calculations from the road balance machines.

I too, enjoy the service from the benz service, but sometimes those guys are lazy !!! In order to rotate the tire, they have to start ALL OVER AGAIN !!! from scratch. Remove the air, rotate the tire (ususally marked with chalk on the tire and rim based on what the machine denotes) and then rebalance etc. . . . .

I will keep you guys posted if anything changes. Which it most likely .. BECAUSE I am planning on installing 22" - 1 piece wheels

RajwanyS550

Yes the have been balanced on the road force machine several times. The alignment checked and redone.
They said the rims r good. They are figuring out what else they can do. Will keep u all posted of any developments.

RajwanyS550

+1

JAM

Hi Folks, I own a 2007 S550, and have experienced the issue since it was new. Have had one of the best MB techs look at the car. We tried diffferent tires, Contis are worse for sure. Previous post is ccorrect the new Michelins will solve for about 3,000 miles and then it comes back. However, like the previous poster I also do not believe it is a tire problem. I have had the car aligned, road-force balanced, you name it, it's been done. I beleive it is the design of the car itself and not a function of the newer models electric steering. Very frustrating. Between that, the electronic faults, and numerous other problems MB will not "own", I think it might be time for a change. I've been looking at cars that are far less costly and are better equipped and just as safe. Nothing can match the S in terms of presence and style, and at one point it had a ride quality that was unparalleled. I recently rented a (don't laugh) Cadillac XTS (their new big sedan) and I was blown away. Not an S, but WOW, what a car. Blew my mind that it was made by GM. Embarassing to have people in my S with the vibration/shake in the ride, A/C smelling like mold (since new, been cleaned a gazillion times), and having one of the worst user interfaces (Comand) on the planet.

Bobby c

I just bought a 2011 S550 with 14k miles and it has an annoying vibration at 60-70mph. This is (or should I say was) my dream car and I can't be more disappointed. I had 20" amg's put on it which MB tried to blame for the vibration. Therefore, I put the factory wheels back on and it still vibrates. I took it to the shop again today for the third time. I am surprised by all of this info on this forum because MB is acting like the vibration is a surprise to them. They have not mentioned one time to me that this is a persistent problem. I expect to have it back tomorrow. I will update the group ASAP.

Bobby c

I got my 550 back today after they switched out the bushings. The tech said that these cars were built with rubber bushings which give the car a very smooth ride but they wear out very easily. They switched them with hydraulic ones and the vibration is better but still not perfect with the 20" amg rims. The tech said when they drove it with the new bushings and with stock rims it drove perfectly. My next step is to take it back to have them put the factory wheels back on so that I can feel the difference. I guess I will either have to live with 18" rims if I want a perfect ride. Just doesn't make sense because the 20"amg's came off an S63. Any new info or suggestions from this group would be helpful and appreciated. Let me know. Thx.

jwxspoon

The dealers responses to each of the problems that have developed on my S550 are almost comical. They are 'shocked' and have 'never seen or heard of anything like it'.

Then I come on the two main MB forums and find post after post about the vibration problems, the COMAND audio/video problems with the 2008 models, seat air bag issues, etc. My s550 owns them all.

Love the look of this car. Will never buy another MB.

jw

marthyh

What do you mean by hydraulic bushings guess you meant nylon ones ??
The size of the wheels cannot have any influence on vibrations, as circumference of the entire wheel + tire should not differ more then 5% from original and if exceeds still have no influence on any vibrations occurring..
What you could have checked though is the 'roundness' of the 20" rims themselves , possibly rims could have flat sides, as with lower tires ,they are more prone to damage as there is less air to be compressed upon impact ..
Not sure this is really the solution as it sounds like a design flaw..and should be taken care of by DAG asap ..

JALLEN4

I cannot site the scientific principles behind it but I can assure you from experience with literally thousands of cars, the larger the diameter of the tires and wheels, the harder it is to eliminate vibrations. Balancing and keeping balanced 20" + wheels can be a dealership nightmare even with the latest road-force technology.

RajwanyS550

Yup u got the infamous vibrations. The new bushings are crappy. For me it made the ride harsher. I hate it. Tires will not make a difference. Next they will put better tires for u. Good luck and keep us posted.

lungs414

I had an 09 4matic. Got out of it over the summer. Just after startup if pulling away from the curb, especially to make a u turn the steering wheel would shimy. Brought back to dealer many times ,and always told they couldn't repeat. Finally after many complaints I had the shop foreman take it home for the weekend, magically he said it did it once. They finally replaced the steering rack, and it got much better, and virtually disappeared. The SA who I have become friends with told me that MBUSA fights replacement of the rack because its like a 5-6K repair.
Now I am looking to get another S class, but definitely another 4matic. After reading all these postings it seems to not be an issue with the 4matic, is this true?
Also I am thinking of trying to take over a lease until the new one comes out next year but don't want someone else's problem. Happy to take suggestions.
Thanks

RajwanyS550

Wait for 2014 to see if the problems been resolved, no use putting money on these cars at this time.

lungs414

I am only interested in a 4matic. Are these affected? I don't recall reading about the 4matics.
Thanks