MBSang

Well, I recently went to dealer to check up rear shock noise...

They charge me $152 + fee($7) + tax to replace rear shock absorber. One thing I don't understand is that it is possible ONLY REAR shock can go bad around 8600 miles. I think useally front shocks go bad prior to the rear ones. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks,

Sang

kompress

Why wasn't it under warranty?

MBSang

That is why I am asking.....

I'm just wondering why they charge me...

I couldn't ask when I pick up my car because service manager wasn't there. It was late evening.

antonio

wow, you got really ripped off. warranty covers that. MB should know better but i guess they always try. go back as soon as possible and make a huge stink that you want your money back or you'll get lawyers involved. theres no reason you should have to pay for that even if you damaged it. of what need is the warranty then?

mctwin2kman

Warranty is 4/50,000 Bumper to Bumper. Last I checked the Shocks are between the bumpers. I would make a stink about that and then get my money back, then again I would not have paid them.

Edit: The sad thing is they probably sent in a warranty claim as well and got paid twice.

MBSang

My service manager was cool. He said I suppose to be NOT charged. He is going to charge back to my credit card account. And not charging for tire rotation which is $25 either.

I am happy....
It is always good to know service manager. -----I have been in the shop too many times

Thanks guys,

antonio

good job. we're all happy for you...... and your wallet.

adamrs80

the exact same thing happened to my right left shock. It was making a knocking sound everytime I went over a little bump. I took it in and it was completely covered by the warrenty. My car only has 5600 miles so it must be a faulty shock not a reliability issue. You should go get your money back.

drexappeal

Has anybody who's put on aftermarket rear springs experienced the same issue (i.e. knocking when going over a bump)?

Here's my situation:

I had the rear Brabus swaybar installed on my car. After I drove home, I noticed a rattling and intermitent knocking (knocking was only when going up a driveway or making a sharp turn).

I didn't have time to take it back to the install shop until this past Saturday. When they checked the swaybar, they said that the rattling they were able to fix (I assume that they just tightened the bolts), but as for the knocking, the shop indicated that this might be due to the shocks going bad.

I'm not totally convinced that the shocks have gone bad, however it's possible that the swaybar (due to the stiffness of the rear swaybar) is causing the rear springs to compress more and therefore causing rubbing of some sort.

Can anybody shed some light on this or have any suggestions of what else it could be? I might have to have TEIN put on the stock springs immediately to have it checked, however, I'm somewhat paranoid that the dealership will not cover it under warranty due to the Brabus swaybar.

Any help would be great. Thanks everybody.

drex

MB2006

Actually shocks not covered under warranty, because its wear and tear item,
now, if your car new and low miles you can tell them what shocks should last longer and it died due to defect and defects are covered under warranty.
.. if your car lowered , they will tell you, you blew it because of lowering springs
- not covered.

drexappeal

Well, first, you have to look that I have a 2004.5 (fairly new) bought in April of 2004.

2nd, I'm not a newbie, so I suggest read my question a little more carefully and search my name, newbie. I've been around for a while, so I don't need to be told standard b.s. that I can read in my manuals.

I'm trying to find out if there are any "experts" that may know what it could be "other than" the shocks going bad.

I'm aware that if my car is on springs, they'll claim that the shocks went bad due to the aftermarket springs being installed.

Furthermore, please READ THE POST before you try and tell a veteran some information that I already knew in the first place.

C240-Merc

How many miles should shocks last?

drexappeal

Well, if you're not a "harsh" driver and you don't lower a vehicle, I've run on stock shocks for 5 years without any problems before. It just depends on the stability/sturdiness of the shocks made for the vehicle and how many miles you put on the vehicle (also taking into consideration road conditions, curves driven, turns taken, etc...).

C240-Merc

I appreciate the response. I haven't lowered the car, but I am the second owner and the car is pushing 65K miles on stock shocks (I don't know if they are original or not). The car runs as it should, I was just wondering how long they are expected to last. Thanks again.

mleskovar

If one shock out of 4 goes bad in 8600 miles you can bet it was defective and not due to "wear and tear". Leaking fluid is a common shock defect and it's not considered wear and tear. Driving habits and road conditions have a lot to do with shock life. I have replaced only two shocks in all my cars in 45 years....and both of them were done under warranty because of leaking fluid. I've upgraded shocks for better handling but that's a different situation. 'Cupping' and uneven tire wear (with good alignment) is a good indication that shocks are bad even if you don't feel anything. My advice is don't replace them unless you need to or want different performance characteristics.

drexappeal

Alright, everybody, I'm still hearing the knocking sound coming from the right side of the car.

The reason I bumped this thread up again was for the 2 purposes, 1) to find out if the problem could potentially not be the shock (since the problem started when I first had the rear BRABUS swaybar installed) and 2) to show newbies that the search function does work and you can bump old topics to clarify the answer you need.

That being said, anybody have any idea what it may be? I had the rear swaybar checked and after tightening all the bolts, there's no more rattling, but I still hear a knock (coming from the right side). It is primarily when the springs are compressed to the right side of the car (i.e. going up a driveway or reversing out of a driveway, making a turn, etc...)

I assumed at first that it was the swaybar, but my suspicion is that due to the stronger/wider swaybar, the chassis is causing the springs to compress more, therefore the spring (which, quick reminder, I have the TEIN prototypes in the rear) might possibly be knocking against something. What it's knocking against is beyond me. The knock (for frame of reference) is loud as somebody knocking on your trunk or using a tool to tap underneath the car. More specifically, it's one knock (not consecutive knocking).

I'd appreciate any help you guys could give me. Thanks.

drex

drexappeal

Okay, so I've found these two old links about some sort of knocking sound:

https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-tech-talk/75561-knocking-noises-my-c32-help.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c55-amg-w203/75368-car-making-knocking-noises.html

My problem is that the noise only came into play when I got the swaybars. Now, when I make a sharp left or right turn, I can hear a knock (sounds like it's from the right side of the car). It happens when I'm backing out of an inclined driveway and turning the steering wheel (more consistent when I turn the wheel left while reversing out of a driveway).

Anybody have any recommendations on this?