jhillman

I am taking my '03 C320 to the dealer tomorrow for it's first service. The car is only a couple of weeks old but has had three rattles in the interior since delivery. One is coming from the glove box (sounds like the latch assembly), one is coming from the center console somewhere, and one sounds like it's coming from the left, bottom area of the windshield, near where it meets the top of the dash.

The problem with these rattles is that most of them are intermittent. I have a feeling the service guy is going to give me the old "could not duplicate problem at this time" response. Any suggestions for how I can ensure they will fix these? Should I demand they keep driving the car around until they hear them? I'm concerned that most of the road surfaces around my dealer are too smooth, not bumpy enough to reproduce these rattles.

JeT

I also had an intermittent creak in the rear hatch trim...but it has appeared to have stopped altogether. But I'm pretty sure that if I took it in they would still have a serious look at it because it is a known problem for the coupe...I'm not sure about the 320...try to localize the noises so that you can specifically point to the cause - get a mate to sit in the car and search for the rattle while you drive. You never know, maybe its a known problem for the 320 as well.

KWiK

Just before you take it in, put your tire pressure up to 40-42psi. This will help make the rattles more noticeable. Since I normally run my car with 40psi, when the rattles go away I know I need air in my tires.

session

Why do you run your tires so high? I run mine 36 in back 32 in front.

KWiK

I'm running on 18" wheels and I get the best mix of handling, wear, and pot hole ding prevention with 40psi