Hey everyone! Well, this is it! This is the last straw.... I was at my dealership for the fifth time within two weeks for the same problem. Before I go on, let me tell you the problem. I have a 2002 C-230 coupe with 46,000 miles. Within the last few thousand miles, I have noticed a creaking noise from the front suspension/wheel area. So two weeks ago I went to Autohaus in Pompano, (Which I think is horrid.) and told them about that noise. They said no problem and they attempted to fix it. The following day I received a call from my advisor and he said it was done. When I went to the dealer, I drove it around the parking lot and the noise was still there! The invoice said they located the noise and replaced the brushings (Whatever that is...) to fix it. Apparently that only made it worse. Now every time I would accelerate, the front of the car would make this horrible noise (...errr....errr.....Well, you get the point). That I could not take. To make a long story short, On the second time they claimed to replace some sway bars, I think. That didn't seem to work either. Third time, I paid $98.00 for them to align the wheels, which they thought would solve the problem. Did it? NO! Now, after my fourth time there and replacing the control arms, the noise is still there! WTF?!?!?!?!!?!?!?! I am so mad. This is my first major issue with my car. Did anyone else experience this noise in the suspension? What should I do? I want to get rid of this before my warranty expires! Any input would be greatly appreciated. Also is there anyone would would like to hang out or come to some car meets in the Sawgrass/Weston/Ft.Lauderdale area?Let me know! Jason

 

I had this noise but replacing the front bushings got rid of it. My mom, however, had the same exact noise in her 2002 C230 coupe and after 4 service trips it still did not go away. You're not alone.

 

Chill out man. It sounds like the dealer has been doing all they can. Replacing the bushings is standard for these creaks, replacig the sway bar is not needed IMO, but at least they tried that too. I think the alignment was a rip off, but it cant hurt to have that done anyways.

Keep taking the car back until they fix it. Because you have had this warranty work done, MB is still obligated to fix your car after the warranty period is over. The part that sucks is your wasted time and this pisses us all off.

 

yea...they got you on that alignment...just dont hit your tires anywhere now...including your brain with that noise driving you crazy....

 

Buy a $3 can of penatrating oil and climb under the car and spray every piece of rubber under there. This will hopefully solve all yo-ur problems. Don't blame MB for a lousy dealer's service department. They don't own the dealerships. And I would ***** and get my $98 back for that alignment since it was not needed. Then call MBUSA.

Spray should fix all your squeaks and sometimes they never come back, or you may need to do it like once a year.

 

Well it might be another problem but I might be wrong. When I took out my mom's C320 for a day I noticed that horrible "errrr" noise. Thought it was suspension noise at first but after doing a few accelerations, I found that it was the seat (it somehow has springs on the seatbottom near the seat back) not any suspension problems (confirmed with my mom driving it and me standing outside).

I have heard Cs make a horrible suspension-like noise especially when they are braking while I'm walking next to one.

 

I had this really bad noise in the front right of the car everytime i hit a speed bump. They replaced the bushings and oiled them up and that seemed to fix the problem. This was about 25K. I changed to the H&R Cup Kit and noticed that my front right shock was totally busted. I guess they didn't notice that. Now i'm at 60K and its starting to happen again. That noise. This time though i have the C32 Sway bars (awesome upgrade) and i don't know what to do. Bring it in and tell them the upgrades that i have done i'm afraid will just step up the price and they'll tell me that it ain't covered anymore. Anyone?

 

Warranty work will depend on your dealer. I've got both my lower controller arms (whatever that is) and front bushings replaced under warranty when I did my service A (30K miles) and they knew that I've got H&R Coilover, C32 front brakes with SS lines. I'm not sure whether they knew I've got C32 sways but I was surprised that they did the work under warranty. All I told them was I hear this knocking noise when I go thru bumps. I should send them some krispy kreme donuts next time

 

the bushings on the C32s are different aren't they? So if they didn't know that you had the C32 ones would it be that thye replaced them with the stock C200 ones?

 

I always thought they'll just look at the part number somewhere on the bushes and then get the same replacement part. It could be that they replaced it with normal bushings but I havent heard a squeek from the bushing. What would be the consequences if the bushing is 3mm smaller anyway??... So far I've got no problems after 2 weeks.
Can the bushing worn out if you're driving the car quite hard??..

 

stock c32 bushings have creaking problems as well

 

I had the sway bar bushings replaced at 23k miles on my coupe. I was getting a "clunk" similar to what the original post described. The service center also lubed the shock mount bushings, control arms, and 'tightened a few things' to correct the issue.

Have your dealer check all the bushings in those components. It sounds like the same problem.

Someone else asked about C32 AMG sways...they are different diameter bars, so they use different bushings. Several people have posted comprehensive size/performance differences on the forum, so do a search for sway bars for that info.

Finally, I have to wonder why even MB sways don't have neoprene bushings. According to my SA, all MB/AMG factory installations use rubber bushings for the C-class. Rubber, which breaks down over time, is nowhere near as stiff or resilient as neoprene. I know that replacing the rubber front end bushings on my MG's with neoprene/nylon sleeve bushings was the best handling mod I could have done for those cars.

 

I'm here in the Sawgrass area - let me know when you meet. I'm looking for rims in the area, so let me know if you have any connections.

I know a good mechanic at the Benz at 95 at Copans (is that Pompano, maybe) - he should be able to fix your problem. If not, I know a service tech mgr at Fort Lauderdale Benz too.

Either way good luck...