kinza2003

2 days ago I was driving to work at speed of 60 mph. Suddenly, I heard a big bang and the whole car shook, transmission fluid leaked out. I managed to pull the car over safely, called the tow truck because could not move the car. So today dealer gave me news that my drive shaft broke and caused damage to the transmission. Without even opening the transmission they gave me an estimate over 10,000 dollars. Dealership did not give me the cause why the drive shaft broke.

car is 2008 C300 with 105,000 with no prior history of any major repairs. 3 months ago the same dealership did the transmission oil and filter service and now they telling me that drive shaft just broke for no reason. It does not make sense to me. Any thoughts:
What is going on here? Are they telling me the truth?
Please help.

Thanks
AJ

MDMercedesGuy

Did the shaft itself break somehow, or did a flex disc give out?

They are a maintenance item as these cars get older - I'm not sure if it is something that is listed on the W204 maintenance schedule though.

kinza2003

The shaft snapped. I am not sure about flex disc but I will take some pics today and post. Dealer did not give me a reason why it broke.

edgalang

Does this mean you are NOT the original owner and you purchased the car used?

Knightmare69

It's possible for the drive shaft to break, especially if you're in an area that gets snow thus salt. It'll corrode the metal and over time weaken it enough to snap. Odd though that they did not see this last time during your tranny service as it should be included in the post service check no?

Big Daddy

!0 grand to fix? I would be looking to scrap the car at that price or searching the internet for scrap parts from wrecks. Car is approaching 7 years old. is it worth buying new parts one may ask. I have a leaking seal in my steering rack. MB quoted $7,000 for a new one. Got on the internet and they can be had from wreckers for $400

kinza2003

Shaft broke and hit the transmission caused the housing to brake. Needs a new transmission now. I guess car is scrap.

MDMercedesGuy

Oh! A universal joint snapped, not the shaft itself. It makes a bit more sense now.

I'm not sure I would call the car scrap - these cars still have a lot of value. You can find a 7g-tronic on the internet for a reasonable cost, I'm sure.

JPc300

You'll probably need a new drive shaft too. At whatever speed you were going when that baby snapped I'm sure it is bent. Now if its not bad maybe you can have it re-balanced. Also if you choose to repair the vehicle, you still don't know what kind of damage this could have done to the differential. That's a nice chunk of change to add to the bill.

Big Daddy

You can get many parts for these cars from wreckers
hunt around and you will be surprised how cheap they can be

Glyn M Ruck

For a UJ to fail catastrophically like that I would have expected some warning signs.

nycphotography

Not everyone knows what a driveshaft wobble feels like.

O what a clunk clunk when getting on and off the gas means.

Lee T

Last week the front drive shaft on my 2010 C300 sport 4matic broke. 94,000 miles. I had been hearing a rumbling for about 2,000 miles, but accredited to worn tires. When a squeak started i suspected a failing wheel bearing. When i did a slow, walking speed right-left weave, after about 5 seconds i heard the "big bang." the drive shaft snapped off at the front universal joint. the shaft was also noticeably bent. the shaft was replaced and the car is shifting fine. I am concerned that there may be damage to the transfer case or front differential. Is there a way to tell if either of these are damaged, and what may have caused this? Love the car, and would hate to have to part with it, but the cost of replacing those parts is scary. Thanks

PortC43

Wondering if the bolts and or just the U-joints are replaceable parts to prevent this from happening ? Not sure from your pictures, but it appears maybe the bolts snapped causing the joint to move

NZ-Merc

Looks like it died unfortunately from lack of good servicing,
the first sign is squeaking when taking off and red dust at the u joint.
2nd, is clonk when gently rolling on and off the throttle when driving, along with visible play in the u joint.

If I was entrusting a garage to do my servicing there would be a conversation about what is it they do check and if they includes driveshafts.

PortC43

I would think you can replace the U-joints and bolts before any damage. Can anyone confirm this before I call the local dealer ?

the.rook

You have to buy a new shaft. I am in the process of replacing mine myself. Hasn't been the easiest DIY so far. Not a lot of info in this job.

superangrypenguin

What is there to service? My dealer blatantly told me that outside of a visual check they don't do any service to the flex discs in a B service.

Outside of replacing tranny fluid....what else can an owner do?

johnathan1

I know that this is an older thread, but I thought I would at least chime in about the question asked by the PO "what else can an owner do?" The answer to that is to LISTEN to your car when driving, PAY ATTENTION to any weirdness at all that you might notice while driving, NOISES, VIBRATIONS, clunks, squeaks, etc. This is the car talking to you, telling you that something is not right. You must investigate these small signs asap, no matter how subtle they may be. Oh, and stop going to the dealer.... find a good independent MB Mechanic/technician. They will go much farther, and check many more things than the dealer will. All for a whole lot less money as well. Sounds too good to be true? Well it isn't.

D Dee

Hi AJ,
I feel your pain and have no suggestions, but more questions! I've got a 2012 C300 4matic and just had to have the front drive shaft replaced - to the tune of $2,000. I didn't notice any problems/noises until around the 12th of last month when I heard a click when turning and thought CV joints. I was due for an oil change so brought it to our mechanic who told me the U joint and drive shaft had failed and I'd only had 2wheel drive for who knows how long. As I was driving it home from the mechanics, I heard the click that brought me in there in the first place - called them and told them I'd bring it back in the morning. When I was driving it in the click became very loud and audible mainly through the center console. When they inspected it they said it was most likely the transfer case and that repair would run me $6000 - just for parts!!! Not sure what I'm going to do at this point... I only paid $13,000 for the car 1 1/2 yrs ago...regular services...why didn't they catch this problem on that expensive service b and could the noise be something cheaper??
DD

Neal W

Similar thing happened to me last Summer 😒, I can hear clicking sounds when I was driving my 2012 c300, brought it to my mechanic, and he said I need to replace the front shaft and the 2 bushings, spent around 2600 dollars. He said I am lucky to bring the car in early because it may damage the transmission and cost much more. He assumed the damage was caused by the road salt since I'm living in the northeast. Everything is fine later. Hope this helps.

cory turchanski

This has just happened to me last week as well but I have 202,000km on car and was travelling at high speeds , I also just did the transmission fluid filter and seal service done 2 days prior ,that being said once I got towed to my own mechanic I was told that the front drive shaft broke and only caused some cosmetic marks on my transmission and thankfully in the end that is all it was just front drive shaft and bolts. Just replacing that one part my bill will labour was $1700 Canadian. Also my mechanic said if it was transmission it would cost me over 10k , wish you all the luck

JuliusCh

Yeah - actually this happened to my R129 and this was in Hong Kong; although there is no snow - the car was parked near the sea so the car was exposed to a lot of salt which must have weakened the shaft.
http://lloyds.com.hk/sl320-broken-driveshaft-r129-1995/

My mechanic says that he's never seen this happen in his 40 years as a mechanic.