Bumpy / shaky ride

October 10th, 2014 :

On the day I took my brand new c220 stationcar home from the dealership I noticed right off the bat how the car was shaking slightly from the steering wheel and somewhat more from the car itself.

I took the car to the dealership and they re-balanced the wheels - When the shaking persisted I kept taking the car back - This process repeated itself 3 times over a period of 2 weeks, and when I returned the 4th time, the guy at the repair shop counter said that he would not take the car in a 4th time - According to him, the car is shaking no more than to be expected, and I had to accept it as it is, as far as they were concerned the car was driving perfectly.

I had a chat with the sales guy who sold me the car, and he offered to change the tyres (because the car had wrongly been fitted with Bridgestone instead of continental) in an attempt to solve the problem that apparently only I could sense.

Sadly the shaking of the car persisted even after the continental's were fitted, and so I went back to the dealership - This time the guy at the repair shop was even more agitated, and told me (like he did last time) that he is not looking into this nonsense anymore, he said to me to go to another workshop and see if they can find anything wrong with the car, we won't do it - The car is flawless, and then he practically dismissed me from the dealership.

Frustrated I took the initiative to visit a special tyre workshop 1 1/2 hr drive from where I live (similar to Euromaster) - They specialize in tyres / wheels, and that's the only service they provide - They took the car in, and found a ton of imbalance on the tyres, they fixed this, and I took the car home - The shaking had been reduced by probably as much as 80%, but there was still something shaking the car - Some days later I took the car back to the special workshop, and they fitted (for testing) some Alpine A5 on my car - I took the car home and the experience was exactly the same - The week after, I go back, and they decided that the shaking could not be related to the tyres, and thus put back my previous Continentals - While they did swapped from Alpines -> continental the guy put the alloy's without tyres into his machine, and he found that 1 wheel was really off balance in itself - After closer inspection they found an imperfection in the inner rim where the rubber from the tyre comes to rest - By their judgement this could possibly be the cause for the shaking, since every little detail has been looked into and nothing found except for this.

So, I drive directly from there to the dealership to tell them about this - Obviously the agitated guy from the workshop is there, and a long story short, his point of view is the same - The car is driving as intended, there's nothing wrong with it, and the flaw which was found on the one alloy wheel has no impact on how the car drives because their wheel-whatever-they're-called-fitting-machines takes things like this into consideration when they balance wheels - When he refuses to help me, I finally give up seeing that I am not getting anywhere with this guy, and I ask him to sell me a new alloy wheel - I get directed to the spare parts department, and on my way over there, I pass the office of the manager / owner of the dealership - Ah what the hell I think to myself, I have nothing to loose, so I knock on his door and ask if he's got a minute - So I sit down, and tell him everything that had happened up until now, how I was refused help at the workshop, how I was asked to go somewhere else, how I returned with this imperfection discovery the other workshop had made, and how I was refused help again - So the manager takes action that same minute and he has his "right hand" order me 4 brand new alloys, and 4 brand new continental wheels - He then apologizes for everything, and hopes with this that the problem is solved.

I was very relieved and happy that finally someone would take the matter serious, and I was optimistic that this would be the last of my shaking problems - A couple of days later I am contacted by the dealership that my new wheels has arrived, and I go there to get them fitted - I take the car for a test drive, and .... it's shaking - Nothing more, nothing less, its exactly the same - I am testing the car on the motorway when he calls me up on the phone to check if everything is ok? - I am extremely frustrated when I tell him, that it's still shaking - He's very quiet in the phone for about 10 heartbeats, then he says to me, that the dealership (they're a part of a chain of MB dealerships located all over the country) has got this problem solver guy, who takes on rare special cases with problems they can't solve at the local dealership, and that this guy is also the person in charge of warranty cases, he tells me I should meet up with him.

This problem solver person is located in another dealership from that same chain 1 1/2 hours away, and I drive there right away - I meet up with him, and he takes the car for a ride, and he notices the shaking immediately! There is no doubt in his mind that the car is _not_ driving as its supposed to - And so they start all over at this new dealership - They take the car in 2 times, with test drives in between, and nothing helps.

Due to christmas and newyears they did not manage to finish their work on the car, and I have an appointment with them first thing this year - They will take it in, and work on it, until the problem has been solved.

Why am I posting this? - I don't know exactly - Part of me want's to get it out of my system, vent a bit - Another part is getting people's thought's on the situation.

It's been nearly 3 months now since I got my car - And since day 1 I've had a shaking vehicle - I've spend perhaps 9-10 whole days dedicated to having my car serviced - I've driven around 1000 km to and from workshops, and I still don't have a car that drives properly - I got an unpaid workshop bill with this special wheel company who found the imperfection in the alloy.

I feel that I paid a premium price for a luxury car, and even if I love my car despite of this problem, I do not feel that very well treated, and I would like to ask you guys opinion and thoughts - Also is it fair of me to ask for some kind of compensation based on the above story? if so? what's fair? - A price reduction on the car? a free service or two?

Sorry for this wall of text that this story has turned into.

//An extremely frustrated c220 owner

 

Is there any such thing as a 'lemon law', or dealer buy back for sub standard product from manufacturer?

 

Wow, that is incredible, have you driven the car with your summer wheels fitted?
With the temperatures now being well above zero you should be able to try them out?


Almost feel ashamed myself with the way your dealer has handled this issue.

 

Yes, but the dealer have the rights to try to fix the very same issue three times.
If the problems arn´t solved after three visits, a buyback or replacement can be discussed.

 

No, I have not had my summer wheels on the car yet - Do you think it will make a difference? - Yeah, the temperature has just risen above zero, and I am more than willing to give that a try.

Obviously I am not a mechanic, and I don't know anything about how to repair cars, but my logic is telling me that it is probably not wheel / tyre related - We've had 2 sets of alloy wheels, and 4 sets of different tyres fitted on there - It could perhaps be something with the large dimensions of the winter tyres? I believe they're 17" (that's rather big for winter wheels or?)

A colleague of mine was telling me of an incident he had with his own BMW 5-series - He was like myself experiencing shaking in his car - What they found to be the problem with his car was the ventilated braking discs - Apparently there was an imperfection in some of of the fins inside the disc, and that imbalance was what made his car shake - If it turns out to be the brakes - If that's the case it could maybe also support a suspicion I have when bringing the car to a stop - I find that the car is very hard to stop in a "gentle" way, I really have to work the brake pedal with insane precision, if I don't do that it will come to a very "sudden" stop and i find that rather uncomfortable.

But yeah, it's a long shot for me to be speculating about what the problem could be - I will tell the new workshop that I have summer wheels available for testing when they take the car in, and then let them judge the problem and which course to take - I found, that the more I speak to the mechanics, the more they seem to get off track.

I just hope that this nightmare is coming to an end soon so that I can finally begin to enjoy lovely my car

 

They also should be able to fit your current wheels on a different car to see if the problems are transfered.

 

My c200 Within one day the car would not unlock from the remote key. This has happened a number of times. The Nav has been unable to recognise the sd card. To get it to operate I had to shut the car down, lock it for a few minutes then start up Again. All good after that. Everything else seems ok.

 

eaglehorn,

have you asked for a full geometry inspection / test ? go to the best specialised shop in wheels, direction, etc you have in town. i'm sure they will find the cure. MB dealers might have less expertise on this type of issues.

amo

 

Hi there,

I am writing you from Switzerland. To make a long story short: I had exact the same issue as you have described here. Took me 4 weeks and different dealers to figure out what was wrong. Euromaster were the only ones with a brand new tire fitting machine that were able to locate the issue causing the vibrations and fix it. It took them 10 Minutes.

I had the issue onces I got my AEZ Yacht rims with the new Alpine 5.

The summer tires are fine.

Make sure you go to see a dealer that uses a current tire fitting machine. I went to onces using old ones and they were not able to find the error.

Good luck!

 

A bad wheel alignment will not cause vibrations.

 

Sekpol I really feel for you and hope that it will be fine soon.

Luckily no car dealer in this world spoke to me as the monkey spoke to you, or I would have made him know how a full wheel on his face feels...

 

Sorry to hear about your woes. Given all the mucking around with wheels, my guess is you can discount that as your troubles. They should really check the next big culprits for those sort of imbalance symptoms - I.e Drive shaft and brakes.

 

You might be right, but in his case I will try to inspect other things not only wheels and tyres. Hard to believe that with so many changes and rebalancing the car still have the same issue. I suspect a combination of multiple factors.

No offense to MB service people.

Regards
amo

 

Yes, but one must first rule out the most common errors, in this case being the wheels, Trying on the wheels that was delivered with the car would be my first option, maybe even try a set from another car that is proven vibration free.


If this does not help it is time to move on,

 

Vic is right. I would ask dealer to mount wheels on test car that drives fine from your perspective and check the behavior.

Amo

 

While I was out today, the Tire Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) alert said the front passenger side TPMS sensor was not functioning. The owner's manual says the sensor should be replaced, so I'm hopeful this will be a simple "while you wait" repair. Kind of annoying, given I've only got 382 miles on the odometer, but aside from that I love the car.

On the positive side, my dealer has a pretty slick online scheduling system, so I'm set up for an appointment first thing tomorrow morning. I'll post an update tomorrow re: resolution to the problem.

 

I put in an order just last week. If this number of concerns and quality screw ups continue to be reported, I'll take my deposit back. People can do half-*** jobs and management if they want, they won't get my hard earned cash.

IF anyone from Mercedes is on the board, I encourage a posted update of the action Mercedes is doing to fix the issues. Otherwise, this car should honestly stop production in the US.

No, I don't think that this is an overstatement. (anticipating other users replies)

 

This might look bad but you have to remember that this is a message board where most people post about problems and similar, it does not give a just view of the real life.

 

I wish that was all true, but many here posted before they even got the car. Usually forums bring people with problems, but this car is in it's infancy here.

I'm concerned, at least with suppliers and oversight obviously poor, this car has problems. Most of which likely not discovered yet. I still have my order in...as of today. Mercedes will have to provide some assurance of change, or I'll likely pull out.

 

So what are the issues that concerns you?


Taillight fitment?, headlight fog?

 

From this and other boards and dealer here who has returned a handful of them

Steering malfunction..requires flatbed tow...no fix
Door lock inop no fix, intermittently locks you out of car
Command system freeze, sometimes reset and boots, others not, and no ac/heat w/o command
Command remembering settings issue
Window fit/drainage issues.
Interior and exterior lights out after a week or 2
Window screening issues at delivery
Transmission issue around gear 2-3
Steering noise, no fix
Fuel door fit
Bumper fit
Sunroof jam, requiring new track ordered from Germany. Back ordered.
Tire pressure monitoring errors,,,software fix 'coming soon'

These off top of head. Many of which could have been discovered if anyone inspected vehicle somewhere from assembly to owner. They didn't.

I myself think if this stuff missed that other issues are coming unless QC gets a complete makeover.

Not being negative, just time for MB to step up, admit a problem at factory and with subcontractors and remedy it today.

Not to sound like a chick (I am) but several issues in one car or any other purchase less than a few months in.....I return it for refund. We're not talking about warranty fixing different issues that break, that's normal. These are broken cars at delivery or recurrent issues. Mercedes can accept they have superior designed product but QC mediocrity, and many might be ok with it. Doesn't mean we all will be. i wouldn't take it out on the dealer, but the manufacturer needs to step up.

 

It would be interesting if anyone would have the energy to sum of how many of the errors are reported on US made cars compared to EU, SA, and Asia build ones. At least I have gotten the impression that it is mostly US ones. This could of course bee due to the fact that this forum mostly have american members and therefore represent a larger percentage of the members here.

 

My car was built in Bremen and I have had several of the recurring problems so it isn't just cars built in the US.
Btw, I love the car and can cope with these issues as long as they stay minor....

 

What are the problems, are they the same as in the US built cars?

 

Hey Helen, for the bumper fit issue, was this in regards to the rear bumper alignment with the tail lamps? When they adjusted the bumper, did they induce any scratches or anything like that? Afraid to take my brand new C300 in if they will harm the car while playing around with the bumper...