Hi all:

My C400 has some kind of steering noise after being parked for a while. At first I thought it was my tire crushing ice underneath (because there is some minor vibrations when the noise plays). But now i realized it is there even on dry pavements. and my friend who sit in my passenger side confirmed this can not be normal since he drives a w204 c class too.

The noises sound like grinding noises and it happens whenever I turn one full cycle of the wheel in any direction after a cold start (particularly when i back out of a parking space).

I took my car back to the dealer last monday and they performed a 2hour check and said some components were misaligned near the air bag. and they performed some sort of a fix and asked me to monitor, but the noises persisted.

Does anyone know what the problem is? My car should have been cleared of the steering column recall, or so I believe.

Thanks in advance.

 

Low profile tires often grab and "stutter" when turning on pavement at very low speeds. This is very common, and not an indication of a problem. Are you sure this isn't what you're hearing?

 

This.

The low profile and wider tires cause some juddering/stutter, which is especially pronounced in cold conditions. The R8 has this exact response in the cold on full lock in either direction. It is also somewhat related to the quattro system on my car (R8). I'm not too hot on the mechanics of why but its normal for the R8, so it could be related to what you are experiencing. There is a weekly topic on this on the R8 forums where a poster new to the R8 asks this exact question... 'is this normal?'

I hope that was helpful.

 

+1^ ~ and don't laugh. Is some of the noise more pronounced at full lock? If so check PS fluid level. It can be as simple as aeration of fluid due to slightly low level venting through the pressure relief valves. Benz PS fluid level has always been critical.

 

Thanks all of you for the replies.

I am waiting for the rebooked schedule from my dealer and will personally confirm this with them. I will show them how the noise is produced and let them figure out.

This is my first Benz and first 19s RFT as well. also first time not switching to winter tires. So i hope it is as you all said.

Thanks again for your wisdoms

 

I think the noise is temporary only when i first started the car. generally on the first cycle of wheel turn. Once on the go, I can steer at full locks and still the noise won't be noticeable.

on my next visit i will kindly ask them if the fluid is normal too.

THanks.

 

I did some google using "low profile tire noise" and first result gave me a link to some porsche website.

http://www.leithporsche.com/blogs/65...at-low-speeds/

This is the noise i'm hearing! and the blog confirms all your replies as well. I will put this behind my mind now.

Thanks again.

 

Glad that's all it is. This complaint comes up on virtually every car forum ... it's very common with newer cars using low profile tires.

Now go out and enjoy your new car!

 

I think may be the tires, especially when driving it for the first time as the theres are really cold and them not being winters but all seasons. I have changed mine to Winters because all seasons are not meant to be driven in this type of weather. Also I am sure that when the tires do heat up they don't make as much noise, even tho its cold outside the friction from the tires being driven for a while will heat them up. I wouldn't worry about them.