ajmaravilla

Reposted from the W204 board:
OMG! So this Friday I took delivery of a 2017 C300 4Matic, and the minute I took it on the highway I heard a rumbling sound coming from the car once it reached speeds of 40mph or above and has been running at that speed for more than 3 minutes. I took it to the dealer on Monday and they couldn't reproduce. The asked me to come in to show them and we were able to reproduce it. It the techs were actually kind of shocked. I come to find out the car needs a new drive shaft! I NEW drive shaft!? What the heck!? Has anyone experienced this? I would love to have the dealer just give me a new car especially since the current car only has 40 some plus miles on it, well probably more since it has been test driven quite a bit!

auditoamg

Haven't heard of this, but I do know the GT's had a TSB on their drive shafts as a result of improper glue (either the glue wasn't strong enough, or it wasn't applied correctly) and the D/S would split or something.....

Mike5215

Not a great start and disappointing from an owner's standpoint. I'd let them replace it and try to enjoy the car anyway.

Gungaslow

Sue those *******s!!! Lemon law the piece of junk!! Tell them your gonna call a lawyer.. threaten them... don't let them sell you this crap and accept it.. make them give u a new car

removedCFGaccount

Awful. I'm sorry for you.

ajmaravilla

So my sales person spoke to the GM and they are looking for a brand new car for me. However it's going to take a couple of days as they still have to go through MBUSA. Boy do I hope that this goes smoothly. I really don't want to take the car with a replaced drive shaft. I told them that if it is fixed that I am not going to pick it up and the sales guy agreed to leave it in service and continue to use the loaner. Do you guys agree that I should just get a brand new one or take the fixed vehicle?

removedCFGaccount

New. That's inexcusable.

dieseldoc

Agree. They need to replace the car.

Gungaslow

New car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!new car!!!!!!!!!!!!

cenzo86

Eek. That shouldn't have passed quality control. It does sound like a major issue, but it's a fast fix that shouldn't have damaged the rest of the drive train. If your dealer is offering a replacement you should jump at it, but don't worry if they just fix it.
​​If however, you get the car back and are not 100% satisfied, then you bring da ruckus.
The lemon laws vary from State to state, but usually require the same issue to reoccur 3 times within a certain time frame. Don't go in half cocked threatening them until you have the right ammo.

Mike5215

Could be worse. I was reading this thread on the ATS-V forum. Guy had a noticeable vibration and drone in 5th at 80 mph in a brand new coupe that was driving him nuts. GM told the dealer to tell the customer he's not supposed to go that fast anyway. This is a car with a 180mph top speed that's sold with a track package btw.

Then a solid year of "normal operation" and "cannot reproduce" excuses. The guy happens to be an automotive writer with an engineering background and he was relentless. Finally they flew a team in from Detroit, rigged the car with a system that reads and isolates noise and vibration, and again determined it's normal and close the file.

Then the guy buys his own set of the equipment, produces and publishes his own data showing exactly where the noise/vibrations were coming from (rear diff) and then, two years later, GM agrees to a fix but he's not allowed to know what they do to fix it and he can't be at the shop while it's being worked on. He later learned they replaced the tranny, driveshaft and rear diff, which ultimately fixed the problem.

He's documented every step along the way. It's a fascinating read even though the guy can't resist a few swipes at Merc and BMW.

http://www.cadillacvnet.com/forums/a...xperience.html

fabbrisd1

If the MBUSA does not come thru with trade-even-assistance - if you were a friend - I would suggest you ask for 3yrs/30K miles Mercedes Prepaid Maintenance - which can be smoothly approved.

dchar

If they offer to trade you out into a new one, TAKE IT!! They should give you something for the inconvenience...like a service package or something.
Your experience with the car will always be soured if you were stuck with the current car after such a major repair.

Mr. J

I believe the GT driveshaft is carbon composite. It is a completely different animal and shares no DNA with the W205.

Mr. J

It's unlikely that the driveshaft damaged any of the other drivetrain components. I doubt they will swap vehicles for you.

I think you should press them hard for an extended warranty if this was a purchase or free prepaid maintenance if it's a lease. The MB 5yr/75K warranty retails for about $3k, can be found steeply discounted as low as $1800-2000. Dealer cost for it is somewhere around $1700.

auditoamg

You are correct.
I shared the issue as the question was drive shady related.

dieseldoc

I would push or both if you are purchasing the car and plan on keeping it.

ajmaravilla

Ok here is the latest...I received a new and better (the new car has and additional $3k worth of options) vehicle from the dealer. All is good. Only thing is they didn't have the original color I wanted, which was the blue, but the white with beige interior, isn't bad looking at all!

removedCFGaccount

Congrats! Pictures?

Tell MBUSA or whomever to kiss your butt on Main Street!

auditoamg

Well done.

gfmohn

Not to minimize your disappointment, but at least "such a major repair" is outside the engine. As far as I know, none of the hundreds(?) of owners whose MY 2015 C300s had The Dreaded Defective Wrist Pin engine knocking got a new car. For example, I lost the use of my C300 for almost a month, while the pistons, wrist pins, and connecting rods were replaced. Now, I'm thinking that when the warranty expires in 02/19, I have to buy an extended warranty for $3,500 or so.