4Gosselin

Picked up a pre-owned 2019 C43 coupe with 5k miles a couple weeks ago. Great spec and price (sub 48K). This is my first Mercedes and to be honest I'm totally underwhelmed at this point. Coming from an Alfa Giulia TI sport the car feels big and bulky, choppy transmission and although interior is stunning, the quality is worse than Alfa, if you can believe it.

With that said, I'm trying to give this car a chance. It sounds great, looks amazing and drives and handles very well. but it so far far away from perfect for a 70K+ sticker price car.

Here's are the top three gripes:

1. Tire and hum noise coming from left side. Sounds like a bearing noise, but most likely the run flats. I'm not sure, but the noise is constant and annoying. I thought it might just be the tires with some flat spotting. But it never goes away. I'd switch to the Pilot Sports if I thought it would solve the problem. Any suggestions?

2. Rattles and creaks. I read some of the post in other threads with issues and I tried solutions for most, but still getting this creak from top right back. Honestly there are many others, but that is the one that is the most annoying. I've read swapping the run flats might quiet things down.

3. Transmission is Jekyll and Hype. In comfort and sport it shifts sensibly, but in sport+ the car revs in most gears well past red line. It just doesn't shift. Unless I help with paddles. This happens when I step on it, if I ease into it, shifts fine. Certainly the 9 speed is a Sub-standard product compared to the ZF that I had in Alfa and prev BMW.

I brought the car to dealer and they said Trans is perfect (and noted Sport+ will be more aggressive - no sh......t) and they heard no issues with the tires. I asked if any customers swap the tires out to NRF and they said, Why? There is no sound difference and the only reason to switch is cost savings.

I'd love to get some feedback with impressions from other members. I'm venting, but also hope to resolve these issues or it could be a short C43 ownership for me

thx,

P

Rockyrainier

Welcome to the Forum.

I have a 2020 C43 Coupe and now thats it colder here in Canada, I am starting to noticed creaks. But in the summer months I did not have creaks nor rattles. Creaks I can live with as I don't think this can be avoided with any cars. Luckily so far no rattles, keeping my hands cross.

If you read through the forum, unfortunately creaks and rattles are very common with this generation C class. I also own a 2018 GLC 300 which was manufactured in Finland and this car has much more creaks and rattles. The dealer fixed most of the rattles but couldn't fix one of them which I just lived with. Eventually I forgot about it. My wife drive the GLC now and once in a while I drive it and could definitely feel and hear the difference from my C43; it's just a better built car.

As for transmission, in low gears it is Jerky. I'm 2 months in and have learned to drive the car and haven't notice transmission jerkiness anymore. Give it time and hopefully this will improve for you.

My experience with my C43 coupe has been great so far, I really do love the car. I test drove 2020 bmw 340 and Audi S5 before I settled for the C43. No regrets, the C43 is definitely the better car. The Performance Exhaust sounds is unbeatable and it sounds like a step up from the 340 and s5.

Give it time and maybe these things will go away as you learn the car. Good Lock.

Ramsino

I don't have the other issues that you've mentioned but the jerkiness with the transmission is unfortunately a real thing. The car is very aggressive stupid on downshifts, especially from 2nd to 1st, which makes coming to a smooth stop almost impossible. One way to get around this is to manually downshift with the paddle IMMEDIATELY when the transmission downshifts to 2nd gear, you downshift to 1st gear so that the car spends just a millisecond in 2nd gear. This is annoying since it's extra work that you have to do. If you leave it to shift automatically, the car will reach 1mph or 0mph AND THEN shifts from 2nd to 1st, causing the entire car to jerk noticeably...very poorly designed.

RichardCranium3

Regarding the creak and rattles, as others have said, sadly typical of W205s across the board. Did you notice any during your test drive? They'll address any and all they can while under warranty. If the dealer you're working with won't, find another dealer.

Tire swap at day one from runflats to conventional is a common occurrence. Road noise and ride quality being the driving factors. If you're experiencing something more pronounced and specific, don't accept "nothing wrong" for an answer, join them on the test drive and all out what you're hearing. Was this noise present during your test drive? If it's not tires, it's covered under warranty. No manufacturer is immune to the occasional part failure, which you should know more than any of us coming from Alfa and their rich pedigree of failures despite their wonderful design aesthetics.

If you researched this forum before test driving and buying the car, you would've found the transmission is by far the largest complaint. Some adapt and live with it. Others use S+ sparingly to avoid the jerk. I drive the car like a manual 100% of the time because it's my first automatic and I'm used to shifting and being engaged. That said, programming seems to have changed in one way or another since the 2017MY. I can induce the jerk in manual or auto modes, but not in the same circumstances the facelift models describe. I'm not discounting the car is geared much too torque-y and short for most, but it's a typical German car quirk IMO. Something is unnecessarily over-done, done in a non-conventional way, etc. Someone likely thought "this is Sport+, surely no one in their right mind would drive in this mode in any situation outside of a race track!" and this is a result of it. Did you drive in S+ during your test drive?

eatmydust

I think it just may be the luck with your car in particular. I got a 2020 sedan C43, no issues. Trans is smooth and not much creaks at all.

eatmydust

Wait, interior quality worse than an alfa?? Hmm, what model did you get? My friends alfa is far worse, he always compliments the quality of my interior. Sounds like you just dislike the car, did you do multiple test drives before buying a car like this?

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Should've gotten a C63, Alfa's are sporty and the C43 is a rebadged C450.

eatmydust

I think the persons issue is mechanical stuff, even some c63s have been crummy.

Also the only Alfa would be the quadrifoglio that even comes close to amg models which is much more expensive than a C43. And my God the alfas are in shops more then any amg.

Rockyrainier

I didn't even consider Alfa because of reliability. Buying a car is like a "box of chocolate, you never know what you will get", so take full advantage of the warranty period.

superswiss

Perhaps its worth repeating that the W/C/A/S205 is produced in multiple locations and build quality varies between them. For North America, only the coupes and verts are built in Germany (Bremen). Until earlier this year, the sedans were built in Alabama, USA and especially in the early years that plant had well documented quality issues. It has improved over the years, but MB has moved the sedan production to East London, South Africa now. That plant was already producing the sedans for other markets. There are many reports that US built cars don't have the same build quality. Some creaks are unavoidable in a car with firm suspension and stiff chassis. I've had a couple in my '19 C63S Coupe, but they were all taken care of by the dealership and the car is very solid at this point. At least the German built 205 are fairly solid as far as I can tell.

The C43 transmission is another story. I've commented on this before. I think the main issue is not the transmission, but the fixed torque split 4matic. I think it needs to be understood that the C43 goes back to a time when AMG sprinkled some AMG magic on regular MB models and they were sold as AMG Sport models instead of deconstructing and rebuilding them as performance vehicles like they do with the 63 series and the from the ground up built GT models. As mentioned above, the C43 is at the core a rebadged C450. The 43 and 53 series cars are only now engineered from the ground up by AMG. With the upcoming hybrid drivetrains, they'll even get hand-built engines, albeit the M139 4-cylinder engine.

4Gosselin

I wouldn't have bought the car if I disliked it. I had my Alfa for 3 years with Zero issues. I like the C43 and drove it a couple times, but it didn't take long to find the rattle and tire problem with this car across this board. I would have opted for the c63, but wanted all wheel drive. Maybe the e53 would have been a better fit. Better quality. Who knows. But don't bash Alfa from my experience it was a solid ride. The Quad would destroy this C43 and probably the C63, but again the Alfa Quad doesn't have all wheel drive and car rear seats don't fold. So just not a good fit.

I'll try and get the issues worked out.

4Gosselin

Hi SuperSwiss, thx for the feedback. I found the biggest rattle and without it the car is actually totally different. The several rattles were coming from the roof. If I just pop it up there are zero rattles and squeaks. Now if I can figure out this bearing hum issue.

4Gosselin

Odd, Never had one issue with my Alfa Giulia. I also still own an Alfa 4C and never and issue. The Quality of the 4C has been great with 10k miles and running.

4Gosselin

This is a '19. Maybe they worked out a few issues with the '20 version after the initial Facelift. Good luck with it.

4Gosselin

It's a great ride, but no AWD in the 63. This cars spec was perfect. AWD with AMG Flavor and Style. Perfect for my needs. C63 is more track focused and not good in the snow.

superswiss

The Quad was on my list briefly, but Alpha put all the money in the powertrain. It's a hoot to drive, but the rest of the package isn't there. Some things like the Infotainment and the lack of adjustability. For example you can't reduce ESP/TC unless you put the car in Race mode and then it's completely off. There's no in between mode or a Sport Handling mode like AMGs have, not to mention that I can adjust TC in 9-stages in my C63S like in the GT R, Pro and BS. Combined with the individual controls in the center console and all drive mode functions can be controlled from the steering wheel with the AMG Drive Unit. This is all missing in the Alpha. AMGs also have far better driving assistance systems, which are great for those long journeys or when stuck in traffic and to be frank, I don't like the ZF8 transmission. A performance car in my book shouldn't have a torque converter. The C43 has a torque converter, too, but the 63 has a wet startup clutch. It just makes the drivetrain so much more responsive and gives me the kind of feel that I love from driving manual transmissions for almost 20 years. Frankly, the lack of a dealer network and having to service them at Fiat/Dodge dealerships didn't sit particularly well with me, either.

4Gosselin

Hi Rockrainer, appreciate the feedback! I agree that I'll be able to work some the issues out and have already done so.

One issue that seems 1000% resolved and better is the transmission. I ordered a RaceChip GTS for the car (shipped in 48 hours) and now running sub 3.9 seconds with much better trans action. New Torque levels allow the car to hold shifts and accelerate like a true 450HP and 450NM. It's really like two different cars. I was skeptical about the RC, but after 10 miles of break-in it fixed the sluggish trans problem.

I also found the biggest rattle in the sunroof. With popped open, NO RATTLE. 100% quiet.

My last issue is the tire hum bearing sound. Thinking of having the tires rebalanced and rotated and see if that noise dynamic changes or disappears. Next step would be to have the Pilot Sports installed. I've heard the noice levels are better with the Non Run Flats. I have no issue carrying a pump and fix a flat.

thx,

P

4Gosselin

Funny, The c43 has all the tech you need, but from a practicality point of view I prefer the infotainment in the Alfa, it was super easy with 1 way to do everything. Benz is good, but 3 ways to do everything and it doesn't even have a Forward or Rewind from the Steering wheel. If there is a way to do it without being in Spotify or the Radio app, I'd love to know.

For the Ferrari engines You can pickup a Forza exhaust valve module for $299 and it gives you race mode in all DNA settings.

Ironic, because I think the ZF8 is really good. But now that I've installed the RaceChip this 9 speed with TConv setup is growing on me in a big way. More visceral and engaging and no longer jerky.

100% agree that having your Quad possibly maintained by a Jeep tech is just not great. I haven't had any issues, but for and 80K car there should be a better level of service.

superswiss

The ZF8 is great as an everyday transmission. I mean it's ubiquitous in pretty much anything out there, which kinda takes the spark away from its use as a sport transmission, IMO. Not sure what they borked in the C43 with the transmission, because it's a really great transmission at the core. I love it in my C63 and the startup clutch instead of a torque converter really takes it to another level as far as visceral goes. It basically combines the best of a dual clutch with the best of a traditional AT, and it has one of the fastest multi gear downshifts. The ZF8 is sluggish in comparison, particularly the kickdown. There are certainly variations as each car manufactures tweaks the software to match the personality of their cars. I came from a 2013 Audi RS5 with that glorious 8500 rpm NA V8 and dual clutch transmission, and I was totally disappointed with the new RS5's V6 paired with the ZF8. These cars just lose that intangiable connected feel that a clutch based transmission offers.

Howyalivin

A bigger motor in the same class car with issues that don't relate at all to powertrain doesn't fix a thing.. Elitism without common sense is what that would be.

ubergeelcd

Hello,

Fellow C43 owner here, I am guilty of too much sport+ driving and the consequence is the hatrack at the back starts to rattle, just ask the service guys to tighten it up.
Also, after 25K miles in 12 months i can report, this car is also bonkers to drive and i get 20mpg even with sport/sport+.
Some tips.
For the most part I go Comfort + Sport TRC + Manual Shift. In Manual, don't get off the gas when shifting, keep on gas and the shifts are far less jerky/violent.
Downshifts tho OMyLord. Ha Ha Ha, coming to a stop is always theatre.
Also, when you gun it off a dig, beware the funky 2nd gear, plenty of times when i was new and car would jerk violently when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Figured it was me stomping on the gas pedal and lifting like an idiot. Keep the throttle pegged and OH BOY! keep the shifts at 5-6k and you get launch.
Till 130mph I is right there, after that i remind myself i have heated seats and leather everywhere and nothing blowing up. Yes I know. i should chip it.

4Gosselin

What is the "hattrack"?

superswiss

The rear shelf. He must have European connections. In German it's called the hat shelf (Hutablage), meant for putting your hats there, although few actually wear hats and put them there. One of those old expressions that don't make much sense in the modern world anymore.

4Gosselin

That is definitely not where the rattle is from. Open the roof rattle gone. Can't be the back deck lid.

Any suggestions on this tire hum/bearing noise I have? Has anyone swapped out the Run Flats (my car has Continentals) for Pilot sports or other?

I haven't pinpointed it.

Possible Causes:

• Bad Tire
• Bad Rim (Dealer couldn't hear the noise, but they said car had two slightly bent rims, they didn't suggest replacement was needed)
• Brake Pad/Rotor issue

Potential Solutions:

• Align and Rebalance (current setup)
• Replace Tires (Pilot Sport A/S 3) Non Run Flat
• Inspect Brakes/Rotors (During Tire Replace)

superswiss

Yes, the sunroof is a common source of rattles. They did something to mine when I first brought it in. The dash is another source and the front A-pillar. They put a bunch of felt in the dash and the clips in the driver's side A-pillar apparently weren't tight enough.

As for tire hum, if the rims are slightly bent, then the previous owner clearly drove over something that made a big impact. Very possible that the tires are damaged. That would certainly be the first step. Get the tires road force balanced and check the alignment. This will show if the bent wheels are a problem, or if they can match up the high and low points to make them true. It will also reveal if the tires are bad. Basically if they can't get it within specs during the road force balance then you'll have to take care of the bent wheels first and if still a problem replace the tires. You'll have to take it to a shop that has a road force balancer. If you are not familiar with road force balancing, this is different from normal spin balancing. It applies a roller to the tire that simulates actual road force.