kevinkevinson

Hello MbWorld,

I just wanted to check if what I'm worried about are just some weird quirks to this car or these might be legitimate issues that might cause me more headaches down the road. I've taken it to my dealer 3 times now, and they are having difficulty fixing the issues.

1. Steering Wheel Tapping: It first started out as a clunk when I turn my steering wheel side to side in parking maneuvers. They found a defective control arm on the passenger's side and replaced it but the clunk was still there. Took it back again and they couldn't find the issue so they just retorqued everything. Clunking is gone but I still feel a tapping sensation in my steering wheel when I turn (like something is tapping on the steering column inside the car and I feel it through the wheel). The tapping isn't really annoying or anything, just worried this might be an issue down the road.

2. Hiccuping Transmission: I had a C400 and that was a jerky transmission, this is different. Whenever it shifts to the next gear, it almost feels as if I let go of the accelerator and stepped on it again. The power just goes off and on with every shift. This issue comes and goes, so I can really contrast between when it normally shifts vs. when it's shifting really weird. I tried switching from C, S, and S+ and this weird shifting behaviour persists through all modes when its happening. This is different than the S+ aggressive shifting, this almost feels similar to traction control cutting power every time it shifts. Dealer said they updated the transmission software but didn't fix the issue.

Should I keep booking appointments until they find something or am I just being paranoid?

Any input would be great.

Thank you,

Defiant81

I have the steering issue.. Makes a clunking sounds going over speed bumps at angles and if I just shake the steering wheel back and forth. Have taken it to two dealers and was told it "might be the struct valves" but was told to come back if it gets worse. Chantilly VA Mercedes... not going back again.

Don't have the transmission issue you are describing exactly but I do have this weird sound when accelerating from a dead stop.. Kinda sounds like a "bump" exactly as you would say it.

superswiss

I don't have any issues with my steering. What year is the car? As for the transmission, I'm not entirely sure from your description if there is an issue or not. The C63/S uses a clutch in place of a torque converter, so a lot of the sensations you feel are similar to driving a manual transmission car. The ECU will ease off the throttle during a shift for smoothness, although this car having a very sporty transmission tune it will never be as smooth as an S-Class. It certainly shouldn't feel like you are loosing power during a shift, but depending on the driving mode and how much throttle you give it, there can be a slight momentary interruption in power delivery during a shift. Mostly when driving casually and with moderate throttle input in an attempt to smooth out the shift.

kevinkevinson

@Defiant81 Yea, this car has a lot of little niggles that you wouldn't think a $90KCAD car might have. They're small things, but it's causing me a lot of anxiety over the longevity of this car.

@superswiss It's a 2016. The thing with the transmission issue is that it's on and off, so I can feel what it's "supposed" to feel like vs. this weird transmission behaviour back to back in literally 1 drive. The issue happens the same whether I'm driving slow or fast; when I'm driving fast, the car lurches from the power loss between gear shifts and I can hear the roaring of the engine cut out and come back on, so it's more pronounced when I'm driving aggressively. Contrast with when it drives normally and I'm driving aggressively, where the gear shifts so quick it snaps my neck back to my headrest and makes a large farting noise from the exhaust.

This behaviour was there before I got a transmission flush, and Mercedes said they gave me a transmission software update.Should I just keep taking it back? It's on and off so it's hard to replicate at the dealer as well unfortunately.

superswiss

I see. Yeah that sounds more like an issue somewhere in the car. Almost thinking you have a sensor on the fritz that makes the car think it lost traction. Do you have any lights flashing when it happens? Does it only happen if ESP is on, or does it also happen if ESP is in Sport Handling mode or off? I know how frustrating it is to get intermittent issues diagnosed as they tend to not happen the moment you drive up to the service bay.

kevinkevinson

@superswiss Thanks for the follow up. No lights in the dash or any other indication something is wrong. I've tried in Sport and Sport + to find the weird transmission behaviour to do the same thing through all my modes. I haven't deliberately turned off traction however. I'll try turning off traction to when my car acts up again; in the meanwhile, I guess I'll have to book another appointment and hope the transmission issue shows itself to the service techs. Just starting to feel bad for all the repeat appointments.

superswiss

So just to clarify further. In what gears does it happen when you drive aggressively? The C63 can easily brake traction even as high as 3rd gear under WOT, and as far as I can tell the traction control/ESP light generally doesn't always flash when that happens, but traction control will intervene abruptly on pre-FL models. One thing I truly love about my 2019 C63S is the new 9-stage traction control system. When the car looses traction under hard acceleration it doesn't do this lurching as traction control scrambles to regain traction instead it smoothly sends just the right amount of torque to the rear wheels to keep propelling the car forward with as much traction as it can find. It does sound from your description that you are loosing traction and traction control intervenes, which in older model does feel like you are being hit on the head with a hammer if I may quote Jeremy Clarkson for a moment here.