Hi Guys,

I've owned my CL55 for about a year now and I've recently noticed a strange "clunking" noise coming from the front left wheel well. I just had the front left lower control arm replaced and a steering allignment performed at my local MB dealership and this has not resolved the issue. The car makes the noise randomly and in different levels of severity. The techs claim they haven't heard the noise and after the service was performed that it was "gone". I'm sure you can understand how frustrating this is and I was wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience and wouldn't mind lending me some advice? Thanks!

-Nate

 

check the top of the front strutt and make sure it is tightened properly.

 

I agree with the above post. We had a Rover that was in and we did all kinds of work to it. It had the same weird random clunk. Loosened and retightened the strut and it fixed it.

 

Another thing to consider are your motor mounts. Check in forward and reverse on smooth pavement and see if you are experiencing the "clunk" under load. Or coast thru bumpy pavement to see if its a suspension component like the strut mentioned above.

 

have the dealer not play dumb and hook up some chassis ears. they will pinpoint precisely where the noise comes from.

 

this

 

Thanks for all the replies guys! Well, I had the car in for service at M-B of Lancaster (PA) and after giving them 3 tries, they finally came up with a diagnosis to the problem. Hold on, this could take a bit:

The first time I took the car in for the clunking noise, the tech related back to my recent scheduled maintenance at 74K miles and determined that the front-left lower control arm was bad and this was the cause. It was replaced to the tune of $647.17....not super cheap, but I consider it a gentle ***-raping considering this was not the cause of the problem, as I later found out, and the car immediately continued making the noise as soon as I left the lot. (This is after the tech "test drove" the vehicle and assured me it was gone?)

I immediately brought the car back to the dealership and explained to them my frustration. I asked the tech to drive the car again to make sure he knew what noise I was talking about and they said they would re-examine the car and make everything all better. I received a call about a day and a half later and it was explained to me by my service advisor that the tech and the shop foreman had tag-teamed the service and determined that the power steering was the problem. Apparently, "a coupling in my steering column was loose and was affecting my power steering, thus causing this noise". Now, this made absolutely no sense to me since I've never heard bad power steering or a steering rack make a clunk noise when it goes bad, but they're the experts? The tech then proceeded to test drive the car again and assured me that the noise was taken care of......HAA!! Not even close!

I picked the car up the next day, and like clockwork, as soon as I got in the car and began driving I heard this clunking noise again. Needless to say, I was ****ing heated. I went back into the dealership and spoke face to face with the service advisor and explained to her that the noise was STILL there and this was the last time I'd be bringing this car to them for service. She then proceeded to grab the shop foreman and I asked him if he would take a little ride with me. I pointed out exactly what noise I was hearing and he agreed that he heard it as well. He asked me to leave the car at the dealership and he would look at it ASAP and they would get back to me with an answer.

Well, I heard from them the other day and they've informed me that my front suspension is totally shot. She said something about the "upper struts being torn" and both would need to be replaced and with parts and labor it was estimated at $3100+. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm not very happy. This is especially upsetting due to the fact that the front and rear suspension was replaced by the previous owner at 50K miles and that bill was around $6000. All of this just doesn't make sense to me. I don't drive the car really hard or beat on it like that. I find it difficult to believe that these parts only last 25K miles given their cost. Hell, in the last 3 years, the car has only had 24K miles put on it. That's an average of 8K miles per year. Something isn't right...

Can anyone relate to this experience or offer any kind of advice? I would truly appreciate it. Any help would be great. Thanks!

-Nate

 

Go get a second opinion from a Indie shop. Tell them what they recommend fixing and see what they diagnose.

R.K.

 

i still think it's the top bolts on your strutts. this dealership seems to be jerking you around and just replacing parts. i would call them on the cost of replacements that didn't solve the problem. with no satisfaction speak to their service manager and mention the bbb and mercedes usa. i don't think i would have any further work done there unless they credit you for their mistakes.

 

OK. Yeah, I agree. I have asked them about crediting me the cost of the lower control arm toward replacing the suspension. I'm waiting on a call from the advisor as we speak. She said she'd call yesterday with an answer and hasn't done so yet. It's getting rather ridiculous. I have another shop I take the car to for minor jobs, but they're always so busy building other people's cars so it's hard to get it done in a short time. As always, I appreciate the advice and I'll keep you posted. Thanks guys!

-Nate

 

I've done this as you've said and it definitely would appear to be suspension related.

 

I am having something similar happen. Most noticeable when I brake. Was this ever resolved?