stormkenny3

hi guys really need some help, i have had my clk 500 for about 6 months and all is well but, i am having a really rough ride, the car is as stock and has done 70,000 miles. it seems to hate bumps in the road and it is almost like the car tries to jump or just crush right over them. i am planning to upgrade the springs to h and r to see if that helps. basically i am looking for peoples best descriptions of their ride quality.


i have tryed the old and tested method for testing susupension, it bounces back stright away


i am also going to upgrade to 18in alloys with best tires possible.

rparrish22

The same problem is going on right now with my CLK500. I have about 50000 miles and my clk shifts left to right in the rear when I hit a rough bump. I know I need new tires so that is one aspect. I also had some replies on here telling me it could be shocks. I tried the bounce method too and it is firm. But that could be the fact that it is a well built car and the other shock is absorbing the bounce. In other words it could be one bad shock. I live in Cleveland and have not had a chance to get under the car. The weather here sucks 8 months out of the year. I will keep you posted for when I do get inder my car. Let me know if you figure anything out.

Yensen

rparrish22, I think that shift from left to right is normal, I could be wrong though, but it's the rear multilink suspension, and when only one wheel hits a bump it jumps and feels like a shift (in direction, left to right) until it hits the ground, at the same time one wheel would be slightly raised off the ground causing that sliding motion as only 1 wheel for a brief moment is moving the car forward. I believe this to be true anyways, and do only notice this on certain roads in my city, and it does the same thing everytime.

stormkenny3

rparrish22 will do, i will stay on top of this however it is not a major problem and as i said i want to change springs, to see if that makes any difference, i also may see about replacing the shocks.

omar26

check your suspension brushing they could be split, my buddy that works for the dealership told me its a common issue with the w209's when i had mines fixed

stormkenny3

lol yes got that changed last week thanks for tip.

atl2nyc

stormkeeny3 - I wouldn't exactly classify the CLK as having a smooth ride quality when it comes to driving rough roads, even with stock springs. Every time I hit a bump in the road, I wish to myself that I was driving my wife's car.

To that end, your experience and perceptions are quite consistent with what I am used to.

Also, upgrading to 18"s will probably make your car ride a little bit harsher because of the lower tire sidewall profile, even if you get the best tires available. But of course, your car will look much better

Yensen

The bushing's if worn usually cause squeaking over big bumps, and or harsher ride quality.

stormkenny3

right think i have diagnosed the problem, since there are so many speed bumps i decided to put them to use, i went over them left side then right side, i tried it numerous times and right side made no noise while left side back made a bit of a bump sound. i notice this all the time and i am wondering whether the right hand side back shock needs replaced, i may take it back to Mercedes again lol.

hosey82

i am having a rough ride on my 03 clk 500 as well. Has anyone figured out anythign further? The front end makes noises over big bumps and ride quality over bumps isnt great. I am going to try the bushings.

bheng

same as my 320 but only on the front of the driver side. i will change my bushings next time i am in for a service or when i do my suspension, which ever come first. i am thinking it is the bushing or shock. lol i will replace both =)

chrislis

google: bump steer.

archony

After 50,000 miles my car now shifts slightly from side to side over bumps (bump steer) and it is from the rear suspension. It tracked absolutely straight when it was new so it is not normal for these cars.
I assumed it was the shocks that needed replacing but I had not thought about worn bushings as a possibility so I will look into that too.

pacboy22

I have the same problem actually i i have 78k miles clk500 with hr springs and bilstein hd shocks and hr rear sway bar stock front sway, i recently had alot replaced in the front end both lower control arms and inner and outer tie rods, when going over bumps i hear like a squeaky noise from the rear mostly drivers side a squeaky and thumping noise, and when im going at a higher rate of speed over 80mph and theres a curve in the road its as if the rear end fishtails slides out of the lane and esp malfunction light goes on and after a while it says esp not available. Its very frustrating after spending so much money on suspension components i dont know i did the 12 and 6 oclock test and the 9 and 3 , and everything seems tight i dont know where else to look maybe because i have stock front sway and hr rear sway on its second setting which is the tightest maybe at a higher speed its to stiff in the back and soft in the front could that be it? thanks guys sorry if i stole the post but ur not alone with that type of issue :/

Nazstradamus

Hi guys did anyone ever get to the bottom of this? I have a 2003 clk 320 with the 18inch Amg wheels. Rear tyres are 255 35 18 pirelli Rossos and stock suspension. Over rough roads the back end has a slight flick to the sides when over bumps or potholes. Quite scary actually. Took it a merc Indy and they said it all looks fine underneath but it can't be. Surely this is not normal behaviour.... Help please this is my first benz and I love it to bits if I can sort this out I will be finally content with a car ...

Booma

I just bought an 03 CLK500 with 55,000 miles on it that is experiencing rear bump steer as described above. Any update on those problems identified above? What was the problem usually caused from and what was the usual fix?


Love this car, just kind of scary when the rear end jerks around when going over bumps at speed.


Thanks

MPDano

I wish those that start a thread would finish it with a solution. Anyone have the solution to this as I too am having the same issue.