Pistolero

So I came out of the car wash yesterday and heard a crunching sound as I was taking off. Stop the car and pulled back in to the lot and noticed the passenger front wheel fender liner was on the ground. I thought the car wash tore it but after looking at it with the manager, it looks like the tire was rubbing on it as parts of it had disentegrated. I took it to the MB dealer (as the car is still under warranty) and they said that these are very low cars and it's possible that they rub and should be a cheap part to replace. I asked why this wouldn't be covered under warranty as things are not suppose to be rubbing or falling off the car and he said that well that happens sometimes and as the part is a rubber part, should be cheap and they won't charge me labor to replace it. Needless to say, not very happy with this as they are saying that it is not going to be covered by warranty as it is a cosmetic item.

Anyone have had this happen to them and any advice on what I should do. A few wires got pulled when it came off and the check engine light came on as well.

JDB

Took your car through a car wash?

Interesting.

Carac

+1

Pistolero

Ok, wash it myself most of the time but back pain and a lack of time = car wash.

MACHC5

I didn't know these cars could go through a car wash...?

jrcart

I was thinking the same thing, I didn't think the wheels would even fit down the track...scary thought, I wonder what the wheels look like?


Is your car lowered? Stock wheels and tires? Nothing should be rubbing if you are running stock springs, running your ride height above the stop pins with stock wheels and tires. I would inspect the tire for damage as well because they are most likely damaged now as a result of rubbing.

Pistolero

Car is completely stock mods which is why I was confused about the rubbing.

jrcart

Stock ride height as well? Ride height is adjustable. Did you buy the car new or used? If used maybe previous owner had it set too low? Is car sitting level? No spring or shock failure at that corner? If none of these questions put up any red flags I would demand your dealer not only warranty it but diagnose and fix why it happened, a tires should not be rubbing anywhere inside the wheel wells. I can not think of any other possible cause besides the ones I addressed with the questions above.

jrcart

Can you verify your tire sizes for us? I don't want to sound like I am insulting your inteligence but just want to make sure they are stock sizes (if you bought the car used) and make sure you're not running rears up front or something like that.

Did you ever hear any rubbing when driving? I would imagine a rub that severe would be noticable by feel as well as maybe by sound.

ET550

I would venture to say that many modern car washes have kept up with up the times and increased their tracks to accomodate the wider tires of modern performance cars. I know the local ones in my area can accomodate 305's with no problems. Its always a good idea to check however before running the car through.

Pistolero

I bought the car used about 3 months ago. Front tire size is 265/30/19 and I had new tires put on Friday and there were no problems. Tire pressure is set at 44psi. I cannot see any drop in the suspension (I understand it is adjustable coil over but I have not touched it but not sure if previous owner had) and the car looks even on both sides. I drove up to College Station saturday which is about 200 miles round trip and did not feel anything or hear anything. But looking at the liner, it is definitely from tire rubbing against it so it must have happened during the drive Saturday.

ET550, you are correct, the tracks at my local car wash is very wide. I have 305 width tires on my M5 on 11" wide rims and no issues getting through.

Pistolero

Took the car to the dealer today and they put it up on the lift, they said that I must have scraped a driveway or something as the clips holding the inner fender liner to the front spoiler were torn off and caused the liner to rub against the tire when driving. He showed some scuff marks on the bottom of the spoiler. 1 of the clips on the driver side was broken as well. $400 to replace + $200 for the temp sensor which was torn off as well which caused the check engine light. Should get the car back on Monday.

KENNY94945

There it is then.

Front liner mounting clips destroyed from road hazards so liner was resting on tire.

No ride height, tire width or warranty coverage issues.

Pistolero

Got the car back today, it had 26 miles on it from the time I dropped it off. SA said it was because they needed to test drive the car after the alignment. 26 miles, seems a bit excessive. I get it home which is 3 miles away, put it in park in the driveway to fully inspect the car. Get back in and put gear lever in drive, and I get a red error message that says gear lever in Park position, I put it in reverse, neutral and get the same message, car drives but have same warning unless I put it in Park. Anyone know why this is? Hate to take it back to the stealer so they can do more joy riding in it!!

jrcart

26 miles is excessive.

loudandheard

The only dealership I recommend in or around Houston is Alex Rodriguez Mercedes Benz in League city. Every dealer I took my car to in Houston either did not fix the problem or would come back with more problems. On top of that the service advisers were always rude and did not make you feel valued. Talk to Patrick at Alex Rodriguez, always kept me updated and made sure I was content with the service. I used them for my C32 and C55 AMG and I stay in Spring, but it is worth the drive.

http://arodmercedesbenz2.reachlocal....ce_center.html