Power Steering Malfunction
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 63
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ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
Power Steering Malfunction
Well it seems as though my good luck continues with my CLS...
Out of the blue this past weekend my car all of a sudden pinged the "power steering malfunction, see operator's manual" in the dash. Thank God I was literally around the block from my house. I lost all power steering immedietly and pulled over to turn the car off. I let her sit for 5-10 mins then turned it back on and it was gone. I was able to drive straight back into my home garage and the light has been on since.
I did do the recall service from Mercedes Benz to change out the steering bolts last weekend, would that have any sort of correlation to my problem?
Anyone else on here experience something similar? My vehicle currently has 56k miles on her and I am most likely going to tow her to the stealership as I have no choice to have her checked out. I wish I could drive it to the indy but thats not possible. Would the whole power Steering Rack and Pinion need to be changed or maybe it's a software issue? Back in 2012 I did dig up an old TSB to update the software on the w218 that was mistakenly throwing the same code. Prior to the issue, I had no weird noises, no leaks on the ground or in the engine bay, no warnings of any sort.... so I'm hoping for the latter- that it could be a software issue.
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated...TIA
Out of the blue this past weekend my car all of a sudden pinged the "power steering malfunction, see operator's manual" in the dash. Thank God I was literally around the block from my house. I lost all power steering immedietly and pulled over to turn the car off. I let her sit for 5-10 mins then turned it back on and it was gone. I was able to drive straight back into my home garage and the light has been on since.
I did do the recall service from Mercedes Benz to change out the steering bolts last weekend, would that have any sort of correlation to my problem?
Anyone else on here experience something similar? My vehicle currently has 56k miles on her and I am most likely going to tow her to the stealership as I have no choice to have her checked out. I wish I could drive it to the indy but thats not possible. Would the whole power Steering Rack and Pinion need to be changed or maybe it's a software issue? Back in 2012 I did dig up an old TSB to update the software on the w218 that was mistakenly throwing the same code. Prior to the issue, I had no weird noises, no leaks on the ground or in the engine bay, no warnings of any sort.... so I'm hoping for the latter- that it could be a software issue.
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated...TIA
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Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 311
Likes: 37
CLS 550
Well it seems as though my good luck continues with my CLS...
Out of the blue this past weekend my car all of a sudden pinged the "power steering malfunction, see operator's manual" in the dash. Thank God I was literally around the block from my house. I lost all power steering immedietly and pulled over to turn the car off. I let her sit for 5-10 mins then turned it back on and it was gone. I was able to drive straight back into my home garage and the light has been on since.
I did do the recall service from Mercedes Benz to change out the steering bolts last weekend, would that have any sort of correlation to my problem?
Anyone else on here experience something similar? My vehicle currently has 56k miles on her and I am most likely going to tow her to the stealership as I have no choice to have her checked out. I wish I could drive it to the indy but thats not possible. Would the whole power Steering Rack and Pinion need to be changed or maybe it's a software issue? Back in 2012 I did dig up an old TSB to update the software on the w218 that was mistakenly throwing the same code. Prior to the issue, I had no weird noises, no leaks on the ground or in the engine bay, no warnings of any sort.... so I'm hoping for the latter- that it could be a software issue.
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated...TIA
Out of the blue this past weekend my car all of a sudden pinged the "power steering malfunction, see operator's manual" in the dash. Thank God I was literally around the block from my house. I lost all power steering immedietly and pulled over to turn the car off. I let her sit for 5-10 mins then turned it back on and it was gone. I was able to drive straight back into my home garage and the light has been on since.
I did do the recall service from Mercedes Benz to change out the steering bolts last weekend, would that have any sort of correlation to my problem?
Anyone else on here experience something similar? My vehicle currently has 56k miles on her and I am most likely going to tow her to the stealership as I have no choice to have her checked out. I wish I could drive it to the indy but thats not possible. Would the whole power Steering Rack and Pinion need to be changed or maybe it's a software issue? Back in 2012 I did dig up an old TSB to update the software on the w218 that was mistakenly throwing the same code. Prior to the issue, I had no weird noises, no leaks on the ground or in the engine bay, no warnings of any sort.... so I'm hoping for the latter- that it could be a software issue.
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated...TIA
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 335
Likes: 103
From: Saddlebrooke, AZ 85739
2013 CLS550 4Matic OE Tuned
I would definitely take it back to the dealer that did the Campaign repair. Not sure what they could have done, but this is just too much of a coincidence to ignore. make sure you remind them they just repaired it. Good Luck, Marv
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ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
Will definitely try to pin it on them. At the same time I must try to be kind to my SA and hope it’s taken care of with minimum damage to my wallet lol. Will keep you guys posted. Thanks.
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ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
Well just an update guys. Dealership diagnosed the problem as being an internal malfunction of the sensor. Underneath the car is perfectly clean, no leaks, no rust, nothing unusual to the naked eye. They claimed that the service campaign work on the bolts were on the "other side" of the rack and that one had no correlation to the other. I asked them kindly that if they could push the campaign to cover the rack and got denied. Therefor the only solution is the change out the rack.
1. Should I buck up the arm and leg and just let them fix the damn thing.
2. Or try to source the part and have an indy install it?
Since these cars are "newer" I see few options to save much on the part itself, indy will definitely save on the hourly labor, but that's about it.
Mercedes said the part I need is 212-460-84-00-80
I happened to find one significantly less, part: 218-460-44-00. This part is listed to fit my 2012 CLS550 4matic. Can any experts confirm?
1. Should I buck up the arm and leg and just let them fix the damn thing.
2. Or try to source the part and have an indy install it?
Since these cars are "newer" I see few options to save much on the part itself, indy will definitely save on the hourly labor, but that's about it.
Mercedes said the part I need is 212-460-84-00-80
I happened to find one significantly less, part: 218-460-44-00. This part is listed to fit my 2012 CLS550 4matic. Can any experts confirm?
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ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
I did as you advised and called MBUSA to ask them to see if they would cover it. Should I be open with the SA and give them a heads up? I want to maintain a good relationship with the dealership for the future.
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ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
Thanks again for all your advice guys. Here is the final conclusion to my dilemma.
Contacted MBUSA and talked to a "manager" who then contacted the dealership service "manager" to ask details of work done. They talked to the tech's and both came to the conclusion that it was an unrelated incident. Also seems to align with what the detailed work for the service campaign states. Seems as though it was truly an internal sensor failure and I got stuck with the expensive tab.
All parties were very professional, polite, and prompt. Dealer seemed to discount the work quite a bit for me as well, and did a free 4 wheel alignment, and even dropped off the car to my home.
Prior to purchasing this car used and out of warranty I was on the fence on whether I should have gotten a third party warranty or just pony up for any unexpected repairs. I opted for the latter because I wanted to tune it and didn't want to deal with warranty work and going back and forth on the tune. Well now that the car is all sorted out hope to enjoy the hell out of her and mod it a slight bit. Will post sooner than later on plans along with pics along the way!
Contacted MBUSA and talked to a "manager" who then contacted the dealership service "manager" to ask details of work done. They talked to the tech's and both came to the conclusion that it was an unrelated incident. Also seems to align with what the detailed work for the service campaign states. Seems as though it was truly an internal sensor failure and I got stuck with the expensive tab.
All parties were very professional, polite, and prompt. Dealer seemed to discount the work quite a bit for me as well, and did a free 4 wheel alignment, and even dropped off the car to my home.
Prior to purchasing this car used and out of warranty I was on the fence on whether I should have gotten a third party warranty or just pony up for any unexpected repairs. I opted for the latter because I wanted to tune it and didn't want to deal with warranty work and going back and forth on the tune. Well now that the car is all sorted out hope to enjoy the hell out of her and mod it a slight bit. Will post sooner than later on plans along with pics along the way!
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Joined: Sep 2005
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12 CLS 550, 65 Shelby 427 SC, 03 GMC Envoy
Sort of a weird question, but how old is your battery? My 12 CLS550 threw the same code while it was on the lot (not a real MB dealership) and they freaked. I found a service bulletin that addressed the same problem. A low battery voltage caused the code ( remember this is an electronic power steering unit), and changing the battery corrected everything.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 63
Likes: 18
ll 2012 Stage 1 CLS550 4Matic ll 2022 Kia Carnival SX-P ll
Sort of a weird question, but how old is your battery? My 12 CLS550 threw the same code while it was on the lot (not a real MB dealership) and they freaked. I found a service bulletin that addressed the same problem. A low battery voltage caused the code ( remember this is an electronic power steering unit), and changing the battery corrected everything.
