First post first thread and it probably should've been an introduction. Instead I'm raising a question. I purchased an Edition 1 last year with 6k miles and it's been a blast so far. 1500 miles down in 6 months and just a couple of days ago the drive shaft coupler went. Had it towed to dealership and tech diagnosed it to be exactly what that recall was for. Problem is, VIN and shaft number all fall outside of the recall range even though my CPO warranty says it's all covered anyway. I'm still waiting for the advisor to get back to me about a follow up to MB but has anyone here experienced an initial rejection? What was your course of action after?

Quick intro, might as well. Previous SL550 owner, went a few years with a Tesla P100D and decided I needed some soul in my drives. Always loved the AMG GT/S for its timeless design and brutish natural; once I test drove it, that was all she wrote. Hopefully after this whole experience I will get to enjoy it problem free. This would actually be the second time it's at the dealership due that front end clunk over bumps (which took 2 weeks to diagnose and fix).

 

Welcome!

Im not sure if my experience will help but it just might.

I had a different issue, my car was indeed under the drive shaft recall and I wanted to get it replaced before I do any tunes to avoid any future rejections.

I went to one dealership with the proof of the recall letter, I was rejected because he’s told me that my current driveshaft is fine and doesn’t qualify for the necessary changes.

so I simply went to another dealer in hopes for a different answer, unfortunately same response.

I’ve waited for a month then went back to the first dealer once more but this time I got a different service rep and without a second thought he just ordered the part and scheduled me in for the replacement and that’s it just like that 1 service rep decided the whole recall requirements and bypassed all laws they have in place.

Hopefully this helps.

 

From what I understand the recall campaign was extended to all 2016 models unless it has changed later.

 

how could you find if your car was part of the recall? Can you still do so even several years later?

 

Several ways. You may get a letter from MBUSA. You may also take it to an MB service center where they remove some panels from the bottom of the car and check the DS's serial number against their database and see if it falls within the range of the affected ones.

 

The driveshaft recall started with 2016 MYs, but was then expanded to 2017 and some 2018s and it became quite complex and convoluted.

Originally, the recall only impacted 2016 MYs and then only a certain batch of driveshafts. The first problem was, MB didn't seem to have a good record of where the suspect bad batch of Driveshafts ended up, so the TSB for that first round became an inspection with a replace of only the bad ones. Here is an excerpt of that first TSB with a "GO/NO GO" inspection:



Subsequently, more bad batches of driveshafts apparently ended up in 2017 and some 2018 models so the recall was expanded:


Here again, more bad batches of driveshafts ended up in more cars, but NOT ALL OF THEM. MB expanded the recall notice, again looking for the bad ones via inspections. They appeared to get a little better and with this go around, MB was (will) send a personal notice to owners of the affected VINS.

Now, to make it convoluted, MB discovered that some driveshafts were failing in the field but some of those cars were AFTERMARKET TUNED so the driveshaft was being impacted by torque that exceeded the original design and they had a further challenge trying to sort those out.

THEN Covid hit - This caused a severe disruption in replacement parts which is still impacting the recall campaign. In fact, without a letter from MB that the owner has, the dealer is not supposed to try the recall as they wouldn't have the replacement driveshaft. MB doesn't send the letter to owners in a given region until/unless they already have parts available there. This mess is STILL going on as I'm expecting a MB letter on my 2017, and it was anticipated it would be completed in March 2022, but parts are not available.

Here is a second excerpt from the broader recall impacted by tunes/mods.


So, it's entirely possible you get a letter, take your car in, they first do an inspection then determine the driveshaft you have is OK. It doesn't mean they wouldn't do the replacement, it just means your DS didn't fall into the replacement SNs.

Hope this helps.

 

Took mine in 3 weeks ago specifically for this recall after I was told to wait a year or so, but they couldn’t even open the ticket as it was closed again. This prevented even doing an inspection. I was told that the parts are not out there and he would call me in May.

 

Yes, agree, same here. I tried rushing my dealer on the last service I had which was in Feb. He told me they wouldn't touch it unless I had the letter in my hands.

 

My dealership said check back in May as well.

 

How many miles would this driveshaft issue start showing up at? Is it lower mileage like ~7k or does it not matter?? I have 22k mikes on mine and am getting a bit worried that I could experience this issue down the line. I am not sure what serial number my driveshaft has and have not received any letter (but I’ve only owned the car for 3 months)

 

It could be at any time.

 

Lots of good information and history. Quick update on my situation. It was approved by MB and work is commencing. I was told that parts are readily available and they will drop the transmission for this work. Quoted time is a couple of days. Let's see how long this will take in reality.

On the topic of preemptive approach, I brought this up to the dealer the first time when it was in for suspension clunk and was told drive shaft was fine and outside of range of recall. So if you are taking it in preemptively, you might get the same response.

 

where are you located?

 

I'm in NY.

 

It’s still not clear to me at all what could possibly show in a visual inspection as the bonding process is largely hidden by the sleeve/collar. Are they looking for fluid? Are they looking for discoloration around the collar?

 

The inspections do not look for defects, they look for serial number batches. MB knows that certain batches coming from the vendor did not follow the process correctly, or that the process had to be modified because of subsequent field tests. So, rather than take chances, they would be removing a good driveshaft because it fell in the range of driveshafts that used a manufacturing process either not approved or, learned over time, a better process was discovered.

As innovative as MB tends to be, I just don't get this driveshaft design. I do not see any advantage here over a steel driveshaft for cars that are 3600 lbs and in the HP range of 460 to 580. The weight savings (if that's what it was) was unnecessary and not worth the innovation. How will this material hold up over time, heat and torque cycles? Put another way, I see an eventual aftermarket opportunity as these cars get older and continue to get pushed...especially for those who are "straight line" racing these on the streets and strip.

 

From what I've seen the new DS is a totally new design and specifications..

 

I am going to insist on the basis of liability and safety That they replace the driveshaft completely on my car. Once that communication is in the system I don’t think they’ll have a choice but not to replace it.

 

Hi Steve,

I agree with you, I would prefer, instead of gluing the shaft 2 x to the aluminum couplers, an aluminum tube would be welded in between.
Could have been made with a little more diameter and very thin walls.Would that be much more weight?

i've always wondered how thin cardan shaft tubes are in general.And aluminum already had the old C4 Corvette.
Also with manual gearbox (A manual transmission with clutch, has much higher torque peaks compared to a converter transmission) and with big torque engines.

The shaft runs at engine speed and does not have to transmit as much torque as a comparable gearbox / differential drive shaft.
Think, welding an aluminum tube (then balancing) would not be the worst repair.


Best regards

Stenzel

 

I was just going about my morning coffee and enjoying the day when I read all of this about drive shafts. I'm going to work hard to forget it as I don't want to be thinking about this as I'm driving my Edition 50 with gusto. But I will be sure to keep my cell phone with me on all my drives just in case . . . Haha.

 

Totally random. Some people had issues > 10k miles, while mine started having issues around 25k miles.