Well I've had my 2007 E350 Sport for approx 2 months now & today was actually the first time I've really had it on the highway. Much to my surprise it shakes like crazy. As it is not my daily driver, I've only got 90 miles on it. I'm wondering if its just not flat spots in the tires (Continentals) since it's been sitting in the garage for 5 wks. The vibration was considerably worse the first 10 minutes of driving even at speeds of only 40mph. Once it was on the freeway it was nearly unbearable. After some time it did manage to calm down a bit, but it's still unpleasant. Has anyone else experienced this with the 07 Sport? I initially had similar issues w/ my 03 C-Class & MB Service was completely useless. There is nothing more irritating than issues passed off by MB to be common.

 

You need to bring it back to the dealer and have them “Road Force” balance all four tires. At highway speeds slight variations in balance, sidewall stiffness or roundness are all factors. The only way to rule out all wheel related vibration is a computer simulated road test. It’s covered at no cost, under warranty through the initial welcome service.

 

What konigstiger said. I have no issue with mine and I have Conti's as well.

 

Had the same issue on my OE Conti's. Road forced balanced etc would not go away. Would recur when I hit a bump too.

Finally went away with new tires ( Michelin PS2's).

 

My OEM Michelin's did this after sitting for 2 weeks. Driving locally was fine but as soon as I got on a parkway and accelerated, the car started shaking like crazy, thought I had a flat. Slowed down below 40mph and it stopped. In about 5min sped up again and all was OK.

 

After doing some research I'm starting to think it's more than likely due to flat spotting. Especially since the car is brand new & has been sitting for some time now. Found some interesing info in the following link regarding a "Tire Cradle". Pretty pricey though.

http://www.tirecradle.com/tcradle.html

 

I had this on cold mornings when I would taxi a Boeing 737. The vibration would go away when the tires heated up. Also, check correct tire pressure in each tire. Sometimes a pressure differential between tires can lead to vibration.

 

Nice....

.. comparing a Boeing 737 to an MB w211.. not sure if that's a compliment or an insult...

 

Its got to be a compliment! If 737s ran like some 211's, they'd be falling out of the sky! LOL

 

It is a compliment!
The insult... to MB, would be comparing it to a Airbus

 

Yea check your air pressures, for how long and at what speeds were you at on the highway. I would say 60-80mph for 15 minutes is sufficient... Then take your car to the dealer and they can do a warranty tire balance b/c it is covered for 12mo/12k miles.

 

I'll drive it some more & see if the problem fixes itself provided it's flat spots. The car was vibrating at speeds between 30 - 80. The faster I went, the worse it got. After about 15-20 minutes it calmed down just a bit. I'll probably have to take it in for service which I hate doing as something else gets messed up typically. (Dings & Scratches as in the past)

 

I had my E350 Sport for 2 weeks now. I open it up on the highway, using all 7 speeds. it ran like calm water. If you are still having the vibration problem, take it back to your dealer as soon as possible.

 

My new 2005 E350 sport had vibrations from the day i picked it up.

17 months later and many days back at the work shop with numerous parts replaced and 3 sets of tyres mine still has vibrations.

Its 90% better than what it was but its still not good enough.

I honestly think this is one car they cannot fix.

 

i think you could ask for lemon law. if it is still vibrating. well i have the same experience too. i had a vibration when the car in P. i ask my mechanic and he said that it is normal for a car with abig engine. the worse one when i have 20" rims in virbate really badlly. so i change back to to stock tires and re balance it and it works better. Sometimes, difference balancing store have a difference balancing machine, therefore it is hard to make it accurate. So i suggest that you bring it to different dealer if you could. So they re check it everything again. Good luck guys..

 

Im not really sure there are lemon laws in Australia.

Im pretty happy with everything else about the car i just want to get this vibration problem solved once and for all.

 

There's another thread about vibrations in the tyre's wheels suspension section which i replied in also but to cut a long story short my vibration was caused by an out of balance brake disc.

All is good now.

 

Good to know!!! Sometimes the cause of the problem is nearly impossible to find. Too bad it couldn't have been found from day 1 for you.

 

On a previous BMW, I had Conti ProContact RFTs. These tires were prone to flat spotting if the car remained stationary for weeks. After 10-15 minutes on the highway, the vibrations diminished. If you have similar Contis, this might be your problem too. No doubt other tire brands are subject to the same issue. One way top to reduce the flat spotting would be to increase the tire pressures to 40 psi before storing your car.

 

My car does have Continental ProContact tires. Says to run front at 28psi & reat at 33psi. I drove the car today after it had been sitting for only 1 wk. After initially getting on the freeway it shook like crazy then after about 10-15 min all calmed down. It has done this from day 1. So my verdict is that it's most likely flat spotting. Still kind of annoying! At least I know it's not anything too major. Question: Will inflating the tires to 40 psi do permanant damage to the tires? Also, it's going to be getting ready for some pretty hot days here in KC. Will that have any effect on the maximum psi? I'm sure the ride quality will be sacrificed.

 

The maximum safe cold tire inflation is printed on the tire sidewall. Using different pressures than what MB says will alter some handling charactaristics of the car, but that's what you are trying to do. (You may like these changes). Don't go crazy overinflating, because you will wear out the center of the tires before the shoulders, but it seems reasonable that you experiment to get rid of the problem. Switching to another brand of tires could cost you a Grand unless you find a tire shop that will sell you Michelins or another Brand of your choice & give you an allowance for your tires... or someone here needs them.

My car came with Michelins, so I can tell you that I don't have a similar problem. Who Knows?!?

 

Yes, I agree with Barry's sound advice.

But going back to your original post, you stated that you had only driven about 90 miles in the first two months of owning your new car !!

If you have not driven it much since, then your tires are not even broken in. Most tire brands require 300 - 500 miles to breakin properly, some as much as 1000 miles. I suspect that the solution to your flat spotting is to drive the car more frequently.

However, as I mentioned previously, raise the tires' air pressure if you are planning on storing your car for weeks at a time.

 

According to the specs on www.tirerack.com , the max inflation pressure for your tires is 51 psi. Going to 40 psi for storage purposes poses no risk; just remember to re-adjust pressures before driving.

 

Intersting.

The next time I taxi a Boeing 737 I'm going to
specifically look for that!

jimm

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On Order: 08 E350 Sport, P2, Black/black,
Parktronic, Voice, Bluetooth, Burl Walnut,
Split rear seat, Rear mud flaps

 

Maybe a kangaroo law.

jimm