How is your experience with the Power steering in W211 (E220Cdi)
 

Hi everyone,

Hope someone can help me. I have just bought a used W211 E220 CDI (11/05), and I think that turning the steering wheel is harder than I would expect in a car like this.. Its like I almost have to help the car straighten up after making a 90 degree turn or It will just keep turning.

The car has no parameter steering, and the wheels are 245/45-17 (it's the same with 16").

The car has just been totally renovated by a professional and has therefor been aparted.

Q1:
Is that the same experience the rest of you W211 owners have, or is it my car that has a problem?

Q2:
Does anyone have any ideas to what can be the problem or how to solve it?

Im looking forward to tearing from you..

Greetings AllanB

I also have a VW Passat and a Audi A4 and they are much easier to turn and better to straitghten up again.. Just so you know it's not just beacuse I'm having axtraordinary expectations..

Mine straightens quick.

The lack of parameter steering makes the car harder to steer at low speeds. The steering behaviour after a turn is "just different from some other cars". On an MB the steering should straighten on its own after a turn but no more than that. On several other car models you almost have to keep on steering to prevent the car straightening too soon. Obviously the MB approach is ideal at least in my opinion.

Thank you for your answers... I have had a w210 earlier, in which I have never thought of this problem. I think the steering in W210 was perfect - but at that time I had never heard of parameter steering.. so I just wondered if it is supposed to be "harder" to turn the steering wheel in the W211 (and therefor MB made parameter steering).
I think I will take a test drive in another W211 to compare..

Thnx again..

A good idea to have a test drive with another similar W211. I've had a W210 in the past and the W211 definitely is not harder to turn (to and from a turn) but I had parameter steering on both and this experience may not count.

Well, this might be an issue of the modifications that were done to your car. 245/45-17 wheels and tires are NOT Original Equipment for that series of a W211. If you look at some MB charts for wheels, a lot of wheels are NOT supposed to be put on a 220 CDI. I don’t think that you are hurting anything, but I would be willing to bet you that the wider rim and tire is also making your offset different and might be rendering the caster to be insufficient to turn both wheels back to center. Remember your tires are much stickier now. My E320 4-Matic has 245/45-17 for summer tires and 225/55-16 for winter tires and the steering pulls right back to center with both.

When I am in Germany, I often drive an E220 CDI (I think that it is a 2003). It has 16 in wheels and I think that they are 205 (width). The car returns the wheels right back to center just like my E here in the States does. Just because a lot of W211s have the size tires you have on yours does not mean that your W211 can handle the size tire and rim.

These are just some of my thoughts on this, so don’t take them as being fact,

Steve

Power steering E 220 CDI 2003 problem
 

Hi Alan,
I am having a similar problem as yours...... please tell me if your power steering related has been sorted out ? If yes what did you do to set it right.
Your response will help me immensely,many thanks in advance
Warm Rgds
Raj

Hi Raj,
I had a testdrive in another similar car, and the steering was the exact same. Shortly after I sold the car (220 with 150hp) and bought a '07 instead (220 with 170hp) - which is a much better experience regarding the steering.

Steering has a lot of... power. When I turn the wheel right it tends to go left though and when I turn the wheel left it goes right. Same thing happens with the reverse and drive gears. Weird.

"...and I think that turning the steering wheel is harder than I would expect in a car like this.. Its like I almost have to help the car straighten up after making a 90 degree turn or It will just keep turning."

I felt exactly the same about the steering on my 2005 E500 when I first got it - lots of understeer, doesn't center very quickly. I noticed the difference mostly on U-turns and cloverleaf on/off ramps. I got used to it. I think it's just different than what I was used to. This is my first MB. Previous 2 cars were Acura TL and MDX.

Sounds like your car may be afficted with a case of assbackwards.:)

When I had a 2004 E500 I used to describe the steering feel as "thick", and yes I had to unsteer the wheel back to center after a turn.

On the 2007 E550 I got in Feb 2007, MB made a big deal about revising the steering wheel feel, and yes, on my 2007, the wheel centers after a turn by itself, and it feels like it has more power assist than my 04 had.

I remember being surprised at rhe "thickness" of my 04's steering feel, and how similar to other cars and lighter the 07 feels.

I'd say your car is normal, but to convince yourself go drive another 03-06 E and then an 07-09 to see how different they really are... because they are.