Joshua

HI all, hoping teh community can help me. Just bought a 2007 E350. Was experiencing (amongst other problems) really annoying steering wheel and driver seat vibrations between 60 and 85 kilometres per hour speed. As a precaution I put on a full lnew set of Continental Comfort Contact 1s (the other set was well over its half life wear). Based on my previous experience (my 5th MB car) I also replaced both engine mounts and the Transmission mounting (on inspection after this it was confirmed the engine mounts needed replacing). The vibration at highway speeds continues and even has a low hum / resonance to it which gives me a headache.

The new tyres have been balanced twice in the last week. The normal wheel alignment has also been done to no positive effect.

My next (low cost) option is to have the tyres / wheels road force balanced on a hunter machine.

Can someone comment on this? Does anyone else epxerience this on an E350 ? Help....

Joshua

144 views and not one reply

foreyes

I had the same vibration at the same speeds with my 2003 E500. Tried road force re-balancing, replaced worn motor and trans mounts, replaced front control arms, ball joints, and did an alignment. The vibration went away after replacing the control arms that were worn. You can carefully apply pressure to your upper and lower control arms with a crowbar to identify which ones have excessive play, same with ball joints. I would start by checking over your control arms and ball joints for excessive play. If they look good, then go ahead and get a re-balancing; look for a shop that has a Hunter GSP-9700 road force balancer.

Joshua

Thanks Incrediblehulk and Foreyes, I appreciate the comments. Having done some more research and paying close attention to the vibration on the way home from work last evening, I am convinced it is drive train related. The vibration is felt more in both front seats than the steering wheel. Also while driving at 70 kph I can feel the same vibration with my hand on the centre console behind the gear stick lever.

I am quite convinced that if the Road Force balancing (which happens next Tuesday) does not cure this, then changing of the drive shaft flex discs may do so.

After this it will indeed be the control arm bushes etc. If none of this cures it I then have a dilemna. I cannot ethically sell the car on (even though it is fully loaded with all the options - Distronic, heated seats, climate on front seats, keyless go, rear doors sunblinds, etc etc) as it would be simply improper to saddle another MB owner with this problem. So my fingters crossed until it goes in to an Indy Garage on Tuesday.

Will report back on the cure... see.. I can be positive ....

MBNUT1

Mercedes can be so vexing this way. There is nothing more refined when they drive right but they seem prone to all sorts of vibration sources. I had a 190 2.6 5 spd that I was on a quest to cure a 40 mph vibration for the entire 6 years that I owned it. it was minor but it was there. One mechanic told me that it was the rear end . I never bucked up the money to replace it to find out.
Best of luck tracing it down and let us know the different things that you try on the path to curing it. I wholey applaud your honorable attitude toward not saddling someone else with it. You well be amply rewarded by the satifaction that you will feel when you finally get it to drive right. No doubt when you are done it will be the smoothest Mercedes on the road.

Joshua

Thanks MBNUT1 - Watch this space - Will feedback sometime next TUesday after it has been to the Indy MB garage in Melbourne. As a precaution I have already asked them to order and replace with a new set of Draive Shaft Flex Discs. Also having it Road Force Balanced. Fingers crossed !!!

foreyes

I agree with MBNUT1, I had a 1997 E420 that was very reliable and a great car in every way except a persistent small driveline vibration. I also remember that my 1991 500SL needed new ball joints every 40,000 miles to keep it vibration-free.

Joshua

I have been a Mercedes fan fromn teh age of about 8 years old and always promised myself when I cabn afford one I would (By teh way for all you US gents out there, lets put this statement in perspective) An E Class 2010 E350 in the US is about $60 to $75k ??? Well here in Australia (and again perspective the Australian dollar is $1.1 USD at the moment) the very same car with fewer options is $145,000 !!!.

Anyway, I digress, always been a fan. Had three when I was in teh UK and now 2 in teh last 6 years in Australia. Always also had this sort of annoying problem too but my ego and stubbornness never ever allowed me to question teh value of these otherwise imcredible machines. I have got to ask however, are these really really built like the tough W124s of old (My dad has a 300E which was bomb proof).

The context for my question - I have three family members with Toyota Camry's worth less than $10,000 and I was severly pissed off to know that when I drove all three last weekend, they werer ultra smooth compared to my $70k three year old E350. Yes I get an allergic reactionm to all their grey plastic but hey they just get in their damn cars and drive without a care in the world whereas I am getting more and more neurotic with this damn vibration #$%$#@&*^%

Joshua

I said I would post an update for the wider interest of the community. So here it is.

First, a summary of the problem - My 2007 E350 has vibrations felt in the seat and in the steering wheel originally between 65 kmph and 85 kmph. I have spent $3500 so far in getting the problem fixed but without full success. Before I state what has been done it is important to grade teh scale on the problem - on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being bad and one being a really smooth vibration free drive - the car was at 10, really bad.

What has been done - progressively I changed the two engine mounts and transmission mount ($1145 in Australia). This eliminated any minor vibrations at idle. Car now very smooth at idle. It never was a problem at idle. I then had a new set of OEM Continental Comfort Contact 1 tyres (225 / 55 R16 95W) @ $980 for a set. I then paid $70 to have the wheel balanced and another $90 to have them Road Force Balanced on a Hunter machine. I then paid an addtional $1050 to have the Flex Discs front and rear of the drive shaft changed to try to eliminate drive shaft vibration that I thought was causing the oscillating / buffeting vibration through the seat, steering and felt in the cabin (the resonance was giving me a headache). All of this has resulted in the vibration still there but not so bad (about 5 on the scale of 1 - 10). This has got the main dealer (who were pretty useless) and my Indy guy (who is very good and trust Worthy) really foxed. They too agree the vibration still exists. All suspension components, bushes and linkages in control arms etc have all been tested and shown not to have any problems.

Tomorrow, an independant tire place is going to loan me a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (OEM for C63 and E63s) to try out even though they have tested my Contis and were unable to detect any problem with the tires. If this eliminates it (not hopeful) then its cost me another $1280 for a set of 4).

If this does not work, then I have recourse I believe to two final options - the first is a transmission service form the same place that rebuilds and services transmissions for the MB dealers including Audi, BMW and Volvo. Price for this - Diagnostics @ $250 and Services $400 to $600. The second is to get the drive shaft looked at and balanced $350.

For those of you wondering why I don't just sell the damn car - well if you have read the start of this tread I believe it is entirely unethical to lumber some other person with this problem and two, as an engineer I am stupid enough not to just give up !!!.

Watch this space... whoever said that Vibrations were the most diffcult problems to solve was spot on. What price a Mercedes !!! Probably my last one. A pity, cause for 25 years I have driven these... they are not what they used to be.

MBNUT1

You poor soul. You are an engineer also. I see a quest in the making.
I don't think the transmission service is going to do anything for you.
Have you had them put the car in the air and tried running it there possbly without rear wheels. That should isolate the wheels from the drive line.

I replaced all the drive line flex discs and didn't fix my problem either. I even replace the drive shaft center support bearing No good. I rebuilt the half shafts. No good. I never had the drive shaft removed and balanced.

I'd be surprised if it's the tires since you replaced them. What about the wheels?

As an engineer when I had the same problems with my 190 I seriously considered developing a vibration diagnosis kit where you would strategically place accelerometers around the car so you could determine the frequency of the vibration. That would go a long way toward isolating the source.

This may sound like a strange recommendation but you may want to put a hose clamp on the drive shaft or actually make one of the rear wheels out of balance so you know what either feels like and what better lines up with what you are feeling. There should be about a 4 to 1 difference in frequency.

Joshua

An update, and Thanks MBNUT1 for your response.

So another $1270 later I have replaced a new set of Conti Comfort contact 1 with a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport SP3s. Whilst the new tires have a better feel of being "more connected" to the road, the Vibration is still there. I am running out of feasible low cots options. o $3500 later, new engine mounts, new tranny mount, two new sets of tires (comfort and sport) and no resolution...

I also notice that the vibration is ore when I start out form cold each morning and then as car warms up it gets a little (not much) better.

Any experienced senior members able to help here ?

gcich

My 2007 c280 had what best be described as a resonance at 45-50MPH akin to a rear window being partially opened. New tires, rims straightened, flex disc checked etc.
Put a mechanic in the drivers seat had him get up to speed and let off the gas going downhill to enhance the effect. He said it sounded like a helicopter. I got a big smile because as long as he heard it deniability was out the window. He put on the rack with someone in the car running it at speed and pinpointed the issue as the rear differential. Replaced and the car has been fine for about 5000 miles now.

good luck!

MBNUT1

I'm pretty sure that's what was wrong with my 190 years ago. Just didn't buck up the money for a new one. An indie had told me that he had replaced abunch of them.

2thfixr

Had similar issues with my 08 E350 with AMG sport package. I bought it pre-owned and despite 2 new sets of tires in 16k miles, 3-4 road force balances, 2 wheel alignments and a thorough dealer check for loose bushings or worn control arms it was never fixed. I suspect it was in an accident and had some suspension damage that was causing irregular tire wear. Got fed up and took the easy road... traded it for a 2009 E350 with AMG sport package, same color more options. Love the car but couldn't stand the shaking. Tested the new one out to 100+ and it's like crazy smooth like driving on a sheet of glass. Hope you figure out what's wrong with yours but sometimes it's best to throw up the white flag and move on.

OK55

Have you had a good look at the rims? A slight 'roundness' problem could cause this...
Brgds

DesignEng

Have an '03 e500 with the same vibration problem. This is what I have done. Control arms, wheel bearings, ball joints...nothing. Complete tranny flush, helped other vibration issues but not the 65-75mph vibration. The headrest in the passenger seat vibrates and if i have a water bottle in the (sad excuse for a) cup holder it has white caps in it.

I put a new set of Blizzak snow tire on new rims...SOLVED! So now it is spring and I'm going back to spring/summer tire/wheel set-up and assumed it was the tires and not the rims so I replaced my tires with contis and the vibration is back!!! It has to be the wheels! Yes, they have been balanced multiple times and yes hunter road force. I don't understand it but it has to be the wheels. So now I'm on the hunt for wheels and I'm thinking that I may go staggered since I have options now. What I should do is just get rid of the PITA and get a Lexus or Acura!

kosmo

i think youre on to something. It may be in the driveline. Its possible that its the drive shaft or related (guibo) part. If you have access to a dyno, its possible you can troubleshoot it. GL.

Jan AMG

Hi guys, just interested if you have found a solution to the vibration? I know this is an old thread but maybe someone will contribute and help. Thanks!

eatmydust

I had a small bend in my wheel that caused very similar issues. They would balance it and tell me its ok, even though they had to use many weights.

F1Fan

I will say that one of the wheels are not quite round or true. Even with multiple balancing it can be a problem, especially noticeable at high speeds.

MooflesThaCat

I'd have to agree. My back right wheel has a slight bend and it gives me a vibration from 55-65 mph. Doesn't bother me enough to replace the wheel though.

F1Fan

If the vibration is not fixed, your car's suspension will pay the price. Years ago, I had dented a wheel and did not bother having it fixed. I could feel a vibration at a certain speed. I ended up having to fix the whole front suspension. The constant vibration chewed up rubber bushings and ball joints. It was a very expensive fix.

cmriv

straighten those wheels!!!!!

Rawhide06

Purchased car with vibration of front end wheels when braking above 40 mph.
Was told by local MB that I needed the lower control arms replaced along with the struts. MB told me that my rotors and pads were good. Gathered information about these items along with looking into replacing the front rotors. since one of my buddies said that he had the same problem with vibration in the front and had his rotors resanded but it did not resolve the vibration so he replaced the rotors.
Replaced both front rotors with Zimmerman and Akebono pads. No vibration at high speeds and braking is quiet and has less brake dust on the rims. Hope this helps.

Wodeshed

I had a vibration that I felt more in the seat of the pants than at the steering wheel. Turns out it was the transmission mount. Quick and easy to replace; only 4 bolts. Takes longer to get the car up on stands than it does to swap it. Drives like a dream now.