2010 E550

hello all,

after buying the car & going over a couple of speed bumps at an extremely modearate speed I felt/ still do a "rebound" sound coming from the area of the front left wheel/floorboard area where you rest the left foot. i could/can duplicate it every time unless i crawl over the bump. It sounds & feels like a "thud" & is as clear as day. The dealer replicated it as well & was stumped. They contacted the MB factory in Germany & were eventually told to wait for the next 550 to arrive - which has taken a month. As soon as it arrived they called me in before it was delivered to the customer. When we went for a ride in that car the same rebound / secondary thud sound was there. They basically called me in to show me that it isn't unique to my car .... it made me feel a LITTLE better knowing that they will now treat it seriously. Anyhow, what I have now been told is that they have ordered new shocks/suspension for the front left wheel . I hope it fixes the problem -- which, incidentally, doesn't happen if i go slow & over the speed bump at an angle....

Has anyone else had the same issue or is it a freak chance that two E550 cars delivered to Vancouver, Canada have the same issue ? If you have experienced this what have you done & what have you been told ? what's being done on your end to rectify the issue?

303E550

I noticed a similar sound in my 550 as well, except more pronounced on my right wheel. It will be interesting to hear if the replacement of the shocks and suspension on yours will fix the noise.

Please keep us posted.

AsianML

Sounds like the same issue that some Airmatic owners have noticed with the W211. Search the W211 forum for a thread title containing something along the lines of "dead body in trunk".

emilner

I have the exact same problem. It comes from the right front and the right rear. It is more pronounced in normal driving from the rear. We call it the "dead body in the trunk" sound...

Steel.Grey.MB

Yeah I have the same problem when I go over speed bumps....I've grown used to the sound.

2010 E550

do you hear the secondary "thump"/ rebound at front left as well ? right under the 'floorboard' ? when you say you have grown used to the sound, does that mean you brought it to the dealer's attention & they didn'y pay attention ? or, are they doing something about it ??

emilner

I have not gone to the dealer, but I know that the answer will be "it is what it is". This was a well known issue on the w211 with no solutions available. I do notice it is from my passenger side not the drivers. I removed the spare and the cover over it and it made a large improvement. Today I put it back in and the thump is far more noticeable. My next step is to try with out the spare tire cover but with the tire in place.

All I can say is this is very frustrating for a brand new higher end MB. This may well be my last MB....

2010 E550

very interesting .... both of the shop foremen at the dealership made no mention of encountering any thing like i described above....

3rd MB i have owned & i really thought hard about buying a new model but then did so based on all the reviews about how the new E had been tested under such grueling conditions & to such exacting standards ... how MB had learned from those years in which public confidence had been eroded & how "the brass" had a new shift in the post-Chrysler era ...

i have to say that overall i am really pleased with the car but on this issue i find it hard to accept the" it is what it is" answer ...i am a lawyer by trade & look to help out others when, for example, "The Big Corporation" says "oh well" .... so now I might be in that situation myself huh ? i hope not since i am hopeful that the new shock/suspension the dealer has ordered will remedy the problem....

i don't want this to be my last MB & well ....you are right in that when you pay for a high end car you actually have the rght & they have the obligation to deliver a high end car..... or at least thats how its supposed to work

DrLove

I found this looking on the sticky bulletins in the first tread of this forum: LI32.22-P-048108 OCT09 – rubbing/grazing noises from the front axle when driving, replace strut boot with modified protective boot.

emilner

I didn't mean to imply I am not going to try and have the dealer fix it; it's just that I know the response they will start (and probably end with). I have to go back to them to have them tint my windows (which they threw into the deal), I'll address it then....

JoeVal

One way to fix it would be to change the front and/or rear shocks and springs for those of the C63/55. The car would ride a little sportier (harder) but will probably solve the problem and would not cost them much.

2010 E550

let us know what the dealer says ....... & does ......

2010 E550

not a bad thought at all .... i will 1st let them try to install the new shock/suspension they say is en route from |Germany ....so they say because no parts of this type for the car are here in town yet !

bnunn11

Just picked up a new E550 with P2. Noticed getting BF this AM that over all the speedbumps the car makes a "thud" sound from the front end.

2010 E550

what does BF mean ???? which side of front end ....is it a secondary "thud" under the foot area AFTER the front wheels have gone over the bump?

try going at an angle .... then i get no rebound/ thud sound ......can you advise ?

rieger

Not sure if you can do that since the E550 use airmatic shocks. It is tied in to the computer system no? So if you pull out the airshshocks wouldn't you get an error all the time and wouldn't the pump keep pumping?
Anyways the thump you here is a characteristic of the Airmatic system and there is no way of getting rid of it. Really just wasting time going to the dealership. I had that thump on my 211 and they changed the shocks twice and still had it.
This problem has been on the 211 airmatic shocks forever and no one I think ever was able to fix it unless it was altogether another problem. Sorry guys but like MB says " it is what it is."
Very simple and will save you time going to the dealership is just do a search on it in the w211 forums.

2010 E550

thanks for your input ..... but let me ask you......does the "thump" do damageto anything ? or just an annoyance ....

stanatl

Do all cars with the airmatic shocks exhibit that problem or is is "hit or miss"?

emilner

Hit or miss, my 211 never had it.

stanatl

Thanks for the reply. That's probably why they don't have a fix for it. On the other hand, they might have it diagnosed and know what the fix is but, whatever the design flaw is that causes the noise, the cost to correct it is probably more than they want to spend given the number of complaints.

I can tell you that I'm admittedly rather paranoid about creaks/rattles in my cars so if my E550 winds up having this issue I will not be a happy camper! This will translate into my dealership not being happy campers either. The 550i I've been driving for almost 3 years never had one creak/rattle/clunk type issue.

cmcbenz

interesting... i've had the new E550 coupe for a month now and no thud sound. i think my suspension is different than the sedan though. anyone know the difference?

highroller550

same here. canadian e550 coupe with all avail options. and no noise .

cmcbenz

any pics of your e550c?

rieger

no damage just an annoyance. It only makes sounds on certain bumps not all the time.

highroller550

Everyday I said today is the day. Mine is what they call here the rime edition only 50 made for canada.

It comes with the nappa leather/ designo seats really cool interior. Its raining the next couple of days , I will have it done asap.