ttoE550

Ah, here is the potential source of my confusion. Apparently it monitors AC, windows, and radio as INPUTS in determining drowsiness -- a drowsy driver might turn on the AC full blast, open the windows, and turn up the radio to try to stay awake.

From insideline:

Also see


http://www.thecarconnection.com/mart...drowsy-drivers

mbfoup

Hey tjdehya,
I am about to pick up my 2011 E550, what should I do during the test drive to make sure I don't witness this problem? Should there normally be no vibration at all?
Thanks.

Tjdehya

My recommendation is if there is anything that you don’t like about the car... then don’t buy it. I knew there was something wrong with my car at pick up but I was just too excited to finally have my car in my possession. I always buy my cars and drive off with it in the same day. This is the first time I had to wait... and the waiting was a killer for me. I traded in an E550 and I test drove two others and the tiny vibration on that first day did get mine and my wife’s attention. So I blame myself for buying the car when my gut instinct was telling me that there was something wrong.

Keep in mind that what’s going on with my car is not common and this car is truly one in a million. The biggest issue I have with this situation is not so much the problem but MB response to the problem. I don’t even know how BMW or any other car company would handle this but the way MB has handled it is Unacceptable! I didn’t like the("you bought it so suck it!") attitude I got from various MB reps. I initially wanted my car replaced but MB has pissed me off so now I want my money back and I will go buy the 550i even though I don’t like it. I like the Infiniti M56 but going from a MB to an Infiniti seems like such a downgrade. I don’t know what I will do but I didn’t pay almost $70k to drive a crappy car. I am still driving the loaner, they still have my car, so I assume that they going through the MB bureaucracy and I should just try to be patient. All I do now is stare at pictures of my car because even though it drives like *****, it is still one sexy beast!!!

mbfoup

Thanks. I took possession of my car and test drove without catching any issues. Seems sometimes the downshifting is a little abrupt but that's probably expected until things age a bit.

Regarding the issue with your car, if you can demonstrate that it happens with yours and not another one, then MB should recognize the issue. If they don't then perhaps some expert in the car+law business could act as the witness (since either you or a MB mechanics may get biased). Then, how they address the issue is a different matter. Unfortunately I greatly doubt they are going to reimburse you. They are probably going to fix the problem. As long as you have a loaner and have your car in their garage/lot (that costs them money) they should feel some urgency to fix the problem.

You are definitely NOT going to get any better service/quality from BMW or Lexus. They all "work" the same way. Once a car is sold they only want to deal with regular maintenance because nobody else knows how to deal with "special" situations like yours. They only know to replace, try again, replace, try again, until the issue disappears. It's becoming the same in every industry: if a 10-cent capacitor blows up on your computer circuit board then they replace the entire board but most often don't since such cost is usually 80% of the whole computer! With cars, now a days, only the engineers that design them know how they work and would be best fit to diagnose any issue. The poor guy at the shop that just follows a scripted manual for every current maintenance situation knows nothing outside that script and still can do a perfect job replacing your spark plug without even knowing what a spark plug does. You never see mechanics pull off engines and transmissions now a days (on recent cars).

So it is a shame they try to dodge the issue because they know it is going to be costly to fix or just to diagnose -should they have to take a lot of parts out- but believe me Lexus or BMW would do the exact same thing. At least, know a days, they can no longer claim every issue to be yours only because we have forums. When I reported rim-discoloration issues to Lexus (my previous car) they obviously said that I had used "acid" to clean them and that I was the only customer complaining. Sure enough, I checked the forums, and this was a common problem. Nevertheless, they called me once and then conveniently forgot about the issue (since replacing each rim could cost thousands of $$$). Unless I call everyday nothing would happen. So I gave up.

I hope they will find your car issue. Definitely there should be no vibration at the steering wheel. And don't get a 550i if you are adverse to vibrations, that thing "buzzes" like crazy when it gets to 5, 6 or 7000 rpm. Further you would be disappointed by that twin turbo engine, when you floor it (even if you had carefully downshifted manually before) nothing happens but noise until a second or two later and the engine finally has reached its "comfort" zone of 8000 rpm. The E550, under the same scenario, just takes off.

Tjdehya

Well I got a strange call today. Apparently they have a 4matic replacement waiting for me at the dealership. I am surprised and very skeptical, judging from the way I have been treated I am not expecting much. I absolutely didn’t want a 4matic but if this is the best that MBUSA can do to replace my car then I will take it. I am currently not in the country and I don’t know when I will be back but I will let you guys know how it goes when I return.

hyperion667

good luck duder

Arrie

I'm very sorry to hear about your trouble. I know what it feels like when the car dealer and manufacturer deny problems that a LUXURY car should not have. Just had an episode about it with an Audi Q7 and the Audi of America and the dealer who I bought it from.

One thing in the posts abot yor problem just caught my eye and it is not clear to me. You say in your post that you feel the vibration on idle. Does this mean idle when the car is not moving?

If it indeed means you feel this vibration when car is not moving but engine is running (idling) then it rules out anything to do with tires and wheels or balancing of those.

If vibration exists when vehicle does not move with engine running it means you are getting engine vibration to the steering wheel, which also is a design/manufacturing flaw, i.e. somehow steering column/shaft is picking up vibration of the engine meaning engine vibration is entering, like it always is, the car frame and steering wheel is sensing it thru the steering column/shaft, which it should not

The E550 has an adjustable steering wheel position, right (my 350 does)? Do you have it adjusted all the way towards dashboard?

With above questions I'm trying to find out if steering shaft, which is telescopic, could be at bottomed out position, i.e. the slightest vibration at the end of the steering shaft is felt at steering wheel at the other end because there is no "flex" on the shaft length due to bottomed out position shaft is in.


Arrie

Tjdehya

Well I drove home my new 2011 E550 4matic today. I am very surprised that MB took care of this issue, after what I initially went through I thought it would be a long battle. But after they realized that it wouldn’t be a quick fix they went through the motions to get me a new car. They couldn’t find an identical car quick enough so they gave me the exact same car but with 4matic. It was an even swap with not a penny taken from my pocket. Maybe I was a little impatient, after all MB's goal is to maximize profits and taking back an imperfect car was not ideal.

I didn’t want a 4matic but so far the only difference in that the 4matic has better/firmer feel at higher speeds, it feels more like the W211. Now I have to go RTFM, search for staggered wheels on a 4matic, then ponder whether or not I want to debadge the "4matic" from the trunk.

HBerman

So, no vibrations, different vibrations? How did everything compare? The 4-Matic option was free? Neat deal.

petee1997

That is great news. It's nice to see that MB really went all out to keep you happy. That bodes well for all MB owners. It's certainly a big change in attitude.
As far as the 4Matic goes, I would think living in NJ this is an option you will appreciate especially if you travel to the ski country in northern NY.

Good luck with the new car.

konigstiger

K-A

Good news, congrats.

Glad to see M-B making sure to keep you happy. Any of the very minimal interactions I've had with anyone/representatives at M-B Corporate have been pretty stellar so far, and I was a bit let-down that it seemed they might have been on the road to treating you carelessly. From what I've gathered, it kind of appears as though they're making an effort to show they care, after the debacles of the prior decade or so. Then again, I've only had and heard from a tiny fraction of dealings with them.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by the 4-Matic feeling like a W211?

pmb600

Glad to hear it all worked out for you. You will notice a firmer steering feel (which I prefer) on the 4Matic. The 4Matic W212 has code 213 Direct steer system (speed sensitive steering) the RWD does not. Another improvement over the W211 is that the 4Matic now comes with the 7 speed transmission whereas the W211 4Matic could only have the 5 speed. You should not notice any or minimal difference in fuel economy. In fact, the RWD and 4Matic E550 are rated the same for fuel economy.

htn75

Congrats Again buddy.
Now post up some pics again!

MB did the right thing.

kingofire

I am happy for you Tj. Persistence pays off all the time!

Tjdehya

see below, pmb600 explained it 10x better than I did lol.

I didnt have my camera with me this time, all I had was my cell phone.

Dema

New car looks awesome. What about vibration? Has it completely gone including central part?

pmb600

Enjoy the new car. Had I realized that the 4Matic had Direct Steer and had I driven the 4Matic before making my decision I probably would have gone for it just for the tighter steering. Oh well, not a huge difference it still drives great all the same. My steering has a very slight vibration at high speeds but not from a defect, my right wheels are bent from wonderful Jersey roads.

220S

This is good to know. What I dislike about the non-AMG cars is the "sloppy" steering feel. If I ever buy one I'll be sure to get a 4matic for this reason alone. Although maybe by then they'll all have a more tactile steering feel.....

Tjdehya

There is no noticeable vibration but there seems to be some engine vibration inside the car. But I think I only notice it because I am actively looking for it because of my previous experience. It doesn’t grab your attention like the troubled car did. I feel nothing at idle and at speeds I can feel something at higher speeds when I look for it. I hope I dont start looking for any little tiny vibration in every car I drive because if I do I may never get to enjoy driving again.

HBerman

I'm glad that MB was able to deliver the quality of product that you orginally expected. I had a similar experience with a 2004 W211 E500 which was replaced when the wrong headlights were installed. My wait time for the replacement was about 3 months, but I was allowed to drive the car until the new one was received. There was no charge on the exchange nor for the additional features that had been added (MSRP had gone up by $2K+).

K-A

Not sure if this would be the case, but maybe the 4 wheel drive causes a bit more vibration inside, due to the added moving parts/mechanicals down there?

pmb600

Just fyi, this difference doesn't apply to each model line, just the E-Class sedan for now. I think the S/SL/CL-Classes have Direct Steer across the line-up standard, but not 100% certain. Interestingly the W211 had speed sensitive steering standard, albeit an older version, but I loved the weighty feel to that steering, it was perfect.

kingofire

Great observation! You are 100% correct. The only real bad things about luxury cars with all wheel drive is the fact that the ride is not as glassy smooth as it should be on a luxury car.

The car that comes to mind is the Lexus GS350 AWD. Tons of people on the ClubLexus forum have jumped ship because they can't take the vibrations that it ripples thru the cabin. This is a combination of the Idemitsu(I believe) design and Lexus drivers being spoiled with perfect smooth ride.

For the people who have the 4matic, pay close attention to your steering when you first start driving the car cold. Between 30-40mph there will be a subtle vibration that is caused by the differential whirring cold.

K-A great observation!

Dema

Thansk for the details. My vibration problem doesn't go worse, so I am still collecting data, perhaps I have to test drive few other W212 to make conclusion.