thekurgan

I'm waiting to ditch my runflats ... soon indeed that doesn't help. I find the chassis strong torsionally, but not longitudinally. Over straight undulations, I can hear creaks, but it is a long vehicle.

ImInPA

I ditched the runflats. I now use a set of Michelin X-Ice on Elbrus rims for the winter months once the snows start falling, and, I have been very pleased with the performance and wet traction of my Cooper Zeon RS3-A tires. I actually had no issues with my runflats until the tread hit about 50%. From that point on they just roared. Noisiest tires I have ever had. Ever. The Coopers are all season, and if had it to do over again, I would have gone with the Cooper RS3-S, which is the summer only version. Oh well, I am sure I will have another chance to buy tires, but, I am very happy withthis combination for the Bluetec's 17" rims.

thekurgan

I'm going to ditch them soon, I'm at 12k and they already make noise. I'll have to do some research, we don't get temps below 32F here. I'm hoping the rough ride is because of these things; really crazy to have them on a luxury vehicle, even with a sport suspension.

ImInPA

The Coopers were night and day quieter, better grip, especially on wet roads. The X-Ice are also superior, but, as would be expected, they are a bit mushy. I often get an E gasser as a loaner and have experienced the E on Continentals, Pirellis, and Michelins. I am always amazed how much quieter mine is with the Coopers. Even the X-Ice have a very nice noise profile along with amazing traction in the white stuff. There are a lot of great tires out there today, and, I am willing to bet you will enjoy any of them more than the runflats. I also added a compressor and slime kit. This is similar to what MB provides with non runflat Bluetecs that are available outside the US market.

thekurgan

Added the Coopers to my list. Thanks, ImInPA for the details. I believe the runflats are damaging the ride quality; I just figured a suspension like the E has, the 17" runflat wouldn't harm the ride quality, but it seems to have, and may have created some rattles as a result. Tirerack.com is my next stop.

jvc300

I looked up the coopers and I can't use them since I have the staggered AMG 18" wheels. They have the front tire size, but they don't make the required rear tire size.
Sport: 245/40R18 front, 265/35R18 rear, all season

Mbenz260e

2012 with PanoRoof here. Had a speaker rattle and the dealer replaced the speaker and its been fine ever since.

Have 17,000 on my RunFlats right now and starting to get louder noticeably. Was hoping to make 30k but not so sure at this point.

thekurgan

Sounds like you're in better shape rattle-wise than I

Here's my list so far:

1. Nav unit rattle (fixed with felt under the front facia
2. Door rattle (various, seat knobs rattle at times)
3. Rear roof rattle (fixed with felt)
4. Cupholder sliding thing (paritlaly fixed by removing the cupholders themselves)
5. C Pillar rattle (still persists)
6. A pillar rattle (fixed, found both attachment bolts very lose, loctite used)
7. Left side dash rattle (fixed, the brightness knob was the source, used 3M anti-squeal tape surrounding the inside of the dash, invisible)
8. Rattle/squeal over some bumps (fixed, used 3M anti squeal tape on the contact surfaces of the hood stops
9. Other minor rattles, mainly caused by the tires I'm not starting to believe, although my neighbor's E550 and the E350 I had as a loaner didn't make as many noises.

The dealer had a chance at all of these, but failed to find or reproduce them (typical). The door rattle I will address after this rain storm. It creaks where the two plastic pieces meet (after the wood trim)

Mbenz260e

Wow so you diagnosed and fixed most of these yourself? You must have a great understanding of how these cars are put together. I used to take the door panels etc. off 80s benz's to fix things but hesitant about messing up our newish cars...

golfster

I had the rear roof rattle, mainly when going over bumps with the right rear of the vehicle. I used the fix that thekurgan posted sometime ago to so my service advisor. He and the service manager inspected that panel, and found it was slightly warped. They replaced tha panel, and the rattle was fixed. Thanks to thekurgan for the helpful post.

Otherwise, my car is acceptably quiet now, with the two exceptions being and occasional "buzz/rattle" from the left side of the dash/IC pod junction. A little finger pressure there stops the buzz and will report that during my next service.

The other, most annoying noise comes from the tires - the Pirelli P-Zero Neros have gotten progressively louder. I'm now at 24K miles, and will replace these tires soon although the tread looks like many miles of treadlife remaining. The SA says they are indeed loud with frequent, common complaints. I've purchased 29 new cars, but have never purchased replacement tires, so any suggestions on brand/model are appreciated. I have the 18" sport/staggered setup. The SA's suggestion is Michelin, which he chose to replace his OEM tires.

thekurgan

They are actually not all that different. The most difficult/messy part is the butyl tape used for the insulating plastic; it can be expensive and/or difficult to find outside of the dealership. The plastic pins are the same and on the Benz, they are insulated with a soft gasket to prevent creaks in the doors (inexpensive as well). Standard plastic door removal tools work well.

I will say, that of all the BMWs I've had to fix rattles, squeaks and creaks. The materials used within the cabin of the Mercedes are much more durable, in the sense you can remove/attach/remove panels without the fear of them breaking apart. You can easily see where the skimping on sound insulation was though, by removing the trunk lining and tapping your fingers around. Definitely a need for some damplifier pro insulation in those areas as well as the entire inside of the C pillars. Lots of road noise transmits via the C pillars.

chrisvr6

So, i see that there isn't a fix for the rear decklid yet?! Only rattle i have. I live in chicago too! Lol

thekurgan

You may be the only one, you may have to take it apart yourself or send some pics to us of the area you think is the cause.

golfster

I thought mine was the trunk lid. It sounded like it was coming from outside of the car. I thought bad shock, trunk lid, the flat panel in the trunk above the spare tire, but it seems have been the interior roof panel just above the rear window. Hoping it stays quiet and that was indeed the cause.

thekurgan

Yeah, this was a real *******, it's well built, but it's literally plastic tabs against sheet metal. Very easy fix with automotive felt if you do decide to fix it. I may still have a photo of the work.

Arrie

Post pics please so we can fix it. I have a rattle coming from the rear and it could very well be what you talk about.

thekurgan

I already posted those pics in this thread you're reading

https://mbworld.org/forums/4975627-post79.html

El Cid

Not sure if this has been listed, but ONLY squeak, rattle, noise, etc. I have is from opening/closing the sunroof after car has sat in hot sun for a while. Dealer greased it last year, but it has come back. As long as it doesn't break, I can live with it.

thekurgan

If it is the rubber surrounds causing the issue, Krytox is your solution, not the dealer gummi stuff (if that's what they used). It doesn't hold up to repeated water and UV. Anyone with a Corvette removable roof knows this stuff.

Arrie

Does anybody know how to remove the front dome light assembly?

My car has developed a very annoying soft rattle that comes from the right side of the dome light assembly behind the roof liner. It does not come from the passenger side sun visor, it definitely comes from between the roof and the liner just passenger side of the dome light assembly.

Removing the dome light assembly would allow access to place foam or something there to stop it. There is no access thru the sun roof opening.

So, anybody with any info to remove that dome assy would be appreciated?

cwarcher

dealer tells me my noise is coming from the aspirator. it is a little fan that helps tp dissipate odor from ac system. located in the roof light assembly. i at first thought it was a speaker, but the little grille is the vent screen for the aspirator.

BM2BZ

it's very easy. just pry it open. but make sure you stick the tool between the black trim and the white light cover, not outside the black trim. good luck !

samkimg

I've never had good luck with any of the three local VH MB dealers ... I get MUCH better service down the road at Berberian in Stockton, and they will pick-up and deliver me a loaner for my E350. PM me for a contact name.

thekurgan

Fortunately, I've only had the car in for it's 5k tire rotation and 10k oil service. They "tried" to examine the rattles during those visits; I was not optimistic they would find or try to resolve any of them. I'm good at hunting them down. C-pillar is my next attack, and ordered some damplifier pro for those areas.

philipgsmith

I have had a creaking soundfrom my CLS (W218) from new. It turned out to be temperature dependent ( anything below 10 deg C and the creaking would start from a cold start up). This is mostly from the steering column area and around the comand unit screen. It turns out that the black ash wood effect trim (or wood or aluminium finish etc). rubs against the the plastic facia trim. I have had to install small felt strips and or 1mm pieces of plastic. Four small plastic wedges between the black ash trim and the comand filler plate plus two small plastic wedges where the black ash trim meets the stering column have cured the problem. MB should be fitting strips of felt behind the black ash trim in the factory. This is so annoying on a quality care like the E Class or the CLS (built on the same production lines). You may also want to remove the facia end caps (where fuseboxes are fitted on some other models but not the E Cass or CLS). The mounting screws were also quite loose on my car).

Philip Smith
Chester
UK