I am experiencing a pulsing, or a gentle vibration on my 2013 E350 4 Matic sedan (~82,xxx miles). This vibration is particularly noticeable between 20-35mph, under gentle 1/4 to 1/2 throttle applications. I can feel the vibration on the gas pedal (through my foot), through the steering wheel, and when I ride on the passenger seat, I can feel it too.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, or have any suggestions on what is causing the issue?

Thanks in advance!

 

Were your motor mounts ever replaced? If they are shot, and from what i read its a kind of a defect with these cars, the entire engine noise and vibration will be felt in the cabin. Does the car idle normally?

 

I don't think it was ever replaced, though I can check the records later today. But the car does not shake or have weird vibrations when idling, just when driving.

 

Did you have the spark plugs changed out at 60K?

 

No, not yet. Though that may be the problem, I am not experiencing hard jerking when accelerating. The jerking is very subtle, but still perceivable, just barely.

 

I'm kind of spitballing here, but does it line up with the rotation of the wheels? Does it happen once every revolution of the wheels? If so, I'd be inclined to suspect something with the tires, maybe a torn belt or something. It could very well go away at higher speeds. Removing each wheel and making sure each lug is properly seated and torqued (in a criss-cross pattern and to the correct spec) couldn't hurt anything either.

When you put it in park and slowly rev the engine, does it wobble at all at any point?

 

Just yesterday I took the wheels off, inspected the hub area, cleaned the area and the nuts, and then remounted the wheels to the correct torque spec (95lb). I may suspect that maybe the wheels aren't balanced properly? I suspect this because the place where I got my tires changed at over filled the front tires to almost 47PSI, when they should be 36PSI. Maybe ill bring the car to a Pep-Boys to have them rebalanced and realigned.

As for the engine, there is no wobbling, but the car does kinda rock side to side. But I think that is normal, as the engine moves around when you rev the car hard (in neutral).

 

Agreed, it's probably something as simple as a wheel being slightly out of balance. If you had the work done recently you can always go back and give them a second chance. If they're a good shop they'll own up to their mistake if it was theirs and just take care of it (or politely explain what is going on).

Let us know how that goes!

 

Get them balanced on the car, that way it takes everything into effect. It's always a good idea to mark the wheels if you take them off so you can put them back on in the exact position they were before.

 

Check your tires thread depth. Big difference between front and rear can cause vibration at center differential lock in 4-Matic cars.

 

Is this shake gear specific? Next time you drive it, feel for the gear changes or watch the tachometer to determine if it is doing it at a certain speed, or instead it is doing it in a certain gear. My car has a slight shudder, shake, whatever you'd like to call it, in 3rd gear, typically only noticeable going up a hill and lightly accelerating. I'd like to have the dealer do a transmission reflash to see if that goes away.

 

does it go away once engine is up to temp?

 

Hmmmm that is a good point, I didn't care to think about the transmission. I will try that after work today, and reply with an answer!

 

No it doesn't

 

Also look at tachometer and see if it happens only for certain range of rpms...

 

Any update? I only asked because mine is doing something similar, and the speed range you described is consistent with 3rd gear under light acceleration. Also, I would imagine that a tire being out of balance would vibrate whether accelerating, decelerating, or simply coasting at that speed. Light acceleration only, makes it seem like a transmission issue.

 

UPDATE: It only happens at around 1k-2.5k rpm on all gears. It is most noticeable on the 7th gear (aka cruising eco gear).

 

I might have been not clear above, but it happens during acceleration, cruising with foot not on gas, and braking.

 

yes - i have this exact same issue - i think its the transmission solenoid...I have already had The dealer replace the Torq converter with no change...

Im hoping they will replace to clean the solenoids next (under warranty) i have the 550 btw...

If u do more searching you will find its a semi known issue...

Good luck

 

I was replacing the front brake rotors myself yesterday when I noticed a huge oil leak from the front left suspension of my car. The oil does not seem to be coming from anywhere near the engine, and I believe it may be coming from some part of the strut assembly. Maybe that is the reason why the car was misaligned. Also, because I noticed the problem, when I run over the little reflective bumps on the road, I can hear metal clanging.