Vehicle: 2016 E350 4matic Sport Sedan 62k miles

Hello all,
Figured since the other two threads I created (here: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...e-turning.html -and- here: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ent-issue.html) after purchasing the car a little over a month ago with 60k miles have now gotten so convoluted I'd create a fresh one as I've had diagnoses done by a shop and discovered codes I didn't realize I had scanned beforehand when I bought the car.

Issues:
1) Horrific grinding/whining noise from front end when parked, car on, turning wheel to right or left and hitting full-lock; does not make this noise while driving, but at low speed in parking lots doing tight turns, does make a noise from either side up front similar to failing CV axles
2) Slight clunk/click heard/felt from front end when reversing from parked, stopping and then putting into forward gear - also seems to have slight front end clunk/click over bumps at certain speeds and a general feeling like suspension components are slightly loose or worn
3) Steering is "lazy" to automatically "feed" back to center after taking a turn; noticed yesterday its also a bit "sticky" off center like when just driving straight and making slight adjustments to the right or to the left, I have to manually "help" it back to straight ahead position
4) Steering column electronic adjustment for up/down does not work (can hear motor making noise, telescoping feature does work)

Diagnoses/data:
-Had vehicle at reputable indy shop the other day for 60k mi trans service and asked them to inspect front end suspension and verify noise complaints>shop visually inspected and shook down all front suspension components and bushings and did multiple test drives, could not replicate points 2 and 3 above, said all suspension components looked in good condition and noted prior work had been done competently, areas worked on clearly marked with yellow paint, etc., but did verify point 1 and failed NYSI because of this; they believe noises are coming from electronic steering rack, recommended not driving the vehicle for safety reasons and asked me if the whining/grinding noise was present before the last service - I do not know this information as the CarFax is sparse for maintenance records and the noises were present when I purchased the car initially
-I have not ever received any instrument cluster errors like the common "Power Steering Malfunction" message many report, however, the day I purchased the vehicle at the dealer, I scanned it with Carly for MB and I found 39 trouble codes, all seemingly related in some way to the battery>assumed at the time the vehicle had probably sat (dealership had it for sale since July 2024 according to VIN report) and main and/or aux batteries likely drained below threshold>cleared these codes and didn't worry about it, but have not re-scanned vehicle since (will do so later today and report back). However, I have not had any issues with any vehicle systems, electronics, etc. not working other than the backup camera (which sometimes says "not available" and other times works fine) - I happened to review the code history again this morning - 3 specific modules that reported codes related to the power steering system, steering column and backup camera were present which I didn't think to look for beforehand, which I found interesting, will attach screenshots of the codes

Thoughts:
-I am wondering at this point if the battery voltage issues indicated by the codes (even after having been cleared day of purchase) could be causing the horrific grinding/whine from the electronic steering rack, the steering column up/down adjustment issue (I'm aware of the stuck 13mm nut fix, haven't pulled the underpanel to check if that's the issue yet though) and the intermittent backup camera issue? If so, how would I properly discharge both batteries to reset the system if that might help?
-I'm not convinced the clunk/clicking sound when turning under driving or going over bumps and the horrific whine/grinding noise hitting full-lock while stationary are related at this point, however I am still going to inspect the suspension components myself in case the indy shop missed something (local reputable BMW performance shop missed a strut tube top nut being not tightened down all the way [took me 2min to verify this myself] on my Z3M Roadster and instead told me the tie rods were bad and causing the clunk I was hearing, so don't fully trust any shop at this point unfortunately); I see a lot about swaybar links so those will be the first thing I look at
-Could failing strut mount bearings be causing the steering "laziness" I described in point 3 above, or is it more likely related to a steering rack issue, or combination of both?







Hope all this info can help ya'll shed some light on this as its been a month+ ordeal with this car (shady dealership, car passed 10-day inspection and has failed twice now [first time due to rear brakes being metal-on-metal, replaced those the other day], ant infestation) and if I have to replace the steering rack, planet carrier or transfer case/transmission, it'd literally bankrupt me

Thanks all!!!

 

UPDATE:

Had faulty steering rack confirmed by local European specialist indy shop; tech had never heard anything like it and has only ever seen one other W212 steering rack fail (just my luck), said it sounds like a mechanical issue inside the rack, like the worm gear is stripping out or there is some issue where the rack doesn't know when to stop spinning internally as when you rotate the wheel to full-lock either direction, it actually sort of kicks the wheel back a little bit and makes this horrific metal-on-metal grinding sound. The steering is getting a little more "washy"/unconfident by the day as well, he thought all due to the rack. Thankfully I was able to find one at a local salvage yard with 4k more miles on it than my car has, with a 1 year parts/labor warranty for an extra $250; out the door about $1600 minus a core charge; a lot better than $4700 from the dealer, but still, the last thing I needed right now. Praying this is the last problem I have to deal with because this car has been a nightmare since I purchased it. Currently trying to find a lawyer who will help me try to get some recourse from this Stealership that sold it to me.