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Floaty feeling rear end and jumping right over bumps.
Hi all,
My 2013 e350 4matic sedan has a problem that I can’t seem to solve for the life of me.
Driving over snow/ice the rear end is constantly wandering, almost feels like I’m driving in the snow with badly worn tires.
On dry roads the car tracks straight and feels solid, until I come across a bridge expansion joint or even a small bump/imperfection in the road, the rear end jumps to the right.
First thought in my mind was worn shocks and broken springs also new conti dws06 tires and a fresh alignment.
No luck. Rear end is still behaving the same way.
Next I got my Indy and I checked all of the rear control arms and also the rear subframe to make sure there is no rusted off mounting points or any play in any of the control arms. All checked out. While car was on the lift I decided to replace the toe arms just to try my luck but still no luck even after another alignment.
any suggestions?
the only thing I can think of is subframe bushings at this point, luckily or unlucky I guess the rear subframe is still in great shape, still solid and only a little bit of surface rust so Mercedes probably won’t replace it under the extended warranty.
any help is appropriated
have you run a recalibration on the air bags , mine was awful to drive and doing this has solved a lot of handling issues , when you do it you may needs to reset the headlights if you have intelligent led lighting both i did using launch
have you run a recalibration on the air bags , mine was awful to drive and doing this has solved a lot of handling issues , when you do it you may needs to reset the headlights if you have intelligent led lighting both i did using launch
Air bags as in air springs?
Mine has regular coil spring suspension.
in the uk MB will insect the rear subframe for free and replace if needed at no cost , they do rot internally according to my local dealer and they told me the insert a camera to look inside , it might be worth contacting your local MB dealer,
its definitely not correct behaviour for a e class
split bushes , bad ball joints rear wheel bearings , wheel damage ," spin the wheels on a balancer and look for wobble "
Hi all,
My 2013 e350 4matic sedan has a problem that I can’t seem to solve for the life of me.
Driving over snow/ice the rear end is constantly wandering, almost feels like I’m driving in the snow with badly worn tires.
On dry roads the car tracks straight and feels solid, until I come across a bridge expansion joint or even a small bump/imperfection in the road, the rear end jumps to the right.
First thought in my mind was worn shocks and broken springs also new conti dws06 tires and a fresh alignment.
No luck. Rear end is still behaving the same way.
Next I got my Indy and I checked all of the rear control arms and also the rear subframe to make sure there is no rusted off mounting points or any play in any of the control arms. All checked out. While car was on the lift I decided to replace the toe arms just to try my luck but still no luck even after another alignment.
any suggestions?
the only thing I can think of is subframe bushings at this point, luckily or unlucky I guess the rear subframe is still in great shape, still solid and only a little bit of surface rust so Mercedes probably won’t replace it under the extended warranty.
any help is appropriated
Your 4M AWD driving on snow has the rear going off track despite...
new tires,
2x alignments,
new shocks
...
Too much power may be routed to your rear right wheel in addition to dynamic alignment issue.
The W212 rear independent wheels axle sure has the built-in ability to track sideways on dry, wet or snowy roads.
How to try and prevent that bad behavior ??
Keep the geometry steady as aligned. As soon as the wheels travel and down their toe gets out if alignment pulling the other 3 wheels off track.
How to keep wheels from traveling up/down?
You already found out there is more to that issue than new dampeners alone.
The W212 axles are unstable, specially with "comfort" trim.
Sway bar + bushings + links = Ouch!
The rear SB diameter is half of the front
The front SB bushings limit its effectiveness
The rear SB links have bushings on both ends
This setup is what reduces the effectiveness of stabilizer bars to make the chassis less stable.
I've noticed my rear end go sideways over bumps early on since 20kMi.
not rusted subframe,
not tires (Michel/Conti),
not only seasoned rear link bushings
The suspension swing is setup to affect toe as with saggy springs.
The workaround may to have a slightly offset setup.
Having adressed higher setup priorities :
engine oiling,
goofy tranny,
low batteries,
drained by driving,
solderless modules,
heatsoak leaks,
marginal GND,
brake booster,
caliper springs,
mismatched Hard-Pads / Soft-Discs
I am aiming to address this suspension issue with adjustable rear links.
I m sure the exact same setup issue has been identified and reworked to make chassis track true - More validation research needed.
Bottom line is simple: rear axle would likely benefit from a negative toe bias to offset swing geometry.
QE cruising out of port Miami
++++ New rear links not useful!
Replacing all new rear links is not useful because it is a setup issue ... just like coils + plugs don't fix lean misfires.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Mar 4, 2026 at 11:52 AM.
Your 4M AWD driving on snow has the rear going off track despite...
new tires,
2x alignments,
new shocks
I think too much power is routed to your rear right wheel more so than strictly a wheel alignment issue.
I don’t know if I would call it “going off track”, it’s weird but it feels like the rear end is constantly swaying left to right and requires tiny amounts of steering to correct it. That’s the best I can put it into words.
both rear axles seem to be fine and all four tires are spinning at the same rate with the car on a lift, also does the opposite spin thingy when I spin the rear tires by hand.
2. Did it do this before the conti tires? I had conti (I think the dws06) years ago on an Audi A4 and immediately returned them to TireRack. They were squirrelly as anything on THAT car. They have soft sidewalls.
3. Get the car inspected by Mercedes, not a local independent shop.
I assume your rear subframe has been carefully inspected for corrosion and cracks, correct?
I recall a few years back, another forum member having the rear moving under braking. All amount of brake parts repairs, alignment without success and the solution -> Rear Subframe damage.
2. Did it do this before the conti tires? I had conti (I think the dws06) years ago on an Audi A4 and immediately returned them to TireRack. They were squirrelly as anything on THAT car. They have soft sidewalls.
3. Get the car inspected by Mercedes, not a local independent shop.
225000KMs.
These are my 4th set of contis for this particular car, yes I know the sidewalls are on the softer side but they are easily the best all season tire I’ve ever had in my 15+ years of driving.
i have a set of prelli p zero on rims i can try throwing on but i really doubt it’s a tire problem.
I assume your rear subframe has been carefully inspected for corrosion and cracks, correct?
I recall a few years back, another forum member having the rear moving under braking. All amount of brake parts repairs, alignment without success and the solution -> Rear Subframe damage.
Yes rear subframe was checked and as mentioned other than a bit of surface rust it’s in general good condition. We forgot to check the subframe bushings while the car was on the lift and that’s the only other thing I can think of that would allow for lateral movement on the rear tire.
When mine was doing that it was the rear sub-frame. Over and again I was told that there was "no visible rust" by both Gainesville FL MB and my (former) Indipendant shop....well, then the subframe tore from the driver side.....it looked great everywhere it was not rusted out.
When mine was doing that it was the rear sub-frame. Over and again I was told that there was "no visible rust" by both Gainesville FL MB and my (former) Indipendant shop....well, then the subframe tore from the driver side.....it looked great everywhere it was not rusted out.
FL…are you any your car transplants from the North? If so, how many years was the car there if I may ask or, are you on the coast. The reason is, my car was in NYC for 10 years and 25k miles, I’m in the very northern edge of the south that can occasionally have a snowy winter, and my indy and I see only “surface” rust on my car’s subframe also…I have a Quickjack and I’m taking another look this spring.
@strife Yes, all of my cars got here via the Chicago area. Putting a new intake on it...this image was taken today - there is not a piece of metal that does not show some effect of salt and winter chemicals.
Do you have alignment report and if you do check the rear toe values. I don’t know what MB spec is for the rear toe but if it is any amount “open” have alignment done so that for sure the toe is not on “open” side at all. Have it at zero or just a hair “closed” but no amount “open”.
Open toe will make the rear “drift” out to the side where car weight swings to.
MB spec might suggest slightly open toe as these cars have been made to drive “million” mph on autobahn and you might need slightly open toe there as when car pulls against wind at fast speed the suspension flex and toe closes for driving condition and tires don’t wear unevenly. Here we drive “granny speeds” and toe does not need to be set “open” at all so make sure you don’t have the toe set for the “side step”.
Thing is W212 rear multi links feature no stock adjustment.
So dealing with rear links is unlike the front.
[Dynamic + Static] combined ...
Rear toe has multiple ways to get off specs and the matching number of ways to get back.
The soft springs offset both static camber + toe that get further off when suspensions travel up/down.
The 212 has only 1 adjustment for the rear suspension and that is toe. Broken springs and worn shocks were the first things to come to mind but as mentioned even after replacement the problem persists.
The 212 has only 1 adjustment for the rear suspension and that is toe. Broken springs and worn shocks were the first things to come to mind but as mentioned even after replacement the problem persists.
Again, check the toe. Make sure it is zero or slightly closed, never open regardless of what MB data says.
Some alignment shop may not want to do this if MB instruction is for slightly open, but for this you may need to sign a waiver for them.
On my S550 I had the sideways jump and one item that helped was to replace the lower control arm rubber bushing at the hub end. This was a big help, but the "master" help was replacing the lower control arm sub frame end bushings with the K-Mac adjustable bushings that allowed me to set camber right and get rid of the insane tire inner edge wear.
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