Hi All, So I had my 2018 E300 for about a month now. The first 2 weeks we had a snowstorm so I didnt get to drive it much. Once the weather cleared up I started to realize that once I am on very clear roads (highways/parkways), that the front end would jitter vibrate when crusing anywhere from like 65+ to 80 mph (havent really driven it past 80~).

I dropped off the vehicle at service over the weekend, for them to inspect if it may be a mounting and balancing issue or a bent rim. I also asked them for a e300 loaner just to see if another one drive like this. Lo and behold, i notice the same vibration.... I had at least 7+ benzes in my lifetime, but i never felt this before.... does your e300 drive the same? I start to feel it in the gas pedal, and in the steering wheel and overall. Is it coming from the new 9speed transmission at higher gears?

 

I have noticed weird behavior at speeds of 65+ but not jitters or shaking in the steering wheel or gas pedal. What I have been feeling is the car will feel unstable, as if I am about to lost control. But I don't lost control of the car. Part of me thinks this has to do with the new crosswind assist but I am not sure. I tried to get the dealership to look into this and they could not find anything.

 

So they ordered me a new tire under warranty, probably wont pick up the car till at least tomorrow as it has not arrived yet. They said the tire cannot be balanced properly. They say it might have been caused by flat spots... not sure, but will definitely report back once i get to drive it around.

 

The exact same happens with my car. I only feel like I'm about to lose control of the car was going at speeds of 60+, especially in curves and canyons.

 

I've had replacement tires on a BMW that could not be balanced. It was something to do with the construction

 

Did that fix the issue? or what symptoms did you have in the first place to even figure it out that the wheel couldn't be balanced? Thanks!

 

Symptoms included a vibration in the steering wheel and the seat of my pants. The wheels were balanced twice, but the issue remained. The tire vendor (Tire Kingdom) replaced all 4 tires with new ones made in Germany and sent the bad tires that were made in US back to Michelin for analysis. Last year I had another issue with Michelin times that were replaced by Michelin. I will never have another Michelin tire on any of my vehicles My E300 has Pirelli tires..

 

 

My dealer so far has only re-mounted and balanced my tires and rotated them for me - but the issue is still there unfortunately...

 

Do you have the upgraded AMG brakes? I know some issues I've seen on the forum were from warped rotors from the non AMG brakes.

 

Nope, just the standard E300 Sport brakes...

 

what is this crosswind assist that you speak of? does it come in a certain package? i.e p2 or p3?

 

have you done any more research or figured out what may be causing this? or if its just acting like the way it has been designed? doesn't really make sense that an e43 should feel like its losing control at a slow 60+....

 

okay picking up my car sometime this week, the dealership did the alignment, mounting and balance and replaced the back pads and rotors. will see if this actually fixes anything...

Interesting how I thought the front was vibrating - but they same it was coming from the rear brake and rotors?? confused..

 

Vibrating from the front end will in 99% of all cases result in vibrating steering wheel, if the car itself vibrates it's in most cases from the rear end..

 

haha I have both issues then!!

 

Curious if you'd describe this as a steady vibration or not. I've got some that's cyclical, about 0.5s on, 0.5s off, repeat. Dealer claims all wheels were fine on the road force balancer. I've been in loaners for two weeks now and received the car back twice without resolution. Each time told that "the foreman drove the car and thinks it's resolved". Getting exhausted by the process.

 

how long have you had the car for? and yes, its cyclical and annoying - like its been designed that way... did you notice it on the loaner or no? did you get your car new?

Its also to the point you don't notice it unless you own it and drive it daily. a 5 min ride by the foreman wont really detect it.... i notice more on nice roads, where you clearly know you shouldnt receive any feedback at all... im at the point where i think they designed it that way to make the car feel more sporty.... but its just pure annoying. never got resolved either

 

Sounds very similar. Highways near my dealer are a little gravely making it harder to pickup, but my long commute is on fresh pavement, and I'm sensitive to it, so it's pretty noticeable. I notice it most when I'm on cruise control and letting my legs flop to the side, so knees against the door and the center console. I feel a little through the steering wheel, and once in a while it will reverb enough to slightly rattle some piece of the interior.

On Monday I'm taking it back on smooth roads for the first long drive since the dealer returned it. Might try to retrain myself to sit w/ my legs together more and see if that's tolerable.

I paid special attention to the loaner. Pretty sure it was a 2019 and it was definitely on 18" wheels, whereas mine is a 2017 on 19". There was definitely nothing cyclical, but did find the engine vibrations surprisingly noticeable (I put it in ECO mode, let off gas so it drops to idle, and felt a lot less vibration). I don't notice this engine vibration in mine. The loaner was also a good reminder that there's always noise and vibration; this isn't a Maybach after all. But still, nothing should be repeating cyclically if all is working as designed; SOMETHING is out of whack. And damn, the cyclical thing is like Chinese water torture once you notice it. Just... Doesn't.... Stop...

Vehicle history: I picked up my 2017 CPOd w/ 22k miles on it about a month ago. I didn't notice this on my first highway drive, only noticed it on the second one, after I also happened to whack a decent sunken manhole cover. Complicating the diagnosis, when I brought it in the first time they found that two wheels were bent, but neither of these were the wheel that hit the pothole; so I think the car was sold to me w/ two slight bends, then I hit a pothole with a different wheel (that one had the rubber replaced on my second visit).

Thanks for commiserating!

 

sounds good, keep us posted after Monday's drive. Fingers crossed !

 

so btw, do you still have 3 bent rims then?

 

My rear two rims that they said we're visually out of whack were repaired at a wheel shop (they outsourced that work). The front right was just a tire, which they replaced.

I'm back in a loaner now. Went for a ride w/ the shop foreman and he felt the issue pretty quickly. Right now it's most noticeable at 73-75 mph. He said it doesn't feel like a wheel issue; didn't provide his complete logic, but I think the cyclical nature was the thing that felt most out of place. The plan is to swap all four wheels with another car, try that, and if it still happens, then he described some sort of diagnostic device they attach to the body that is used to help identify the source. It sounds like this could take a while to pin down. I'm hoping it ends up being clearly a warranty issue, instead of a wear/damage issue which would require me to fight w/ the dealer from whom I purchased the vehicle.

 

awesome, good to hear they are going out of their way to try to help resolve. yea i forget what that device is called? can you get me the name of it when you get a chance? when going to the dealerships last year they didnt have it but said they would get one in the near future.

 

I have noticed this same exact issue at speeds above 65 with my 2017 E300 4Matic Sport 18". The dealer advised to rotate the and balance to resolve the issue, however it still remains. It became noticeable after driving a 2019 E300 4Matic Luxury 18" which showed no vibration.

 

very interesting, yea i am thinking they have designed this way from factory to make it feel more sporty. i do not think vibrations makes a car any more sportier...rather it is very annoying.... I really wonder if all sports drive like this but most people do not notice it and say their e300 is smooth.

I also noticed, you need to be on very smooth roads to feel the vibrations and not every type of roads will re-produce this vibration... therefore one of my assumptions are that not everyone drives on newly paved roads during their daily commutes! the worst part is, once you know its there... it never goes away..... i have around 18th months left on the lease and i literally enjoyed the car no more than 1 week. If all future benzes have this vibration, this will be the very last benz in my life time lol