G-Tank

Has any one experienced and violent vibration in the steering wheel of there G500 that after applying the brakes will go away. It's not predictable. But usually happens to me at a highway on ramp where the payment is not level. The whole front of the truck shakes until I slow down.

2002 G500

2003G55

My G500 does this if I hit an irregularity in the road and am doing 50 or above. My SUV buddies think that it's because it has a solid front axle and said I shouldn't be concerned about it. One other G owner has told me the same thing. Without bumps my vehicle is stable up to 95. (I've not gone faster) Based on this I must assume the tires are balanced and that this shudder is based on suspension characteristics. I am not a mechanic (obviously) so have decided not to worry about it! Ditto for the G55.

G-Tank

This sounds like my same problem. I have taken it to the dealership twice and both times they have found that the steering shock needed to be replaced. Which the dealership said they have had several bad steering shocks and that they were faulty. I have a friend who is an outstanding mechanic. He thinks the front panard rod which keeps the front stable is not beefy enough for the new drive system. When he crawled under the truck and I turn the steering wheel, he can see the rod move. Which it should not. The pressure would be far greater with the truck moving at 50. Before 2000 G wagons where rear wheel drive until the diffs were locked. The new G wagons are all wheel ETS drive like a ML until the Diff are locked, then it is truly four wheel drive. Because of the increased pressure with all wheel drive at higher speed this panard rod needs to be heaver duty. Land Rovers also have panard rods and so do grey market earlier g-wagons, but they don't flex like mine. Which I think could be a problem on many G wagons. But I can get the dealership to listen to me.

DUTCH

This is quite simply not true. Check your facts.

jimmyg

I had similar vibrations when braking which turned out to be a warped front brake rotor. Replacing that stopped the vibration, but it doesn't sound like the problem you are seeing is related to braking.

This is the right time to take advantage of your warranty as it sound like a very easy problem to reproduce for your dealer's technician.

glen4cindy

See my post above. I am having a problem with that, but, it does not seem to be related to brake pedal use.

This vibration comes and goes, but usually happens in the same areas.

4 times to the dealer. Is this a lemon?

The dealer is now going to replace the tires, but, says that this problem will come back due to it having "solid axle all wheel drive suspension". This is straight from the delaer who states that it is straight from MB HQ, so I know these facts are accurate.

mb230s

Warped rotors or the steering shock. Mine doesn't do that.

Matteus

hi,
our G350TD also has a faulty steering shock I think, it does the exact same thing like G Tank describes, except for one thing: it keeps on shaking while you brake.
could this be because the rotors are warped?
Our mechanic just said it was all because of the tires...

btw, like Dutch said: All G's were always 4x4.


greetzz,

matteus

redcoupe

Mercedes say to replace the steering shock and bracket.
But this dosen't help for very long since its the exact same shock as the one that was on there.

Welcome to MB BS

2003G55

I just had the steering shock replaced 08/29/2004 and that solved the problem. I will see how long the repair lasts.

gWAGENlOVER

My 02 G shook and the guys on the forum told me about a recall Mbenz had on the steering shock. They changed mine to the new part munber and I have had no further trouble. They will change it for you if you tell them you are having trouble.

Juice it

Well, I started having this same problem and my dealer just called and said he needs to replace the rotors. I said at 22k miles its under warranty right? He said its not covered because they are a wear item like windshield wipers. After a few exchanges, he called his MB rep and got them to take care of the parts if I would pay for labor. I can live with this but in my opinion this should be a full warranty item if they are a known defective problem. Were they covered for any of you guys that had rotors replaced?

sszakats

My dealer hasn't charged me for any wear items, including wipers.

Amnaggar

Nine years on, what's the verdict? What did the trick? I have the same problem, the way 2003G55 describes it... it's when there's an irregularity in the road when above 60 or 70km/hr... with a weight on the steering wheel to the side I feel vibration originates (right). The weight is there most of the time, but balances when road tilts to the left (for rain or left turns on highway)
Note: I have Brabus Ride Control, and when I turn it to stiff ride it's mush better, but still not OK to not take notice...

Amnaggar

Has this issue been solved in the G63???

gollard

issue is more tire or other balance problems - usually it can always be fixed

lemioux12

I know ...so late now , this is "death wobble" 99% caused by panhard related issues.
jeeps , fords , dodges ...front solid axles have this problem.

Tonymeza55

Hi, I had these issue when i first bought my 03. Previous owner had aftermarket AMG replicas. Took those out to replace with some off road FUELs, did a good balance and alignment as well as replacing shocks, front end links and steering damper and eliminated the issue. This might be an option for you guys.

I feel some vibration now but that as a result of the off tires.

chooko

greetings you guys are new born, my 82 300gd was doing same thing ,until came the polyurethane bushing grade 90 😁

riamg

Hello G owners and Mechanics,

I own a few G wagons. G550 G55 and G63. They all seem to get this shaking/vibration issue. I even have a friend (MAL) who has a 2022 G63 that exhibits this issue, but for a different reason.

The cause can be tires, disc brakes, Panhard bar, trailing arms, steering stabilizer, or the bearings on the hub (inner/outer or upper and lower) With any of these models it is easiest to rule out tires, disc brakes and balancing. While you have the G wheel off the ground check for play up and down and side to side. Have a fiend feel for movement while you rotate the tire/wheel in each scenario. Many G wagons before 2018 may simply need the wheel hub nut tighten back to spec. These are between 180 and 200nm of torque and you need a special socket and a torque wrench for this. It is more rare that the bearings are bad, however a new bearing should only have .01 of play on a dial indicator and .03 on a used one. As a rule of thumb, a truck that drives around for an extended period of time on a loose nut (really 2 nuts) tend to cause bearing failure and I have only seen this happen once. These are big SKF bearings that I have only been able to find from Mercedes or Expedition imports.

Moving on to the easier stuff the steering stabilizer could also be shot. This is an easy item to replace but I do want to to caution you on this failure because these shocks tend to mask a separate issue. While they do wear out they are usually an indication that something else is not right. ie tires, balancing brake rotors or trailing arms.

Trailing arms have bushings and these do wear out and will cause your truck to bounce or shake when the harmonic vibrations are correct, ie 50-70mph. These typically degrade with age or mileage but I have noticed that age is the larger culprit.

Replacing bearings is the most involved remedy and you will most likely need 400 to 1000 per side in parts to remedy this and that is without labor. Throw in another 120 to 2000 in tools. Obviously it can be more or less but these bearings, seals and hub parts are not cheap and that is assuming your axle/cv is still good. There are a bunch of great videos on youtube (G class Doctor) and articles on how to do this in length.

The takeaway I want you to realize is there is usually more than 1 issue and it is very easy to have a local shop replace a lot of items before you get it fixed. I did this with our first G and it was expensive in 2010. My last fixx was out 2009 g550 and that was faily easy but was still a little over 1500 in parts alone.

good luck and have fun

Texas E63

I had this happen when my Fox Steering Stab came unbolted..... darn scary and made the truck all but undrivable....and that was with all new arms, pandhards, tiesrods and rebuilt front axle...

debating upgrading to a King SS when I jump to 37's next month...