T-Rip

Driving on the freeway last night and the front end starts howling like an air raid siren. Turns out the front differential is toast after just 5300 miles! Anyone else had this problem on a GL?

iluvmys65amg

WOW...sorry to hear that!

mine only has about 3k miles on it so far and no problems, knock on wood!

...I would be starting a war with MBUSA on that...I dont think that should happen on a brand new GL with only 5k miles!!

MB Fanatic

Hmm seems odd. Have you changed wheels or anything? I haven't had any problems with both our 550's. I am sure your dealer will replace the diff under warranty. Do keep us up to date please as this is the first case I have heard of.

T-Rip

Yes, I needed snows for winter. Mounted 265/60 R18 Dunlop M3's on all new rims. Rotation is almost identical to the factory 21" set-up. The big tires would be sleds in the deep snow and ice.

thebishman

Good friend of mine had his front differential go out within 500 miles on his brand new ML550 about a year ago. No problems with the replacement.

Bish

slim nicky

Do you think it could be related? How many miles did you do on your new snow tire/wheel set up before differential went? I have been thinking of going 18" wheels with snow tires like you, but now am concerned....

lkchris

It really can't be related as long as all four tires are the same size.

Good idea, however, to have the Mercedes dealer mount the wheels.

T-Rip

Less than 1,000 miles on the snows. I doubt it is related. The difference in rotations per mile is so slight, it is not enough to make a difference. And, yes, all 4 wheels are the same size.

CommanderCody

15k on mine so far, with no major mechanical failures. I suppose sometimes you get the luck of the draw. What's the dealer telling you?

lauer87

20,000 miles here, no issues at all to speak of so far. Knock on wood

Fifth Ring

Sorry to hear it. It must be a glitch from the factory (low/no fluid or a bad gear, or contamination). Usually, things like diffs go forever.

T-Rip

The dealer found metal shavings in the differential fluid. Not sure what caused them, but they led to the noise issue. Maybe a flaw in a ring or pinion.

The service I got from MB was 5-star. They overnighted a complete axle and replaced the entire assembly. I had the car back the next day. It drives great with no other problems. We're getting hammered with snow, and this truck is absolutely fantastic!

MB Fanatic

Glad to hear they replaced more than they needed to. This certainly speaks volumes of MB and its service. I hope they analyze your parts and figure out the root cause of this issue, so it doesn't affect other vehicles.

Fifth Ring

That is good news. In recent years, the luxury German dealerships have been taking a beating by comparison to their Japanese counterparts (Lexus/Infiniti). It took YEARS for them to step up to the competition, and I'm not sure that Audi has gotten there yet.

Apparently, it's easier to build a quality customer-oriented business from scratch than to convert one that isn't customer-oriented.

JimBarnhart

May I ask which dealer in the Twin Cities?

T-Rip

Feldman's.

thebishman

My friend's ML550 that had the front differential seize up also failed in MN, driving from Bemidgji, (sp?), to Brainerd, and he had great service from the twin cities too. Good to know for future reference.

Bish

JimBarnhart

Thanks, I bought mine from Feldman's too and have been happy.

Howiebean

I drive a GL 320 CDI and just had a similar experience. Whining and grinding. Only 6500 miles on the car. They are fixing it as we speak. Cross my fingers and pray.....

Josey92

Is there a common issue here? Which diff is having the problem. I have a MY09 450 and seem to have a growing whining sound from the passenger front side. Let me know if that's the same place you had the problems, anyone who has had it.

BTW, the noise started a week before I put the 22s on so it didn't start the problem.

Thanks.

lkchris

Yeah, but you'll have a hard time convincing your dealer of that.

alx

i think diffs are identical across the model line.

some gearsets never mesh correctly and will fail in short order. happens.

alex
few cars