MBQureshi

My 2015 GL450 has 24k miles on it and it is making a knocking noise when going over bumps. It only happens when the bumps are dips (depression in the road) or tar strips. For reference I'm hearing similar noise out of the front right

First trip to the dealer they could not replicate the noise
Second trip to the dealer I asked my service advisor to go on a test drive with me. He agreed that the noise was present. They diagnosed it to sway bar end links and replaced both but the noise is still present
Third trip to the dealer (different dealer this time) they could hear the noise and have diagnosed it to be the strut. The are replacing the right strut and I'm hoping to get the GL back tomorrow
Anyone else experienced this issue?

Dreamszalone

Well I had similar experience as yours with my 07 GL450 which had 45K miles. they first begin with changing the Sway Bar end links "Cheaper Fix" and then Struts and then most probably Steering Knuckle bearing. Well what is the out come, not good, your car would be more F ked up. I had 3 different dealership perform the work and none of them can fix it, so its better to live with that small noise or learn to ignore then to go behind it and get your car screwed up more. Lesson learned, don't mess with the things until they break or easily reproducible, as soon as the Tech sees "Customer States Clunk Noise" thats it they will by default think you are too sensitive and just wasting the time, some Techs who are running short of hours in that month would recommend Strut etc and some who already got enough work would say "Cannot Duplicate Concern" overall depends on Tech mood because overall its just a Clunk noise rite..

Good Luck with your GL just don't go crazy for small squeaks and clunk they come and go, and in winter you will hear more. Once the originality is gone, the factory spec, torque, etc you cant get that ride feel back again, unless the work was perform flawlessly.

So bottom line - You already jumped into the tiger cage, now you shouldn't be worried about bites. :-)


Thanks

MBQureshi

Well fortunately my experience was no as bad as Dreamszalone. The dealer did end up keeping my car an extra day. They changed out both front struts and the noise is gone. They were very thorough with all the work and I'm very happy with the results

BlownV8

Typically it is the struts.

aaaaah142

I'm currently having a very similar issue with my 2016 GL450 with 20k miles. Brought it in to dealership 2 weeks ago explaining a subtle 'clunk-clunk' felt on steering wheel when suspension depresses moderately (either through braking or bumps) and when it rebounds as well.
The next day they used the 'could not replicate' excuse but said they found a leaky rear strut and 'fixed that'. Picked car up, noticed the issue still remained before even reaching the first traffic light. Drove back, had technician drive with me so he could feel it, and his words to the customer care advisor were 'it's definitely noticeable but you have to drive it to feel it', so they gave me an appointment to return 1 week later. Brought the car in two days ago and today they said they were 'looking for a similar car to compare how they drive, because the tech that drove with me is not feeling the issue any more but is feeling an inch of play on the steering wheel'.. After a very frustrated exchange, I sent them the link to this thread and suggested to target the struts first, sway bar links second. They will 'look into it' and call me back tomorrow before noon. I'll let you guys know how this turns out!

ooklaa65

Yea I told them mine make a clunk also in the front. But I know not to have these guys just start ripping **** apart. Until I can narrow it down I wont have them take apart anything.

aaaaah142

Got her back last week after 2.5 weeks in the dealership. Originally I suggested the usual air struts or sway bar links as common suspects, but they quickly ruled those out. They tried a steering rack and a steering shaft and supposedly it was the shaft's couplings the ones who were causing the clunk. They also found a bad engine mount which was causing the car to feel wobbly on bumps (and tricked me into thinking it would be the struts).
As a courtesy (since it took so long and it was quite a stressful process) they buffed my hood which had a couple of medium scratches from previous owner.
Overall a satisfying experience since finally the car feels and looks like it should. Hopefully this will be the only time I'll use the warranty. I guess we can add the steering shaft couplings as a possible cause of mild clunking feeling on the steering wheel when going through bumps and on hard braking.

Cheers guys,

ccm2048

Excellent video! My 2008 C300 (W204) with 168K miles is making similar sounds. With 168K miles and no prior issues who could complain? It drives perfectly without any problems. But I wish I could locate the source of the noise.

Frank Bryant

Im having the same problem anyone have a solution for this. I replaced sway bar links control arms . Nothing has changed.

juajar

Hi, I wanted to revive this issue since I have what I think is a similar problem. Any input is appreciated. Whenever I go over a speed bump or there is a slight unevenness on the road, mi 2017 GLS400 makes this "hissing" noise, like the noise of air compressing and then decompressing. It is driving me mad.... I have already changed out Front Sway Bar, Links, Upper and Lower control arms and it is still the same.

If it helps, whenever I "Raise" the car up with the arimatic suspension and drive it around raised the noise is completely gone, which is why Im hessitant to think its the struts... Although Im not a mechanic so I wouldn't know what exactly makes is not sound like that when raised.

Would appreciate any feedback!!

EDIT: Going to my dealer is a no-go... I live in Panama and the quality of the Dealership and its mechanics is extremely subpar at best...

Best,

juajar

I am attaching an example of the Noise, please listen for the compress/decompress and ignore any clunking as it was probably mi phone moving around when trying to record.....

hwright

I am having similar problems with a clunking noise on the front right of my 2016 GL450. It sounds like something is loose and rattling when I hit bumps in the road. When at speed on the highway, there is not a problem. I replaced the struts a couple of years ago. I replaced both stabilizers last fall. The other day I pulled off the tire and saw that there is rubbing on the control arm (??) where the sway bar may be hitting it. (see photos). Any guidance would be appreciated.

L&N Caravan

hwright: photo 1 shows a grease dollop on the edge of the lower a frame indicating a torn CV boot. Shiny edge on the CV boot itself confirms this.
During the repair process, lower ball joint to be separated from knuckle- at this time check the most forward bushing on control arm and look for cracks and check for lateral and vertical slop. Check the rear bushing as well. Be sure to disconnect sway bar to enable the full movement range of this arm. More than likely you’ll find something interesting. Pls let us know outcome.
The shiny silver spot on the leading edge is a bit puzzling. I’d look up and see if any type of high VOC fluid(s) are dripping down, creating this shiny spot. Pretty hard for something mechanical from the chassis to create this. Maybe really, really high lateral skid donuts with full left steering lock touched while throwing alcohol on it 🤔? It appears really clean - if something rubbed it, would expect some type of witness mark or dusting of the original material to enable a better ID.

L&N Caravan

Apologies: grease dollop on tie rod, not frame

hwright

L&N Caravan: Thank you for pointing out the CV boot. That will give me a good starting place by replacing the axle assembly and the bushings on the control arm. I will post the outcome.

mcoady1

Any luck with this @hwright?

wildta

Nice eyes. I wonder if something bounced up (like a rock maybe going off-road) and scraped that metal part clean and also split open the CV boot.