It is with great trepidation that I express my thoughts here with regards to the validity of some posts on this forum. I joined some time ago in hopes of learning more about my newly purchased SL550 and it helped me find solutions to things like resetting the change oil warning display. However, in recent months and in anticipation of a new 2017 GLC300 which I custom ordered, I have noticed a barrage of trivial negative posts about the car I am about to buy. In particular a post about how severe the car handled after hitting a small bump in the road. So much so that one poster sold his car and another was afraid to drive theirs for fear it would fall apart. I played along as long as I could realizing that these posts could be attempts at trying to dissuade fellow posters to not consider buying a GLC300. Funny thing though it seemed most (not all) posters were brand spanking new to the board and had recently purchased their cars. Upon a very detailed examination of the history of these posts almost all were never to be heard from again which brings me to my point. How many problem posts on this forum do you think are genuine?
BTW I found these comments by “professional” automobile reviewers regarding the “Wheel vibration while hitting small bumps”.

Car and Driver
One way that Mercedes achieved more cargo space with the GLC was by switching to run-flat tires. The GLK had an inflatable compact spare tire tucked under the cargo floor, but the GLC has none. This no doubt helps pare overall weight, but the stiff sidewalls and slightly heavier construction of run-flat tires increases the unsprung mass the suspension has to control. Our drivers noted a jarring response to some road irregularities. It was worse in the rear-drive example with the larger wheels, but even the 4MATIC surprised us with a sharp jolt or two.

Consumer Reports
Aside from some stiff jolts over large road joints and potholes, the ride is typically controlled and compliant and not much different than with conventional tires.

 

I'm not sure what your point is. I was on the glc forum as well and read that thread. A bunch of people had the same complaint and you point out that professional reviewers noticed the same thing. I'm confused. Regards. Ned.

 

There is a difference between a jolt and selling your car and afraid to drive it.

 

The complaints were a bit more than jolts, they complained of a shuddering in the suspension that resulted in some loss of control. As I pointed out in the thread, my airmatic suspension on my e550 makes a disturbing thud when you go over a large rut or pothole. Mercedes says that's normal but it's not normal to me. Those complaints seem real and more serious, hopefully Mercedes finds a fix. We expect better from a Mercedes suspension. Why would you suspect something insidious? Regards. Ned.

 

I would have to agree. Their is clearly a lot of exaggeration happening, with all of the complaints(suspension, brake noise, etc)

What floors me about the suspension concern is THERE ARE BULLETINS yet people STILL post asking when mb is going to acknowledge, etc. the rebounding after bumps is going to be a steering update, and the sudden lane departures is a moisture issue at ESP control module. There are also bulletins for the brakes.

Some people just like to complain, and talk down large corporations. The internet just makes it easier for them. Personally, I find it quite entertaining!

 

I am not certain what your point is either.

I've posted about the wheel vibration issue and my attempts to notify MB of it. I've owned one other MB and it went Lemon for front rotors.

I am still here and looking at every post as an opportunity to resolve what I believe is a legitimate issue in my car.

I am sorry for you if you believe there is some other undercover agenda with posts on this forum...

Just my $.02

 

No ... no undercover agenda just a little overexaggeration that could scare someone out of buying a great car. I WAS skeptical of some of the posts regarding the wheel vibration issue and so I researched still further and found a review by someone with no horse in the race. Not a GLC300 owner. The review was on tire rack and it was posted April 30, 2016. The car was a 2014 BMW 328d Base Model Built On Or Before 2/2014 and had OEM tires. The review is as follows and please excuse the caps as I copied verbatim:

OK HAVE RUN THESE TIRES FOR 6000 MILES. VASTLY BETTER THAN OE BRIDGESTONE TURANO RUNFLAT. CAR IS STABLE OVER TAR STRIPS AND RIDGES. OE TIRES REQUIRED CONSTANT STEERING INPUT. DRIVEGUARD RUNFLAT RESOLVED ALL THE ISSUES. IM A CAR GUY WHO DOES MOST OF HIS OWN WORK. WORD TO THE WISE... IF MOUNTING IN COLD TEMPS KEEP TIRES WARM, WAY EASIER TO MOUNT/ DISMOUNT

Sooooo ... my apologies to all who reported similar required steering input BUT come on - selling a car because of problems that may have been caused by tire problems and blaming MB for inaction? Furthermore, there is a thread on here that states too much tire pressure could also cause similar reactions to bumps as they seem to be overinflated for their boat trip. I thought this forum was meant to find solutions and if not I am in the wrong place and will happily leave.

 

My BS radar is pretty good and I see little here that looks amiss.
As for scaring people away from the car - really? A few random posts on a forum? I don't think most potential Mercedes owners are that feeble-minded.

 

Myself and other that have this problem are not over exaggeration of it.

In my life time I had Cadillac- Lincoln-BMW- Lexus- MB-Jeep-Chevy Blazers-Jaguar-VW-Porsche-Land Rover.
And never did I had to get rid of a car because of a problem.
Yes some cars had issues but all were acknowledge and repaired in a timely and professional manner.

With all my cars I had. Never did a dealership have no answer to my problem or a fix to a problem. (Yes check tire pressure-replace struts)
Or no response to a letter with my concerns on a problem.
And after 3 months my patience ran thin.

So Im the guy that traded his glc. I wish MB had a fix because I did like to car.
Also im not in the business of losing money and I did on this deal.
My intent was not to scaring people away from the car. But to research the car before I bought it on this forum. Then to find a fix or a solution on this forum.
Thank You

 

With all due respect when I read your post about how severe the problem was that you sold your new car at a loss and another posted was afraid to drive his car made me wonder and I do not consider myself feeble minded. Screeching brakes, AC causing steering wheel vibration, people afraid to drive their cars, seat wearing out in the same place, windshield distortion, etc. on this forum do seem more than "random". I guess I haven't been on here long enough to realize some people are just trying to "bait" and "wind people up" for fun. I'll just have to learn to take what I consider BS with a grain of salt and trust clarst's BS radar. LOL

 

With all due respect, this is just silly on a number of levels.
1. I find it difficult to believe that people would waste their time trolling on forums, trying to scare people off from buying Mercedes, "baiting" and "winding them up". What makes far more sense to me is that they genuinely have a problem and they are trying to find out if others are having it, too, and/or if there is a solution.
2. Whether said problem(s) are serious or not, and if these are overreactions to these problems, is something we all need to evaluate using our own critical thinking skills. I've been on a number of forums and there is definitely a culture--one gets to understand different personality types that hang out on forums.
3. As for you trusting my radar--as I said, we all need to figure it out for ourselves. You appear to be struggling with figuring out how credible some of these posts are, but I am having no such problems. I'm comfortable with my evaluations and am moving forward with the purchase of what I am sure will be a great car. If I have issues with it, I will look here for indications that others are having the same problem(s), so I can decide whether it is my car's issue or a more widespread issue.
There are lemon laws for a reason. Even the best, most reliable cars may have individual examples that are far worse than the norm.
Finally, look at the number of posts about various problems, and weigh that against the number of vehicles being sold. Pretty small percentage. Most of the things I've read about here are pretty isolated events, but there are a few that appear to be trends. I think Mercedes will ultimately address those things if enough incidents pop up.
Enjoy the forum!

 

Still not sure where you're coming from. I wouldn't disparage someone for reporting a problem with their Mercedes experience on the forum, let alone when it's a bunch of people with an assortment of build dates with a the same problems. Why call them trolls, that's quite unfair. Do you think these are BMW employees or psychotic individuals? Be grateful that they were there before you to bring this to the attention of Mercedes and get it fixed before you might buy or not if there is no immediate fix. And the guy who decided to cut his losses and move on, I applaud him for his decisiveness, screw this crap I'm moving on attitude. Life is too short to stonewalled by any auto company. Regards. Ned

 

Although specific issues by-and-large can be "exceptions" - and to a individual owner can be quite serious - to me it is of interest that "most" are not aware that a unresolved issue with your MB dealer - can be escalated to MB Customer Care (800) 376-6372 during normal business hours (with VIN# and service invoice #) - which does two things : (1) insures that MB Corp is aware of your unresolved problem and (2) provides a 2nd back channel from MB to dealer management to resolve the issue.

On the "flip side" from a dealer perspective - if my guys have seen a similar issue come up that we have resolved - I work to post that info as a reply.

Our GLC owners so far - and quite a few out on the road now - have not reported a "jolting issue" - and frankly as part of the industry migration to Extended Mobility" has not triggered any major "jolt" issues either so far.

I am not saying any viewpoint - including my own - is the ONLY viewpoint.

On handling - I would say one of the worst culprits overall - even the best dealers can mess up and deliver a new MB with transit-high-tire pressures - and on the back side MB handling is sensitive enough to be affected by 2 PSI one way or another - and transit pressures (as well a tire manuf recommended tires pressure) can be 10 PSI or more too high.

 

It just came out today that the GLC was one of some of the most reliable cars on the Cosumer Reports car reliability survey. Only a few points (maybe even 1 point) below some Lexus models.

The complaints I've seen here, in the grand scheme of things are rather miniscule. You should go over to the cadillac owners forums and see the horror stories over there. Numerous times, I've made myself a bowl of popcorn, sat in a comfy chair and read all the horror stories. An XT5 was a consideration at one time. Not anymore. What a pos!