Mr. J

Forget the Porsche. Get the F-pace.

Mr. J

Hey dejongj,

Thanks for putting up that vid and taking the time to share all your findings. I'll be watching how this develops very closely. Our order is set to arrive in late April. I will definitely be testing some turns at full lock prior to signing for the car.

Weirdly enough, It almost looks/sounds like your front diff is locking up during low speed cornering.

One item of note regarding LHD models:
The GLC43 just began selling in the US in November and hasn't been in Canada much longer than that either. There simply aren't that many of these vehicles on the roads in North America yet.

Good luck with your fight. I hope MB figures this out and does right by you.

Toobad

Whilst MB UK is happy to dismiss this fault as a comfort issue and maintain ALL right-hand drive GLCs have this "characteristic", I think it is equally important to state that I and several others have not experienced the problem. If people are willing to post up the specification of their car that is not afflicted by the problem then it will help to establish the criteria required to generate the fault as well as debunk MB's generalisation of the problem.

My June 2016 GLC is the 220d in Sport trim. It has air suspension and is shod with 235/60R18 Hankook Ventus EVO S2 non-runflat OEM tyres on the 18" rims from the Offroad Package.

I believe the torque split on the 220d is 45:55 whilst the 250d, 350 and 43 is set at 31:69. I wonder if this has any bearing on the situation.

This car was a "bucket list" purchase I have waited some 30 years to obtain. It is superb in every way and I realise I am now punching way above my weight. If I had experienced the phenomenon depicted in Jean-Paul's excellent video and not been allowed to return the car as unfit for purpose then, quite frankly, I think I would have been close to suicidal! Having read how toothless our Motoring Ombudsman is, I would urge everybody purchasing this car to get a written agreement from the supplying dealer stating that this crabbing issue represents reasonable grounds for a penalty-free rejection of the car. MB's tagline is "The Best or Nothing" yet when it comes to customer service, it is very disappointing to see they have taken the "nothing" option. I applaud the efforts of Jean-Paul and others in coordinating a Class Action and pray for a successful outcome. You all have my unequivocal support and wish you the very best of luck.

Trevor

rexgold

I do wonder if this is something to do with the Torque split too... my ML did not do this and had the Torque pretty much equal between front and rear...

Philamg

I thought the 31-69 torque split was only on the GLC43!.

This may explain why the problem is only on right hand drive diesel cars but won't be the reason for the GLC43 petrols not being a problem in LHD :

"Both the GLC 220 d and GLC 250 d receive Mercedes-Benz's 4Matic four-wheel drive system as standard. However, unlike the left-hand-drive models that apportion power in a 45% front, 55% rear split, right-hand-drive UK models come with a 33%/67% front/rear split. "

Matteus GLC AMG

Agreed. So I called my local jag dealer, and believe it or not, they have several F-Pace un spec'd slots for March delivery (1 -2 months before my AMG would have arrived) which they would be prepared to do a deal on!! I've sent them a spec for the car I want (Yes, V6 Supercharged S version, ~£58k list with options ) and am awaiting their response with baited breath.

Reading the reviews has made me rather excited, and not a single mention of tyre scrubbing anywhere on the internet!!

Phil - might be worth reconsidering.....?

Philamg

Not for me Matt, overpriced for what it is and I've had enough of JLR, hope all goes well for you though.

Matteus GLC AMG

Fair enough Phil - Good luck to you as well. I hope the issue isn't on your car, or if it is, the dealer honours the verbal agreement. My dealer would not agree to provide the written guarantee of 'money back if not satisfied' which I required so it was goodbye muchachos!

Philamg

Matt

May be worth checking the F pace forum before you jump, have a look at these posts below, sounds very familiar especially the word characteristic:

http://www.fpaceforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2197

http://www.fpaceforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2141

dejongj

Interesting, our neighbour doesn't have those issues at all. I'm actually trying to get her to 'star' alongside several other SUV owners in our area in a video called - "Look at this Mercedes - Mine doesn't do it". Got an F-Pace, Porsche Macan & Cayenne, SantaFe, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Vogue, Range Rover Evoque, VW Tiguan & Toureaq, Nissan Quasquai & X-Trail, Ford Kuga, Suzuki Vitara, Volvo XC60 & 90, oh and a Land Rover Defender all contacted.

Finding the time for a coffee morning at ours is hard, may have to get some wine and food in to speed it along

Philamg

If you go on the F pace forum and the Discovery sport forums you will find a lot more quality issues than on the GLC one. Since April 15 owners of discovery sports have had an issue called the B pillar rattle where the welds on the B pillar have to be broken and rewelded, cars are still coming off the production line now with the issue. All forums will highlight issues, the main thing is how manufacturers deal with them and MB aren't dealing with this one very well.

rexgold

I may be able to drive without a issue if it is a rattle.. my last ML had a rattle coming from the middle dash and local MB dealer could not fix it.. however, the scrabbing is just too big a problem when the car does not go in the direction of the steering is something I can't put up with..

And you are right.. MB UK have completely shot themselves in the foot this time.. I have informed the dealer that I purchased my car from that I will not be buying any new Cars from MB if this is not resolved positively.

dejongj

Totally agree Philamg - I expect and accept issues, how they are dealt with is the important part.

Penn

I certainly have the crabbing issue when full lock reverse on my RHD GLC250d.
It has never been of major concern as it is no worse than my prior 2 ML500's.

rexgold

That is interesting.. I have not had that on my last 2 MLs... one was ML280 and the next was ML 350.. the 350 with 21" wheels and never experienced this.

dejongj

Likewise here - never experienced that on my GL350 AMG Sport model (aka also with 21" wheels and the same Continental tyres).

I only experienced this on my old pickup truck and Nissan Patrol GR both with manual 4x4 and leaving the high gearing in when the gearbox locks up. Not a good thing to do. I would not class it as normal on fully automatic cars.

Philamg

I have only been on the forum for a short time so late to what has happened but it appears to me that because the front to back drive ratios is so different between RHD cars and LHD ones this may be the cause of the issue,
This doesn't explain why the LHD GLC43 isn't experiencing the problem as I assume the drive ratio is same as RHD at 31-69, it could be that there aren't many 43's in LHD at the moment and the issue may surface.
If this is correct I can't see how MB can fix it and that may be the reason they are going along the line of it being a characteristic of the car.

dejongj

So the E43 is affected as well, very interesting...

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-d...e-driven/35597

GLC220Exclusive

dejongj

Which is great, but at the same time doesn't make any sense. I mean Mercedes Benz say this is a characteristic of the car, they ALL do it. So if yours doesn't do it, then someone is lying

dejongj

Thinking about that a bit further, and you've got to help me here as I'm not familiar with the Irish market.

You have a RHD vehicle correct?
The GLC220d Exclusive is the entry level as I understand, so does it have 4wd? Is it on 17" wheels/tyres? Does it have a 50/50 torque spit? (if it has 4wd).

There could be possibly some clues there, or perhaps I'm just clutching straw.

GLC220Exclusive

dejongj

Sure whatever, but what about being serious for one minutes and respond to the questions? This is a real issue for many owners.

Matteus GLC AMG

Update - Dealt on a 3.0l supercharged V6 F-Pace in black with black 22" (Yes 22"!!) Wheels for April delivery. Only got about half the discount that I got on the Merc, but happy with that given the general lack discounts available.


I am feeling a strange mixture of emotions at the moment to be honest......

dejongj

Oh that sounds lovely! Really nice.

Just enjoy it, I wish I was informed like this prior to taken delivery of mine. I really wished more spoke up early on and not accept it as normal. But so be it, I'm pleased for you.