Hi everyone, newbies first post.

I have had had a brand new GLE43Coupe for 2 months and very happy with it overall except there is a serious problem.

When driving over 100km/hr there is a deep vibration coming from under the seats and the whole vehicle body shakes to an extent where the passenger seat is making flapping noise.
Took it back to MB and drove with a technician where he has acknowledged that there is something wrong. They tested out wheel alignment and balance and apparently other aspects as well YET NO ABNORMAL FINDINGS ALL WITHIN SPEC!

From dealership level they were not able to help to fix as it is a personal sensation. Contacted MB and they have explained that it is a series of characteristic that different model can have different vibration.

It is not a small vibration, it is a very deep vibration where the seats are making noise and can't watch entertainment screen as it shakes. I have had numerous cars cheap to high value yet non of them had such vibration issue that couldn't be fixed.

Did any other owner experience something similar with GLE43COUPE? MB believes that it is this particular model that has this issue which is NORMAL but just bigger vibration than other models.

I am not happy with the findings I would appreciate if anyone can help or suggest what to test other than the wheel balance.

thank you

 

i'm no technician, but that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. are they running a high-speed balance? are you using aggressive tread tires? is one or more of the driveshafts out of balance? is it on a particular stretch of roadway? do you have a high-end sound system that is adjusting based on speed? is the exhaust system in order (too much "throatyness" could possibly have an effect)?

i would just not accept a vehicle that has a vibration at normal highway speeds. i would want every part of the drive-train looked at. good luck, ron

 

Thanks for your reply Ron.

Every parts are standard MB parts. I experienced the vibration both with a standard 22" five spoke wheels and same with the new 22" AMG multi spoke wheels I ordered and fitted.

It is a new smooth highway where I drive pass everyday and never experienced in my other cars. 22" is a large size wheels but I don't think it's the reason for the vibration.

I did not get a detailed review of what testings were conducted other than wheel balance and alignments which came back as all normal within specs.

It is hard to believe that it's a normal level of vibration for this particular model only but not for all other mb cars. MB stated "you cannot compare with other models as it's like comparing an apple with a banana".

They are not willing to help and I am not sure where to go from here...

 

Did they roadforce check/balance the tires?

If you feel it in the seats move the rear tires to the front and see if it's in the steering wheel then, if not you can move on to drive shaft balance/check or driveshaft damper if there is one.

 

They had the car for a week and conducted various checks which can contribute to the vibration. To tell you the truth I didn't get the breakdown of what was tested

 

at a minimum, get your dealer to give you a "close to exact match" loaner and drive the same route. if you feel the same thing, it may be "road feel" and not actually vibration (in which case, a bolt on your passenger seat may be loose). i have a C-4 and you feel everything on the road, but it is built that way and not rhythmic.

do you have adjustable suspension? if so, looser will reduce road feel. ron

 

That should be your next step from here. This sounds fishy. I've never heard of any dealer doing a bunch of diagnostic tests and not stating in the invoice exactly what they did. Exactly what paperwork did they give you after they examined it? After you get a list of things they checked, take it to another dealer. Don't even show them what was previously checked. You want them to look at it through an unbiased lens.

RCSJR, had a good point. Which mode are you driving in when you feel the vibration....Comfort, Sport, Sport +, Ind? They all vary the stiffness of the suspension to different degrees.

Don't let them tell you this is normal. It's NOT! "MB believes that it is this particular model that has this issue which is NORMAL but just bigger vibration than other models." If that was true, then we would all have it. It may be a little premature at this stage, but we have something called the Lemon Law here in the States. I don't know where you're located or if you have anything comparable.

 

I felt a similar problem but not so evident with a GLE SUV exactly at the speed of 100 km/h, but disappearing at around 120 km/h, the vibrations could be felt on the brake pedal as well. It turned out 3 of the tyres I bought the vehicle with / 265/45/20 Pirelli scorpion verde summer tyres/ were kind of deffective and the car needed the so called optimized balance where they fit the position of the tyre to the alloy in a machine under different types of loading, speed etc. After all 3 of the wheels were perfect in the end, the third almost, and I placed it rear right, now you can't feel the problem anymore.

 

"Did they roadforce check/balance the tires?

If you feel it in the seats move the rear tires to the front and see if it's in the steering wheel then, if not you can move on to drive shaft balance/check or driveshaft damper if there is one.
"

I don't think you're supposed to rotate the rear tires to the front since the rear tires are so much wider than the front ones.

 

Ah yes, if it's staggered that won't work. ask for the roadforce balance results instead.

 

thanks again Ron. I am going in to test drive another vehicle of the same model to feel what it's like.

I have driven on a very smooth surface roads and it is not a road feel. Within the same road it only happens when driving over 100km/h and that's when I thought it will likely to be a mechanical issue....

 

thank you for your reply. I have requests for a copy of the diagnosis and tests conducted when they had my car for 2 weeks. I am also surprised that they did not explain any part of what tests were done apart from "everything was within spec".

Dealer has communicated with and MB Australia head quarter. They both matched their words and stating that it is a "personal feeling" which made me very upset.

I had various cars and non of them had vibration like this which is quite severe to a point where the seats make flapping noise and cannot watch the tv screen at the back seat.

thanks for your advice, I'll see what they come back with the report...

 

thanks for sharing your experience, I'm glad you were able to solve your issue!

How did you find out that your wheels were defective as in what testings did you go through? I might ask them to perform similar testings...

 

just hit me. take a look at this site. http://www.tirecradle.com/

the harmonic imbalance occurs just about the speed you are talking. (ask me how i know ) i can't remember if it will show up on a bench balance test. if your vehicle sat for an extended period, could have some flat spots.

if the dealer can swap some already mounted tires you can retest your own vehicle. good luck, ron

 

Excellent idea, and the simplest way to either pinpoint or eliminate the tires/wheels as being the source of the problem.

 

so I went back to the dealer and drove the exact same model spec vehicle with same sized wheels. Result is THEY ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT as expected. No vibration of the vehicle. Technician who drove with me said that he could still feel the road vibration which is normal for all cars. I knew exactly when it vibrates (over 100-105km/h) so I drove at that speed and shown that the car does not shake nor the passenger seats do not flap front and back (got him to sit at back seats to show this). He was saying that it's still vibrating so I got him to hop in to my car and we went for a drive.

Obviously the car and steering wheels vibrated at the speed and passenger seat started shaking with noise. He first said its similar and then when it really was shaking he said "Yea it may be little different".

Went back to the dealer ship and general manager called me in to his office and told me that there is nothing they can offer as TECHNICIAN SAID IT WAS MINOR DIFFERENCE.

I was was frustrated and told him to go for a drive with me to show difference. He said he's not qualified to do that so won't be any help.

I asked for breakdown of testings performed and it's results but he said Wheel balance was shown on the screen which came back normal and they do not have facility to print the results.... I asked what else did he do, he said compared with another car to "feel" the difference but they could not.

I am am amazed that MB is making decisions by someone's words instead of tests and results. So if that technician said that he felt the same then MB will say that there is no issue.

I am glad in a way to confirm that it is NOT A CHARATERISTIC of this model and I am planning to take it to another dealer to get it checked next week....

 

Did you try it with another wheels/tyres of the same size?

 

well, good and bad. i'm surprised they are not all over this. get to the regional rep. good luck, ron

 

i tried fitting wheels from the car that had no issue but still vibrated on my car so I don't thinks it's the tire or wheels...

can it be still wheel balance issue or even engine...?

 

thank you Ron. I'm glad that I wasn't imagining it (it's too obvious for non technical like myself to feel it).

but they won't allocate another tech to go for a drive as the original tech is most suitably trained for GLE coupe (non sense).

they are making it as if it is "my word against the techs".
obviously dealer manager is going to believe the techs who is more "trained" than myself.

The drive was Totally different but I cannot believe they still won't listen to me but to listen to the guy who does not feel much difference...

when i contacted the head quarter of mb, dealership manager had said their tech did not find much difference so they can't offer any help EVEN THOUGH I SAY THERE IS CLEAR DIFFERENCE.

stuck in a situation maybe taking it to another dealer might be an option....?

 

Sounds crazy, try another dealer and if this doesn't help write a letter to the central in Germany, they should take it seriously and make the mb usa make something.

 

Daniel,

Any progress on this problem? Are you still experiencing the same symptoms?

 

sorry to restart a zombie thread.

I have the exact same problem with vibrations.

Did you ever resolve the problem? Had the garage rebalance my wheels and the said it was much better but it is the same.