dmercado

Hello,

I have a quick question about the steering on the GLK. I seem to feel that the steering has gotten looser over time. Specifically, the looseness is when the steering wheel is around the center. When driving on the highway, the steering around the center is loose and when I turn side to side slightly, the reaction of the steering and slight direction change of the car is rather slow.

When on the left most lane of the highway, I have to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right. When on the right most lane, I have to hold the steering slightly to the left.

I feel it is a degrading alignment. But again, I may be hyper sensitive.

What are your experiences regarding steering on the highway?

Let me know.

Regards.

andyf0

I'm no expert but roads are sloped to the left and right to allow water to drain from the road. Depending on the slope you might notice a slight waiver to the left or right depending which side of the road you're on. I certainly can't go far "no hands" without some slight correction.

So far, no looseness to the steering though after 2600 miles.

NYCGLK

Also keep in mind that steering acts different at different speed as GLK has speed sensitive steering. The faster you go the slower the reaction to steering input is. The point above about slopping road can also be valid.

dmercado

Definitely, I agree with both of you. I have to get away from being so microscopic and sensitive. I'll update again over time.

Thanks, again!

drcollie

Alignments do not degrade. If not due to road crown, then you may have a defective ball joint in the front suspension. Have you dealer check it out next time the vehicle is in for service.

Rorshack

I have noticed on certain roads that I experience some less than ideal steering behavior, but then I change lanes and it goes away...

Let's hope the stimulus money goes to repaving roads around the country, we desperately need here in Colorado...

dmercado

Took me a while to get back, here. But it turned out to be my tire pressure on all four wheels! I was about 3 to 4 psi too low on each wheel.

So check your tire pressue at least every couple of weeks to maintain safety and performance.

webada

tire pressure monitor didn't pick this up?

NYCGLK

I guess 3-4psi is not enough of a change to result in a warning.

My guess is that MB's new "advanced" monitoring system actually shows tire pressure in all 4 wheels, which is much more usefull as standard one doesn't work in winter I believe.

I have 300 mile trip coming up, I'll make sure to check tire pressure before going.

When checking pressure make sure tires are cold, as after driving tire pressure will be much higher, which is perfectly normal.

dmercado

Agreed - check your tires when they are cold. I do them on the weekend in the morning before I take off.

A little more detail, I followed what was between the door panels and the gas door -35psi for fronts and 39psi for rears.

After fixing the tire pressure, I tell you, there was a night vs. day difference, confident steering, stability and control over bumps and around hard turns. It was to the point where going faster made it even better and smoother - nice.

This was where I appreciated the fact that Mercedes Benz found the best of both worlds, i.e., a good balance between luxurious and comfortable vs. performance.

Baby G

I dont agree with you here, the tire pressure should have picked it up. 3-4 psi is big. In my current car anything below 2 psi is picked up immediately...

Baby G

Maybe its been a long day and not getting it... so did the dealer fill in 35 on the front and 39 at the rears?

dmercado

Dealer did not fill tires at the recommended psi - really.

When we first received the vehicle, over a couple of months ago, I did not check the pressure for about a week and a half because I trusted the dealer - especially a benz dealer. However, after checking, all tires were at 44 psi (cold tire pressure)!!!!!

So I deflated them to the recommended psi - front and rear.

I let a month pass and felt a slight degradation over time, suspension felt softer, easily compromised by bumps, loose steering etc. Checked the psi and it was off by about 3psi - maybe 3 and a half psi.

After adjusting that, it was great.

At the end of the day, living in Toronto, the weather was so unpredictable moving from one extreme temperature to the other - I am sure the psi in the tires were affected by this.

As for the oringinal 44 psi measurement from the dealership - who knows! I figured that they did not check and put that to the proper pressure the day I picked up the GLK.

Don

drcollie

You are, of course, using nitrogen fills when airing up the tires, not plain air from a compressor, yes? The TPS sensors in the wheels will eventually corrode internally if you mix the two - though you won't see it occur for 12 to 18 months.

webada

a quick test to tire monitoring is to inflat to proper setting, reset tire pressure monitor to current. deflate. Then see at what psi lost would the monitor pick it up.

i have a flow master, guess i'll try over the weekend and report back.

MB_Owner

Is that true or are you just pulling dmercado's leg?

I borrowed an Owner's Manual from my dealer to read before picking mine up toward the end of July and don't recall seeing anything about any tire fill restrictions. Could have missed it though since I only had the book overnight. So are you saying the tire-pressure sensors require the tires to be filled with moisture-free nitrogen? I seem to recall a sign in the service area of the dealership promoting nitrogen as an option, not a requirement. I know it's optional on my other two cars; albeit, recommended (for increased dealer profit?). I use nitrogen in their tires but quite frankly, I've never seen any tangible ride nor performance benefits. Maybe for someone who rarely checks tire pressures. Track benefits sure, but I don't push mine to the absolute limits.

BTW, slightly off topic, are MB manuals available for online downloading?

NYCGLK

Yes on MB site somewhere. There was even link posted on GLK forum (do a search). The only thing that sux is that you can't use search function as it doesn't recognize text.

fraublucher

You guys are using nitrogen, right? If not, no wonder you're having trouble.

My local shop does "pure" nitrogen fill-ups at only $20 per tire. Worth every penny.

All the advertising they're doing on tv for nitrogen is EPA funded as part of a green initiative, you get better mpg and longer tire life, like 30% or more and your warranty is still valid.

NYCGLK

What's so great about it and how does it increase mileage. I thought the only benefit of nitrogen is that it doesn't escape the tires and doesn't fluctuate in volume. If I just make sure my tires are properly inflated this should make no difference. I think nitrogen is just more convenient. Feel free to correct me cuz I haven't read anything on this subject.