Philip Jacobs

New to this..

Some of my family members are experiencing motion sickness in our newly acquired 2012 ML350 Blutec 4Matic (not airmatic). Especially when travelling through mountain passes.
We traded our 2008 ML320 Airmatic (costly repairs) a few weeks ago.
I suspect we should start with the wheel alignment and balancing first (there is a slight vibration as if from the rear tyres on 90-100km/h.
I am also not to sure about the cornering stability of the set of Kuhmo tyres it has on at the moment.
I will prefer to change that to Conti Cross Contact UHP or Conti Sport Contact, which I had on the W164.

Would like to hear if anyone else had similar experiences.

peter2772000

I'd concentrate on CO poisoning first and foremost, nausea's one of the symptoms. The fact that more than one family member is experiencing this is not a coincidence.

RA112623

yeah this and FAST.

although i'm no medical expert, i don't think motion sickness is a sometimes, sometimes not affliction. good luck with this, ron

DanD.

We have 2014 BT not airmatic. Did a lot mountains and very long trips. Leaving in WA.
Sometimes my kid complains she feels like carsick but only if she is watching her tablet otherwise all good.

Philip Jacobs

Thanks everyone.
More information: On our first trip (my only trip thus far, as I had to leave for Angola 2 days later) only my son felt nasious as were at the end of the mountain pass on our return.
He felt better when he moved from the back seat where he was sitting next to his fiancee (she was 100%) and even better still when he started driving.
On the trip they did this past weekend, my wife told me she felt somewhat carsick as the were in the pass going there.
I told my son to inflate the tyres a little and according to my wife, the return through the pass was better.

Logic tells me that CO poisoning should affect at least the same person during the whole trip..
I am just wondering if it is not the Kumho tyres it has on.
The car has 134000km on the clock so I don´t think it should be shocks or suspension.

We chose the previous ML specifically because my wife already had 2 back operations and we had to therefore leave the XBMW brand.
I just fell in love with the MB even though my whole family thinks I am a traitor as everyone has the BM brand still.

The Airmatic did cost us a lot to have bellows repaired and the it was the compressor and then something else, it just never ended.
It was nice to to select the sport when you got a bit hasty and tackled some nice curvy mountain passes, but not worth what it cost me.I am only back in South Africa in another 3plus months, so hopefully I will be able to adress this issue.

kombifan

Sway bar endlinks .Front and rear. These wear out quickly.

Also change the shocks too if you want.

Diabolis

Try Gravol or Dramamine.

C280 Sport

Do keep us posted. Curious to what the issue is.

kombifan

Tires.

Sway bar endlinks. Probably were toast and done at 100k km.

Shocks and struts. Yes. They are done at 134000 km in very rough Conditions.

One of these is causing it if it's not Co poisoning. Please contact Stephen from Stephens service immediately if you suspect Co poisoning as he will tell you no charge common areas that can leak.

Philip Jacobs

Thanks for the input everyone.

I booked the ML for a proper check-up at MB Stellenbosch on the 13th of June, so, we will know more after that.

In the meantime there was no more nauseousness as the car has only been driven by my wife in town.


No mountain passes or heavy cornering.

The wife is going for her 3rd back operation next week and my son will be driving the ML for about 3 weeks from our home to his work and back everyday (about 70Km round-trip).

He is a more aggressive driver and I believe he will spot if there are maybe any other probable issues.

I am just glad the Parktronick was fixed (sensor faulty).

Cannot wait to experience this car coming end August. Already planning a nice road-trip to the Northern Cape, Namaqualand, as it is just at the end of the flower-watching time.

Will report

RA112623

hey, just remembered this. make sure it's on the check list for dealer.

https://www.wdtn.com/news/dangerous-...pt_credirect=1

good luck, ron

kombifan

NO need to fear monger.

The mb battery is agm. That prevents this from ever being an issue..what you have posted sounds like an inexperienced mechanic who installed a lead acid battery.
Very unfortunate and regretful.


But op. Please look into thekshocks and sway bar endlinks. These are common to go and the symptoms you mention arkuhighly suspect of those two.

Diabolis

... and also make sure that they check that you haven't been accidentally hypnotized!

https://gawker.com/school-board-to-p...-we-1735168352

Funny how all of these deaths happen to folks living in in Florida.

RA112623

uh, i don't "fear monger". guy has a strange issue, so toss out strange things to look at.

AGMs also vent.

shotgun_banjo

When I bought my ML350 I drove both spring and airmatic versions for 30 minutes on rough and highway roads and I find the spring to be bouncy and wobbly compared to the airmatic equipped car. Hit the sport button on the airmatic it becomes harder that my C300 with sports suspension which I love. So I ended up getting the airmatic and never regretted it.

Ken Czahor

i bought a one owner 2013 ML350 with 128,000 miles and had the same problem with nausea when driving on back roads. Changed shocks, struts, end links and am running tires at 38 lbs and now my wife doesn't get sick anymore. I changed rear shocks myself since most of the time is in taking rear interior out, but had local shop do front struts and alignment. I am lucky since the shop lets me buy all the parts to save $$.

WillieMack

I am at 83,000 miles and I think I have to do the same thing. Way to bouncy! Where did you source the parts from and were they OEM? How significant was the change in ride after you changed out those parts?

Ken Czahor

i got my parts from Rockauto,, B4 Bilstein shocks and Sachs struts for the front., i compared prices to parts geeks. yes, my wife does not get sick any more. i have continental eco tires. Sachs is OE brand on my ML.

Philip Jacobs

UPDATE..

So, what I expected is confirmed.
Vehicle was not serviced as claimed by seller/salesman, only the service indicator was reset.
I will try to attach the invoice of what was done by MB workshop (service B with Plus Package) I don´t know what that means...

Total adds up to approximately ZAR 17,000 (USD 1,199)
I will have the gearbox serviced with the next service.

Apparently absolutely nothing wrong with, either, shocks, bushes or sway bars.
I will check the tyres when I have my vacation end of August and will probably put Dunlop or Conti on to see if it makes any difference.
We got used to the AirMatic of the W164 and enjoyed the sport suspension on the backroads. But I just couldn´t keep up with all the repair cost.

Cannot wait to enjoy this vehicle.
Will post pictures when installing the Android system and integrated dash cam.

kombifan

About sway bar and shocks.

From an inspection point of view they normally look oke.

That doesn't mean that they're not shot. A mechanic cannot tell you with certainty that the sway bars are gone without removing it. When you do and compare to new you'll understand how gone they are.
mine was the same. Only when I removed it could you see how much play had opened up in the ball.

The shocks. Well those usually have a lifetime of 50-80k mi. Less under severe conditions. Again only obvious sign is if they're leaking. I changed them on my w163 and the ride difference is amazing. My x164 has airmatic so the front ones got replaced already.

Diabolis

I gather you meant the sway bar end links and/or bushings - the sway bars themselves don't wear out. The bushings and links certainly do.

Shocks do wear out, but they're fairly easy to test. When you push down on one corner of the vehicle and release it, if it bounces up and down they're shot. If it just comes back up in one single motions with no bouncing, they're good.