Ok, so $1,800 and three days later, we get our R500 back from Mercedes with a new conductor plate. We picked it up last Wednesday. On Saturday morning, we drove about 20 miles and everything was fine. On the way back, we started to notice some vibration in the steering wheel, feels like the front left wheel. It picked up around 55mph and got worse all the way up to 80mph. If I let off the gas, it still vibrated. I took the car over the Discount Tire and had them rotate and rebalance the tires as they were due anyway. Got home and the problem is still there. I got under the car and everything looks pretty good, although one bolt on the transmission was finger loose. Great job Mercedes. I tightened it back up and it is still causing this problem. Everything else seems really tight with no play anywhere.

So, does anyone think this is a wheel bearing issue or more of a driveshaft issue? I plan to take it over to Christian Brothers today just to see if they can get it on a lift and get a good look under it. I know Mercedes pulled the transmission valve body off, but I hope they didn't mess something else up in the process. It drove great for a whopping 2 days.

 

Your dealer is trying to do the right thing and needs your feedback for continuous monitoring and improvement of what it does.

Taking your car elsewhere just costs you more and is VERY less likely to get the problem fixed.

 

What he said. The dealer needs to know what's happening and you deserve to get your money's worth from the time and effort you spent taking the car to them. Unless your second opinion mechanics are MB specialists, you're not likely to get useful feedback. Your car is possibly the first R those mechanics have ever seen.

Best wishes!

JR

 

So good news and bad news. I crawled under the car and noticed that where the front driveshaft connects to the front, there was a bolt missing. This could easily be the problem of the vibration. So, we called Mercedes and had it towed back. They just called this morning and told us that they replaced the missing bolt in the driveshaft but the vibration is still there. They also noticed a whining that they believe is the front transmission pump but it went away after the car warmed up. So, they are letting it cool down to try and find the whining again.

So, we are back to square one, they have NO IDEA what is causing the vibration. At least we are working with the service manager and we have a loaner car again. I just don't know what else would be the source of the vibration. Maybe the driveshaft needs to be rebalanced. Any ideas anyone? And, when is this going to end?

 

Yikes... Good luck...

 

BUT ... they have access to the engineers that designed the car and it IS possible to find the problem.

This is essentially impossible anywhere but a dealer.