Steering wheel wobble
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 37
Likes: 1
From: TX
2015 S550
2 Kinds of Tire
The manager of the tire shop I use suggested/mentioned a tire called Hankook. They are much cheaper in price than the Dunlops/Michelins. Each tire is $250 installed for the rear (and I figure maybe $10 or so cheaper for the smaller fronts). Has anyone had any experience with this Hankook brand??? He swears they are just as good as Mich/Dunlop tires and that one of his regular Benz customers switched to them and loves them. I appear to be needing new rear tires in about 6000 miles or so.
Actually, I'm a little disappointed in the Michelins I have on the rear as I've only put about 8000 miles on them and they are showing signs of wear quickly! I put 17000 miles on the dunlops and changed them out with still around 3000 miles of potential tread left. I didn't want to take any chances on safety.
The Michelins ride better but the Dunlops seem to last longer and the ride is good enough for me, so I am now having a hard time deciding on which to go with. I've never had a bad experience with Michelin but I had a horrible experience with dunlops on a 2002 CL500 I bought new. The dealership was 150 miles away and after 2 trips to get it resolved with no success , I finally had to eat the loss and put Mich. on to get it right
My tendency is towards Michelin but I wonder if the Hankooks would be good enough???. If anyone has ever tried Hankook , let me know.
TireRack is where I usually get my tires from and the Michelins are at $300 apiece. TireRack sells Hankook as well.
If I buy hankook and am dissatisfied, I'm stuck. Maybe the safest choice would be to stick with old faithful Michelins
Actually, I'm a little disappointed in the Michelins I have on the rear as I've only put about 8000 miles on them and they are showing signs of wear quickly! I put 17000 miles on the dunlops and changed them out with still around 3000 miles of potential tread left. I didn't want to take any chances on safety.
The Michelins ride better but the Dunlops seem to last longer and the ride is good enough for me, so I am now having a hard time deciding on which to go with. I've never had a bad experience with Michelin but I had a horrible experience with dunlops on a 2002 CL500 I bought new. The dealership was 150 miles away and after 2 trips to get it resolved with no success , I finally had to eat the loss and put Mich. on to get it right
My tendency is towards Michelin but I wonder if the Hankooks would be good enough???. If anyone has ever tried Hankook , let me know.
TireRack is where I usually get my tires from and the Michelins are at $300 apiece. TireRack sells Hankook as well.
If I buy hankook and am dissatisfied, I'm stuck. Maybe the safest choice would be to stick with old faithful Michelins
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
LOL. You're probably right about that. I think I will just stick to what I know will work and keep getting Michelins. They just know how to make a tire. After I looked over the price list on the Michelins, they are now down a tad from what I paid last year anyway.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
Almost a Member!
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
09 gl550,06 AM Vantage, 08 S600
Remember the saying; You get what you paid for.
I'd recommend : Dunlop, Yokohama, and of course Michellin
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
They are noisy, and the quality control wasn't up to par with Michellin. There are too many issues with the tire such as, cracking, bubbling on the side, etc. The same goes with any other Asians brand (Japan excluded). I was in a after market parts business and there are too many problems we saw. I sell them since it was cheap as a packages but I won't recommend them to my cust.
Remember the saying; You get what you paid for.
I'd recommend : Dunlop, Yokohama, and of course Michellin
Remember the saying; You get what you paid for.
I'd recommend : Dunlop, Yokohama, and of course Michellin
Sticking with Michelin.
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Newbie
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Seattle
S550, SL55 AMG
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 215
Likes: 64
From: NJ
2009 S550 4Matic 2009 GL 550 2009 AM DBS
Yes, you are right, I forgot to mention they DID a four wheel tire replacement, alignment, and replaced one rim.
Anyway, today i got the car back in brand new condition with no vibration what so ever. They replaced the bushings, replaced the 4 tires with new ones off the rack (eventhough they had replaced all four initially), thought was that maybe the tires sat on the shelf too long and might have deformed them.
Who knows if the bushings were the problem or the tires.
Anyway, today i got the car back in brand new condition with no vibration what so ever. They replaced the bushings, replaced the 4 tires with new ones off the rack (eventhough they had replaced all four initially), thought was that maybe the tires sat on the shelf too long and might have deformed them.
Who knows if the bushings were the problem or the tires.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 1
From: CA
2010 CL65
Am simply astonished by all these tire/wheel/balancing/alignment issues on $100K+ new cars....
Have owned/driven more than my share of $150K+ AMGs (w/20" wheels/low-profile perf tires) in daily commutes through 3rdWorld rds of City of SF...and know several SF colleagues who buy new AMG S/CLs more frequently than I do....would argue new S/CL tires/wheels seem to be rather robust....
Don't know if guys are getting deep-disctd, abused, allegedly new cars from an inept dealer; making silly aftermkt changes to car's chassis, prompting complics...or whatever...
But would observe that one can be frugal in various arenas (e.g., choice of flat-panel TV or smartphone) w/o material risks to one's safety/health, but choice of car and proper mtce of its tires/wheels/alignment may create a material diffce in one's health in any emergent driving maneuver, as braking/stability is often rate-limited by cond of one's tires/wheels.....suspect one's health is worth at least a few dollars....perhaps even a few more than nominal savings poss achieved in experimenting w/an unknown brand, poss stale tire, installed at a deep-disct shop that typically works on tires of <$30K cars......sometimes, common sense prevails over "bargain-hunting"....
Have owned/driven more than my share of $150K+ AMGs (w/20" wheels/low-profile perf tires) in daily commutes through 3rdWorld rds of City of SF...and know several SF colleagues who buy new AMG S/CLs more frequently than I do....would argue new S/CL tires/wheels seem to be rather robust....
Don't know if guys are getting deep-disctd, abused, allegedly new cars from an inept dealer; making silly aftermkt changes to car's chassis, prompting complics...or whatever...
But would observe that one can be frugal in various arenas (e.g., choice of flat-panel TV or smartphone) w/o material risks to one's safety/health, but choice of car and proper mtce of its tires/wheels/alignment may create a material diffce in one's health in any emergent driving maneuver, as braking/stability is often rate-limited by cond of one's tires/wheels.....suspect one's health is worth at least a few dollars....perhaps even a few more than nominal savings poss achieved in experimenting w/an unknown brand, poss stale tire, installed at a deep-disct shop that typically works on tires of <$30K cars......sometimes, common sense prevails over "bargain-hunting"....
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 215
Likes: 64
From: NJ
2009 S550 4Matic 2009 GL 550 2009 AM DBS
Well, after driving the car for 2 weeks the vibration has returned but to a much lesser degree. The car went in 2 days ago, and the shop foreman thought that the dunlops needed to heat up for 10 minutes which is when he noticed the vibration go away. I told them I drive the car 40 minutes to work and the vibration never goes away even at the end of the drive. So they drove the car today, and guess what the freakin vibration did not go away after 10, 20, and 30 minutes. So, now they have no clue as to whythe car is behaving this way. They are awaiting input from MB for the next step.
J
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
Well, tomorrow the S550 is again being delivered. After spendng 5 days at the shop they fell? replacing the driver front tire and wheel has resolved the problem. To date, 7 new dunlop tires, wheele alignment, 3 AMG style wheels, front bushings. Hopefully, this will solve the problem. i shall see and kep you updated.
J
J
I'm not quite sure what you just said but I hope they get it fixed up for you soon.
Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 156
Likes: 10
I had the same problem on my SL 500, new tires, road force balanced more times that I could count, alignment perfect, wheel would shake from about 45
mph to about 65, the smoother the road the worse it was noticed. Then the dealer sent their tire and wheel expert out, he said that this is sometimes
a problem with many cars, he took the car into the shop and tightned up the steering box a touch by adjusting out a bit of the lash, he mentioned that if he tightned it up too much the wheel would not return to center adn that it might take a couple of attempts to get it right, a 5 miniute adjustment solved the problem and the car drives just perfect, smooth as can be. I cant tell you how long I suffered with the problem, I was actually going to get rid of it because of it. Hope your dealer has such a front end wheel and tire expert.
mph to about 65, the smoother the road the worse it was noticed. Then the dealer sent their tire and wheel expert out, he said that this is sometimes
a problem with many cars, he took the car into the shop and tightned up the steering box a touch by adjusting out a bit of the lash, he mentioned that if he tightned it up too much the wheel would not return to center adn that it might take a couple of attempts to get it right, a 5 miniute adjustment solved the problem and the car drives just perfect, smooth as can be. I cant tell you how long I suffered with the problem, I was actually going to get rid of it because of it. Hope your dealer has such a front end wheel and tire expert.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,071
Likes: 2
2007 S600
I had the same problem on my SL 500, new tires, road force balanced more times that I could count, alignment perfect, wheel would shake from about 45
mph to about 65, the smoother the road the worse it was noticed. Then the dealer sent their tire and wheel expert out, he said that this is sometimes
a problem with many cars, he took the car into the shop and tightned up the steering box a touch by adjusting out a bit of the lash, he mentioned that if he tightned it up too much the wheel would not return to center adn that it might take a couple of attempts to get it right, a 5 miniute adjustment solved the problem and the car drives just perfect, smooth as can be. I cant tell you how long I suffered with the problem, I was actually going to get rid of it because of it. Hope your dealer has such a front end wheel and tire expert.
mph to about 65, the smoother the road the worse it was noticed. Then the dealer sent their tire and wheel expert out, he said that this is sometimes
a problem with many cars, he took the car into the shop and tightned up the steering box a touch by adjusting out a bit of the lash, he mentioned that if he tightned it up too much the wheel would not return to center adn that it might take a couple of attempts to get it right, a 5 miniute adjustment solved the problem and the car drives just perfect, smooth as can be. I cant tell you how long I suffered with the problem, I was actually going to get rid of it because of it. Hope your dealer has such a front end wheel and tire expert.
Wow. What a story. I am amazed that the factory inspectors don't find out these problems before releasing these cars to the dealerships. It appears that the car should get a better examination before they leave the factory. I hate to hear these stories of alignment/wheel problems. I too was a victim of this when I bought a 2002 CL500. I loved the car but I had to pay $1300 on new tires to finally resolve my issues with imbalance after owning the car only 2000 miles. The dealerships really should be sued for the incompetencies they deliver.
I have a sincere frustration and hatred toward that dealership. I wouldn't lease a wheelbarrel from them (RBM of Atlanta). The one I use now, (Crown Automobile in Birmingham) , does me right when I have problems.
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
2007 CLS 63 AMG
Vibrations between 52 - 55 mph
I recently purchased a pre-owned 07 CLS 63 AMG and upon delivery noticed visible shaking in the steering wheel at speeds between 50 and 55 mph. The dealership has been trying to find the problem:
1. First rotated & rebalanced tires - no luck.
2. Replaced one rim and 2 front tires - no luck.
3. Now have replaced all 4 tires - still shaking. They don't have any answers for me but continue to have the car to try to figure it out. I've owned the car for almost one month but am more familiar with my loaner. Any guidance is appreciated.
1. First rotated & rebalanced tires - no luck.
2. Replaced one rim and 2 front tires - no luck.
3. Now have replaced all 4 tires - still shaking. They don't have any answers for me but continue to have the car to try to figure it out. I've owned the car for almost one month but am more familiar with my loaner. Any guidance is appreciated.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 888
Likes: 2
From: Paradise (a.k.a. Austin, TX)
'09 S63 AMG
I recently purchased a pre-owned 07 CLS 63 AMG and upon delivery noticed visible shaking in the steering wheel at speeds between 50 and 55 mph. The dealership has been trying to find the problem:
1. First rotated & rebalanced tires - no luck.
2. Replaced one rim and 2 front tires - no luck.
3. Now have replaced all 4 tires - still shaking. They don't have any answers for me but continue to have the car to try to figure it out. I've owned the car for almost one month but am more familiar with my loaner. Any guidance is appreciated.
1. First rotated & rebalanced tires - no luck.
2. Replaced one rim and 2 front tires - no luck.
3. Now have replaced all 4 tires - still shaking. They don't have any answers for me but continue to have the car to try to figure it out. I've owned the car for almost one month but am more familiar with my loaner. Any guidance is appreciated.
Could be a problem with the axle itself. If the previous owner slammed the wheels over something then that could have caused some minor damage to the front suspension/axle. Sorry - don't mean to bum you out even more. I know what this feels like - I had the same problem with me S550 when I put the Brabus rims on. Sometimes I do get a slight shimmer on my S63 but it's only ever so slight and in rare situations.
You might want to take your car to a different dealership. That's worked for me in the past especially if you tell the new shop that the other one was not very proactive in fixing the issue.
Let us know how you make out.
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
07 S550
Going to resurrect this thread-
Took my S550 in because of a "clicking noise" in the floor board which seemed to be repaired by replacing front inner and outter tierods and new lower control arm on the front left followed by a full alignment..a lot of work for an '07 with 28k mi. if you ask me.
When I got the car back there was a solid shake/wobble in the steering wheel, seats, etc. at highway speeds (60 to 75mph) Took the car back to the shop and was told the wheels need to be balanced.
Picked the car up the 2nd time and the wobble is slightly better, but now the car pulls to the right.
I'm working under warranty so far with MB dealerships...I'm DONE dealing with the clowns that run this shop...so any suggestions as to what I should have the next shop investigate?
Took my S550 in because of a "clicking noise" in the floor board which seemed to be repaired by replacing front inner and outter tierods and new lower control arm on the front left followed by a full alignment..a lot of work for an '07 with 28k mi. if you ask me.
When I got the car back there was a solid shake/wobble in the steering wheel, seats, etc. at highway speeds (60 to 75mph) Took the car back to the shop and was told the wheels need to be balanced.
Picked the car up the 2nd time and the wobble is slightly better, but now the car pulls to the right.
I'm working under warranty so far with MB dealerships...I'm DONE dealing with the clowns that run this shop...so any suggestions as to what I should have the next shop investigate?
