AustinGuy

I'm surprised that no one has posted something about this...... maybe this post needs to go in another forum..... but I guess since we're all S-Class focussed I'll take a chance here:

Whenever I drive above 40 mph and a lot of times at around 60-70mph the steering wheel wobbles! Plain and simple.

I noticed this before I swapped out the AMG wheels for Brabus ones and it's still the same. It's almost strange in how it happens - very rarely will the steering be wobble-free while most of the time it's there and on occassion it's so bad that I'll actually look at the steering and see it quiver!

Dang! I hate that!

Anyone bothered by this?

Maybe Konigster has some info?

Note: when I took my car in to the dealership to get the wheels swapped out, the service tech. told me the tie rod bushings had a recall/service bulletin and needed to be replaced. Later that day, the SA tells me that it was only on the 70 models . So, I went back and asked the ST - he looked a little confused and thought that it was on the 08's also! So, I called the SA again - and after about 2 days they tell me that it's only on the 07's!!



I can't trust what these folks tell me quite honestly - it's like they don't know. Sometimes I feel I know more about the S class than they do. Honestly, that's really how it seems sometimes.

Or it could just be that hanging out with all the Einstein's on mbworld.org has resulted in that knowledge imbalance between driver and ST/SA

ahmadkshuja

I completely agree with you. I have had couple of interactions with these guys and they are not experts. Infact, I feel that they know too little; they rely heavily on their "faulty" diagnostic tools. Is there a tool to diagnose their diagnostic tools? Once it took MB 4 visits to figure our tire pressure sensor problem:::

WSH

Haven't had any steering wheel shudder/alignment issues (or any glitches/repair issues) in any of the ?five/six '07-'08 S/CLs I've driven some (total) 25+K mis to-date....

In my expce, quality of MB (or any brand's) svc really depends upon specific dealer, SA and tech...and I suspect most well-run dealers (like almost any other svc-oriented business) "tier" the caliber of svc delivered vs profitability of a given customer....

Would try to figure out which is best dealer in your region and which SA at that dealer is the "go-to" guy for repeat S/CL buyers....your steering wheel issues aren't normal...

cjf_moraga

I have never had any issues like this either... the wheel is as solid as a rock at any speed. Seems pretty fundamental/basic like a bad misalignment or something magnified/exacerbated by your new wheels? If a dealer/SA can not diagnose this quickly (especially for a new purchaser) than there is something fundamentally wrong in your area.

Chris

konigstiger

Mention S-B-46.00/49a MAR08 – SDS diagnostic tree listing steering system conditions and appropriate remedies. In addition, I would suggest they “road force balance” each wheel/tire, most if not all MB dealerships have this equipment. How the balancing works and confirmation that the dealership has the system (locate a GSP9700): http://gsp9700.com

Tech/SA referenced DTB P-B-46.20/52 NOV06 muffled knocking noises when driving slowly (3-13 mph) on uneven road surfaces remedied by replacing the mounting bolts of the steering gear and outer tie rods. I doubt this bulletin is applicable in this matter.

AustinGuy

Thanks konigstiger!

That was some very good info. I'll make sure I print it out and show it to the SA if he gives me some gobly gook about how low profile tires have more shake in them.

my06clk

Dud this is not Normal.. I'm not sure if you are going to Austin, or Georgetown, but I started going to Georgetown to get my car worked on.. Eddy is the BEst SR. I have even dealt with.. Ask for him. He keeps up on all of the issues with these cars.. PLUS most of the time I don;t have to wait days to get my car looked at.

Red Marko

Austin,
Check your rims, they might be bent (not by you)
That's exactly what happened to me. Mind you 16 "delivery" miles and delivery boys having fun.
Mark

trumpet1

This happened to me also but he [austinguy] said it was happening on both sets of rims. That's why I never chimed in.
Nevertheless, it still might be a possibility. I saw it on mine when I had someone attempt to rebalance my wheels/tires. The bend in the rim was clearly obvious.

AustinGuy

The dealership is 25 miles away..... so I'm going to try next week - just can't get the time to do it this week.

I drove the car again last night and the shimmy was very pronounced at certain times. It's really weird that it only happens at certain times or on certain surfaces - I can't tell what causes it because the road surfaces are don't change that much.

I also noticed this on the 2-3 S550's I test drove.

pateljb

I have an early generation 07' which I took delivery on 7/07 and just had the 24k service performed with all four new tires replaced (Dunlops) , wheel alignment, annual service, a bent rim for $2600!

Drove the car home an at 40mph the vibration/wobbling begins. The car went back in and they have had it for 4 days and were told by MB to replace the bushings and if that does not solve the problem than try putting continental supercontacts instead of the dunlops.

I still can't understand how a rim got bent. I have had no accidents, drove into a curb etc.

Diesel Benz

I don't see how the bushings would help, unless those were completely worn from a few hundred thousand miles driving.

Steering wheel wobble would have to be a balance issue at the wheel parts that rotate, or one of the rotating parts is not round (the latter mainly only concerns the tyre and the rim, others can be balanced out).

It could be a tyre structure issue, the wheel hub bent, the wheel bent or the brake disc bent (mainly an issue at braking).

Changing Dunlops to Contis or Michelins could help.

konigstiger

As DB referenced normally steering wheel twitch is resolved with balancing. You did not mention if the dealer performed balancing. If not, request they “road force balance” and “StraightTrak” all four tires/wheels http://gsp9700.com (most if not all MBUSA dealerships have Hunter equipment).

It is my opinion that a bushing related matter would cause steering wheel twitch during slow speed or braking applications rather than beginning at 40mph. Time will tell.

Lastly, reverting back to tire brand(s) that originally deliver with the vehicle has been known to solve a number of problems sometimes experienced immediately or over time when all else has failed.

pateljb

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.

///MB

Hmm, it sounds like I have this issue as well.

I noticed when I hit bumps, the car doesn't go straight over but instead feels like it bounces to the side. I just had an alignment done today and it seems like it has helped a little. I still have some steering wheel vibration/shaking though.

The front tires are in need of replacement soon, so I'm hoping that will remedy the problem and I won't need to take it in for service. On the other hand, if there is a bushing related bulletin, I definitely want to get that done.

AustinGuy

Check out post #1 (the part in italics)

Diesel Benz

I admit I did not read that text but I still don't see this would cause the wobble. As long as I can see the recall, I assume it is not related to steering wheel wobble. I didn't see the text claiming that the workshop thought this would be related, just that they would do the recall work, if it applied.

elixir_

Absolutely unacceptable. Drop the car at the dealership and tell the service manager that you'll be back when the problem is resolved to your satisfaction. You're not helping yourself with aftermarket stuff, but this is not normal.

Improper wheel balancing is many times the culprit.

trumpet1

Mine has had a very, very slight imbalance shake at around 65 to 70 mph since December. I bought the tires for the front at that time but stored them in the basement for a later date. After reading this thread, I went and had the new ones put on this morning and the car rides just like new. It really did a make a huge difference. No vibrations at all at any speed. I put Michelins on it. Had Dunlops from the factory. I managed to get 23000 miles out of them and they still had 5000 miles worth of tread but I thought I'd go ahead with it.

WSH

Indeed, many new AMG/F/P are delivered w/poor alignment (from shipping issues)....

Need to eval alignment/balance early in use (and have dealer adjust as needed)....the aftermkt nonsense only adds a layer of absurdity for those who don't understand basic physics/logic of simplicity (vs generally inept dealers) anyway...

Not clear that any of these highly-engineered cars make sense vs specific tires/wheels that vary at all from factory specs, given those are specific wheel/tire set-ups factory uses in its R&D work to develop/refine vs a given chassis set-up....Engineering 101, no???

trumpet1

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

WSH

Trumpet, would advise to get whatever Mich are factory-spec for 600s, installed at a competent MB dealer....

$150K+ cars are, by definition, discretionary....and all about maximal safety/perf/subtle diffces vs lesser cars....wouldn't skimp on health ins/car insurance/tires/proper car mtce/choice of health providers either....one can far more safely live w/an elderly TV/cell ph/iPod/non-stylish item of clothing or furniture....but cars are among only purchases in US where an affluent guy's health can be signif impacted by split-sec decisions of driver/capabilities of said car in an emergent maneuver....

Diesel Benz

High performance/high speed tyres aren't providing good mileage. The advantage of Michelin/Continental over Hankook and similar is better grip, better handling at extreme cases (where accidents usually occur), better quality tyre body. Twice as expensive tyres probably aren't twice as good, depends how one measures it, like it twice as expensive car would unlikely be twice as good. Mileage is easily better with tyres that have poor grip (rain or no rain), they may have problems with thread quality, roundness etc.

Benzboy13

I have that problem in my C class when I'm going around 55-65 mph only.

I believe I need a simple wheel alignment. The entire car shakes a little.. but you feel it more in the steering wheel.

Might not be same problem but you never know.

Alex@wheelexperts

I have not experienced this problem on my W221 or either of the two project S-classes we have built.

Sometimes, the wheel and tires dont mate properly and cause a slight vibration. My suggestion would be to take the car to a reputable tire shop. Have them mark the tire and wheels mounted location. Then dismount the tire and spin it 180 degrees and remount the tire. The marks originally made on the wheel and tire should now be on opposite ends of each other. Then have it Road-Force Balanced. This should solve your issue....

hope this helps...