QuadBenz

Today I was driving along Laurel Canyon (twisty road, very bumpy) and well, quality wise (rattles, etc) I wasn't too impressed. So my question: Are S600's made better in that regard compared to 550's? I'm aware of all standard options, alcantara, upgraded leather, etc..

trumpet1

From my experience, I do believe the S class has an unmentioned and unspoken higher standard of quality as you move up the series starting with the S550, then the S63, then S600, then S65. And within each of those groups, I would have to believe the designo editions get even more refinement to quality and detail. You're not going to officially hear that, but from my experience, it seems that way.
Same can be said about the CLs, and SLs I would imagine.

RAZ_BENZ

The S600 curb weight is 4,895 lbs and the S550 weight is 4,465 lbs a difference of about 10%. Heavier car with stronger engine should be more comfortable since all shocks and road bumps are distributed on the car weight.

QuadBenz

That's what I was thinking.
Boo. :p

Maybe I can use this as an excuse to "move up"

cjf_moraga

Ah.. like Trumpet I find my S600 amazingly solid... it is intangible but it does "feel" higher quality... though I admit have only sat in S550's and never driven one to compare.. However I certainly have not heard any of those rattles that you refer to - even on the very same canyon road. In the first 5000 miles I did hear an occasional quiet squeak and/or ticks in the interior, but I think it was the leather in the car loosening up. Now I am over 10,000 miles the car runs beautifully silent over any surface... The standard ABC in the S600 adds hugely to the ride quality also and seems to dial out a lot of the subliminal frequencies and motions that may manifest themselves in non-equipped cars.

Your S550 sounds anomalous however... it should not rattle at all surely?

Chris

QuadBenz

It shouldn't rattle, but it does. On mildly bumpy/smooth roads it's solid. On pretty rough roads like Laurel Canyon I hear quite a few rattles throughout the cabin, but mainly in the front of the vehicle. I'm glad you've driven on the same road so I have something to compare to. Also, a lot of rattling seems to come from the top of the door sills (that area) and no, there's nothing in the pockets. I'd like to think I don't have a crappy one-off... This is really bothering me. I'd take it to the dealer, but it doesn't seem like there's much they could do, if any.

cmcjo

The only rattling sound I hear in my S600 is in the rear door window shades. Other than that it is silent.

cjf_moraga

In all honesty... I did actually have one bad case of rattling in my S600... When I drove over rough surfaces I would hear this rattling in the door... It also happened when I took tight corners... sometimes it would be a rattle/vibrate.. other times it would be a sliding sound in the door like there was a bolt loose or something... it was definitely in the door area... and it happened on exactly the same types of road you describe... but never on normal roads... So I took the car into the dealers to see if they could detect it...

...Uh.. it was my sun glasses sliding around inside the roof flip down compartment just next to my head.. The acoustics in the car can be totally misleading... are you sure it is the door? If you have a detectable and reproducible rattle the dealer should be able to address it... I would certainly take it seriously on a $90K+ car...

Chris

QuadBenz

My sun glasses compartment is empty as are the door pockets. It's not just one rattle, there's a few and it sounds like it comes from the dash, doors and seats. IMO, to fix it it seems like they'd have to rip out the dash and doors (insides not whole door) and I'm not too crazy about that. But you never know. I'll take it in soon and see what they say.

Roupin

Have a passenger ride along and try to hold down different parts of the interior to try to locate and isolate the rattles. It's much better than having the dealer blindly pull off the panels.

Btw, your car does sound like an anomaly. My CLS on the same road is very solid, and of course the S550 should be ahead of this car to start with.

QuadBenz

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

The thing I find strange is that is you physically push on any parts of the interior, it's solid.

Btw, how many miles do you have on your CLS?

1993_300SE

I have a question for the OP - how rough is the road you are driving on? I am planning on taking my S550 up into the mountains this summer and it is several miles of gravel road with the occasional washboard. I figure I ought to be OK by raising the vehicle.

QuadBenz

Umm, it is pretty rough, IMO. It's definitely not close to smooth by any means.

Cjf, roupin, what do you guys have to say about the road?

Roupin

6,800 miles on the CLS. Interestingly, my neighbor's 07 has 52k miles on it, and is every bit as solid as my car. I couldn't believe it after going for a ride.

The interior panels in these cars are solid, but applying the pressure reduces a touch of slack and the tiny bit of vibration that's causing the rattling. I had a similar annoyance in my E350's doorpanel and eventually narrowed it down to a small area. It went to the dealer twice and still rattled, so I stuffed in a strip of foam into the leading edge of the panel and took care of it.

Roupin

The road isn't rough per se, but it's more uneven. The potholes and perpendicular cracks are the worst of it. Honestly, I'm very surprised that a W221 rattles that much on there. Has your interior ever been taken apart for service, ie electrical?

QuadBenz

I've had to do something similar with the driver's seat. It was more of a creaking then a rattle though. I have some foam laying around that's very similar in color to the interior. I'll see what I can do without making it look modified.

Btw, my S only has 17k miles. It's funny, my 06 S500 has no rattles or anything and it's at 35k miles. The 07's quality is supposed to be much much more improved compared to the earlier years. Go figure.

QuadBenz

Hmm... that's a good question. I don't think it has been taken apart. It might've been once when something happened and I took it in to service for the dealer to check. I don't think so though. I'll go look at the service papers and see if it mentions anything about that.

QuadBenz

So.. I'm starting to feel a tad stupid.

I did "foam" up some certain areas of the car, just to be safe. Luckily, you can't even tell I touched the car. Big plus for me.

Anyways, remember I said it sounded like something rattling in the doors on bumpy roads, even slightly bumpy surfaces? I just checked in the drivers side pocket. Here's what I found: Quarter, two pieces of metal (Mercedes-Benz logo on floor mats that came off and the metal piece behind it that holds it on). I'm hoping this is what I was hearing. I took those out pronto.

Remember when I said rattling/something loose from the front of the car? In the glovebox: Large-ish metal tool that comes with the car that's used to manually crank open the sunroof in emergencies.

I was physically pushing everything I could see in the car. Especially the dash. I pushed the sides, underneath, on top, behind the instrument cluster, etc. Not a peep. So hopefully the fault was everything I found. The real test will be tomorrow when I actually drive the car. I hope I feel stupid. Stupid (in this case) means I found and fixed the problem.

Roupin

Good luck Quad! Hope those were the ones making all that noise and you can feel better about the car

QuadBenz

Thanks!

I'll update you guys tomorrow.

valiumvilla

Recently I had a similar problem after an oil change. I heard a rattle that I had never heard before and, like you, it drove me nuts trying to find it. I sounded as if it was coming from the front inside of the car. I could find no reason so I looked under the hood. Nothing, but in the process of looking around I pressed my hand on the engine cover and "snap" I heard it click as if it had not been properly seated. The rattle disappeared. Just an-
other idea for you to look at for a possible cause.

QuadBenz

Thanks for the suggestion. My car is virtually rattle free now. Today, I did notice one small vibration sound coming from the glove box. I opened it up, thinking it was the tools, separated them and stuff, then it continued. It turns out it was just the zipper for the manual shaking around. It didn't sound like shaking metal. It was unusual, but I got it, and boy am I glad.

MBNUT1

Man you are as **** as I am about noise. I like my cars to be tomb silent. It's great to hear that you were able to restore your car to its proper quality

cjf_moraga

When you think about it... it is because the S-Class is so quiet inside compared to other cars that you really notice the slightest noise... its a tribute in a way!

Glad it is sorted out! Seems you have had the equivalent of my sunglasses moment!

Chris

QuadBenz

I agree, that probably is why, lol.

Thanks, it is a lot like your sunglasses issue except any little noise I try to find which I have been..