AMGshaks

Hi everyone,
I took my 2019 S560 to the dealer a few days ago due to the whistling noise you could hear between 55 and 65 mph. After 7 days and running a few diagnoses , my adviser told me that the rear differential needs to be replaced. Are you kidding ! The car only has 2000 miles on it! I wanted to share this with you guys and ask for your opinions. Has anyone experienced the same tying before ? Will this impact on changing gears or acceleration of the car? How hard is it to replace the differential?

whoover

Why would it impact anything? It's on warranty, right?

obwielnls

It's really not uncommon for a brand new car to have an issue or two. The rear diff is really a pretty easy swap. Don't sweat it.

Mitch Alsup

You unbolt the CV joints move the axles out of the way
You unbolt the drive shaft and move out of the way
You unplug a few connectors
You loosen 4-ish bolts and lower the differential on a hoist.
You take new diff and hoist it into position
You reverse the disassembly stuff.

seamus2154

Rear diff is an easy swap and I wouldn't be upset. It is an unusual failure. Most problems with diffs are initial setup, fluid loss causing damage, or improper break in. Break in is not too special of a process if your breaking in the car as specified in owners manual. Most issues are from too high a speed and too high of heat too soon before it's tempered in. Most German cars have polished gears and break in easily unless abused. If that didn't happen then it's just a fluke from set up or materials.

whoover

Does the replacement diff come with a ring and pinion or do they use the old one? If they reuse it, setting the pinion depth take some skill. If the noise is a bad ring gear, let's say, or even a badly set pair, I'd think the rear-end replacement would need to include pattern reading unless the new rear-end comes with a ring gear and pinion with depth set.

Mitch Alsup

I can guarantee you that a warranteed replacement will be everything including the box everything is inside.
a) it is the least amount of labor
2) it is the safest thing to avoid further warranty issues.

Antonio s600

Mercedes makes horrible rear differentials. My s550 has 50 thousand miles and it started making a humming sound also. Smh. After further research, this is a typical issue with the s-class Mercedes. Unfortunately there isn't any recall with this issue.

W205C43PFL

FWIW, Rear differential issues in MBs are not exclusive to W222, someone reported this on a C-Class as well https://mbworld.org/forums/c450-c43-...houghts-6.html
My 2017 C 43 had a whining rear differential with multiple replacements to no avail, but mines is "just a C-Class" and yours is an S-Class, hopefully your experience is better OP.

Tom in Austin

Ouch, what a drag! Does changing the diff fluid more often help?

Antonio s600

Nope. Once it goes bad, ain't nothing u can do beside replace the differential.

JohnLane

Not at 2000 miles! At least for that one MB will provide some manner of loaner.

Certainly changing gear oil every 30,000 miles doesn’t hurt.

When bearings pack it in... they get replaced. Not such a big deal to do if you’ve done them.
Gears rarely fail.

Almones

Check the gearbox mount (Transmission Mount), if it's ok, then check the tires alignment.
I'd the same humming sound in my S560 MY2019 (in speed between 80km/h and 100km/h) and the sound gone after I did tires alignment.

Newbyloub

This kind of statement, with nothing to support it other than your alleged 50,000 mile problem is completely unreasonable and a waste of time. The writer mentions "further research, but provides no evidence whatsoever.

A completely worthless post.

W205C43PFL

I am curious, if this humming issue a real cause of concern of just an annoyance? Is it really broken and that will affect the longevity of the rear differential, or just an annoyance?

W205C43PFL

I realized we never heard from OP since the original post, so I guess it remains a mystery if the replacement differential actually solved the issue.

Shark7000

I'm guessing this is my issue on the car I just got with 144K miles. I was changing control arms and putting everything back together and noticed this noise. I felt it in the hub before putting the rotor back on, but I really felt it and heard it when the wheel was on. I was thinking it was the wheel bearings, but once I got those off, they feel fine, but the actual differential seems to be making the noise and vibration.

Shark7000

I'm guessing this is my issue on the car I just got with 144K miles. I was changing control arms and putting everything back together and noticed this noise. I felt it in the hub before putting the rotor back on, but I really felt it and heard it when the wheel was on. I was thinking it was the wheel bearings, but once I got those off, they feel fine, but the actual differential seems to be making the noise and vibration.

Shark7000

I posted the first one at home. I went to the store and back home and it was showing that it didn't post it. So I hit submit and it did it a second time. I can't figure out how to delete the second one.

JohnLane

You can’t delete a post. Ask a mod real nice like and they may clean up a thread though that is usually reserved for when certain of us have had some adult beverage and start making noise on the internet.

If your car has a noisy diff replace the bearings. If you are not up for doing it pull the diff and have someone do it who is comfortable with doing so. This is your opportunity to fit a limited slip.

Shark7000

Thank you for your reply. This is the first forum I've been on that doesn't let you delete your accidental reply. LOL

I'm always up to doing my own repairs to save me money. The Air Force gave me a good carer to save money after I was retired and out of the service. They even sent me to a transaxle and automatic transmission class, yet, the only transmission I ever rebuilt was the one in class. LOL

That will be my next job on it. Start removing that diff and check which bearings are bad. I was just checking differential prices, when I got the notice of a reply. I will check it before ordering. The diff fluid did look a little blackish. So I'm sure the previous owners never had it changed. I already did the transmission fluid and filter. It was as bad as my wifes car when I changed her cars tranny fluid and filter two years ago. Doing the job the second time is so much easier. LOL

Lou B

"Typical" at 2,000 miles on a new car???
Can you back up this statement with specific details?

Shark7000

Hmmmmm, I'm thinking ut wouldn't be making noise while driving if this is all it is. I saw another video of someone changing differential parts and his sounded like mine. So it makes the noise when the wheels are in the air and you turn one wheel and the other turns the opposite direction, is when it makes this noise. I've never seen a car that would make such a noise just spinning the wheels like that. Is it in the planetary gears?

Shark7000

I'm thinking I'm just wasting my time on this. I guess I should just put it back together and put new oil in. The oil that came out had a lot of black to it. It did seem somewhat thinner than I would expect. Maybe it's just time to change the oil? It just bugs me how it rumbles when you turn the wheels when they are in the air like this.

MBNUT1

if you have a bad diff you will hear it whine when you are driving.