Ste

All,

I need some assistance, I purchased a 2018 S560 with 36k in June and it has been a nightmare. I have purchased a new set of wheels, 2 sets of tires, replaced the motor mounts and have had countless road force balances over the last four months. I have spent thousands and I am yet to experience the smooth ride. The car came with a new set of toyo tires, I upgraded to continentals and changed again to Michelin's. The wheel shakes at all speeds over 35 and well past 90 MPH. I had the rims repaired and read in a thread that it''s sometimes done incorrectly, so I bought a new set of wheels. I have the 19 inch AMG rims on the car, Mercedes says they ran a diagnostics with zero faults but after the motor mounts were replaced ($4K) and transmission mounts they had the tech on a ride with me and I sat in the back so that he could watch the passenger seat vibrate, it did the entire time. I had him drive it one 95 at highway speeds and it got worse. Can some please let me know if they had this issue and got fixed and figured out. I doing all I can to keep the car but I am starting to grow tired and lose faith that it will be around much longer.

Also replaced the rotors and brakes!

Running out of parts to replace

 

I had the same experience as you. New tires, new brakes and rotors. My car would start to ride vibrating in the steering wheel over 7mph.
I bought used AMG rims and had an expert wheel straightener mount the tires. We had to send back two rims as they were bent beyond repair but advertised as straight. No issues now.
So do some research in your area and find such a shop

 

Yeah, I ordered new Rims after having the AMG wheels fix by one shop and inspected by three more shops in different cities (Tampa, Orlando and Gainesville) to make sure the work was done right. I had the new Rims checked also and they check out as they should, brand New wheels. I thought I saw something about control arms but I don't know if I should keep throwing money at the problem.

 

You are going to need a dial indicator and go through (or have someone competent go through) the suspension system looking for things that are not perfectly round (to better than 0.001"; and without measurable slop in all the suspension "pick up points".

At this point we can probably rule out wheels and tires (but measure them anyway).

Suspected items::
Wheel axels; out of round
Wheel bearings
Brake rotors; axial and longitudinal concentricity
Wheel bolt concentricity
Wheel centering hub concentricity
ball joints
suspension bushing

I would take the car to a race-preparation shop--they have the necessary skills and tools to perform the kinds of analysis to get these things right. Dealers don't.

 

Mitch,

I will get these items checked out. I put new brakes and rotors on last month, I also order new control arms Saturday because I saw a thread that says that could be an issue. But I will try to find a Race Prep place here in central Florida to get their expertise.

 

What is shaking ? The steering wheel or the seat/body ?
Does shaking change when you press on the brake pedal ?
Is your car RWD or 4Matic ? Have you checked Drive Shaft ?

 

Would start with hubs.

 

Mercedes said they checked the drive shaft, I have an appointment with an outside foreign car shop to check it over along with the suspension again tomorrow. It's a RWD, doesn't shake while braking (not the rotors or brakes), and it shakes in the seat and the wheel.

 

Hubs? Replacement or what?

 

The wheels look great and are the 19s, hopefully I can get it sorted before the end of the month, but it doesn't look like it at this point.

 

OMG! What a nightmare! I'm so sorry that you're having to endure this. And it's frustrating that your dealer has taken so much money and not come close to resolving the issue. I went through a similar issue when I bought my 2016 S-Class in 2020. The car had an uncomfortable vibration at highway speeds that was eventually resolved by replacing 3 of the 4 wheels. But you've tried all this and more!

At this point, I'm curious if your car has past hidden accident damage to suspension, suspension attachment points, or steering components. One would hope that your dealer would have inspected and cleared these items by now, but you can never tell. Regardless, I truly hope that someone is able to get this resolved for you so that you can begin enjoying your ownership.

 

Ah, new information.
If the shake is gone when the car is braking, it is unlikely to be {wheels, tires, suspension, brakes, rotors}

On the other hand it is more likely to be {drive shaft, wheel shaft, transmission, differential} related.

 

Let's start from the very beginning. Have you noticed any shaking at the time when you were buying the car and did a test drive ? On that test drive - did you drive it more than 60-70 mph and were there any signs of shaking ?
If not - what have you done to the car that after that point of time you noticed the shaking ?

 

Yes the vehicle had a shake 35-45 so I had the dealership re-balance the wheels and tires, The tires were brand new, never got it over 55. I came back to pick it up a week later and the lower speed vibrations were gone, it vibrated at 70-75 after that. I had the wheels checked and straighten, one was slightly bent. It got worse, so I changed the tires and had two RF balances done. It got worse, I had the motor mounts and transmission mounts replaced, it got worse so I bought new wheels and it got worse after 3 more RF balances.

 

Wheel shaft? What are the components because I just got back from a drive hoping it would be better and the ride is extremely crashy and the steering tightens up with speed. It has always gotten super heavy feeling with speed since I bought it, doesn't feel normal for a vehicle that's normally driven by those who are older. It shakes like something is broken on the front of the car in the wheel area.

 

Let a pro at the race prep shop diagnose the problem after you giving him a thorough demonstration drive, and then letting him drive the car back to the shop feeling what you feel at the controls.

I had a strange sound and feeling on my Ferrari only when turning left at low speed.
I had to take the tech out to an empty parking lot and show him what I was hearing and feeling for him to recognize a bad wheel bearing.

Don't leave the race prep shop until the tech understands what you are hearing and feeling.
This is not a "tell him and drop the car off" kind of diagnosis.
Spend a whole hour if necessary.
Get if fixed once and for all.

 

Mitch that is definitely what I want to do, but I live in Ocala Fl and work in Melbourne so finding a Race shop that will work with me on the weekends in Orlando or Tampa is extremely difficult. I have an appointment today with a suspension specialist locally, I took the day off to get it in there and have a thorough inspection done.

 

Do you have any friends with S-Class, which drives perfectly fine ? The easiest test would be to swap wheels/tires with that friend and drive your car. At least you'd know that wheels have nothing to do with shaking.
Usually shaking is wheels/tires related.

 

agegroup,

I have two sets of brand new wheels and tires that I have switched a couple times now, they wheels and tires have been eliminated.

 

Hubs can be measured for run out but it must be done properly, I don't typically recommend blind part replacement but since you already changed a bunch of things might as well.
​​​​​​

 

Vibrations - I have a 2018 S560, rear wheel drive w/ 52,000 miles - intermittingly it gets confused with up and downshifting from 2 to 3, 3 to 4 and approximately 10K miles ago the dealer replaced the transmission shift module, fluid, and software, however that did not cure the issue. I've been driving it and just living with the issue because it's such a hassle to get service these days. At 51,000 miles I've noticed a new issue which seems to be the same as discussed here "steering wheel and seat vibration" caused by what it feels like when you drive over road rumble strips but not as severe. The car has been checked out for tire, rim, brake, and wheel bearing issues with all components within specs. However, yesterday I was told the vibration is a "drive train" issue which could possibly be the transmission torque converter. Mercedes has had issues with these transmissions and depending on the diagnosis according to Mercedes-Benz service the only fix is "replace the transmission".
Tomorrow I'll be going to one more independent Mercedes facility to get a third opinion. I'll keep you posted because this appears to be a more common issue with this transmission than it should be especially since these cars have such low mileage.

 

Update?

 

If you take your foot off the gas, any change?
If you put the car in Neutral at speed while its happening, any change?
Possible bad torque converter?

 

This thread has my curiosity... any luck resolving your vibration?

 

I drive like an old man because I am an old man and that's what life has come to. I enjoy the comfort of the car and don't abuse it. I drive mostly in the Southeast USA and the roads are decent, not perfect but never any jarring rim bending holes in the pavements.

The vibrations are a continuous super annoying issue. One fix, then another. A refresher on the car, it's a 2018 S560 USA spec model with 58,000 miles. The rims and tires are stock 20" OEM sizes with Michelin Pilot Sport AS4. The first noticeable vibration was at about 45,000. The dealer replaced the transmission mount resulting in very little change. Returning, the dealer pointed out a rear tire with a 1/8" wobble he said that was the problem. The bent rim was fixed. No change, returning to the dealer they replaced the motor mounts. Noticeable difference except now there is a lesser vibration at 70 to 80 mph. Back to the tire shop and last week I was shown a bent front right rim, again so small a movement it's hard to believe. The rims are a rare 20", 15 spokes in groups of three heavy-looking spokes. They are listed as a Maybach wheel and looking at them it's hard to believe they can be bent without the driver knowing about an impact ..... it's baffling.

With more research by talking to tire shops, mechanics, and other owners I've come to the conclusion that it's the alloys Mercedes uses for their rims and they bend quite easily. My take is it's safer and less expensive to repair or replace a rim than it is to other critical suspension items. Are they thinking of our safety again? We'll never know, but it is a pain in the ****.

BTW the most repeated fix from people I've spoken to is to go to a smaller rim, 18" or 19". Easier said than done, plus the 20" rims compliment the shape and beauty of the car, kind of the icing on the cake.