S63 - wheel alignment limited by speed?
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Joined: Nov 2020
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From: New Jersey
Audi A8L, AMG S63
S63 - wheel alignment limited by speed?
Since I drove my 2020 S63 home from dealer covering a distance of about 900 miles, I had an opportunity to assess road quality as well as the stability of the car.
Findings: Roads in the Carolinas are very bad. Beyond the obvious potjoles on sides, the surface is wavy with minor ups/downs,
Slight improvement in Virginia and much better in PA with the best being (and I was shocked) New Jersey roads! I thought NJ had poor road quality but after seeing the 4 other states I stand corrected.
Now to the vehicle - at speed just above posted limits, the steering wheel would vibrate/shudder. Even the chassis was being overly responsive with vibrations. This situation improved in PA and NJ but it raised questions regarding alignment since this was a CPO.
Upon calling the selling dealership service manager to inquire about print-out or electronic record of their alignment, was told their equipment only allows balancing and alignment up to speeds of 70mph!
Does that claim make any sense? After all the car does not have a speed limiter at the 70mph mark. Upon further discussion, I was told that driving above 70mph is illegal and the dealership does not support such activities and are not responsible for how the car behaves above the legal limit. But the S63 also has a track mode which allows for much higher speeds - so how is the buyer supposed to avail of that feature?
All in all - not pleased with the service at the selling dealership. I have not explored this further yet at my local dealer who will be servicing the vehicle for the next 3 years (bought a pre-paid manintenance plan).
Any pertinent feedback on above issue is appreciated.
Findings: Roads in the Carolinas are very bad. Beyond the obvious potjoles on sides, the surface is wavy with minor ups/downs,
Slight improvement in Virginia and much better in PA with the best being (and I was shocked) New Jersey roads! I thought NJ had poor road quality but after seeing the 4 other states I stand corrected.
Now to the vehicle - at speed just above posted limits, the steering wheel would vibrate/shudder. Even the chassis was being overly responsive with vibrations. This situation improved in PA and NJ but it raised questions regarding alignment since this was a CPO.
Upon calling the selling dealership service manager to inquire about print-out or electronic record of their alignment, was told their equipment only allows balancing and alignment up to speeds of 70mph!
Does that claim make any sense? After all the car does not have a speed limiter at the 70mph mark. Upon further discussion, I was told that driving above 70mph is illegal and the dealership does not support such activities and are not responsible for how the car behaves above the legal limit. But the S63 also has a track mode which allows for much higher speeds - so how is the buyer supposed to avail of that feature?
All in all - not pleased with the service at the selling dealership. I have not explored this further yet at my local dealer who will be servicing the vehicle for the next 3 years (bought a pre-paid manintenance plan).
Any pertinent feedback on above issue is appreciated.
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From: Phoenix
222 S-65
OP shaking steering wheel is tires out of balance, out of round, bent wheels. Start with fresh tires and verify that wheels are straight. Aftermarket wheels? Are they hub-centric? If not; get wheels that are hub-centric as wheels not centered on the hub will shake 100% of the time.
Do an alignment at MB with fresh tires. With straight OEM wheels as befitting.
Problem solved.
Do an alignment at MB with fresh tires. With straight OEM wheels as befitting.
Problem solved.
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From: Newcastle, WA
2019 S63 4Matic+, 2018 E400 Cabrio, wardens car.
As John said above, get the tires and wheels checked. If the tires are newer (check date code on each tire) and in good shape then just have them balanced and verify the wheels are true. If you still have any vibration after that then you could have a suspension issue. Alignment typically does not cause vibration though.
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From: New Jersey
Audi A8L, AMG S63
Appreciate the proposed solutions (JohnLane & superpop) which I will implement BUT the issue is also when dealer sold a CPO, the wheels should not be "out of round" or "bent". Tires are somewhat new and I know the dealer got the rims/wheels refinished or repaired per the service history - likely this job was not well done. Is this an issue to take up with Mercedes Benz customer service? Car was bought about 10 days ago.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Appreciate the proposed solutions (JohnLane & superpop) which I will implement BUT the issue is also when dealer sold a CPO, the wheels should not be "out of round" or "bent". Tires are somewhat new and I know the dealer got the rims/wheels refinished or repaired per the service history - likely this job was not well done. Is this an issue to take up with Mercedes Benz customer service? Car was bought about 10 days ago.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
As for alignment, there's no speed limit on alignment. The factory alignment works on the German Autobahn at way higher speeds than you can legally drive here. Bunch of baloney on the selling dealer's part. These cars are designed to rip down the German Autobahn at near 200 mph on a Sunday afternoon while the rear passengers are sipping tea.
Last edited by superswiss; Jun 22, 2025 at 06:52 PM.
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2001 S600 V12 Sold, 2011 Jaguar XFR Sold, 2017 S550 4-Matic, 2018 S63 AMG Sedan
Appreciate the proposed solutions (JohnLane & superpop) which I will implement BUT the issue is also when dealer sold a CPO, the wheels should not be "out of round" or "bent". Tires are somewhat new and I know the dealer got the rims/wheels refinished or repaired per the service history - likely this job was not well done. Is this an issue to take up with Mercedes Benz customer service? Car was bought about 10 days ago.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
BTW, the rims and tires are OEM, AMG 20" wheels and Michelein Pilot Sport 4S tires.
When I bought my CPO from Mercedes Benz of Medford in 2022, 3 of the 4 wheels were bent. The car was previously owned by the owner of the dealership so I thought the car was going to be "minty", but it wasn't. It was a beautiful car indide and out, very well maintained. Anything that is promised as reconditioning or even checked on the CPO certificate is a joke. A Mercedes CPO is just a warranty.
Last edited by carlosinseattle; Jun 23, 2025 at 01:15 PM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
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From: New Jersey
Audi A8L, AMG S63
Best to take your car to a reputable wheel shop for balancing and see if any or all the wheels are bent or cracked. Do you have forged wheels? If not, more than likely they're bent. Not a quality issue, just physics.
When I bought my CPO from Mercedes Benz of Medford in 2022, 3 of the 4 wheels were bent. The car was previously owned by the owner of the dealership so I thought the car was going to be "minty", but it wasn't. It was a beautiful car indide and out, very well maintained. Anything that is promised as reconditioning or even checked on the CPO certificate is a joke. A Mercedes CPO is just a warranty.
When I bought my CPO from Mercedes Benz of Medford in 2022, 3 of the 4 wheels were bent. The car was previously owned by the owner of the dealership so I thought the car was going to be "minty", but it wasn't. It was a beautiful car indide and out, very well maintained. Anything that is promised as reconditioning or even checked on the CPO certificate is a joke. A Mercedes CPO is just a warranty.
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From: Pacific Northwest
2001 S600 V12 Sold, 2011 Jaguar XFR Sold, 2017 S550 4-Matic, 2018 S63 AMG Sedan
Keep in mind, the CPO is an EXCELLENT warranty...don't be afraid to use it. My local dealer used the CPO warranty and goodwill money from MB to rectify everything that he could with my car. That part of it was great, not perfect, but great. The tires were literally at the minimum thickness to qualify for CPO so they didn't replace them under warranty, nor did they fix the wheels. But everything else was covered, and will be on your car too.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Also keep in mind, a CPO is still a used car at the end of the day and largely sold as-is. CPO doesn't mean it's been refurbished to mint conditions. Tires, wheels, brakes etc. are wear and tear items and those are never warrantied beyond obvious manufacturing defects. There are minimum wear requirements that CPO has to meet and the car has to be safe to drive and in working order as far as the major components are concerned. There can still be damage that the dealership is not required to fix prior to selling it. Bent wheels and such is damage from driving the car. It's not a defect or a quality issue.
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