BerndV

I absolutely love this car except for one minor but persistent annoyance. I have had the car to the dealer four times for a faint but nevertheless audible plastic buzzing noise that comes from somewhere in the dash. It happens when the car is driven over coarse pavement that generates a resonance in the cabin and results in a plastic on plastic buzzing or rattle. The dealer so far has been unable to chase this down even though the tech can hear it. My 2014 E550 had no such problem. Has anyone else had a similar problem? If so, did you pursue getting it fixed? If so, what was the source?

As an aside, I was given a 2014 ML 350 for a loaner for last warranty visit for this problem. Unbelievably, it also had a very bad rattle in the dash. As a long time Benz owner, I remember being very impressed over the years at how squeak and rattle free these cars were. "Bank vault solid" was the oft used metaphor used to describe Benz's by automotive journalists. Has this quality been lost?

pjw1967

I had a buzz that sounded like radio static in a different brand. Complained to the dealer. Claimed they couldn't hear it. I knew I wasn't crazy because even my wife said "what's that noise"? Thanks to the brand forum, I learned it was likely the blower motor. After pressuring the dealer they changed it out. Voila, noise gone. Noise was intermittent, and independent of rpm or vehicle speed. Usually showed up when the vehicle cabin cooled off and the fan slowed down on auto control. Good luck!

BTW I just bought a 2014 ML350 CPO, our first MB. Had 30k on the clock. Quiet as a church for the first 1,000 miles. Yday as I was backing out of the driveway, I heard the seats groan. Admittedly, the frame was stressed as the back out maneuver basically takes weight off one wheel at a time. Our other cars never did this.

PeterUbers

I have same or similar buzz. ...same location ... never pursued it

dav461

Just forget about it. I had same problem. Dealer fixed it and gave me car back after 2 weeks.
I drove for about 5k miles, same noise came back again.
Same problem I had with B&O speakers (triangle) on doors. Dealer fixed it, problem is back again.

PeterUbers

This car was a silent vault until about 15,000 miles

BerndV

Mine has 13k on it, but the noise has been there for about half that time. Personally, for $100k+, I refused to be aggravated by some loose or poorly fitted plastic dash component. The car is going back next week and I am going to take the tech for a ride both before and after their repair. I'm not taking it home again until it is fixed.

cadeca

Same situation for me. I thought the sound was coming from the start/stop button. I also had the B&O speaker mounts buzz. They applied felt as a dampener...it's better but still comes back intermittently.

Concrete sections of highway really seem to bring out the buzz!

dav461

Yes. It's all about surface where u drive. When I was driving in Holland , there was no sound at all, as soon as I drove into Germany I had buzz

PeterUbers

A cold car just started up buzzes more than the car does after about thirty minutes and ten miles

this Benz like my previous makes a lot of plastic expansion popping sounds in the first few minutes

BerndV

Mine is always quiet when cold but as soon as I get on coarse asphalt the buzzing starts. Smooth pavement is wonderful but the coarse stuff is unavoidable.

OrientBlue3

My '12 CLS had a rattle from the nav screen (in-dash) trim below the screen but that was really it. In my new C63 S, the nav screen (iPad version) had the worst ever rattle. I DIY'd a fix with felt tape but it was a nightmare to do. The other thing I forgot the C-Class's have always had a problem with are rattling windows (when rolled up). Had it in my '08 C63 and now again in my '15. How in 7 years, they haven't fixed this problem I have no idea.

BerndV

Yea, pretty sad. I have a 2005 Toyota Sequoia with 150,000 miles on it that I use off road and for hunting. I bought it new and have absolutely driven the crap out of it off road and yet it has no squeaks or rattles. Why is Toyota able to achieve this with such a pedestrian vehicle and yet MB cannot? If Lexus built a car that looked, drove, and performed like my E63 I would never buy German again. My wife's Q7 has zero squeaks or rattles. Perhaps an Audi S8 plus is in my future. Either that or I'm just going to buy a 911 Turbo S and leave it bone stock once the last kid is off to college.

sjb

I had a similar issue, and I managed to locate it (them):

1) the base of the rearview mirror was loose
2) the hinge of the under-the-seat compartment on the passenger seat was loose (this one sounded like it came from the center of the dash, and was infuriating, since it was so hard to locate)

I had both addressed, and I am rattle-free. Good luck.

YellowJacket

I had this annoying buzz , that I thought was the dash, but turned out to be the sunroof. Buzzing vibration noise, that was hard to tell where it was coming from.
I opened and closed it, and it went away, solved.

I've only opened sunroof maybe twice in one year, so didnt even think to look there.