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Long time reader - first time poster - thanks in advance for the advice!
Context: 2017 GLS 550 w/ ~80k miles. I carelessly hit a curb recently with my front right tire... wasn't going fast, but hit it square & it was a decent thud. After, I noticed a vibration whenever I got up to 30 mph that goes away at 35 mph. It then comes back much more intensely anytime I go over ~65 mph. However, the intensity of the 'wobble' fluctuates (when over 65 mph) depending on whether I'm on the gas, coasting, etc., which made me think it wasn't just a bent rim.
Dealer visit #1: told them what happened & symptoms - rep said he was 99% sure it's a bent rim. Calls me back two hours later... "ohhh it's just a tire bubble, we'll get you a new tire, and you'll be good." Didn't sound right to me, so I asked him to rotate the wheels when they did the alignment to help me isolate the issue if it wasn't resolved. As you'd expect... as soon as I drove away and got up to 30 mph... the same vibration occurred in the front right...
A good laugh.. three weeks later, I find the back right wheel (rim that originally hit the curb & new tire) completely flat with a big crack on the inside of the rim... not sure if they actually inspected the rim at all during the first visit.
Dealer visit #2: I'm obviously annoyed at this point... need a new rim & I beg them to test drive the car & actually inspect the front right end. They call back & say any vibration is just caused by the car being out of alignment (they did the alignment three weeks earlier). So a new rim, another alignment, and the same vibration that is practically making the car impossible to drive on the highway.
My ask: any advice on what specifically in the GLS front-end/wheel assembly could be causing this speed-related wobble/vibration? Based on my research, some of the symptoms match a bent driveshaft, but I figured that would cause vibration throughout the spine of the car (not just the front right) and is unlikely from a curb hit... but I've been wrong before.
Maybe, maybe, maybe to their defense...I had a wobble for a long time we checked everything. Months later only during a tire change we saw the cracked tim (never leaked air).
An alignment will NOT alter a failed rubber component or change an out of balance rotating assembly...as it sits it can be aligned and be crap on the road.
Last edited by OldManAndHisCar; May 8, 2026 at 07:10 AM.
@ygmn good call on the alignment report -> I just reached out to the dealer to ask for a copy of it. We'll see what they come back with!
@OldManAndHisCar fair point... my frustration isn't so much that they missed the cracked rim ... it's more about the effort (or lack thereof) they made to diagnose the core vibration issue/root cause. Appreciate the link to the control arm kit -> way cheaper than the other parts sites I was originally looking at.
I made an appointment with a certified Merc performance shop (instead of the dealer) for later this week & will keep you all posted with updates on their analysis.
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