W204 2008 rear subframe failure!

davemercedes

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2007 Merc 220 CDi Est Auto Av (s203)
My S203 was 'born' in March 2007. Seeing this thread, I got my service garage to check both sub frames and thankfully they reported back that it's all okay. At my request, this inspection will be repeated whenever it's serviced in future.

Thanks for your reports guys - I hope everything works out okay.
- And Chaz780 - maybe you need to talk to another Dealership. Especially good luck to you!
 

Utras Nadar

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A bloke at work has just had a rear sub frame on his C Class (10 yrs old or so) paid for & replaced FOC by Mercedes. Around £800 for the part and £2k for the labour

Wow how did he manage to get this repair done. My E200 has failed the MOT today for the same reason rear sub frame corrosion and hole in frame.
 

Utras Nadar

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I am intregued to find out that the Rear sub frame corrosion on MB seems to be somewhat common. I have just returned from the MB garrage at Cambridge loaded with a failed MOT certificate on my E200 cdi reason Sub-Frame corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Nearside Rear (Corroded and holed). They estimate it would cost £1800 to put it right. I had this car from new form 2010 bought at the same MB dealer and serviced with them regularly. It has done 106800 miles and we normally keep our car for 10 years and this is my 3rd MB. I did not have this issue with my last E200 . Any suggestion as how I should approach this problem with MB. Help.
 

Wighty

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My S203 was 'born' in March 2007. Seeing this thread, I got my service garage to check both sub frames and thankfully they reported back that it's all okay. At my request, this inspection will be repeated whenever it's serviced in future.

Thanks for your reports guys - I hope everything works out okay.
- And Chaz780 - maybe you need to talk to another Dealership. Especially good luck to you!
If they are going to check the subframe , they might as well spray some rust preventer stuff inside it and all over it . (15 mins work on a ramp) It may significantly slow down the problem pushing any failure to outside your ownership
 

davemercedes

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Yes, thanks - A very obvious (but overlooked) plan of action!
 

barian

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I am intregued to find out that the Rear sub frame corrosion on MB seems to be somewhat common. I have just returned from the MB garrage at Cambridge loaded with a failed MOT certificate on my E200 cdi reason Sub-Frame corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Nearside Rear (Corroded and holed). They estimate it would cost £1800 to put it right. I had this car from new form 2010 bought at the same MB dealer and serviced with them regularly. It has done 106800 miles and we normally keep our car for 10 years and this is my 3rd MB. I did not have this issue with my last E200 . Any suggestion as how I should approach this problem with MB. Help.
A number of owners appear to have had the replacement carried out free of charge by MB, so I suggest you talk to your local dealer in the first instance.
 

umblecumbuz

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I've had one 204, which had subframe rusting - mostly from the inside - and four 203's of various iterations. None of the 203's had any subframe rusting, although one was affected by rusting sills and arches. This seems to be a problem from the 204 era onwards.
 

Uncle Benz

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I've had one 204, which had subframe rusting - mostly from the inside - and four 203's of various iterations. None of the 203's had any subframe rusting, although one was affected by rusting sills and arches. This seems to be a problem from the 204 era onwards.

Agree, I've never replaced one in a W203. I think the first cars affected by the problem routinely were the R171 SLK, which predates the W204 by a few years. Something changed. I think it might be the thickness of the steel, coupled with the drain holes being punched through, leaving a raised lip inside the box sections. It seems to me this raised lip allows a small puddle of water to remain within and not drain away.
 

Chaz8790

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I own an Mercedes C180 CGI 2012 ( 51k miles ) and had experienced the car swerve to the left when braking and hearing a soft knocking sound when i move from a standing still position. I asked a friend(Mechanic) to have a look underneath and it was discovered that the rear Subframe was cracked and there were signs of corrosion. I have a full service history with my local dealership - next service due in March 2020. When i called the local dealership they informed me that they will investigate the cause at a £170 diagnostic cost and it is unlikely that they will repair FOC, mentioning causes could be due to pot holes etc

Do you have any tips/suggested approach i can make to the dealership so that i can have an outcome similar to yours? They have given me a date of 17 Feb for the diagnostic test.
Just been to the dealership and they have confirmed that the rear subframe has cracked. Cause is that I might have hit a pothole however they confirmed that corrosion could have compromised the strength of the frame. They have quoted me £2,100 to get it fixed. And offered the car as a part exchange towards another MB.

The car has only done 57k miles and is just less than 8 years
 

umblecumbuz

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That will definitely be an Mot failure if unsorted, so either way you have a problem.
Merc don't seem to have a unified policy with this known and serious issue, so it would be worth making large loud waves.
If they see you're not just going to roll over and die on this issue they may be inclined to make a better offer.
 

accord

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I have just returned from my local non MB garage after being told and shown both sides of my E220 Oct 2010 54000ml rear subframe are cracked and advised not to drive the car.
He said MB should cover the cost or at the least make a large contribution as it a known fault and the car carrys a 10yr corrosion warranty.
Any member know of similar cases and the outcome .
 

star

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Hit and miss with contribution from mb. Even then compare prices with indie if on part covered and a contribution is required.
 

grober

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There's a lot of misunderstanding about the rusting process Its a thermodynamic process in which heat is absorbed.This means cars don't rust when its very cold. They don't rust when its very hot-too dry. Best conditions for corrosion = warm and moist-- just like that nice garage you put your pride and joy in after a long run in the wet. Best storage for a car is the rather unglamorous car port which affords a degree of protection from vertical precipitation but allows the free circulation of air
 

LostKiwi

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There's a lot of misunderstanding about the rusting process Its a thermodynamic process in which heat is absorbed.This means cars don't rust when its very cold. They don't rust when its very hot-too dry. Best conditions for corrosion = warm and moist-- just like that nice garage you put your pride and joy in after a long run in the wet. Best storage for a car is the rather unglamorous car port which affords a degree of protection from vertical precipitation but allows the free circulation of air
Better still is a draughty barn where it can never get wet.
Or a humidity controlled sealed cover.
 

alexanderfoti

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Coops1

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Just want to share a little info if it helps anyone. My 2009 C Class Merc 1 owner 85,000 mls only part history. Rear sub frame totally corroded. Taken to Mercedes main dealer and with out hesitation Mercedes are covering the entire cost to replace.
 

Swanseabay

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This.

There have been several cases I've read about where MB have replaced the subframe FOC.
Hi Kiwi. Do you have any details of specific cases where Mercedes have done the right thing and replaced a subframe on a C180 or any other model with the same subframe?
Thanks
Bob
 

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