c class w204 rear subframe rotting

[COLUM FLOOD]

Hi, I've just had the rear subframe fail and the che dealer has held the car as its not safe to drive. its a 2010 petrol with 95000 miles, any advice would be appreciated , thanks Colum

 

[umblecumbuz]

Unfortunately it's a common failing on the 204's.
Mine went at slightly higher mileage. It doesn't help you, but a regular Waxoyl fixes the problem for a while - except this is a stop-gap only, as they seem to rot from the inside.
That's Merc quality for you.

The dealer will charge you an arm and a leg for renewing the axle, especially as he thinks he's got you over a barrel. If you know of any local garage, or even an Indie near you, it will pay you handsomely to trailer it to them instead.

 

[LostKiwi]

Some have had success getting MB to replace these foc - it's worth persisting with them to see if you can get it done on the basis of it failing prematurely.

 

[Rappey69]

Can this affect all versions of the w204?

 

[Blobcat]

Can this affect all versions of the w204?

It’s very much a lottery, some do, some don’t

 

[gassed up]

Whilst I have no personal experience of this issue it would appear, from reading this forum regularly, that this problem is a good earner for Merc indies. What I do find disingenuous and the reason for my post is Mercedes refusal to acknowledge when they f*ck up over this and other glaringly obvious manufacturing failures. I can start the list with the M272 timing chain,guide,idler issues. In the USA a class action lawsuit resulted in everybody getting a no questions asked engine replacement, in Europe Mercedes still won't acknowledge that there is a problem. Other forum members will no doubt want to add to the list.

 

[W204c180k]

Just had my rear subframe replaced on my 2007 w204 c180k as it was like Swiss cheese. From my experience and my journey, luckily my local indie was happy to complete the job for me as I was reluctant to taking it to MB. I sourced all the lower suspension nuts bolts from MB as they had to be chopped off. (14 in total, £75GBP) Bottom aluminium spring washers x 2, (The ones that sit between the lower suspension arm and coil spring £4 each) both brake back plates that the hand brake gubbins attach to and I replaced both abs reluctor rings because they were worth doing as it was all apart. I had both ns and os lower and upper suspension arms replaced as well as this was a no brainer. The car is 14 year old so rust on the chassis was definitely evident so that got painted with a wax oil paint formula just to keep it right. My subframe was purchased from a breaker on Ebay and cost me £200 delivered. 2 days labour for me with 1 mechanic completing the whole Job. (16 hours) just 1 bit of advice, which is totally up to yourselves if buying a used subframe. If it's your subframe only that is rotten and all your other parts are OK, ie rear diff and springs and brake units. Just buy the subframe itself because you don't know the condition of the parts coming and it might cost you more in the future. This was a real blow for me especially in this pandemic however, if you do your homework and play your cards right, all this can be done for around £1000 to £1500 if you source your own parts and have a brilliant local indie. Pics of my old subframe. Hope the info in this article helps, if you are in this situation.

 

[mike_simmo]

Just got mine replaced free of charge by Mercedes. Took it to the dealer in Derby. They sorted it out. Definitely recommend.

 

[Blobcat]

Just got mine replaced free of charge by Mercedes. Took it to the dealer in Derby. They sorted it out. Definitely recommend.

My SLK came from Derby MB, they were pretty decent to deal with and sorted a few issues for me with no problems

 

[Exp21]

Just got mine replaced free of charge by Mercedes. Took it to the dealer in Derby. They sorted it out. Definitely recommend.

Hi, did they replace it free because it's penetrating rust and it's under warranty? Do you need all services at the dealer to get it done free? Thank you

 

[aybracers]

Just had a new rear subframe fitted by MB on a 2012 C250 Petrol saloon. No charge all done FOC. It didn't even have full main dealer history but most were done there.

 

[mike_simmo]

Hi, did they replace it free because it's penetrating rust and it's under warranty? Do you need all services at the dealer to get it done free? Thank you

Limited service history to be honest but they didn’t even ask me to check.

They did a visual health check for me which did highlight some other issues - which you’d expect with a 2009 car and contacted someone in Merc to approve the rear subframe replacement which they did in less than 5 days.

Definitely worth giving them a call and asking for a visual health check as you’re worried about the rear subframe and see what happens!

 

[Exp21]

Thank you