CLK W209 - Can't steer after MOT

[tommymac]

Strange one.

Took my CLK for MOT on Monday, not with dealer. It failed, due to tie end rods - failure on one side, advisory on the other, I had both changed at around £200 inc labour. Interestingly there had been no advisory on either when I had the service done, around 2k miles and 3 months ago.

I collected the car yesterday, with the new MOT, and it was almost impossible to steer. Even at only 10-15mph going round a slight bend, at a point the steering would go loose, and the wheels would try to take me in the opposite direction to the way I was steering.

I took the car back, and they said it was tracking, which they then sorted. When I went to collect it though they had taken it for a test drive and found the same safety concerns still existed.

Since then they have put the old parts back on, to find that the problem is still there.

They called me today, and said that they were out of ideas, and that it was 'clearly nothing that we have done'. I said that when I left it with them on Monday morning it was fine, but when I collected yesterday it was not. The issue therefore occurred while under their care, custody, and control. It was too much of a coincidence that it happened while the car was sitting in their car park, after the MOT, and before I collected it.

They did start down the route of "well we don't know that the problem wasn't there when you delivered the car, as we didn't test drive it", but I pointed out that if the problem had been there when I delivered it, it would have been noticeable when they moved it to the ramp for the MOT. Also by chance I had a photo that I took of the dashboard part way through a journey at the weekend, showing that I had just driven 700 miles in the previous 12 hours. This would not have been feasible, with the steering as it is; I wouldn't want to drive it 7 miles like this.

My questions are:

1. Any thoughts on what might have happened to cause this issue, either connected with the work done, or otherwise?
2. Are the garage liable, and responsible to fix the issue?

Look forward to thoughts.


Thanks in advance,

 

[Uncle Benz]

Worth checking they haven’t muddled up the track rod ends and put left on right and vice-versa. They are handed

 

[tommymac]

Interesting suggestion, thanks Uncle Benz. Although they did put the old parts on, and said it was the same. Surely they wouldn't make the same mistake twice? Maybe I'll mention it when no doubt I get the next call from them tomorrow.

Thanks again.

 

[rifiki]

Power steering pump?

 

[mioba]

Your tracking would be nonexistent for the symptoms you describe. seems more likely they haven't put an arm back on.

I would be getting it to another garage.

 

[tommymac]

Thanks Mioba. Definitely the tracking was wildly out when I drove it. They addressed this, and showed me the difference in tracking readings, before and after (didn't mean much to me, but there was a lot of red on the 'before' readings). I haven't driven it since they did that, but the mechanic that I spoke to had, and he said that it still didn't feel safe. As regards not putting an arm back on, they've reassembled it several times now, with new parts and with old; unless they've lost a piece along the way, it seems difficult to imagine they could keep missing an arm. But, the whole situation seems difficult to imagine.

Thanks Rifiki. They have mentioned power steering, and said that they haven't touched this area. How likely is it that they could have been working on the tie end rods, and damaged the power steering during this? It all seems too coincidental for this to have happened at exactly the same time as they were working on the car.

 

[tommymac]

Garage say they now believe the problem to be the rack. They have ordered a replacement rack, and are fitting tomorrow. No questions about whether I would pay for it, so presumably this indicates now that they think it could be something they have done?

 

[alexanderfoti]

It does beg the question, you CANNOT fit track rods ends without doing an "alignment" (geometry check and adjust) so it seems odd that they fitted them and did not do it in the first place?

 

[DREAMER NO2]

You could take the car to an independent garage, and have some one else check it out . Some parts might be handed and fitter wrong way about .

 

[tommymac]

New rack seems to have fixed everything. They still disputed that it was anything they had done, but they didn't charge me. Seems too much like a coincidence. Anyway, I'm back on the road now.

 

[peterws1957]

New rack seems to have fixed everything. They still disputed that it was anything they had done, but they didn't charge me. Seems too much like a coincidence. Anyway, I'm back on the road now.

Glad it's sorted. Garage didn't charge you for a replacement rack? They knew they'd damaged it didn't they? I'd be avoiding them in the future.

 

[joderest]

I wonder.
Track rod ends are on the end of the rack, did they damage/strip a thread ?, hence track rod end not secure, maybe tracking was done, and track rod end coming loose threw it all out again.
Sounds a bit like a very heavy handed fitter.

 

[horatio]

I feel your pain. My CLK failed on a ball joint. Out of laziness I just paid them to replace it. Mistake. They fitted a cheap nasty part which made a godawful noise, chucked a camber bolt WiM fitted in the bin and screwed up the alignment. Ended up replacing the arm myself on the driveway and getting yet another alignment elsewhere.

You can’t trust these monkeys to change a bulb.