E220 Cdi Steering Problems

[tojo007]

Hi

Just purchased a 4 year old E220 CDI with 58k on the clock. It has an intermittent steering wobble at 60mph plus. Seems to come and go. When it's there you can see your arm shake somewhat. Also pulls to the left a little at most speeds but sometimes seems worse than others. Have taken back to MB dealer and they have checked "geometry", assume this means tracking, and have balanced all wheels.

There seems to be too much "feel" in the wheel (i.e. can feel too many bumps and too much of the road surface) and having read a few threads I wonder if the steering damper is at fault. The salesman said that they had changed some suspension bushes during the MOT as they were worn. This could have upset something (he said) but the geometry test was OK.

Can anyone offer any advise? MB have been very good (so far) and have said that if I still think there's a prob I can take the car back for more checks. I'll be doing this of course but I hope that this won't take as long as other people seem to be having to fix their steering probs.

Should I take for a laser alignment check? Is it worth the money?

I guess my main concern is that with 58k on the clock should bushes, steering arms really need replacing......Any clues appreciated...

Roger

 

[jberks]

Hi,
I recently had similar issues with my 5yr old E with 57k. Vibration / wobble which got a lot worse with new tyres despite tracking and balancing being done at fitting time. I took it back to the fitters and they went back through it, and its fine now.

The E does seem very fussy with balance and track and its not the first time I've had to have it done twice. I would return it to the dealer and have them go through it again. It may be that the new rubber is bedding in and thats throwing it all out. The dealer should have the top laser kit anyway, and given what they charge (£200+ last time I looked), if you can get them to do it FOC then I would. A re-balance may be in order too - it worked wonders on mine when I was convinced the geometry was out. Also, insist that they road test it on a motorway before returning it.

 

[tojo007]

Thanks for the reply. Just phoned MB and they said bring it in again for another look. Quote "will keep working on it until you are happy...". They are making the right moises anyway. Confirmed it was a 4 wheel alignment with lasers etc..Lets wait and see. It's back in next Tuesday..will keep you posted. Tojo

 

[MOHDW211]

See post above C Class pullling to left. Mine is the E class and suffers from the same symptoms.

They may need to add bolts to wishbone.

 

[jberks]

See post above C Class pullling to left. Mine is the E class and suffers from the same symptoms.

They may need to add bolts to wishbone.

MOHD
Yours is a 211 so will be different suspension setup to the 210 - the inproved handling was one of the big selling points!. To be fair, my 210 has never noticably pulled, other than the usual camber related tendancy that all wide tyred motors suffer from.