My 1st Merc dissapointment

isaac1610

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Hi all wonder if someone can help

I have recently purchased my first merc an 05 C220 CDI estate (Now got a lab puppy !) avantgarde, with sports suspension.

Having now had the car for a couple of months it has become increasingly noticable how heavy the steering is. This has resulted in aches and pains in my hand an arm from having to what seems fight with the heavy steering.

I have taken it back to the dealership and they have done the following

Checked tyre pressure
Done Tracking
Replaced front wheel tyres

A friend advised that it's a Merc feature that the cars are designed to always straighten up ? This is fine but it seems the car is fighting with me every time there is a bend in the road ?

Does anyone know if this is a problem with all 05 C class mercs ??
Is the power steering not doing enough ??

I stopped a fellow merc c class estate driver today and he said that when he bought his from new he had the dealership fit a device that makes the power steering work harder at low speeds.
Does anyone know what this is and how much it costs ?

Is anyone aware of this issue and know of some form of fix
Thanks, any help would be appreciated, :)
 

television

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2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Welcome to the forum:D no one has ever complained before about being too heavy,,could it be that the tracking requires setting up,,many complain with this on the 203
 

Chas

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S320
Seems very odd. I can park the car with one finger on a 2001 S CLASS!

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/210479/mercedes_cclass.html
Mercedes C-Class
Mercedes C220 CDI estate Sport


"The optional self-levelling suspension includes electronically controlled dampers, which meant our model was highly stable over uneven surfaces. Steering feel is also good, and the disc brakes powerful and consistent.
 
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SQ_W211

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W219 CLS55 AMG
Possible issue with power steering pump/mechanism?
 

Chas

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Surely the MB mechanics would have checked the obvious first ??
 

Xtractorfan

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S class
First and foremost do you have any disabilities that may cause weakness to your hands, arms, wrists,
Second are the wheels fitted to the car standard or have they been upped to a bigger size

and third, Would fitting one of those little ball type accessories to the wheel make life easier for you
Also you may find fitting a steering wheel glove may give you extra control..
 

Chas

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Hi all wonder if someone can help

I have recently purchased my first merc an 05 C220 CDI estate (Now got a lab puppy !) avantgarde, with sports suspension.

Having now had the car for a couple of months it has become increasingly noticable how heavy the steering is. This has resulted in aches and pains in my hand an arm from having to what seems fight with the heavy steering.

I have taken it back to the dealership and they have done the following

Checked tyre pressure
Done Tracking
Replaced front wheel tyres


A friend advised that it's a Merc feature that the cars are designed to always straighten up ? This is fine but it seems the car is fighting with me every time there is a bend in the road ?

Does anyone know if this is a problem with all 05 C class mercs ??
Is the power steering not doing enough ??

I stopped a fellow merc c class estate driver today and he said that when he bought his from new he had the dealership fit a device that makes the power steering work harder at low speeds.
Does anyone know what this is and how much it costs ?

Is anyone aware of this issue and know of some form of fix
Thanks, any help would be appreciated, :)

What car did you have before, and was it easier to steer?
 
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isaac1610

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Heavy C class steering

Hi All thanks for the replies

I have no disabilities, so no accessories of this nature is required in fact I'm quite a big healthy chap. The pains are due to constantly trying to hold it against it straightening up, obviously when turning etc

As explained I stopped a fellow merc driver who said he had had his car adjusted at the time of purchase to increase the power of the power steering at low speeds, unfortunately he could not remember what the system he had installed was called ? Or if it was just an amendment to the computer setup ?
His steering was therefore no longer heavy and was easily managable.

My previous car was a Saab convertible which are heavy lumps themselves, however I could turn this with one finger as intimated by Chas. I've driven lots of cars of varying models including an SL350 and an ML270 recently and these all had light steering, so my current C class is a complete mystery.

The tracking and alignment has been done by MB and I assume all the obvious stuff, it just seems that they are unwilling to admit there are any issues, however everyone that has jumped in it has asked why is it so heavy ??

Any ideas anyone ?
 

television

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I wonder if the car has the variable power steering
 
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isaac1610

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More info

PS the MB mechaninc said he didn't think it would need a new power steering pump as it would give the same output as the current one ????
However he did arrange for the new front tryes to be ordered ??

Would this be an indication that he thought something was up ?? Who knows unfortunately I was at the mercy of whatever they said ??

Would a steering pump replacement time and money wise be far more resource consuming than a tyre change ? Probably ! Hence them doing it to get rid of me ? Maybe ?
 
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isaac1610

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Variable power steering ???

How would I know if the car has that ? Can this be checked against a reference number of some kind ?

Thanks
 
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isaac1610

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Thanks a lot I've just dumped all the info below

Model C 220 CDI
Chassis
Engine 646963 30 441076
Transmission 722699 06 155039
Order 0 5 537 96170
Delivery date 05.07.05
Dealer Great Britain (537)
Interior leather anthracite (221)
Paint
197 obsidian black metallic (с 1978)
Options
A01 axle made to regulations of specific countries
M22 displacement 2.2 liter (с 02.10.1995)
U18 Unknown code
220A Unknown code
244 sports seats, front (с 01.07.1986)
249 automatically dipping inside rear view mirror (с 01.06.1990)
287 ski inboard loading facility
through-loading feature (с 01.10.1990)
354 antenna on roof centre rear for mobile D-net telephone
antenna on roof centre rear for standard D-net telephone (с 01.10.1994)
386 Unknown code
423 5 speed automatic transmission / nag (с 01.03.1994)
461 instrument with mileage reading and english lettering (с 01.04.1990)
486 sports chassis (с 01.04.1997)
500 outside rear view mirror left and right, folding (с 01.10.1993)
527 Reims adapter and paint kit
543 sun visor with vanity mirror, illuminated, left and right (с 01.11.1978)
551 anti-theft/anti-break-in warning system with anti-towing system (с 01.04.1998)
580 air conditioner/Tempmatic (с 01.11.1982)
613 lamp unit, asymmetrical, l.h. traffic (с 01.02.1963)
639 elimination of first-aid box and warning triangle (с 01.08.1977)
666 10-hole light alloy wheels with wide tires (с 01.06.1997)
673 high-capacity battery (с 01.01.1964)
690 blue heat-insulating glass all round, rear window (laminated safety glass) (с 01.10.1995)
691 blue heat-insulating glass all round, rear window, single pane safety glass (с 01.02.1995)
739 Unknown code
816 Change of year of model, last figure shows new model year
819 CD changer - alpine - in trunk (с 31.07.1992)
873 seat heater for left and right front seats (с 01.02.1984)
882 passenger compartment protection/towing-off protection (with anti-theft warning system only) (с 01.07.1993)
926 emission control eu4-measure 30.11.1991 (с 09.09.1997)
949 equipment package mk-line (с 12.06.1997)
954 equipment package for avantgarde vehicles (с 01.06.1993)
rotating emergeny flasher, front (red light)
983 Unknown code
989 identification label under windshield (с 01.10.1997)
 
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isaac1610

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Yes still under warranty with free repairs although who knows under the limitations etc ??
 

television

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OK I will see what I can find in the morning
 

Chas

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Variable power steering ???

How would I know if the car has that ? Can this be checked against a reference number of some kind ?

Thanks

Mine has this I think :confused: It should mean when manoeuvering slowly the power steering pump provides more power to assist turning.
 

jberks

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Jaguar XF 3.0 S, LR Freelander 2, Fiat 500 & Fiat Panda
Variable steering ("Parameter steering") is a nice feature and I wish mine had it, but I don't think it's a viable after market fitment. It would certainly cost a lot to do. Its a factory option, normally standard on the higher end models.
Also, it will only lighten up the steering at low speeds, making parking easier.
The reason I'd benefit is that I have the optional wider tyres and with that I do find sometimes it can feel a bit heavy at parking speeds, but then it would back off above 30 or so.
What I also find is that because of the wider wheel's tendancy to tramline, especially in the inside lane, at motorway speeds, I catch myself gripping the wheel tighter over a journey and getting similar aches. But, when I realise I'm doing it, and ease off I find that actually one finger lightly resting on the wheel is enough to control it. I let go, hold the wheel with my fingertips and suddenly it feels really light. In other words, the car is fine and its all in my mind. There is clearly something on the car that makes me do this, but its not the steering weight. As I say, probably just a subconcious reaction to the slight twitch when it hits a rut.
I wonder whether you're doing the same?
 

Xtractorfan

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Now that you have ruled out all the outside factors then I think your next move is to test drive a few other c class Mercs, only then will you be able to compare.

For Instance many people who drive japanese cars with ultra light steering, find other makes of cars heavy..
 

EireJames

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Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 power
The 1992 250 diesel I have has quite light steering, presumably as the Merc is rwd, certainly lighter than the 1993 Prelude I had before it. There must defo be something wrong with it, specially if you never had similar pain in your previous car. As said driving another similar car to confirm and then I'd be back to the dealer.
 

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