Subframe Failure

[Yinks]

Hi everyone,

First post for me.

I have a CLS55 C219 from 2006.
Had it for over 10 years with little issue.
Last week, driving it on highway, heard this bang from rear passenger side.
Thought I had been hit. Long story short, left rear sub frame failure.
Vehicle is with Mercedes dealer.
Done inspection and confirmed captive nut supporting the rear chassis leg has failed which has caused the welds on the rear chassis leg to break away from the chassis.

They state that the failure is unusual but will not comment on how or why.
State this failure is not covered by any warranty failure and customer needs to fix.

The claim is now that the cost of repair is greater than the value of the vehicle.

Vehicle has done 116K miles and is 16 years old.
Is this something that should be covered by the 30 year anti corrosion warranty?

Can anyone speculate on the how and why for this failure.

I am at a loss and don't know what to do.
Main dealer is not offering any options apart from come pick up the vehicle.

Thanks

 

[Craiglxviii]

A car of that age, get it away from the main dealer before they demand you remortgage to pay for the repair..! Get it to a reputable independent garage which can give you a coherent explanation of the fault and likely repair bill- it may just be a welding job required.

Main dealers are nowhere near the centres of excellence they claim to be- far from it!

Where do you live, perhaps we can help direct you to a good Indy.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Tell them you want to inform the authorities as it’s a dangerous failure on a not too old vehicle.
(they may then become more ‘helpful’ about the repair)

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

Tell them you want to inform the authorities as it’s a dangerous failure on a not too old vehicle.
(they may then become more ‘helpful’ about the repair)

think I may pass that idea to my neighbour,

her S212 MY 2011 is about to get its rear subframe replaced due to corrosion, not good really. I know about the C class failures but not heard of an E class...


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[malcolm E53 AMG]

think I may pass that idea to my neighbour,

her S212 MY 2011 is about to get its rear subframe replaced due to corrosion, not good really. I know about the C class failures but not heard of an E class...


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Can’t comment on the OPs problem other than to follow the good advice above to get it away from the dealer unless copious amounts of goodwill are offered.

I would be very interested to hear more on the outcome of the S212 subframe rot I know they are prone to mounting bush failure but serious rust problems...

 

[peterws1957]

Can’t comment on the OPs problem other than to follow the good advice above to get it away from the dealer unless copious amounts of goodwill are offered.

I would be very interested to hear more on the outcome of the S212 subframe rot I know they are prone to mounting bush failure but serious rust problems...

Looks from the photo that it's the chassis leg that has rotted away rather than the subframe. A good welder should be able to sort that providing alignment of the subframe can be maintained. I wouldn't panic at this stage providing MB dealer doesn't get to do the work. I certainly don't see the cost of repairs exceeding the value of the vehicle (well it might if you let MB replace everything in sight), unless there is extensive rot elsewhere (and I'd be checking the other mounting points as well)

 

[Gazwould]

What's the best product to use as prevention on say a rusty subframe ?

 

[Blobcat]

What's the best product to use as prevention on say a rusty subframe ?

ACF50

 

[Yinks]

A car of that age, get it away from the main dealer before they demand you remortgage to pay for the repair..! Get it to a reputable independent garage which can give you a coherent explanation of the fault and likely repair bill- it may just be a welding job required.

Main dealers are nowhere near the centres of excellence they claim to be- far from it!

Where do you live, perhaps we can help direct you to a good Indy.

HI, thanks for the information.
I live in Kent, Halling near Strood.

I have already spoken with a specialist Merc StevenSons who says I should push Mercedes to goodwill repair or contribute to the repair.
Still waiting for response from main dealer. Escalated to senior management as a complaint.

 

[star]

C classes, e classes and slk’s all suffer from subframe corrosion. The pic in this thread looks like it’s not a subframe failure but the captive nut area in the body has fractured and broken away. Not the same. It may not be corrosion but a worn subframe mount (which can be replaced on its own) that has allowed the subframe to hammer the body mount and eventually causing it to fracture? It is a 55 too.
I wouldn’t be ordering a subframe yet.

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

Can’t comment on the OPs problem other than to follow the good advice above to get it away from the dealer unless copious amounts of goodwill are offered.

I would be very interested to hear more on the outcome of the S212 subframe rot I know they are prone to mounting bush failure but serious rust problems...

It’s not with a dealer, with her local garage that have looked after it for many a year.
No pictures but will see if I can get some. New subframe on order from MB, they have them available so maybe expecting problems.
I ll keep you informed..


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[malcolm E53 AMG]

It’s not with a dealer, with her local garage that have looked after it for many a year.
No pictures but will see if I can get some. New subframe on order from MB, they have them available so maybe expecting problems.
I ll keep you informed..


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Thanks, I’m sure a lot on here (including myself) will be interested in where to inspect and preventative measures that might help

 

[Gazwould]

ACF50

Is it a treatment then over paint / covering or just an all in one job ?

 

[Blobcat]

Is it a treatment then over paint / covering or just an all in one job ?

It’s kind of a sticky oil

 

[DSK]

Is it a treatment then over paint / covering or just an all in one job ?

Just spray it on.

Motorcyclists use it especially around winter time to protect the condition of their bike.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Snapped the subframe bolt out of the chassis.

This is fairly common on high power W211 and W219's (55s) and gets more prominent when tuned and launched hard (drag strip etc)

Nut and bolt is a workaround, as the captive nut is inside the box section of the frame.

 

[Rory]

C classes, e classes and slk’s all suffer from subframe corrosion. The pic in this thread looks like it’s not a subframe failure but the captive nut area in the body has fractured and broken away. Not the same. It may not be corrosion but a worn subframe mount which can be replaced on its own allowing the subframe to hammer the body mount and eventually causing it to fracture? It is a 55 too.
I wouldn’t be ordering a subframe yet.

Seen a few comments on the forums that Mercedes have quite suddenly started replacing sub-frames (at least i the UK) on older cars as goodwill even on recently bought cars with uncertain history.

I know you said that's not the issue in this case, but hard to imagine Mercedes US would be less accommodating than UK.

 

[alexanderfoti]

In those cases, its where the subframe has rotted out from the inside.

 

[star]

Seen a few comments on the forums that Mercedes have quite suddenly started replacing sub-frames (at least i the UK) on older cars as goodwill even on recently bought cars with uncertain history.

I know you said that's not the issue in this case, but hard to imagine Mercedes US would be less accommodating than UK.

The subframes that rust are pressed and welded steel, the one in the op pic is made differently. Here’s the beginnings rust failure On a 212

 

[Yinks]

Hi All,
Just got some images back from the Merc body shop.

Will this be an easy repair?
Will the car drive the same after?