I own a year old A160 Avantgarde and I must confess that I love the little car...<br> <br> ... but not all true love is smooth, and this car is beginning to rattle and squeak like nothing I have ever driven.<br> <br> 1. Horrible creaking sound from the driver's seat when going over bumps<br> 2. Rattle in the back when travelling over a slightly rough road<br> 3. A loud and annoying 'CHIRP' noise when driving over certain manholes. I can't pin point the location as it's quite high pitched, short duration, and can't be generated any other way.<br> <br> Here's the fun part: before buying the car I asked the dealer to include in the warranty a written clause that all rattles and squeaks will be fixed to my satisfaction during the warranty period. I have yet to exercise this clause but intend to do so soon....<br> <br> Anyone else have A-Class build quality experiences?<br>
I have had only one problem with rattles since I bought my 2001 A Class. Like you I had a terrible rattle in the back when going over slightly bumpy roads. The funny thing was they disappeared when there was a rear seat passenger. It was quite a mystery.<br>
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One day I was driving along with all this noise in the back driving me totally crazy when I looked in the rear view mirror to see the rear headrests shaking around even though they were fully inserted. I tried removing them and Bingo! the noise disappeared.<br>
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I reported the problem to my MB dealer and was told it was a common fault requiring the tubes to be replaced (part numbers 1689200367 and 16890467 at £1.78 + VAT and £1.57 + VAT each. The two sides are slightly different as one side has a push in). The new tubes were fitted and the noise has gone.<br>
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Perhaps this might solve one of your rattles. Let me know how you get on.<br>
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Cheers<br>
Duncan
Hi Duncan, thanks for your comments.<br> <br> I haven't contacted my dealer yet and may wait for scheduled servicing before bringing up the issues.<br> <br> I have removed the rear seats (to make room for the mountain bike holder + two bikes ;-) and the problem still persits. Interestingly, the dealer has already fixed one very loud and annoying rattle that was eminating from the child restraint ring that sites between the spare wheel and the back bumper bar. This metal ring was tapping away at something metal and driving me nutty.... <br> <br> The rattles that I am currently experiencing are a bit more endemic and will be much harder to track down. <br> <br> 1. Sound like a thin sheet of plastic loosely rattling when driving over a rough surface.<br> <br> 2. 'Chirp' coming from somewhere inside the car when driven over a manhole.<br> <br> 3. ... the plastic sides around the seats feel *so* cheap and are made from a nasty plastic that creaks and groans when it's pushed or prodded. Makes quiet seating almost impossible. I can't believe the design team didn't opt for a softer plastic.... I would have *gladly* paid a little bit extra if so required.... and not even mentioning the shoddy design of the seat height adjustment levers... I'm almost at the point of doing an in-depth search through online parts retailers to see if they sell anything of higher quality... (I can't believe that I'm the only one complaining... I heard that Mercedes have sold many, many A-Classes).<br> <br> The problems are exhasibated by the fact that the A-Class has very firm suspension (something I like) but has the downside of magnifying quality problems.<br> <br> I have noticed that this forum has very little input from A-Class owners (maybe because it's dominated by US drivers?). Are there any online forums (in English, preferably) that cater more to the A-Class?<br> <br> Thanks,<br>
Interesting comments. Have you noticed how, when you swivel your body to exit the car the outside of the seat literally collapses under the weight of your thigh? I am no heavy weight myself but it does seem to be a weak area.<br>
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You are right about the number of A classes sold - I think I read that there are about 750,000 of the little buggars on the road now - how long did it take Morris to produce that many Minors?<br>
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On the whole I am quite pleased with my A Class as it provides exactly what I wanted. A small car that feels like a big car from the inside. I have limited parking space available and it is very much our 'shopping car'. I run a fairly new SLK 230 as well but I only use that when the weather is good. Inevitably in the UK I have only done a few miles (about 3500) in the year I have had it from new. The difference in the performance of the two is quite apparant!!!<br>
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I don't know of any other A Class Forums apart from this one and don't really know why this one is so under used given the numbers quoted above. I chanced upon it by accident when looking at the SLK Forum which I look at most days. Have a look at the difference in the number of postings. Over 33000 for the SLK forum and only 28 for the A Class one. I hope the latter is not wound up due to lack of use. Perhaps it will get more attention when A Classes are sold in the US, possibly next year.<br>
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One final point on the subject of the crappy seat adjusters (your recent post elsewhere). How come you got an adjuster on the passenger side as well as on the driver's side? I looked at mine last night and the passenger's side just has a plastic panel and no place to put a lever even if it had been broken off in the past. Perhaps I could do some sort of modification by taking off the plastic panel and replacing it with a different one and also a new lever. My car is of course a right hand drive so they must make these parts 'left handed' for the continentals. Perhaps you might have the relevant part numbers if your seats really are adjustable on both sides? Don't try prising them off whatever you do as they will probably break when trying!!!<br>
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Cheers for now - good 'chatting to you<br>
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Duncan (bored at work!!!)<br>
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*************<br> Interesting comments. Have you noticed how, when you swivel your body to exit the car the outside of the seat literally collapses under the weight of your thigh? I am no heavy weight myself but it does seem to be a weak area.<br> *************<br> <br> Yes, very much so. It also makes the plastic on the sides of the seating creak and groan. I'm not that concerned about it however.<br> <br> *************<br> I run a fairly new SLK 230 as well but I only use that when the weather is good.<br> *************<br> <br> I upgraded from a Toyota Starlet (auto, ugh) and it was a bit of a stretch as I'm not a wealthy person. I was expecting great quality but this car just continues to suprise me.... tonight I found that I could remove the plastic part that covers the time/kilometre buttons just below the tacho/speedo/etc. It's another 'snap on' part that <br> can be removed with light finger pressure.<br> <br> When I bought this car (barely 2 months ago) I was looking forward to years of fine motoring (my friends were in awe over the car) and was thinking about buying a Merc convertible sometime in the future but after this experience I think that's quite unlikely. Yes, I know the A-Class is the cheapest Mercedes and I shouldn't expect S-Class quality (which I don't), but I feel that Mercedes have cut far too many corners in a car that's around US$6000 dearer than direct competition. I feel like I've bought the badge and nothing else....<br> <br> I suspect there much greater number of E, M, S, etc Class owners on forums is that they tend to be the more 'fanatical' (in the good sense of the word) owners of Mercedes vehicles while A-Class owners just want a nice car.<br> <br> My Avantgarde A160 was built in December 2000 (are they all built in Germany? I've read that Brazil makes them too....) and came standard with height adjustments on both front seats (which have both been replaced...). I haven't looked at the Classic or Elegance models but do note that newer A-Classes cannot have the front passenger seat removed (mine can).<br> <br> Good chatting to you too. Nice to see someone else with an A-Class on online forums ;-)<br>
Hey, poor build quality doesn't just apply to the cheaper Mercedes vehicles. Although I haven't really had any problems with my own SLK, plenty of other owners have. Just hop over to the SLK forum and see what I mean. For example there are numerous complaints abount the quality of the paintwork (which I find OK) and when the SLK roof is folded into the boot it somehow touches the boot trim and eventually this wears away the paintwork. At least by reading about these things on the Forum one is warned in advance and, in respect of the above problem, I was able to put some padding in place before any damage was done. I am actually surprised by the build quality complaints. I collected my SLK from the factory in Bremen myself and the quality control was extremely impressive. There will always be 'Friday afternoon' cars - even with German assemblers!<br>
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Getting back to the A class, one thing I have been impressed with has been the prices of some of the spares. A complete set of good quality rubber mats (B66680036) for just £31.13 (including VAT) and mudflaps, which look perfectly OK (Fronts Q34016800, rears B66528184 at £26.70 and £19.21 respectively, again including VAT) are both a steal compared to after market non branded (and non fitting) items from an accessory shop. These prices contrast with the brake pads for an ML which the guy in front of me was buying at about £100 per axle!!!<br>
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Cheers again<br>
Duncan<br>
(Still bored at work - will the Stock Market ever go up again!!)
My mother owns a 2000 A190.
i couldn't say i had any problems driving it. neither has s...
My mother owns a 2000 A190.
i couldn't say i had any problems driving it. neither has she. eccept for the elecritcal system. That was really bad.
sometimes the auto gear box would stay in 1st gear for quite a while too. very weird.
all the plastics are quite poor quality i think.
besides that its a suprisingly quite fast car, and reaches 200km/h [:D]. I took it at 190 myself [8D].
Its all black, with black leather :)
and i never had an problems with noises
Yep - I got them too !
Those cheap plastic inserts next to the seats are very poor design.
I also had the a bad squeaking from the suspension of the seat itself.Everytime I hit a bump the noise was there. Everytime I changed gear ( moved leg to depress clutch ) the noise was there !
I took it back to dealer ( for other problems ) and asked it to be fix aswell...And they must have oiled it..But I think it might be coming back.I'll oil it nextime.
We have a 1999 A140 in the car pool at work. Current foes are;
No 3rd or 5th gears (clutch less version)
Door hinge has come away on O/S front door
Very rusty O/S front door and other rust spots
Various rattles
and water leeks through the rear window.
Admitidly the car is driven by any one and is probably thrashed, but it has only covered 32,000 miles?
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