[mdi2]

Preface:
I purchased a certified 2010 E550 at the end of February 2013 with about 41k miles on it. It went into the garage on Oct 2nd for it's B3 service and then back into the garage on Oct. 25th when this current issue developed. The car is at 56k miles now.

The Issue:
20 minutes into a trip the car developed a serious vibration only when accelerating and decelerating. There was no vibration in the steering wheel or brake/gas pedal; just an overall vibration throughout the car.

I took it to the garage and they said the motor mounts had collapsed and needed replaced. I picked the car up and as soon as I got off the lot, I could still feel the vibration. I immediately turned around and took it back to the garage.

They called last week and said the front axle is bent and asked if I hit a curb or something similar. I absolutely did not hit a curb. I am very cautious when it comes to curbs because the car is low enough that it will scrap/damage the front bumper. This seems crazy to me and I have no idea how this could've happened.

The Question:
Basically, what I want to find out is how an axle could bend on a w212 with no real evidence of a hard impact. Could another component fail which would cause the axle to bend somehow? How easy is it to even bend an axle without being in an accident? I'm at a complete loss as to how this could have happened and the garage isn't giving me any answers.

Any help would be great!

Thanks!

-Mike

 

[Kajtek1]

Your car does not have front axle, unless it is 4Matic
Did the spindle bend?
Fact is that vibration starting 20 minutes into the drive can't be axle bending on straight road and motor mounts are more likely.
Are those 2 vibrations the same, or maybe after replacing MM the mechanic took the car for joy ride?

 

[Noodles]

His is a 4matic.

The only time I have seen anything remotely similar was a bad joint on the inner side of the right front drive axle, but just to find out would be about 4-4.5 hours.

 

[2000 C280 Sport]

It is highly unlikely your axel is bent. That is a very strong part of the car and unless it was in a serious accident I think it is just a bad suspension part. The dealer is trying to put something on you. How big of a curb do you hit before bending a axel? I would honestly get a second opinion.

 

[Kajtek1]

His is a 4matic.

The only time I have seen anything remotely similar was a bad joint on the inner side of the right front drive axle, but just to find out would be about 4-4.5 hours.

4 -5 hr ????
Took me 30 minutes to replace boot on 4Matic axle.
Bad CV joint gives noises at sharp turns, so it is hard to believe about such a bad misdiagnosis.
Still sounds like the shop was trying to fix axle vibration by replacing motor mounts.
Time for 2nd opinion for sure.