[Eddie]

I already e-mailed Frank, but I thought I'd send this out to see if anyone else has had vibrations that they and the dealer can't get rid of. I have 30K miles on our 430 Cab. Everything possible has been replaced (incl. all wheels and tires). The alignment mahcine doesn't pickup any chassis problems or other component problems. My dealer said it's just a characteristic of the car. I think all machines are fixable and this car didn't drive this way when it was new.

Anyone else in the same boat? Mercedes is sending a rep out at the end of July. That's a long time from now, seeing as I've been dealing with this since last November.

Eddie

 

[drcollie]

Not so good Vibrations

I don't buy that "it's a characteristic of the car" thing for a minute. My CLK 430 Cab is smooth as silk, and so have the other half dozen I've driven.

Question is, was it always rough? Or did this happen gradually? Does it smooth out when you're at speed (say 50 mph) and you shift it into neutral and coast? Does it change under braking? Does it increase or decrease under acceleration? Does the vibration come into the steering wheel or the seat?

Put the car through several tests (Braking under drive, braking while coasting in neutral), etc. and write down the notes. These things require detective work first off. If you can't locate it, take it to someone else other than your dealer.

It could be tires, wheels, driveshaft, engine motor mount...there's a lot of things that can contribute to it. But the car should not vibrate at all.

-Duane Collie
New CLK owner, lots of Porsches and BMW's

 

[Eddie]

All good ideas

Our 430 cab has 30K miles on it. The ride wasn't always rough. I have my car taken to two Merecedes dealers and an independent repair facility. No one can figure it out. All wheels and tires are new. In addition, the steering box, inner tie rod assembly, struts, a steering damper, and a lower ball joint have been replaced.

The main problem is that the car won't track well. The vibration is pretty constant. The tracking is annoying at all speeds. Hit a minor crack in the road and the car moves. I own a Porsche 99cabriolet and an Audi TT convertible too. These cars drive smoother and tack better. It doesn't make sense. The 430 used to be the smoothest car in the stable. I'm hoping to find others that exhibit this problem. All it takes is one person that has experienced this and fixed it...