I have a 2002 S500 certified from the dealer, I have been having a problem with vibrations at 60mph to 80mph. I've taken it back to the dealer 4 times and they told on the first visit that the tires needed to be balanced. O.K. They balanced the tires and rotated the. I picked the car back up and it was still vibrating at 60+ mph. Heres some symtoms: vibrating in the driver seat while driving, the passenger seat is shaking, feel it in steering wheel everywhere basically. The second time I took it back same thing OOOH you need your tires balanced. How many times can you balance a tire (mind you this was all in two weeks time) I asked could the rim be bent or something else. No, more than likely its your tires(my tires there brand new) then they said something I never heard of(road force) what in the H... is that.

Now im not a certified mechanic but I've worked on cars not mercedes and have driven mercedes for 5 years. Back to the dealer now for trip #3 they kept the car for a day hade the shop foreman get involved ,test drove the car several times balanced,rebalanced rotated,rerotated re-test drove. O.K. Sir we think that the problem could the tires only way to get ride of it is to buy 4 new tires. Huuuh
4 new tires whats wrong with the new ones on it. ?

Thought that was the end of my vibration problem right, right, (WRONG).

I bought 4 new tires put them on drove it same damn problem, I drive straight to Mercedes Benz of Alexandria, in Alexandria,va.

tell them i bought 4 tires per there recommendation that was on paper. Still not the solution to the problem.
They take 4 new tires & rims of another s class and put them on my car and it still there.

HELP ME (AND THEM) HER GUYS, GALS, WHOEVER KNOW WHAT THE H... THERE DOING

Obviosly its not the tires or the rims, what else could it be.

Help me help them do there job please.

 

So you had it to highly-qualified, professional technicians 3, or 4 times and think, that we can do better?
Thanks for the confidence.
If the wheels mis-balancing have been eliminated, I would check the drive-shaft balancing.
Have seen few of those with asphalt pieces sticking.

 

Sounds like worn ball joints to me. Usually you can feel that through the whole speed range but not always. A dealer wholesaler friend of mine had a deathtrap Explorer that drove smooth as silk up to 50 MPH then shook violently until about 70 MPH, problem was balljoints. I had a '99 Chrysler 300M that did the same thing at around 55, ended up being the nut was missing from one of the balljoints and the hole in the steering knuckle was wallowed out. I never knew I was driving an inch away from death all that time until we pulled it apart.

If you want to check it, jack up the front of the car, grab one of the front wheels with both hands, and "steer" it back and forth. See if you can feel any slop before the steering wheel starts to move. Your dealer mechanics sound like a bunch of morons, but then again, I haven't met many good prof. mechanics in my lifetime.

 

Wheel bearings are another possibility, but I'm sticking with my ball joint theory

 

I would definately check the drive shaft balance.

 

For a newbie, squablow's ball joint theory is 1000 times better than the "professional mechanics" at the dealer. None of us, professional mechanics included, would presume a worn balljoint so early in this car's life...but after all that tire rotating and balancing it may be time to consider something beyond tires. Duh! I presume you are putting up with the dealer's rubbish because this is all covered under warranty??? When you're ready to get the problem fixed you may wish to consider an independent Mercedes shop. Spend a couple hundred dollars on a diagnosis. I'll bet they get it right. I'll even go so far as to say they probably won't try to sell you another set of tires. After you get a good diagnosis, take it back to the dealer and talk to someone who actually cares...especially not that shop foreman. And if all else fails drive over to squablow's house. He'll probably fix it for you. Dave