On ML350, 2008, when the car is pulled off from stopping position, like parking, with steering hard to the left or right, the front wheels make a noise and the front of vehicle actually raises and then lowers as car moves; forward or backward; and the wheel skid as well; this happens at speeds less than pacing! After long "study" at the dealership, they said that it is the characteristic of this model for some! Hard to believe.

Any idea why this happens? Anybody else experiencing this?

Thanks,

 

I think you have a bad viscous coupling a similar reaction could happen with broken spider gears in the front diff. More likely the viscous coupling though.

The viscous coupler or MB equivalent allows the front and rear wheels to move at different speeds for slow speed movement. Premature failure normally happens with improper tire inflation, different tire sizes, doing burnouts with a 4 wheel drive (this sounds crazy but easily happens when stepping on brake and gas at the same time). The end result is extreme heat builds in the unit and causes the "gelatin" to break down. The term for what is happening to your vehicle is "crab walking". Once it gets really bad you will not be able to pull into a tight parking space without hitting a vehicle on your left or right because it will hop so badly. This is a off the hip guess though. I would have your dealership pull a loaner or lot vehicle and road test it in the parking lot doing tight left and right turns.

 

Wow! this is an impressive reply. Thanks.
I did take it to the dealer; they kept the car for 3 days; eventually they said, this is something that happens to some of these cars and it is due to fact that the combination of front differential and front tire treads cause this. Also they said that there is no safety issue that I should be concerned about. This kind of agrees to what you're suggesting. Do I understand this correctly, or would you buy their comment on this?
Regards,