All C43 AMG owners - What shall I do?

[Cooper7]

My C43 Coupe (18" Wheels) does this very badly and it seems to be getting worse. The outer edges of both front tyres are showing signs of wear and it's only done 1500 miles. I have to actually slow right down going around mini-roundabouts as its skipped out in the past.
A couple of weeks ago I drove non-stop from my home to Collumpton (about 110 miles) and the car skipped like hell pulling into a parking space, scared the bejeezus out of me and sent shockwaves down my spine.
Saying it's "only a comfort issue" is a pretty big deal to me as I have 5 vertabrae fused together in my c-spine and the skipping is incredibly painful.
My dealer is being very helpful, we even tested a c43 estate they had and it was exactly the same. Tried an amg cla45 4matic at the weekend,very smooth and had no problems at all.
I absolutely love my car but my neck can't keep taking the beating it is now, I'm worried I'm going to do even more damage. Very sad situation

You can't compare the 4wd systems between the C43 and a CLA45 as the CLA is a Haldex system and therefore it's Fwd the majority of the time

 

[DRIVER200]

My C43 Coupe (18" Wheels) does this very badly and it seems to be getting worse. The outer edges of both front tyres are showing signs of wear and it's only done 1500 miles. I have to actually slow right down going around mini-roundabouts as its skipped out in the past.
A couple of weeks ago I drove non-stop from my home to Collumpton (about 110 miles) and the car skipped like hell pulling into a parking space, scared the bejeezus out of me and sent shockwaves down my spine.
Saying it's "only a comfort issue" is a pretty big deal to me as I have 5 vertabrae fused together in my c-spine and the skipping is incredibly painful.
My dealer is being very helpful, we even tested a c43 estate they had and it was exactly the same. Tried an amg cla45 4matic at the weekend,very smooth and had no problems at all.
I absolutely love my car but my neck can't keep taking the beating it is now, I'm worried I'm going to do even more damage. Very sad situation

Curious to know if any C 4Matic owners are experiencing excessive tyre wear that could be related to the crabbing problem and what they have done about it.

 

[dejongj]

So on my GLC43 AMG the CAMBER is out significantly, but the rest is ok. On these cars it cannot be adjusted. Mercedes is accepting the independent results and we are working to have the controls arm bearings replaced with correction bearings. The interesting bit will that it is out by more than what their service manual states that correction is possible.

Whether this will have a material impact - I have no idea and are not qualified to even begin to guess. But hey when the spanners come out and some activity is starting from Mercedes to do something about this I am happy. It is all I ever wanted from this, for Mercedes to take its customers serious and investigate.

Once all is agreed and booked in I will share the output and documentation.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

So on my GLC43 AMG the CAMBER is out significantly, but the rest is ok. On these cars it cannot be adjusted. Mercedes is accepting the independent results and we are working to have the controls arm bearings replaced with correction bearings. The interesting bit will that it is out by more than what their service manual states that correction is possible.

Whether this will have a material impact - I have no idea and are not qualified to even begin to guess. But hey when the spanners come out and some activity is starting from Mercedes to do something about this I am happy. It is all I ever wanted from this, for Mercedes to take its customers serious and investigate.

Once all is agreed and booked in I will share the output and documentation.

Has the car been in an accident or suffered excessive kerbing?

 

[dejongj]

Has the car been in an accident or suffered excessive kerbing?

No - and the nice chaps from Wheels In Motion have provided me with the evidence to that affect as well to avoid this conversation.

 

[DRIVER200]

Has the car been in an accident or suffered excessive kerbing?

To be fair that was my thoughts as well right from the start but assumed you, and only you would know whether accidentally you may have caused this issue. But having said that all you have to look forward to now is little crabbies. Good luck keep us all posted.

 

[HumberMart]

Has the car been in an accident or suffered excessive kerbing?

Or could the crabbing force be enough to effect permanent distortion to the links/bushes, thus alter the camber?

Some long term owners now seem to be reporting the problem is getting worse. It has been assumed this was due to lower ambient temps, but could it be due to the constant battering?

 

[DRIVER200]

Its interesting because Crabbing aka the Ackerman principle is common with a number of marques and as yet I haven't read/seen any evidence that the effect has caused camber damage -unless I have missed something- its hard to know what owners should be doing to ensure all is well underneath as it were....

dejongj: are you expecting any crabbing after this work is done?

 

[dejongj]

Its interesting because Crabbing aka the Ackerman principle is common with a number of marques and as yet I haven't read/seen any evidence that the effect has caused camber damage -unless I have missed something- its hard to know what owners should be doing to ensure all is well underneath as it were....

dejongj: are you expecting any crabbing after this work is done?

Honest answer; yes I do. As to how pronounced it will, will it be as violent as has been demonstrated, I have no idea. I think it is best to take one step at a time before we jump to conclusions.

I should hear tomorrow as to when they expect the control-arms/correction bearings will be in. Don't expect it to happen this week now, partially due to me wanting to spend time with the family as it is half term, but will expect it to happen next week.

We then take it from there

As you know from your C43 the car is worth it to give them every opportunity to try and rectify what is going on. And I'm quite happy for Mercedes to have mine as long as it takes (within reason) to try and resolve it.

So we will see

 

[DRIVER200]

Honest answer; yes I do. As to how pronounced it will, will it be as violent as has been demonstrated, I have no idea. I think it is best to take one step at a time before we jump to conclusions.

I should hear tomorrow as to when they expect the control-arms/correction bearings will be in. Don't expect it to happen this week now, partially due to me wanting to spend time with the family as it is half term, but will expect it to happen next week.

We then take it from there

As you know from your C43 the car is worth it to give them every opportunity to try and rectify what is going on. And I'm quite happy for Mercedes to have mine as long as it takes (within reason) to try and resolve it.

So we will see

Yes fully understand but as I see it your problem is significant not sure how long you had the vehicle before the cluncking arrived but guessing not very long but the worrying thing is that if crabbing can cause camber problems in such a short time then assume MB would have known about it?
Enjoy your break with your family.. I think you need it!!

 

[HumberMart]

Copied from PH, 17th December 2016........

thebraketester said:
What's the camber setting up front? My car does this as a result of running more than spec negative camber on the front axle. It only really does it on hard lock going up slopes (car park ramps)

Edited by thebraketester on Friday 16th December 20:36
I still need to go in to Mercedes AMG master technician for a check, but they do think that for my GLC43 AMG on 21" it is indeed due to the negative camber setup that they've done on the vehicle. And yes for me it is indeed only on extreme full lock, the rest of the time it isn't noticeable at all. Hence I haven't rushes back as it is rare I have such lock on the steering.
Reply

 

[DRIVER200]

Copied from PH, 17th December 2016........

thebraketester said:
What's the camber setting up front? My car does this as a result of running more than spec negative camber on the front axle. It only really does it on hard lock going up slopes (car park ramps)

Edited by thebraketester on Friday 16th December 20:36
I still need to go in to Mercedes AMG master technician for a check, but they do think that for my GLC43 AMG on 21" it is indeed due to the negative camber setup that they've done on the vehicle. And yes for me it is indeed only on extreme full lock, the rest of the time it isn't noticeable at all. Hence I haven't rushes back as it is rare I have such lock on the steering.
Reply

Are you saying that the cars roll off the production line in this condition or does the Ackerman principle cause the problem after a period of time?

 

[dejongj]

Yes fully understand but as I see it your problem is significant not sure how long you had the vehicle before the cluncking arrived but guessing not very long but the worrying thing is that if crabbing can cause camber problems in such a short time then assume MB would have known about it?
Enjoy your break with your family.. I think you need it!!

Copied from PH, 17th December 2016........

thebraketester said:
What's the camber setting up front? My car does this as a result of running more than spec negative camber on the front axle. It only really does it on hard lock going up slopes (car park ramps)

Edited by thebraketester on Friday 16th December 20:36
I still need to go in to Mercedes AMG master technician for a check, but they do think that for my GLC43 AMG on 21" it is indeed due to the negative camber setup that they've done on the vehicle. And yes for me it is indeed only on extreme full lock, the rest of the time it isn't noticeable at all. Hence I haven't rushes back as it is rare I have such lock on the steering.
Reply

Are you saying that the cars roll off the production line in this condition or does the Ackerman principle cause the problem after a period of time?

I think they roll of the line like this.

Here are my details for those that are interested.
https://www.mercedescrabbing.org/2017/02/14/mercedes-amg-glc43-geometry-check/

 

[grober]

Interesting result but I failed to see any toe out on turns data which might address any anti- ackerman issues on full steering lock ? Perhaps not appropriate at this juncture with the basic geometry being so out of spec as all these suspension settings are interelated ? I continue to follow this topic with interest.

 

[DRIVER200]

I think they roll of the line like this.

Here are my details for those that are interested.
https://www.mercedescrabbing.org/2017/02/14/mercedes-amg-glc43-geometry-check/

Did your car start off with crabbing and then get worse and end up cluncking or did it clunk from day one? Also will you be prepared to accept crabbing and move on even though your tyres may start to wear out sooner than they shoud? Not sure where this will take owners who have the 'basic' crabbing as MB will probably continue their line of cold weather/Ackerman etc... I know when the warmer weather comes the argument might change in owners' favour but that just a guess.

 

[dejongj]

Did your car start off with crabbing and then get worse and end up cluncking or did it clunk from day one?

Yes it did it from day one. I noticed it first when I arrived home. I reported it in the sales follow up call on day 2 of ownership. It definitely got worse with time, so bad that I started researching it online and found other videos. And then when finally able to get it in I was being fobbed off by Mercedes, then I found all these others that are in the same boat.

Also will you be prepared to accept crabbing and move on even though your tyres may start to wear out sooner than they shoud?

No, a little bit of tyre scrub/crab/skip here and there is normal. The level to which this is happening for owners is totally unacceptable.

Not sure where this will take owners who have the 'basic' crabbing as MB will probably continue their line of cold weather/Ackerman etc... I know when the warmer weather comes the argument might change in owners' favour but that just a guess.

We'll have to see, the key point is that this is not a six months per year car, or at least it wasn't sold like that. So whether it improves or not, I think it is reasonable to expect to be able to use a 4matic SUV all year round.

Interestingly, at my visit last Friday in the dealership I noticed this poster. That is what I bought, but not what I got

 

[dejongj]

Well well well. Doesn't this turn out to be interesting. So Mercedes is saying the target data from Hunter is incorrect. They've got updated data, and guess what my vehicle is totally within specification.

And there was me not believing in miracles - but they really do exist.

Sigh...

 

[bunky561]

Well well well. Doesn't this turn out to be interesting. So Mercedes is saying the target data from Hunter is incorrect. They've got updated data, and guess what my vehicle is totally within specification.

And there was me not believing in miracles - but they really do exist.

Sigh...

Another example of MB dealers changing their minds to suit themselves. Sorry to hear that was the outcome dejongj - did the dealer outline any other options to rectify the fault? I would think Wheels in motion would not be too happy about being undermined and having their results questioned..

May just have to wait till Friday for the official release for existing owners to know more.

 

[dejongj]

Another example of MB dealers changing their minds to suit themselves. Sorry to hear that was the outcome dejongj - did the dealer outline any other options to rectify the fault? I would think Wheels in motion would not be too happy about being undermined and having their results questioned..

May just have to wait till Friday for the official release for existing owners to know more.

Do I get a price if the announcement on Friday basically state the same it says in the attached letter?

PS. I'm awaiting a response from Wheels In Motion to get their advice.

 

[DRIVER200]

Oh dear. Thought that MB said they would recognise the findings from a third party company?