Bizzare knocking noise. Defeated me, the mechanic and logic

[bellman]

Hi there ,
I`m no expert on this model admittedly ,but I am in the trade and an M.O.T. tester(short pause for grumbles to die down) but had a customer some 18 months ago with similar problem,not sure if ,when you had rack swop it included"side rods"individual sided track rods including inner ball joint, in our case customer had offside replaced under warranty and hey presto.....sorted

 

[trapperjohn]

Thank you bellman. Nothing wrong with MoT Inspectors they keep us all safe.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

Hi there ,
I`m no expert on this model admittedly ,but I am in the trade and an M.O.T. tester(short pause for grumbles to die down) but had a customer some 18 months ago with similar problem,not sure if ,when you had rack swop it included"side rods"individual sided track rods including inner ball joint, in our case customer had offside replaced under warranty and hey presto.....sorted

Have no idea what was done when the steering rack was replaced. I know it wasn't brand new, it can off a 2009 model.
The noise is definitely coming from top of the wheel arch area.

 

[Dieselman]

Have no idea what was done when the steering rack was replaced. I know it wasn't brand new, it can off a 2009 model.
The noise is definitely coming from top of the wheel arch area.

Which would point towards the strut bearing.

 

[danclyon]

Ive never known a car like it. For me it rattles because things fail, not because they are screwed down loosely or using thin connections etc.

When the (hopefully) shocks are replaced it will be smooth and silent.



What the heck did it need? I have a 'D' service coming up in 4000 miles. I was expecting £300-£400, not £1000+. For a small family hatch that is nonsense.

Our just rattles. It's been to two Merc dealers and both say there is nothing loose, nothing that isn't right, it's just how the B is - it's suspension is "crashy" and "noisy" and a million miles from my A4 in terms of refinement.

By "B" I mean A/B - it only has those two services - the "letter of lie" in the dash I still don't know what it correlates to - the dealer has quite clearly told me it only has A (Oil) and B (Oil plus a larger extraction of cash) services - with B notionally also including the "other" chargeable elements - such as the dust filter (that's £60 - though the filter seems to be £20 - and takes less than a minute to fit), air filter, fuel filter. The "oil only" plus minor inspection was £159 - and for that privilege they told me to clear off on my bodywork/rust claim because it had been repaired outside the dealer network (WRONG!).

The "B" which it is due next time, seems to be Oil+filter, plus the same list of checks - and I get charged another £100 for the luxury of the computer being re-set - and then I have to pay to have the air filter, "combination" filter and the fuel filter changed, as well as the brake fluid, and the Autotronic fluid change.

So - I'm counting on £259 (B service) + £159 - Autotronic change - and then £59 - brake fluid, and then the "other filters and things" probably another £200 - so coming up on £700 - which is quite honestly ridiculous.

(in contrast - my A4 - £249 - that's the major service, with oil/filter/pollen/air filter/fuel filter AND the MOT at the main dealer. £149 - CVT oil Change - oh and £49 for brake fluid so 450 vs 700 for what amounts to the same thing).

For some reason before taking delivery the wifes had a really big service. It was certainly all oils, filters, autotronic etc. and hilariously, given I'd said to the dealer I wanted to see the brake pad depth measurements before I bought, on the test-drive the "replace front brakes" warning came up on the dash so they had to have that done too - plus two tyres - but still can't see how they got to £1100, but he showed me the bill.....my guess is they inflated the cost to declare a loss on the vehicle - anyway.

AFTER delivery, well that's when the fun started. First winter, rear washer pipe kept coming off and flooding the boot, when it was cold, the car would struggle to start despite a good battery, and when it did it would sound like it was struggling to breathe, and was wheezing, the front suspension was crashy as anything, oh the list was vast.

When it went back, it was there for a WEEK! They had the whole roof lining down to install a rear washer modification kit, it had a new glow plug because one had failed, it had a new set of belts, it had partial new front suspension, god knows what it didn't have (but it DIDN'T have the thing they said they would do when we picked it up - I noticed a defect in a piece of trim, that they had in the warehouse and subsequently lost!).

A week later it was like a new car, no wheezing, started first time, all was well, and the rear washer worked properly without flooding the boot - but - still really noisy front suspension I also note it's just noisy on the road full stop - doubly so on the Conti tyres that were on it (and were only lasting 10k on the fronts vs the 20k we've had out of the Falkens so far).

But then, the other day - the boot dropped. Having looked at the bolts they were loose, and one of them was mangled - probably when they had the boot off/roof lining out to do the rear washer kit.

I will say, that at the last service, the dealer replaced worn air-box rubbers FoC, and also removed and replaced the bolts holding the boot up with some threadlock FoC - which was good - but it's still small beer.

Overall, given the maintenance costs, and the fact it uses 2l of oil between services, and the faffing to get the rust sorted, I wouldn't touch Mercedes again....maybe I just need to accept the costs of sorting the rust myself and get a good indy to look after it - I don't know.

Cheers,
Dan.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

Is this with a Mercedes main dealer? I know of far too many stories where the mechanics charge £60 for the 'fitting' of a £20 oil filter.

I would take mine to either a Merc specialist or my local Subaru indi. He is by far the fairest and best mechanic I have used and if it cost £20 for an oil filter he will charge you £20 and charge labour on the accumulative time taken. The only downside is the stamp, I have all Merc dealer/specialist stamps and would like to keep it that way but I suspect that even indis will 'overcharge'.

 

[brucemillar]

Strut bearing is a good call. Had one go on my AMG. Clonk, clonk every bump, which was worse on country lanes as it became a permanent rattle. Sounded exactly like drop links or ARB bushes. One we had replaced all of these we went for the strut bearing and that was the culprit.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

What is a strut bearing? Isnt the strut sealed so a new strut would need to be bought anyway?

(...desperately hoping that I havent just bought the whole thing when a small ball was all that was needed)

 

[brucemillar]

What is a strut bearing? Isnt the strut sealed so a new strut would need to be bought anyway?

Top of strut where it mounts to the body you will find a bearing. Worth checking that the retaining bolt is not loose. Usually an allen key and a spanner job. Sometimes you have a big T piece at the top of the tower under the bonnet (open the bonnet and have a look) if you can turn that T piece by hand then it is loose, or the bearing may be knackered.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

If that is the thing you can access by hand and look at through the engine bay then that has been looked at already by my mechanic.

I am sure I can hear two noises now, one sounds like a very faint rattle over bumps, like a marble in a jar and the other is a very pronounced knock, just like an ARB noise. They both come from around the top part of the wheel arch so I can only assume they are related.

 

[brucemillar]

I cannot state for sure on your car. Lift the bonnet. At the top of the strut tower you will see a ring of bolts or nuts that retain your strut mounting and bearing. In the center of that ring you may have a T-piece that sits across the strut allen bolt (center) try and move it by hand. If you can move it then you have an issue. It may simply need tightening up.

It may not be your problem.

 

[V12]

Thanks to this thread I will never consider a B Class.

 

[Dieselman]

Thanks to this thread I will never consider a B Class.

You mean you might have done...

 

[danclyon]

Is this with a Mercedes main dealer? I know of far too many stories where the mechanics charge £60 for the 'fitting' of a £20 oil filter.

I would take mine to either a Merc specialist or my local Subaru indi. He is by far the fairest and best mechanic I have used and if it cost £20 for an oil filter he will charge you £20 and charge labour on the accumulative time taken. The only downside is the stamp, I have all Merc dealer/specialist stamps and would like to keep it that way but I suspect that even indis will 'overcharge'.

Yes it is with the main dealer, but bearing in mind the rust claim took 4 days to sort (of which 1.5 of them was waiting for the official Mercedes chemical process to "happen" and we have one of the early ones with the rippled seams on the doors/boot - I don't have a lot of choice in keeping it at the main dealers - although I am going to negotiate on the price - as I don't think £60 for a £20 filter that I worked out how to do in 2 mins, and could do myself in that time is that fair.

I'm really not sure what a B service covers that an A service doesn't - perhaps someone can enlighten me - as on the "other car" the B is all the filters and everything that should be changed.....and on the Merc it seems to be an A-Service plus they will then charge me more for doing the other things on the list that I would have thought would be included for the extra £100....(fuel filter can't be more than £15, combination filter, £20, air filter £15 - plus about half an hour to do all 3 together?)

D.

 

[danclyon]

Thanks to this thread I will never consider a B Class.

I'm going to see what the new one is like, but only because I'm curious when you take away the sandwich floor which was what made the A/B - you seem to be left with an over-tall hatch thing......

Won't buy another MB though I'm afraid - far too many trips to the dealers.....and it seems to fracture wheels if you look at it funny too!

 

[MB-BTurbo]

I am so disappointed in Mercedes. I really like the brand, the look of the cars and see it as a much classier option to BMW, however my experience has lost all confidence in them. I hoped that the B class would have been my stepping stone into future Mercedes ownership but I now see them as inferior to the likes of Subaru and Honda. Why pay more for something that is worse and then pay through the nose when it falls apart because it's a 'Mercedes'?

Ive heard the expression 'Jap cr@p' often spouted by German car owners...I would love to know where that came from.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

I cannot state for sure on your car. Lift the bonnet. At the top of the strut tower you will see a ring of bolts or nuts that retain your strut mounting and bearing. In the center of that ring you may have a T-piece that sits across the strut allen bolt (center) try and move it by hand. If you can move it then you have an issue. It may simply need tightening up.

It may not be your problem.

Thanks, this is where the top of the strut tower is, covered by a black plastic clip that looks straightforward to take off, however when I squeeze the clips in it I just cant take it off. It dont want to force it and break it so anyone know how I should be accessing this area properly?

 

[MB-BTurbo]

It's not that. My mechanic had a look. I've bought a new strut and top mount so really hoping that it sorts itself out otherwise that cliff mentioned earlier sounds appealing.

 

[BlackC55]

Those plastic caps are a nightmare. I have had to break them to get them off before.

 

[Mr Nicey]

my SL made a clonking noise everytime I wnet over a speed bump or such - turned out to be a stone the size of three grapes moulded together, which was stuck in the suspension spring..