C350e Wheel alignment done to MB spec - but car drives strangely now

[raspy]

I have a 2015 C350e, plug in hybrid with 17 inch wheels and Airmatic.

Noticed that my passenger front tyre was quite badly worn on the outside edge, all the tyres have around 3.5mm left on them. They were fitted around 18k ago.

Got the alignment check, at a reputable place that does 4 wheel alignment, and I was shown that it needed adjusting to bring it to within MB factory spec. So they did the adjustment.

Trouble is, it drives a bit odd now given it steered perfectly before.

I find myself having to turn the steering wheel much more than before when making any deviation from straight, i.e. when driving past some cars that are parked on the road in front of me.

Additionally, I notice that now, when you are taking a curved road, such as a motorway slip road or a country lane, it just feels very strange.

So If the road is curving to the right, and in the middle of the curve, if I happened to let go of the steering wheel for 1 second, it starts to head towards the kerb, if I let go for 2 seconds, it would actually be heading completely off the road. Same happens if road is curving to left, I was on a motorway slip road, and if I let go for 1 second, it's instantly heading straight into the barrier.

I've never owned a MB before, so I don't know if how it steers now is how it's supposed to steer. It just felt perfect before the alignment. I did take it back and the alignment place double checked everything and confirmed it definitely was set up according to the alignment readings that MB specify for my model.

Any ideas? Does anyone have the alignment settings for the C350e so I can compare to my current settings?

Thanks very much.

 

[raspy]

Here are the alignment settings I was given. This is from my first visit this week when they told me my alignment was out and they correct it to MB settings.

 

[raspy]

These are the settings a few days after the first visit when I complained the steering felt odd, and they checked and adjusted the alignment again to within MB spec.

 

[Ted]

I had staggered wheels on my clk and the tyre place aligned it to non staggered specs giving very similar to what you have - felt just like scuttle flex.
Yours could be similar, or if you don’t have a staggered set up, it could be that the setup they have done is for staggered wheels.

 

[Larkone]

Take it to Wheels in Motion (UK Tyres Online Cheap Car Tyres Shop | Blackboots Wheels in Motion) who will set it up according to the car and how it has settled over the years, adding adjusting bolts if required. Setting it up to MB spec does not take into account how the vehicle has aged.

Had the same problem as you (mine was ripping out the inside edge of the front tyre in a 1000 miles). WIM correctly diagnosed the problem, fitted three adjustable bolts to the suspension (MB no longer fit these from new) and then set the car to drive correctly, not MB spec. It was so different afterwards I noticed the improvement in the first 100yds of driving and 20000 miles later no abnormal tyre wear.