Can't believe I found the steering wheel rattle. How stupid.

[Jibbajabba]

For at least six months I have been trying to (dangerously) locate the rattle of my steering wheel and of course Mercedes doesn't know as it only happens on certain road surfaces. Drove me mad. And dangerously because you get easily distracted driving trying to locate by leaning forward and whatnot.

Anyway, just today when I came from shopping I started feeling around the bottom, just as a last ditch attempt to see if there is something loose.

There isn't something loose, but check this out. When you look underneath the steering wheel column, you can see a black cable on the right that has a piece of white / silver plastic attached to it (red) - the piece of plastic is secured with cable ties (blue).



Probably hard to see, but check this out

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Can't make that up ...

Hightech fix ? Microfibre towel. Drove around for an hour and rattling didn't come back. Naturally I gonna go mad if it does, but for now it's quiet.

 

[st13phil]

Rattles and buzzes from the interior of a car drive me to distraction, so I understand your pain. The trouble is that they normally take lots of time and effort to locate so dealer's don't try that hard as they won't get reimbursed under the warranty for spending hours dismantling, road testing, searching, road testing again, and so forth. The only time you get lucky is if there's a service bulletin available pinpointing the cause and rectification action(s).

Glad you've managed to find the source at long last.

 

[KennyN]

I had a similar "rattle" from somewhere around the center dash area of the CLS , drove me mad for ages. I became obsessed with trying to locate it and eventually did , a week before i got rid of the car , it turned out to be the small plastic cover on the underside of the RVM mount that the idiot (me) who replaced the mirror never located it properly when putting it all back together

K

 

[MCFastybloke]

Think thats a waffle not a microfibre

 

[Jibbajabba]

Think thats a waffle not a microfibre

@MCFastybloke You are correct sir

 

[Jibbajabba]

So weird to drive a car without rattles now .. It's like finally getting rid of a seed that got stuck on the top of your tooth after eating strawberries.

Had two more - one developed after having a dashcam fitted, they didn't fit a clip in the ceiling properly. But that was obvious and easy (for them) to fix. Another also confused me for months. When you car was uneven, like driving onto a curb with the drivers side, I had weird noises from the back. Took me a while to accidentally find it. One day I didn't put the rear bench up and it was gone. As it turned out it was coming from the clasp that holds the rear bench locked in upright position. The loop / eye thing the seat has and was screwed into the bench moved with the leather. So chucked a handful of grease in that area and silent.

So now it's just the odd movement of things that make noises, like buttons (yepp, buttons) etc., but I can live with it all. The steering wheel was the worst.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Think thats a waffle not a microfibre

Perhaps you are both correct......

Microfibre Waffle Weave Mesh Texture Car Cleaning & Detailing Cloth 40 x 40cm : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Microfibre Waffle Weave Mesh Texture Car Cleaning & Detailing Cloth 40 x 40cm : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Jibbajabba]

Ha !!!

RATTLE STILL GONE !!! MicroFibreWaffleWoolTowelThingForTheWin

 

[renault12ts]

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[Jibbajabba]

Aaaand that wasn't it - strangely - after wedging the towel in it was quiet for weeks now - but just came back ... of course dealer can't find it ... As I have a new steering wheel now (still need swapping) I hope that it is fixed after that - if not ... not sure ...

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I had an annoying buzzing noise, and it turned out to be the key ring vibrating! I only realised when I used the spare key without a keyring!

 

[Jibbajabba]

May have found the issue (again). The AMG drive unit has a plastic control box and that is loose in the case (stupid design). Taped it down now. Worst part since taking a look - horn stopped working. It either doesn’t work or runs constantly so not sure what I broke. Probably some stupid spring contact behind airbag somewhere.

 

[reemarquesno]

The only time you get lucky is if there's a service bulletin available pinpointing the cause and rectification action(s).

 

[Jibbajabba]

And naturally that wasn’t it either.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Well the rattle is still a mystery ... The wife managed to record it whilst I was driving and the car is booked in next week. I asked them to keep the car over night so it's cold and they mentioned they got vibration plates so hopeful they don't just believe in the recording but also replicate it. Oh and I need a new rear screen as the rearwindow heater kills the radio.

Anyway, here the recording, Sounds like a trim of some sort.

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[Jamsxr]

That sound would do my head in - did you have any luck?

Coming from a few BMWs, the Merc interior is a nice place to sit but definitely creaks more.

I’m sure there’s a business opportunity for someone to specialise in dampening noisy interiors.

 

[Jibbajabba]

@Jamsxr Never found the source. Annoyingly. And in a way thankfully, it only appears after five minutes of driving after the car is cold and then eventually disappears. Annoying because it’s impossible to proof to garage and thankfully because it isn’t constant.

Car is going actually in tomorrow for a couple of days for a rear windscreen replacement (radio turns off when heater is on) and asked them to check rattle again. I even put the recording on USB for incar entertainment so they can watch it inside the car without having to plug it into PC and service manager has the recording mailed as well.

I fear though they tell me they cannot reproduce (apparently car goes on rattle plates) and nothing happens. I am even tempted to go to some customising company and ask them to rip the dash apart and check. Given merc won’t do anything like that.

 

[Jamsxr]

How frustrating. Hopefully MB sort it - good luck!

 

[Jibbajabba]

Second day in garage, no luck so far - at least they are trying .. Got the loan car promises until Tuesday so we shall see.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Kudos to the guys at Mercedes Bury - car is with them for four days now and the guy apparently took all sorts of routes trying to figure out the rattle. Found a place with a 'good' road surface and found heard the rattle constantly ... As it turned out -an air vent wasn't clipped in properly ... Car still with them though - likely throughout next week - so can't test ... yet But the sound makes sense that it was a vent - or rather I agree that the sound could have been one ... fingers crossed.