Funny Noise When Accelerating

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DreadmanCandy

New Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2011
Messages
13
Car
Mercedes C180 Avantgarde
Hi people,

I'm new to this site and judging by the threads and contributions, I'm confident I may find the just solution for my Mercedes.

I'm a proud owner of a C180 AvantGarde with AMG Styling. I have owned the vehicle for just over a year.

The problem I am having is so annoying and has put a distance between me and my pride and joy.

A few months ago, I had an aftermarket in-car entertainment system fitted. In fact, it transformed my car and made me very proud, however, soon after, I noticed a rubbing sound when I took it out on the road.

For months now, I've been trying to locate this noise but without any luck. The sound seems to increase with acceleration and it's so annoying I hardly drive my car anymore. I am desperate to get back in my car, but I also don't want to deepen the hole in ma pocket by taking it to a dealership. Any shared experiences and or diagnosis/help would be much appreciated. I have a very competent friend who's a mechanic and he's equally baffled as he's stripped the entire middle section including gear selection console, and the dashboard (where the noise seems to be located) and changed the gear box oil, but the noise is still there.

I will be grateful for any suggestions or help in the right direction.

Thanks in advance.

DMC
 
Firstly welcome :)

You say it increases with acceleration so is it an engine noise or some other?

A rubbing noise that is increasing with speed could likely be a wheel bearing or binding brake. Have these been checked?

I suspect that the noise appearing after you had a new entertainment system fitted is not connected, you said yourself it happened shortly after and not immediately.
 
Assuming it is a W203 C-class, it will be the handbrake cable rubbing on the propshaft.
You might have noticed the noise varies slightly with cornering.


Get your mechanic friend to remove the front-most heatshield below the propshaft and all will be revealed - a blue plastic clip that holds the cable will have broken.

Clip is part number A000 995 572 20.
If you double up with a cable tie holding the cable to the center prop mounting (not the propshaft obviously!) that will stop it breaking again.
 
Fix

Can i make the repair myself?
If so, how do i get to the broken clip?
TIA
 
Re: Funny Rubbing Noise While Accelerating

Thank you DSM10000 and Alex Crow for your prompt response and attention to my problem.

I have printed out the suggestions you made and given it to my Mechanic who is going to have a look for me, hopefully, sometime this week (with some luck).

I will report back as soon as he's done so and let you know if it resolved it or not.

In the meantime, thank you all for your prompt replies and advice.

DMC
 
Hi There,

It's been almost a month since I posted a problem I was having with my much adorable Mercedes. Unfortunately, despite trying all the suggestions listed , it hasn't worked and I am frustrated. I desperately need to get this problem diagnosed and resolved and I'm hopeful, other members here will have some more suggestions for me.

As I described in my initial posting,

"I noticed a rubbing sound when I took it out on the road.
:eek:
For months now, I've been trying to locate this noise but without any luck. The sound seems to increase with acceleration and it's so annoying I hardly drive my car anymore. I am desperate to get back in my car, but I also don't want to deepen the hole in ma pocket by taking it to a dealership. Any shared experiences and or diagnosis/help would be much appreciated. I have a very competent friend who's a mechanic and he's equally baffled as he's stripped the entire middle section including gear selection console, and the dashboard (where the noise seems to be located) and changed the gear box oil, but the noise is still there."
:crazy:
I have also tried the following suggestion from AlexCrow
"Get your mechanic friend to remove the front-most heatshield below the propshaft and all will be revealed - a blue plastic clip that holds the cable will have broken."

and that didn't seem to cure the problem either.
:doh:
I am a little bit more than worried now that I may not get it on the road before the winter season. I haven't driven it for a year now and I am, desperate to get some drive out of it before the winter sets in.:confused:

Pleaaase help, If you can. Any or all suggestions are welcome.:wallbash:
 
Hi Dread , where are you located ?

I have to say my neighbour had the same problem with his c320 w203 and it was the cable as Alex said.
 
Hi Dread , where are you located ?

I have to say my neighbour had the same problem with his c320 w203 and it was the cable as Alex said.
Hi Howard,

I'm based in Sunny Ipswich, Suffolk, UK.
I will be more than happy to receive any recommendations, help or a "finger" pointing in the right direction.

Thank you.
 
A little more info on the noise might help.

Does it increase in frequency with vehicle speed?
Does turning left or right have any effect?
Do you only hear the noise when moving?
Is it constant and/or repeatable in certain situations?
What did the stereo installer have to say about the noise?

You could call by sometime for me to have a quick listen if you like, I am only 20 mins away from Ipswich...
 
Hi people, especially to Howard & Alex Crow,

Thank you very much for your response and I'm really really grateful for the advice and instructions.

Having read Howard's response, I decided to pay my mechanic friend a visit and sort of twist his arm to get him to mount the car on the ramp so we could inspect it together and if definitely wasn't a broken clip case, I was going to pay you (Mr Pro Alex Crow) a visit.

Having mounted the car, all the clips seemed to be in place, however, after a careful and thorough examination, (which I didn't think he had done) we noticed a small shining section on the prop shaft. This led to him, removing all the heat shields and lo and behold, bits of blue plastics, fell on the floor. IT WAS A BROKEN CLLIP after all, I gasped...!:doh:

What had happened was, the clip that was broken, was not particularly visible at first glance. It was the clip directly in the middle and right above the center section of the prop shaft. This I think was what made it a little difficult to spot.

I just want to say a big thank :thumb: you to everyone who scratched and pondered over what the problem could be and finally, a big big thank you to Alex Crow for the diagnosis.

I will be more than happy to come by and buy you a beer :thumb:, if thats okay with you. Suffice to say, soon as the noise appeared, everyone who thought they knew about cars advised me to sell and get rid of it. Well, I'm glad I didn't and I will definitely be giving you a call Sir Crow.

Problem Solved, MBClub's the finest....!

Thank you all...
 
Last edited:
Thanks Alex, I had this problem this week on a 2006 c200 After reading your diagnosis on here yesterday we removed the heat shield and there was the broken clip. Thank you very much
 
reviving an old thread here, but i have small rattle too on my CLK320 (W208). It's barely noticeable when slowly revving standing still in P or N, but when under acceleration it does become more apparent and increases in noise and frequency. It generally only happens under load in low revs too. as i can't feel any problems with the engine or the gearbox (which was my first heart sinking thought) i am coming to the conclusion it is either a broken cable clip, heat shield or worst case a dying cat (though i have had CATs die before in other cars and this isn't high pitched enough). Hopefully a simple enough fix, once i can get under the car.

Out of curiosity - if it is the clip that is broken, whats the fix? do i need another clip or can i tie it to something? I would assume clamp rather than cable tie too as that would probably melt?
 
I had the same issue and have now fixed it. I gave up trying to access it on my drive yesterday and used a friends ramp today instead.

One of the 2 blue clips in close proximity to each other under the heatshield had broken. luckily it had only just started wearing with no lasting damage.

Why Mercedes used flimsy plastic clips I will never know.

I didn't replace the clip, instead used 2 cable ties in link to attach to what was left (the secure part) of the broken clip.
 

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