Mercedes Benz Bradford and a formal complaint

[markjay]

No

Directional tyres can be swapped by removing them from the rims, but not if they have 'Inside' and 'outside' (asymmetric).

 

[Pontoneer]

What I would also suggest, is to swap the two front tyres right to left and vice versa, just to eliminate any tyre-related issues, as a first step.

As long as they are not directional tyres which can only be fitted one way , unless you are going to remove them from the wheels to swap around .

 

[Pontoneer]

No, but my point is that the insurance company is not going to check the geometry to avoid paying out on a claim, in the event that the geometry is "not factory spec"

If a car had been in a serious collision , there would be no way of checking it anyway ; the only time I'd ever have geometry looked at was if I was experiencing uneven tyre wear , either on a recently bought car or if I'd gone into a pothole ( which I once did not knowing it was there under what looked like a puddle , damaged a wheel , tyre and shock absorber ; and got everything checked afterwards ) .

 

[ube63]

If you think is alignment is in spec then you can try swapping front tyres and rear tyres (if they are same size) to rule out tyre related issues. If this does not solve the problem then a good geometry shop can fine tune it for you even within the manufacturer's spec.

 

[clk320x]

Sadly, Tony Bones (founder of Wheels In Motion, aka Blackboots) passed away, but this this what he had to say on the issue:

Definative explination.... Pull left | Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

I would like to give a definitive explanation for the historic "pulling left" complaint. We've all read, heard, experienced this condition, concluding with an official explanation from MB UK it's a "safety feature". It's not. My field is the chassis but trust me i'm not God in this field nor...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

RIP Tony… a lovely chap.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , so what happens if you are taken ill driving the RHD car on the continent, in some cases on a single track road could end up going head on into a vehicle coming the other direction.

 

[Smiley]

I suppose if it were a single track road it would not matter whether the car pulled left or right or not at all or if it was in this country or somewhere else....there's nowhere to go anyway.

 

[Smiley]

I have driven Mercedes cars for years and years and am irritated when a car does not drive in a straight line. I have always been able to get the cars tracked so that they do drive straight - the most challenging one was a w124 many years ago. They kept checking and trying to adjust but it still pulled to the left. I replaced the cheap tyres that came with the car (which had only done a couple of thousand miles) and hey presto the problem went away.
So if you have mismatched or cheap tyres on your car that may be the problem.

 

[oldguy57]

I bought my 2013 C220 CDI AMG Sport Plus from Mercedes of Bradford the very end of June 2023 as an Approved Used Car. I have already taken it back on two seperate occasions as it has a nasty tendency to want to veer to the left all the time. I do a lot of motorway mileage and its really apparent. For example, driving on a straight stretch in lane 2 on the motorway, I can physically take my hands of the wheel and the car will start to pull all the way over to the left lane. Its apparent at most speeds but more so higher speeds. I have had Mercedes cars before and never known this to be an issue?

I took it in today and the technician drove it and said he did feel it pull to the left, he did the 4 wheel alignment and told me after test driving it, the car was better and should be ok from now on. So low and behold, on my journey home on the M62, the car continues to pull to the left. I sent a number of emails to the head of business who I found most unhelpful in my request to give the car back. I understand that it is 10 years old and has 78k miles on the clock but surely if they cannot put this right im entitled to give it back? The head of business told me they were not in a position to give me a refund and would no longer accept my emails regarding this.

I have therefore written to Mercedes and made a formal complaint. What are the chances of me getting my money back?

I've driven on the M62 hundreds of times in many different cars including MB's and never experienced a car pulling to the left (particularly "way over"). There is definitely something wrong and I wouldn't be fobbed off by "they all do that" nonsense. As others have suggested if you want to keep the car get a full alignment done by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[ALFAitalia]

The thing here is how MUCH it pulls to the left. Any alignment guy will tell you that if the car is set up to track perfectly straight on a dead flat road it will follow the camber slightly....the same as water flows downhill. The thing is in a forum it's impossible to tell how much pull the OP is feeling.

 

[markjay]

In 1998 I

The thing here is how MUCH it pulls to the left. Any alignment guy will tell you that if the car is set up to track perfectly straight on a dead flat road it will follow the camber slightly....the same as water flows downhill. The thing is in a forum it's impossible to tell how much pull the OP is feeling.

Find an empty retail park car park, or motorway services etc, then drive diagonally across it back and forth (i.e. both ways) and see what happens... this will eliminate the effect of road camber. Alternatively try this on a narrow B road where the car can be driven on the same area of the road in both directions.

And my advice is to not spend ££££ chasing the issue before the tyres are swapped - either side to side or back to front or replaced altogether - because if the pull is introduced by the tyres, then no amount of chassis tuning will fix the issue.

 

[oldguy57]

In 1998 I

Find an empty retail park car park, or motorway services etc, then drive diagonally across it back and forth (i.e. both ways) and see what happens... this will eliminate the effect of road camber. Alternatively try this on a narrow B road where the car can be driven on the same area of the road in both directions.

And my advice is to not spend ££££ chasing the issue before the tyres are swapped - either side to side or back to front or replaced altogether - because if the pull is introduced by the tyres, then no amount of chassis tuning will fix the issue.

^This . Friend's BMW foxed him completely by pulling to the right. Front wheels swapped over and problem solved. Tyres were replaced anyway but he never got to the bottom of why this was an issue.

 

[Benzowner]

Definative explination.... Pull left | Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

I would like to give a definitive explanation for the historic "pulling left" complaint. We've all read, heard, experienced this condition, concluding with an official explanation from MB UK it's a "safety feature". It's not. My field is the chassis but trust me i'm not God in this field nor...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Ther is a whole section on this forum why Mercs pull to the left and now we have started it again

 

[Darrell]

So it’s a standard setting on every Merc yet a Merc specialist and the mechanic didn’t know this?

 

[E55BOF]

This is a standard safety feature and NOT a defect : all Mercedes-Benz cars are designed to do this so that if you drop dead at the wheel the car will not crash into oncoming traffic .

Obviously , left hand drive ones go the other way . This is not new .

Rubbish. I've had more Mercedes (sixteen, and I may have forgotten a couple...) in the last ten years than many on here will have in a lifetime, and not one has pulled to the left. My son has leased three, all A-class, and none of those has pulled to the left either.

Of course you could do that , but bear in mind this is a deviation from the manufacturer's specification , which was built in as a safety feature , and some insurers might view that alteration as a modification which has the potential to result in third party claims if , for example , you had a heart attack , or merely passed out at the wheel , then your car veered into oncoming traffic , killing or seriously injuring an innocent third party . There is of course always the risk of hitting someone at the side of the road , but this is almost certain to have been calculated to be a lower risk .

Your insurers may raise your premium , or even decline to cover the modified car , and if you were in a crash and non disclosure came to light , they could refuse to pay out . All insurers will differ on their policy regarding such an alteration , so it is important to ask first before you have it done .

Also rubbish. Just get the alignment done so it runs straight.

 

[Darrell]

Rubbish. I've had more Mercedes (fifteen) in the last ten years than many on here will have in a lifetime, and not one has pulled to the left. My son has leased three, all A-class, and none of those has pulled to the left either.

Also rubbish. Just get the alignment done so it runs straight.

I’ll be honest and say that our 124 and 202 never pulled to the left.

My sisters E350 cab and her husbands EQC doesn’t either.

My wife’s brother has a SL350 and again neither does that.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Its not rubbish ...I bet it does if you let go of the wheel on a cambered road. Pretty much every car does...it's physics...and gravity!.....it should not however be noticeable with both hands on the wheel unless something is out.

 

[E55BOF]

It's the old wives' tale that it's set up at the factory to pull to the left that is nonsense.

 

[Darrell]

Its not rubbish ...I bet it does if you let go of the wheel on a cambered road. Pretty much every car does...it's physics...and gravity!.....it should not however be noticeable with both hands on the wheel unless something is out.

So it’s not a Merc safety design then?

 

[markjay]

My first Omega was pulling to the left. In spite of the dealer carrying out full alignment, the issue was never resolved.

My second Omega was also pulling to the left. Took it to Tony Bones who carried out full geometry alignment, to no avail. He then swapped the two front wheels right to left and the problem was resolved.

No other car that I've owned, including the two Mercs, was pulling to the left.

My suggestion is, on a practical level, is to carry out full geometry alignment, and if the issue isn't resolved then look at the tyres.