Rotten cracked rear sub

[grober]

Just like springs breaking there may be no warning of imminent failure other than a bit of surface corrosion on inspection------ one pothole/ speedbump/kerb later a rear subframe suspension bracket is subject to high stress and -failure ensues- prompting a detailed inspection revealing the true extent of long term corrosion damage? In the absence of complete failure persuading a customer to fork out £1500 on an older car as a purely precautionary measure in anticipation of failure may be harder than folks think?

 

[aybracers]

Had the rear subframe fail on 2012 C250CGI this year.
Sent it to MB dealer and even though it didn't have all recent services at MB dealers the subframe was replaced FOC.
Just no paperwork to prove it. Unless it's put on a ramp and it can be seen that it's new

 

[markjay]

Had the rear subframe fail on 2012 C250CGI this year.
Sent it to MB dealer and even though it didn't have all recent services at MB dealers the subframe was replaced FOC.
Just no paperwork to prove it. Unless it's put on a ramp and it can be seen that it's new

Well done.

Who was the helpful dealer?

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , from the photos that I have seen regarding subframe failure on Mercedes cars I feel that that design / material choice is somewhat to blame.

I have never actually seen a failed rear subframe in the flesh but regular checking at services should give warning of potential subframe issues.

However , with the underbody trays fitted this procedure is somewhat difficult and adds an additional service cost.

 

[Sam87]

Last month I had a customer with a 2011 C class and we spotted that the rear subframe was cracked and i told him to call Mercedes. He phoned them up and they said they had never heard of this issue.
I found some importation's online that a few people had it done for free and printed them out for the customer and told him to go to Mercedes in Beaconsfield. He went there and he didn't even show them any information's, the mechanic said he was aware of this problem with the c class and within 10 mins they told the customer Mercedes will do it free of charge and also gave him a curtesy car while his car was being fixed.
If you are not too far from Beaconsfield, i would suggest you go there as the service is great. I had my Mercedes serviced there too.
The car didn't have full Mercedes history and it had a few previous owners
Hope this helps


Edit - I don't think many people are aware of this problem and unless you know where to look, it can be hard to spot the cracks and it also depends how bad the crack is. The C class we had was immaculate underneath, no rust in any of of the other suspension parts or the body

 

[Gazwould]

Who knows, I have covered mine in Dinitrol ML corrosion prohibitor.

It would be good to know if there are batches of VIn numbers affected by this issue, seem to be a lot of the early w204 chassis, but no way of knowing.

There are thousands of w204 , s204 etc on the road, surely its only a small percentage that suffer? May be a bad batch supplied to Mercedes that should be traceable.

And inside I hope ?

Is any covers covering the subframe or is it exposed ?