W204 bad ride quality

[Taurus2021]

I have 2013 w204 facelift executive BE and I have issues with choppy ride quality. I have 16" wheels with primacy 4 tyres 205 55 16 with 34 psi pressure all round. I replaced all shocks for original Sachs but didn't replace springs. Also I replaced all control arms and links in the front. The ride is very jiggly and sometimes it can be harsh when hitting sudden dips in road and suspension Rattles dash. Don't know what else to do to make ride comfortable. Was in brothers BMW 5 series and its way more plush of a ride. Anyhoo e got any ideas?

 

[markjay]

Obviously its difficult to describe ride quality in writing, but I have a 2013 W204 C180 Executive SE with 205/55R16 tyres, and I find the ride very good. In fact I was specifically looking for an Executive SE (not sport) on 16" wheels for ride comfort.

Either your standards for ride comfort are far higher than mine... or there's something wrong with your suspension. I am assuming that the springs are all fine as they would have been inspected when the dampers were replaced. Who worked on the suspension? I can only think that you need to find someone who specialise in these things, perhaps a wheel alignment centre etc. What is the mileage on the car?

 

[Taurus2021]

Obviously its difficult to describe ride quality in writing, but I have a 2013 W204 C180 Executive SE with 205/55R16 tyres, and I find the ride very good. In fact I was specifically looking for an Executive SE (not sport) on 16" wheels for ride comfort.

Either your standards for ride comfort are far higher than mine... or there's something wrong with your suspension. I am assuming that the springs are all fine as they would have been inspected when the dampers were replaced. Who worked on the suspension? I can only think that you need to find someone who specialise in these things, perhaps a wheel alignment centre etc. What is the mileage on the car?

My brother replaced all shocks and arms. Springs looked fine. Just over 100 k miles on clock. One thing to note is that before car was bought, it had been rear ended but repaired. No damage visible to rear axel.

 

[Gazwould]

Have you a part number for those Sachs ?

 

[Taurus2021]

Have you a part number for those Sachs ?

SACHS 4013872967919

 

[Taurus2021]

SACHS 4013872967919

rears : SACHS 4013872903412

 

[markjay]

Is it the case that the recent work on the suspension was carried-out in an attempt to fix the ride issues, but in fact made no difference and the problem still persists? If so, was there no improvement at all?

Or did the rest harsh ride issue start after the suspension components were replaced?

 

[alecmascot]

I think you need shocks like the Bilstein B4 Dampmatic to preserve the OEM ride quality.
Not sure if Sachs list those?

 

[markjay]

The original dampers are dual-action thingies, but you’d expect the Sachs equivalent (assuming it's the correct part number for the car) to be the same.

At any rate, the question is if the ride issue existed before the dampers were replaced?

 

[markjay]

See also:

Your Executive SE should have the STANDARD suspension. You can verify this using VIN Decoder.

One possibility is that some suspension components have been replaced by a previous owner and the wrong parts were fitted? E.g. firmer springs, etc? When fitting replacement suspension components, it is important to check that they are not just right for the 'car model' in general, but also for the specific suspension option fitted to the car.

 

[Taurus2021]

the issue was there before i changed suspension parts. changing the arms and links did improve things a bit. honestly when i took out original sachs shocks to be replaced, they seemed fine to me but i replaced them anyways. some days it seems like the shocks work as intended as its a fairly plush drive but other days then its crashy and rattles the dash!!

 

[Taurus2021]

i think that this agility control thingy is not up to much to be honest! bilstein b4 shocks has dampmatic which i assume is the same as the sachs agility control so im thinking of going away from this whole agility control!! maybe bilstein b6 with eibach springs? i assume springs will control the jiggly ride?

 

[markjay]

i think that this agility control thingy is not up to much to be honest! bilstein b4 shocks has dampmatic which i assume is the same as the sachs agility control so im thinking of going away from this whole agility control!! maybe bilstein b6 with eibach springs? i assume springs will control the jiggly ride?

My point is that the ride comfort on my Executive SE with the standard 'Agility Control' setup, is fine.

So I am guessing that someone, somehow, may have degraded the suspension on your car by fitting incorrect or low-quality parts?

As for Bilstien B6 & Eibach, they will make the car more sporty but also even more harsh.

You want original dampers (or Bilstien B4), and original springs. You can't improve the comfort of the Executive SE by using 'upgraded' suspension parts.....

One other thought... the Primacy tyres aren't runflats by any chance, are they?

 

[190]

My W204 has 195/65/16 tyres and the standard SE suspension albeit lowered by 15mm due to it being a blue efficiency model, I don't know if that 15mm makes a difference to ride comfort. While a W204 may ride reasonably well compared to other similar cars, in absolute terms I would categorise the ride as compromised. It's good at higher speeds and at any speed when when carrying a reasonable payload but at low speed and lightly laden it can be jittery. I have a strong suspicion the mechanical active dampers are to blame and it would ride better with normal single rate dampers even though I'm well aware that the more expensive electronically controlled active dampers do work to improve the ride of a car. 34 psi would definitely be too high a pressure for me when lightly laden. I find lowering the pressures from the book 3 person and some luggage figures of 32 psi front 33.5 rear to 31psi all round makes a noticeable improvement without any great risk of them being under inflated or causing increased wear.

 

[Smart320]

I wonder if the accident damage to the rear was not properly repaired and something is out of alignment ?

 

[Taurus2021]

the arms and links are by lemforder and bilstein so they are quality parts. the primacy 4 tyres are not run flats. mine is the blue efficiency model and i didnt know it was lowered 15mm. the rear damage went about half way up the boot so didnt reach the axel. i had the car aligned so nothing seems out. Yes it is worse going slow as its really jiggly and harsh even over lighty broken surface.

 

[Roygiggs]

the arms and links are by lemforder and bilstein so they are quality parts. the primacy 4 tyres are not run flats. mine is the blue efficiency model and i didnt know it was lowered 15mm. the rear damage went about half way up the boot so didnt reach the axel. i had the car aligned so nothing seems out. Yes it is worse going slow as its really jiggly and harsh even over lighty broken surface.

Hi! May I know if you are still experiencing this issue or what other solutions you have adopted to solve this issue? Similar to yours, I had changed my shocks and all arms, bushings etc. The ride was plushy for the first 3 weeks, but somehow felt crashy and dashboard rattle when going minor bumps. Thanks!

 

[Surgi]

Hi! May I know if you are still experiencing this issue or what other solutions you have adopted to solve this issue? Similar to yours, I had changed my shocks and all arms, bushings etc. The ride was plushy for the first 3 weeks, but somehow felt crashy and dashboard rattle when going minor bumps. Thanks!

Following the answers...

As I have concerns about experience of the driving over little bumps and potholes, speed reducing barriers. I have little cracking noise when driving over road bumps but it's a different story

 

[Surgi]

the arms and links are by lemforder and bilstein so they are quality parts. the primacy 4 tyres are not run flats. mine is the blue efficiency model and i didnt know it was lowered 15mm. the rear damage went about half way up the boot so didnt reach the axel. i had the car aligned so nothing seems out. Yes it is worse going slow as its really jiggly and harsh even over lighty broken surface.

Have you sorted the suspension issues?

 

[gfrigop]

I have 2013 w204 facelift executive BE and I have issues with choppy ride quality. I have 16" wheels with primacy 4 tyres 205 55 16 with 34 psi pressure all round. I replaced all shocks for original Sachs but didn't replace springs. Also I replaced all control arms and links in the front. The ride is very jiggly and sometimes it can be harsh when hitting sudden dips in road and suspension Rattles dash. Don't know what else to do to make ride comfortable. Was in brothers BMW 5 series and its way more plush of a ride. Anyhoo e got any ideas?

Hello guys. I have the same problem. The best the road, the worst The boucing. I removed the rear shock and they are very hard to move. After full Press it down, it take minutes to return. The brand is monroe, a popular brand here in Brazil. I have a C200 w204 2008.

Did you solve your problem?