W205 Driver front coil spring broken

[rayaans]

Dear oh dear - I had my MOT on the 8th of November and I was pretty confident.

Unfortunately I was pretty deflated when the local MOT place told me my front drivers side spring had snapped at the top end. Showed me what it looked like and TBH, it could have been worse. I certainly didnt feel anything

Its getting repaired under warranty next week (coil springs are covered) but seems awfully premature for a car with 41k miles on it?

 

[whitenemesis]

Its getting repaired under warranty next week (coil springs are covered) but seems awfully premature for a car with 41k miles on it?

More the age and environment than the miles?

 

[Chrishazle]

Hope they're doing both sides rather than just 1 - I had a spring break one side of the SLK and the garage strongly recommended doing both - which I did.

 

[DSM10000]

Hope they're doing both sides rather than just 1 - I had a spring break one side of the SLK and the garage strongly recommended doing both - which I did.

Ah well....

If it is a Warranty claim then only one side needs to be replaced.

If the customer is paying then both are recommended

 

[Chrishazle]

Hope your warranty lasts longer than the spring on the other side!

 

[markjay]

...seems awfully premature for a car with 41k miles on it?

Unfortunately, broken springs are a well-documented Mercedes weakness. Has been for years.

 

[Trickythemerc]

That is why I changed to Eibach springs.

 

[DSM10000]

Unfortunately, broken springs are a well-documented Mercedes weakness. Has been for years.

Not just MB.

BMW and others are also prone to this. Had one fail on the MX5.

 

[rayaans]

Hope they're doing both sides rather than just 1 - I had a spring break one side of the SLK and the garage strongly recommended doing both - which I did.

They only do the affected side. Apparently if genuine springs are used only one side needs doing. If aftermarket are used there can apparently be some small height discrepancies.

Hope your warranty lasts longer than the spring on the other side!

To be honest, the part is reasonable at £100. Labour is like £200 so its not drastic even if the other side went. Luckily I'm only 1 month into the extended warranty so who knows.

Unfortunately, broken springs are a well-documented Mercedes weakness. Has been for years.

Never had an issue with my previous Mercs - one was on 77k miles before I sold it without any spring issues

 

[DSM10000]

I have replaced all 4 on the E320 CDi

Genuine MB Springs, all under £60 each.

 

[Will]

I’ve had only one broken spring during my ownership years back on an old S210 (replaced for under £70 with genuine part and an hour with the tools) and two others that were broken already when I bought them (1x W201, 1x W203). Had one on a Lexus years ago too. Lots of people will not be aware they have a broken spring unless they know how to check and often they are missed by some garages too.

Not really just an MB thing, it’s quite common on lots of cars. Potholes and speed bumps with low profile tyres etc probably don’t help.