W211 '04 E220 CDI Rear Spring Failure @ 30k & 41k Miles

[pmcgsmurf]

Just had two of our 2004 E220 CDI fail their MOT with exactly the same rear spring failure.

One at 30k miles and the other at 41k miles.

Both cars ordered and manufactured around the same time with added extras like the Panoramic roof etc. Apparently the springs are different on the Panoramic roof models due to the difference in weight.

Of course as far as MB and the dealer are concerned it's not a manufacturing fault.

We have to pay £270 labour & £114.20 for the rear spring sets + vat which is a repair bill of £454.44 per vehicle. Add to this the £353.00 for the service & MOT and it's an expensive dealer visit.

Both vehicles with full dealer service history, only came off the Mercedes-Benz extened warranty in March 2009 when MB discontinued the product on older vehicles.

I would not expect a premium vehicle like this to fail with such a major problem at this age and mileage given also it's full dealer history.

My own one has done less than 4k miles in the last 12 months since it was dealer serviced and sat parked up for many weeks during the bad weather.

To add insult to injury it wouldn't start this morning, got a flashing display, rewinding clock and a few groans before the starter stopped turning completely.

I had complained about the "Battery Convenience" error during it's last 3 services but the battery was never replaced.
Looks like I now need a new battery as well just to rub salt in the wounds.

Still I got to pay for a taxi to work where I can look at the invoices from the dealer for £1,608.88.

Looks like our MB relationship is over after 4 vehicles and more than £150k spent at the dealer.

We had even ordered new W212 models but these have now been cancelled.

pmcg

 

[BlackC55]

The springs snapping is a very common problem. Not just on MB's but all cars.

I do at least two-three seat a week.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

The springs snapping is a very common problem. Not just on MB's but all cars.

I do at least two-three seat a week.

Fully understand that but with the mileage, age and the fact that I know for a fact being the only person that drives mine that it is not driven heavy I would not expect such a failure over two identical vehicles at the same time.

 

[horsesuitedfool]

Fully understand that but with the mileage, age and the fact that I know for a fact being the only person that drives mine that it is not driven heavy I would not expect such a failure over two identical vehicles at the same time.

I dont think it makes a difference tbh, they fail on all cars regardless. I had an Audi and went through two sets in 18 months and then bought a merc and had another set required within a few months. Never had it before that but newer cars now have spring failures, if you had two Audi A6 cars i suspect you would be posting this exact post on an Audi forum. Very annoying i agree, dont understand why springs are made unable to cope with their job.....

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear you problems.

As BlackC55 has pointed out, spring fratcurers are common for all marques. I don't think anyone thinks it's reasonable, but it's the way it is. At that age, a goodwill contribution from MB is unlikley.

Do you know they both happened at the same time? It's not always blatently apparent.

I had one break N/S/F on my C-Class and there was a clunk on speed humps, and a measurable drop in ride height compared to O/S/F but many drivers wouldn't have noticed. In fact it took me a while to realise as the fracture wasn't actually visible.

Similar story on our ML and a previous Omega. No noticeable change, just a subtle clunk on the Omega, and no clue at all on the ML. It's often MOTs that show these up, and so could have happened at any point in last 12 months.

I'd write a letter to MBUK (rather than the dealer) to see if they can offer you a sweetener.

 

[davidjpowell]

Had one go on our 07 Espace. Had no idea until it was pointed out at a service.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Do you know they both happened at the same time? It's not always blatently apparent.

No apparent fault with either vehicle till they went for their service & MOT, both failed with the "rear spring failure".

Couple of pictures of said failed springs.

I'd write a letter to MBUK (rather than the dealer) to see if they can offer you a sweetener.

Tried that but no luck, cut off age seems to be 5 years according to the dealer but they will push MB again.

 

[soley]

just come back from mb sheffield my 2007 cls has a snapped n/s rear spring @28,000 miles

 

[JollyMan]

"Looks like our MB relationship is over after 4 vehicles and more than £150k spent at the dealer.

We had even ordered new W212 models but these have now been cancelled."


I can't gainsay any of the technical advice here, but I can comment on the customer relationship management 'skills' of the dealer. If OP has spent that much money with dealer over the years & diligently gets his main dealer service stamp AND has an order for more cars from dealer - it seems to me to be totally bad business by the dealer to alienate the OP. For what? A couple of rear springs & labour? So, he loses future work & sales from OP for the price of the above - not a long term business model methinks.

A sensible dealer would have subsumed the cost of the springs - even if technically 'out of warranty' for reclaim purposes from MB - a sprat to catch a herring & all that.

 

[Alps]

as said above common problem on alot of makes VW golf mk4 front spring at 60K

 

[pmcgsmurf]

just come back from mb sheffield my 2007 cls has a snapped n/s rear spring @28,000 miles

Sorry to hear that, glad to know that I'm not alone though.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

I can't gainsay any of the technical advice here, but I can comment on the customer relationship management 'skills' of the dealer. If OP has spent that much money with dealer over the years & diligently gets his main dealer service stamp AND has an order for more cars from dealer - it seems to me to be totally bad business by the dealer to alienate the OP. For what? A couple of rear springs & labour? So, he loses future work & sales from OP for the price of the above - not a long term business model methinks.

The dealer may have figured that out as I got a call yesterday from the service manager where he mentioned how much we had spent over the past few years and said he would look at it again.

I pointed out that even if they had offered to do the labour for free on the other good side we wouldn't have felt like we were being shafted and held 100% liable for the defective spring on the other side.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Can anyone in the know please look at the pictures I have posted of the springs and let me know if these have snapped or simply failed MOT due to the covering coming off thus letting the spring corrode which may be deemed dangerous?

 

[Lockking]

"Looks like our MB relationship is over after 4 vehicles and more than £150k spent at the dealer.

We had even ordered new W212 models but these have now been cancelled."


I can't gainsay any of the technical advice here, but I can comment on the customer relationship management 'skills' of the dealer. If OP has spent that much money with dealer over the years & diligently gets his main dealer service stamp AND has an order for more cars from dealer - it seems to me to be totally bad business by the dealer to alienate the OP. For what? A couple of rear springs & labour? So, he loses future work & sales from OP for the price of the above - not a long term business model methinks.

A sensible dealer would have subsumed the cost of the springs - even if technically 'out of warranty' for reclaim purposes from MB - a sprat to catch a herring & all that.

I agree on that. especially with new cars on order. Problem with some dealers regardless of make is that service & sales departments act like competing companies sometimes. I've known of sales depts farming service/repair work out as they could get it cheaper than from their own. Maybe a word with the dealer principle at the beginning might have helped what with the new car order

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Both cars getting FOC new batteries fitted on Tuesday.

Service Manager understood my point of "charging" (pardon the pun) full retail for both sides so we came to an agreement on the batteries for FOC.

A suitable outcome for me.

 

[BTB 500]

Well done - a good result.

 

[D-18]

Failed springs seem to be very common now. One of my colleagues has had two go on his Mondeo at around 4 or 5 years old. I had a failed front spring (only discovered at MoT time) on my four year old Vectra. I assume it's a combination of poor quality steel and the various traffic harming measures we have to tolerate.

 

[TheStid]

Talking to the guy who serviced the Omega I used to have (one spring in 8 years!), the problem does appear to be more with European manufactured cars than Japanese ones. The resaon may be how the spring is "finished off". On Jap cars they seem to be finished flush top and bottom, European springs these days are just an unfinished coil in most cases, putting more stress on the ends of the spring. The picture by the way seem to show the springs have actually broken, probably just one coil of each gone.

Speed humps and pot holes obviously don't help.

Happy to be shouted down on this observation

 

[tony bob]

could these spring failures be atributed to our uk combination of speed bumps and dousing our roads with salt every time we go below freezing point?

 

[Hi-Ho Silver]

In today's market, i'd call that outstanding customer service. MB will see my plastic again.