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Contact MB corporate
Contact MB corporate and complain. They should repair it at no cost to you. Mine started coming apart and they repaired it.
When I asked them if there was a recall, i was informed that there is no recall, but they will handle it on a case by case bases. |
MB paid for half, ok with me cause the car has 180k miles! It took five weeks, they removed the evidence by replacing the whole frame rail!
I think they are negligent in not recalling these cars; one death and they're facing multimillion $ lawsuit. But what do I know. GET YOUR EARLY W210 CHECKED PLEASE |
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fix
I don't think they ever made a fix. Get them checked out regardless of what year.
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The perch on the right front wheel of my 1998 E320 failed and the spring fell out onto the garage floor. Fortunatly, I had just pulled into the garage after driving 60mph and had gotten out of the car. It sounded like the car exploded and the fender came down on the tire. Had this happened 3 minutes earlier, I would have been killed. The car has been sitting at the MB dealer for over 2 weeks and they have not started work on it because MB will not provide written instructions on how to make the repair. I want them to put in writing that the car will be safe to drive after they make the repairs. I have communicated with New Jersey and Germany MB and all I am getting is the run around. My lawyer says that MB will pay, but they will try to "slow play" me to the end. There are several law firms watching the failure situation on the spring perchs waiting until a death, then they will start their class action suit. The service manager at my MB dealer said that my failure was the first one he had heard of. When I talked to the body shop directly one of their people said that he had already repaired one. What is a little lie for a Mercedes dealer? Any comments?
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Wonder why?
Why are they failing? That would be good to know. Is it a design flaw? Poor materials used? How long has this design been used?
Anybody know? |
Poor rust protection
It appears to be an issue with the cars that have lived in colder climates causing the perch mounts to rust.
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One owner who lost a perch mount lived in Phoenix (or was it Nevada?) but with cars being sold in one state moved to another you never know. Like gsxr says, time to go hug my W124! |
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read this thread http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/95228-w210-diesel-owners-spring-perch-failure-please-read.html#post639359 This problem is something that probably should have its own Button on the opening page, repairing this should only be done by the factory dealer who then assumes all risk for the job being done properly. I think this subject will be on TV someday. Sixty Minutes Special or something. Watch Lexus orders surge! Lots of used Mercedes wil go up FS, its possible! |
Why is everyone so dramatic with the " I would have been killed!" statements?
I have seen a W210 car that had a front wheel come off at 80mph and go into oncoming traffic. The owner walked away after a 125+mph combined head-on. Your car is pretty damn safe even if the perch fails. Here in Washington St., I have yet to see a single example of this failure. We don't use road salt here, which seems to be the root cause. Good luck with all of the lawsuits. DR.D |
dee9520
My spring fell out on the garage floor while the car was parked due to rust on the spring perch. 1998 E320. After the dealer had it for 3 weeks, he called me and said that they "would not make the repair due to liability". How safe does that make you people with the problem feel? The MB people in NJ said they would pay half as "good will", but the work had to be done by one of their dealers. That puts me into a "catch 22" since I do not have a dealer within 250 miles who will do the work. I filed a complaint with the NHSA and my congressman asking for a recall by MB. MB did supply the dealer with instructions on how to make the repair. It required special rivets and a special rivet gun. The dealer is fax-ing me the instructions and as soon as I have them, I will post them on the web for everyone. This is going to get bigger before it gets smaller for MB and they had better wake up and start facing the music.
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Here's an idea since you think MBs are so safe, and a spring/front wheel coming off is not a big deal at all. You can drive my car, and have your entire family in the car as well, and drive on the highway at 80mph for the next 2 months until the front wheel comes off. No biggie right? http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/prov1/perch2.jpg http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/prov1/perch1.jpg |
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Enough flogging
DR.DIESEL is correct that these are generally very safe vehicles.
He is in an area where they never see this nasty issue. I have seen a spring perch fail at 75 MPH, the effected front side slams into hard contact with the road, slinging the vehicle sideways with a high risk of rolling over. There is no need to elaborate the danger from/to other traffic. |
Ok, now I am a bit scared. I just bought a 99 E300 TD pretty much sight unseen from a MB dealership in Fayetteville, NC. Car was bought and serviced at the dealership it's whole life. I have seen pics but nothing of the spring perch. The vehicle is still at the dealership and will be shipping to me this next week.
They apparently do not get much snow there and do not salt the roads from what I have heard, so hoping there is no rust issues in general. I was checking this site and stumbled across this thread and now I am freaking out a bit. I am worried about the whole spring perch issue or potential issue in this vehicle. Any new information or things I should know? Should I get into with the dealer? Any words of advise would be welcomed. Steven |
Don't panic
If you bought a car from the MB dealership it would be the best of the best use MB out there. I'm certain they would have checked it out thoroughly. If you run across any problem. I'm also sure they will honour the repair.
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Biggest problem I can see is that I am in Southern California and taking it to North Carolina for any future repairs would definately be a drag.
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Certified used car?
Is it a certified used car?
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Nope it is a 99 which can not be certified pre-owned. I think they can only go back 6 yrs. I am purchasing a AUL warranty for it for 3 yrs / 36k miles.
Just trying to prevent any "can of worms" on the front side. Steven |
Too Late
It actually happened to me but in my 1990 300ce .However,due to rust ,my top cup that holds the leaf spring at the top cracked.Thank goodness I was sitting at the light.While waiting for the light to change I heard a loud bang like a buck shoot.The car dropped to the floor on the passenger side.It cost me 500 dollars to fix.It was welded back together using 2 metal plates and a special welding machine.I think the way to go is to put coil overs on.Thats what im going to do before the other side goes.
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This is NOT the correct way to repair this damage... * The old spring perch must be cut away. * Welds must be ground down even with body surface. ** Here is the decision point. *** Weld it like factory. *** Follow the MB repair procedure with rivets. The MB rivet procedure is detailed in this thread. |
Is the spring perch in the front or rear?
Can one get a good look from under the car or does it need to be up on a rack? Thanks |
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The front end must be supported on stands or hoist with wheels off for a proper inspection. |
Spring Perch
W124 SPRING PERCH = Front Spring Bracing
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-parts-reference-library/182374-w124-spring-perch-%3D-front-spring-bracing.html W202 SPRING PERCH = Front Spring Bracing http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-parts-reference-library/182419-w202-spring-perch-%3D-front-spring-bracing.html W210 SPRING PERCH = Front Spring Bracing http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-parts-reference-library/182420-w210-spring-perch-%3D-front-spring-bracing.html ALL PART QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME: |
This came up a few years ago on the E320 I bought from my dad. He bought it new in '96 and in late '04 or early '05 the perch failed. We noticed it was making a funny creaky/clunky noise and it didn't sit level in the front. When we jacked it up and took the wheel off, the spring basically fell out. There was quite a bit of rust, but it looked like the welds failed. Since the perch was still pretty solid, and still mostly attached, we cleaned it up and re-welded it. Still going strong at 238,000 miles, but I like to check it once in a while.
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The car has lived in Ohio it's whole life and has 118,000 miles on it. - How common is this on a W124? - What should the repair bill be? - Should they go ahead and replace the perch on the other side? |
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The car has lived in Ohio it's whole life and has 118,000 miles on it. - How common is this on a W124? - What should the repair bill be? - Should they go ahead and replace the perch on the other side? |
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The car has lived in Ohio it's whole life and has 118,000 miles on it. - How common is this on a W124? - What should the repair bill be? - Should they go ahead and replace the perch on the other side? |
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Well, it happened. The OTHER spring perch failed. As I stated above, the drivers-side perch failed a couple years ago, non-violently.
I was driving up to Midland, MI from Atlanta, and about 15 miles from my parent's place, the car made a huge clunk and dropped down on the right front. Luckily, there were no other cars around and I just pulled of onto the shoulder. At first I thought it was a flat, but when I saw the right front tire crammed in the fenderwell, I knew what happened. Come to find out, the whole spring actually fell out. I ended up driving it the rest of the way, slowly, on back roads. Drove amazingly well for sitting on the bumpstop on one corner. This one failed differently though. The first one seemed to come apart at a weld seam. This one seems to have broken in half. Drivers-side perch, failed 12/27/04: http://www.rupelli.com/dump/driverssideperch01.jpg http://www.rupelli.com/dump/driverssideperch02.jpg Passengers-side perch, failed 8/23/07: http://www.rupelli.com/dump/passengersideperch.jpg |
well doesn't this just make me want to go buy the 97 E420 i've been looking at. :P
do the mid 90's S's have the same problem??? |
We fixed one of these last week. First I sent the owner to the local dealer, thinking they would at least give him a break on the repairs. Cost wasn't out of line at all, as they quoted $400 per side. If he had bought it there though, it would be no charge, and if he had had it serviced there, it would be $200. WTF ? So he decided to allow us to fix it for $200, just so the dealer wouldn't get the money. I know we did a much better job than the dealer would have.:D
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Have a great day. |
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My 1994 E420 had spring perch failure.
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This is a common problem with these cars, isn't it? I know I've read a number of threads and posts about it.
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This is a common problem with these cars, isn't it? I know I've read a number of threads and posts about it.
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This is a common problem with these cars, isn't it? I know I've read a number of threads and posts about it.
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We have fixed a ton of these on both W124 and W210 in our collision center. The factory caulk holds moisture which causes corrosion between the frame rail and spring perch metal. The metal separates and the tension of the spring causes it to bend upwards. Very dangerous! Anyone who states that this couldn't cause a hazardous traffic condition is nuts!
Anyhow, the fix is to remove the springs, air chisel out the old perch, grind to bare metal the area of attachment to the frame rail, weld in the new perch, caulk and apply wax sealant, then reinstall. Finally, the factory paint plus clearcoat is applied to the area. It's about a 2-3 day turnaround and costs typically around $300-$400 with parts, labor, materials. Satish |
We have fixed a ton of these on both W124 and W210 in our collision center. The factory caulk holds moisture which causes corrosion between the frame rail and spring perch metal. The metal separates and the tension of the spring causes it to bend upwards. Very dangerous! Anyone who states that this couldn't cause a hazardous traffic condition is nuts!
Anyhow, the fix is to remove the springs, air chisel out the old perch, grind to bare metal the area of attachment to the frame rail, weld in the new perch, caulk and apply wax sealant, then reinstall. Finally, the factory paint plus clearcoat is applied to the area. It's about a 2-3 day turnaround and costs typically around $300-$400 with parts, labor, materials. Satish |
We have fixed a ton of these on both W124 and W210 in our collision center. The factory caulk holds moisture which causes corrosion between the frame rail and spring perch metal. The metal separates and the tension of the spring causes it to bend upwards. Very dangerous! Anyone who states that this couldn't cause a hazardous traffic condition is nuts!
Anyhow, the fix is to remove the springs, air chisel out the old perch, grind to bare metal the area of attachment to the frame rail, weld in the new perch, caulk and apply wax sealant, then reinstall. Finally, the factory paint plus clearcoat is applied to the area. It's about a 2-3 day turnaround and costs typically around $300-$400 with parts, labor, materials. Satish |
So should W124 owners chip away their coating and inspect ?
In other words, is there some preventative maintenance ? TIA, :-) neil |
spring perch failure @ 75mph on Mass Turnpike
Wow. This was an interesting event yesterday. Bang and it was gone. The whole thing tumbled under the car and is somewhere on Interstate 90 near exit 8.
I have the car at a local service shop here in MA. Does anyone know if MB is covering this yet or if they will service/replace the spring perch mounts? Phil |
Is this something that could be a problem on W123s? :confused:
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I love Mercedes and I am very loyal to the brand but this is thoroughly unacceptable.
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It seems to be the W124 and newer chassis. |
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