W210 Diesel owners: Spring Perch Failure - Please read - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

slowmoe · #1 05-25-2004, 07:29 AM

:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:
W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read (crosslinked in post #1 to all on topic data)
W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read (crosslinked in post #1 to all on topic data)
:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:

Through some research I have found that this is primarily effecting E300 and E420 owners due to the increased weight on the front end.

TimFreeh · #2 05-25-2004, 08:10 AM

Unbelievable... What the hell is going on at MB these days?

From your pictures it would appear that there are only two spot welds holding the spring perch to the body?!?!?!@!?#! Was there any other attachment mechanism to hold the perch?

MB had better fix this one (and fix the other side as well) for free -they should also find out exactly why this happened and recall all the effected cars. If that perch is being totally held by two spot welds I'd get an attorney involved as well - I'm not big on lawsuits and I'm not a structural engineer but I'd say that Mercedes need to be sued.

If you had been driving when the perch broke the spring could have fallend into the steering linkage and you could have lost control of the car. I would not expect this kind of failure on a Yugo after two decades of service, on an 8 year old Mercedes-Benz its just unforgivable.

97E300D · #3 05-25-2004, 08:29 AM

Thanks for the pictures and words of warning, I have a 2 month old and would dread the thought of this kind of a failure at highway speeds.

Can you give a detailed description of what a spring perch is so others can inspect. It sounds as though it's the Lower "A" Arm, where the front coil spring is seated? A schematic drawing would be great. Are these parts manufactured out of stamped thick sheet metal and spot welded together to form a part?

Thanks again,

md21722 · #4 05-25-2004, 09:53 AM

The lower control arm has a spring perch. However, what has failed on his car and in this pictue is where the top of the spring goes!! Its supposed to be welded to the chassis. In his picture, the part is not present. Very scary!!

Note there the other thread about these cars where they are rusting out in the U.K.

Makes my 124, BMW's, and Chevrolet's look better every day.

Regards,

boneheaddoctor · #5 05-25-2004, 09:54 AM

I agree this is totally unacceptible.........................MB better fix it free or you need to find an attorney

Jassper · #6 05-25-2004, 10:07 AM

W210 E320. 1996. Exactly the same happened. Say no more! Had to order a new one from MB (didn't cost a lot, fortunately) and weld it back on. Reinforced with a thick metal sheet. Mind that the original part was only spot-welded on 2 or 3 spots. Unbelievable.

slowmoe · #7 05-25-2004, 08:04 PM

MB will be fixing it free of charge - which to me, is an admission of quilt. Needless to say, I had to fight like made to get them to do it.

I am in the process of writing to the MB headquarters in NJ and to the NHTSA.

I am really shaken on this one, guys. I know I have posted here before about going to a Lexus product. This experience may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. The thought of getting an E320 4-matic wagon for my growing family is now out of the question.

shane83SD · #8 05-26-2004, 02:26 AM

Hi Slowmoe,

It is quite shocking to see this happened on a relatively new MB. It is obvious that MB is no longer run by engineers, or at least the "old school" engineers.

boneheaddoctor · #9 05-26-2004, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shane83SD
Hi Slowmoe,

It is quite shocking to see this happened on a relatively new MB. It is obvious that MB is no longer run by engineers, or at least the "old school" engineers.

Nope the"Bean Counters" are running the show and like every where else they ruin everything they touch. Because quality and engineering are alien concepts to them.

vahe · #10 05-26-2004, 04:38 PM

"I am in the process of writing to the MB headquarters in NJ and to the NHTSA."

What address or e-mail do you use in contacting MB headquarters,
I have a E320/97 and do not want to wait for this to happen to me on the freeway.

Thanks,
Vahe

Hatterasguy · #11 05-26-2004, 07:29 PM

Whats up with the W210's lately? One of my friends is looking for a W210 diesel, I think I'll tell him about these threads, he might be better off with the diesel Dodge truck he wanted.

JimSmith · #12 06-13-2004, 12:13 PM

Well, it seems some of you are lucky your failures happened while barely moving. I was in Munich on Friday on my way home on a business trip, and visiting an old highschool buddy. While we were driving out to Tegernsee, a little Alpine lake on the southeastern side of Munich, we entered the local Autobahn behind a W210 Diesel Wagon. I did not see the details of the designators as after a few hours there my neck was sore from snapping around to read the designators on the thousands of MB's tooling all over the place. Anyway, as the guy floored it to accelerate the front lifted a bit, and then when he went to shift it dropped, with the driver's side dropping to the ground and the coil spring and some other parts spewing out from under his car. We scooped up the spring and drove it over to the guy and handed it back. He was in shock. I noticed you have all had this problem on the passenger side of the car while this incident involved the driver's side. Looks like a serious enough problem I will be having my car inspected shortly.

When you see recalls for interior junk and other items that are not life threatening, and then you see something like this, it seems the NHTSA and MB have their heads in a dark, dank, foul smelling place. This guy in Munich was lucky as he was still only going a good 30 mph or so when it happened to him. At 100 mph, which we were doing shortly thereafter in my buddy's MB Diesel van from his business, an accident like that might have been fatal for the driver and occupants of that car, as well as a few others in the vicinity. I hope MB comes clean on this issue. Jim

Hatterasguy · #13 06-13-2004, 02:22 PM

If that happend to my car I'd sue MB.

slowmoe · #14 06-17-2004, 07:04 AM

Well, guys...

This unfortunately was the perverbial straw that broke the camels's back for me. Here is the rest of the story...

I waited for more than two weeks to get the car back from the dealership. The goods news is that they repaired both sides free of charge. The bad news is that the front of the car sat about an inch lower than the rear, there was shaking and rattleing everytime I went over a bump, and the front end felt loose. It was as if nobody bothered to take the car for a test drive after the repair.

The experience with the poor quality of this car (problems with: AC, electronic injection, SRS lights, rusted catalytic converter, bucking at highway speeds, ball joints and control arm bushings at 90K etc...) combined with the drastically inferior customer service I regularly received from both area dealerships, caused to finally sell it.

The really unfortunate news (for Mercedes) is that I replaced it with a Lexus GS300 - which I absolutely love. In addition, I will definately NOT be getting my wife the 2002 4-matic wagon that we had planned on this fall.

This is not to say that I am finished with Mercedes. I would love to have a third car as a back-up. I am currently looking for a well cared for 300TD Wagon.

TimFreeh · #15 06-17-2004, 07:33 AM

Moe

I had a GS300 as a company car for a couple of years - it was an impressive ride. I think you made a good decision here - I'm very disappointed in Mercedes-Benz's response to this situation. I hope the NHTSA makes them bring every W210 car sold in America for repairs - this kind of failure is inexcusable in ANY car.

Good luck in your 300TD search - If I see any good examples I'll drop you a note.

Tim