Worn Sway Bar Links...14K miles!

[nhdoc]

My wife's '04 C240 4Matic Wagon developed a rattle when going over bumps in the right front wheel. Yesterday the dealer took it in and replaced the front sway bar links which they reported were worn. What does this say about the quality of these cars that after 14K miles front end parts wear out. They're not built to last I guess...glad this is a leased car and the repairs are all covered under warranty. No wonder these cars depreciate like crazy!

[e320wagon4matic]

My 02 c320 has just had the front links replaced for the second time. First time was around 20k mi (they had been clattering for at least 6k mi), this time around 43k mi, both under warranty.

The tech said they are a maintenance item, but said 20k mi is unusually low for them.

The good news is I hear they are fairly inexpensive, and easy to replace. I hear BMW guys saying theirs fail commonly also.

[nhdoc]

Originally Posted by e320wagon4matic

My 02 c320 has just had the front links replaced for the second time. First time was around 20k mi (they had been clattering for at least 6k mi), this time around 43k mi, both under warranty.

The tech said they are a maintenance item, but said 20k mi is unusually low for them.

The good news is I hear they are fairly inexpensive, and easy to replace. I hear BMW guys saying theirs fail commonly also.

Even if the parts are cheap the invoice shows they billed MBUSA 2.4 hours labor for the job, so that's about $225 here...I would say $300 total would be the minimum for parts and labor. If they wear every 14K that's one heck of a maintenance item.

[Johnhef]

Thats a litle early, but yeah, its very common. All C-class will need them eventually. MB has changed the design- early ones only have one rib on the boot, the later style has two ribs. Also they have now changed the sway bar bushings, and most recently, restyled the caps that hold the bushings and added little "boots" onto each side of the bushings.