w210 spring perch question
 

:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:
W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read (crosslinked in post #1 to all on topic data)
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/bodywork-repair-paint-tools-tips-tricks/147997-w210-dangerous-flaw-please-read-crosslinked-post-1-all-topic-data.html
:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:


as a new owner for E320 1997 I am concerned re. the stories of failure of spring perch...my question:

is it a problm only restricted to cars driven in freezing cold and wet winter countries (i.e. seasonal exposure to salty water is necessery to demonstrate the defect??

Not necessarily, although informally it seems there are a larger number of failures in climate where roads are salted and in coastal marine environments. The heavier engines (E300 and E420's) also seem more prone.

Have seen a lot of them around here, but don't know if it is climate induced.

Does anyone know for sure if this problem was ever fixed in the later W210 cars? I read on another forum that post-2000 cars don't suffer from this problem but I wonder if it's just a matter of time before they do. On some British site I also read that in June 2001 MB started making these cars more rust-resistant. But I don't know if any of this can be relied upon. The reason I ask is that I might be upgrading to a 2002 W210 sometime soon and I'd hate to go through this issue again.