spring perch failure @ 75mph on Mass Turnpike
 

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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
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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

!!!! :eek: :eek: Thats just scary!

Be sure to file a complaint with the NHTSA. How this has avoided a safety recall is beyond me. Try a search - lots of info on how dealers handle it, which is not consistently.

You OK? No major handling problems after the perch separation?

Please tell us exactly how it felt when that occurred. I've always wondered what it would be like if my spring perch (or ball joint or tire for that matter) blew up at 75mph. Did you lose control of the car? How quickly did you make it to the shoulder? Any violent shaking of the wheel?

I'll tell you how it has avoided a safety recall. NOBODY has been hurt by this failure. If you find a single case of any injury or property damage as a result of this failure, let me know. I have heard of zero, and there are plenty of people making noise about this problem.

Here we have a case of the thing letting go at highway speed, which did not result in loss of control of the car.

Glad you're OK... Thought I popped a perch, but upon inspection it was the sway bar bracket, a comparatively easy fix. The bad perches are a much more common problem on 210s I am told, but those of us that see a significant amount of road salt each winter need to inspect closely. I do at each seasonal tire change. so far, so good!

I was driving in the left lane in a 3 wide stretch of Rt 90. The perch let go with a very loud bang, then a pronounced bump (presumably as the rear tire drove over the spring assembly. The car suddenly dropped hard on the front right bump stops. Lots of warning lights - BAS, ASR, etc.

I thought I blew a tire or hit some road damage. Surprisingly, just a little swerve in the left lane and I made it to the right shoulder after a 1/4 mile. At this point I was pretty sure it was a perch or something worse because there was no tire smoke, burning or noise.

Kicked the tires & drove it 20 miles home. (My indy mechanic frowned when I told him this.) Put it up on jacks & found no spring at all & some disconnected sensor wires. Drove it 10 miles to the shop. Waiting.

Still no word from the dealer he contacted. I guess that's my next move. Any recommedations for service in Springfield, MA or Hartford, CT area? I'm from Albany NY but this happened near where I grew up in central/western Massachusetts.

Overall I like the car, but this is making me less happy with the product and the brand. My brother had a 1985 300d coupe with 279k miles which led me to buy the newer model. His was structurally perfect. The doors closed with an acoustic that was admirable.

I feel cheated.

Check & inspect spring perch?
 

... oh, one more thing not shown in the previous picture.

I'm not sure how any lay person could actually check or inspect this. In the next photo is the brand new disc brakes I put on just 2 days prior.

I was just in this wheelwell on Saturday. Failure on Monday.

Obviously there's a little spot rust. How could anyone actually check this? Pry on it? What if a pre-loaded automotive spring explodes out of the wheelwell and hits you or someone else nearby. Then you can legitimately say "I might have been killed"

Still disappointed.

Nah, Mercedes expect its cars to be inspected on occasion.

You are living the "pay me now or pay me later" example, i.e. you've gotten what you didn't pay for.

Don't expect to be rewarded for your negligence. "Entitlement" doesn't apply.

Thats crap! I would be disappointed too! Especially when MB looks the other way, like they do all too often on the W210's.

Personally I would still contact MBUSA and open a case. You might get some financial assistance.. I grew up in that area, the only place I can think of right off is Ricks Autobody in Indian Orchard, its right off Route 20 in Springfield. I know they do alot of body work on expensive cars. You could be a bit sneaky and tell your insurance company it happened on a rough road, hit a huge pothole, not that I condone or would do that ;)

Some here have gotten them replaced at full or 1/2 cost. NHDOC comes to mind.

Helps if you have history with a dealer.

Yours is one of the few examples where the spring has come out from under the car. Most occur at low speed during tight turns. I agree with MattL that no one I 've heard of has been injured as a reslut of this failure.

Yo obviously need to pull the sealant away from the left side and confirm its integrity.

Refer to post #12: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/200445-w210-front-spring-replacement.html?highlight=spring

Only one side of mine showed signs before it failed. The dealer replaced both sides at 50% cost to me.

Glad to hear that you didn't get hurt.

Answer:
 

Here are all of the major threads on this topic, linked through this one.

W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=231861








Have a great day.