The official procedure calls for removal of the sealant but nobody does that. If you examine the sealant closely for signs of cracking and bubbling beneath it you can tell if it is sound or not. On the side that failed there was a crack in the sealant right at the joint. That crack existed for a number of years before the joint began to fail and even when it began to fail it didn't fail completely when I had noticed it. My passenger side is still sound.

In my case the dealer had M-B goodwill the repair, but I was lucky in that I had just placed an order for a new C300 which was being built when the separation occurred so they used my loyalty as an excuse to convince M-B to cover it. I have since developed a decent relationship with the dealer's service and parts departments because it meant a lot to me that they covered a repair like that on a 10 year old car (that I didn't buy from them). My understanding is the repairs would cost on the order of $800-$1100 per side if they are paid for by the customer. They are not done by the dealers but by body shops in most cases, as was the case with my dealer.

As I said, the failure of these sounds more traumatic than it actually is. That is probably why the NTSB hasn't ordered M-B to recall them. If you look at the suspension you will see that you really can't lose control of the car if the perch fails. The UCA and LCA remain intact and the side would just drop a few inches until the range of motion stops were encountered.

After hearing about what it is like to lose one while driving I think the danger is greater to other cars in the road where the springs eject into traffic than it is to the occupants of the W210 which loses the spring. Especially on an undivided 2-way highway. Imagine having one of those front end springs shoot out at you at 65 MPH!

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz