Merc(s) pulling to the left - is it me ?
Discussion
There seems to be a pattern emerging here - we have four Mercs - 2 x new CLK 220 CDi(2006) , a S320 (2002) and a E240 (2000). Every one of them pulls to the left at typical motorway speeds ie 65 - 80 mph . Before we purchased both CLKs , I had had the E & S class back at the main dealer who said they couldnt find anything - standard dealer anwser I suppose - but when I felt the two new ones with the same problem it made me a bit suspicious - has anyone else found this ?? ( I havent yet taken the new ones to the dealer yet but plan to do so soon - just wanted some more ammunition ) hope you can help cheers - Barry
My C Class does it as well. When I bought it at 6mths old, the salesman said 'they all do that, sir'. He took me to a dual carriageway, where the right lane was cambered to the right, and sure enough it drifted right.
It is annoying, I have to noticeably 'hold' the car to right on the motorway, but the tyres are showing no signs of funny wear so I've left it alone.
Apparently it's very tricky to do steering alignment on Mercs (many independants won't do it) and the car is supposed to be weighted down when it's done. It's also possible to get adjustable camber bolts from MB.
It is annoying, I have to noticeably 'hold' the car to right on the motorway, but the tyres are showing no signs of funny wear so I've left it alone.
Apparently it's very tricky to do steering alignment on Mercs (many independants won't do it) and the car is supposed to be weighted down when it's done. It's also possible to get adjustable camber bolts from MB.
Both of mine are sensitive to camber, no doubt about that. At one point I thought they were pulling to the left, until I found some flat tarmac in a large car park and both track arrow straight on that. I've never noticed a right pull, but normally when you are in the right hand lane you are travelling faster and perhaps it doesn't happen so much at speed.
As ever gents - many thanks for your help . It would appear that I am not alone in my pulling to the left quandry . Personally I struggle to accept the line of ' they all do that ' and feel I shouldnt have to make exceptions on a prestige marque such as this . Ultimately I dont know how far I will get with this as there seems to be a number people with the same unrectified complaint . I take on board the camber issue but as I own a car rental company I drive many many different cars so am fairly well qualified to comment on how different cars handle on various surfaces - and most mainstream saloons dont seems to be affected buy this at all and if so it is very slight - no where near as bad as the Mercs . Anyway I'll keep you all posted on the progress of my mission - thanks again Barry
por911t said:
and most mainstream saloons dont seems to be affected buy this at all and if so it is very slight - no where near as bad as the Mercs .
To be fair, I've found it only to be slight with mine, and only detectable at 5-10 mph. There's one particular junction where I notice it every day in slow moving traffic, but almost nowhere else. Other people's experience may differ.
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