Wheel ALMOST fell off....help

[2000c230sport]

Soooo....6 months ago I aquired my 2000 c230 kompressor sport. Car was great when I got it, no vibrations and had the entire car looked over at a Mercedes dealer. The tech had found a rear differential leak and a few other repairs but was not worried as I purchased an extended warranty through EasyCare. The car was brought in and the work was done and they also replaced the ball joints and control arm bushings as they found them to be loose. Got the car back and noticed a vibration that was not there before. Was told the car had been aligned after the ball joints were done but they really only set the toe so I went back and for $200 they aligned the car. Got it back and still did not feel right, continuous vibration. Proceeded to have the car back in and out 5 more times, replaced 2 rims at dealers suggestion($300), and got new tires after dealers suggestion ($600) that had shown little wear before ball joints were replaced. CAR STILL VIBRATED. Wiper stopped working 2 weeks ago, car went in for vibration in wheel and not tracking right, broke wiper motor, and broken A/C. Could find no prob with A/C, fixed wiper, and told vibration could not be replicated and that they had looked at it. They also damaged my bumper which kept me out of the car another 5 days, they fixed it. So, driving to work this morning and I heard a horrible vibration/clunking/grinding/scraping. Pulled over immediately and called dealership, told to go ahead and just drive it in and it should be fine-they thought frozen caliper. Called tow truck and dealer called later to tell me wheel bearing fell apart in front left wheel and damaged spindel, hub, bearing, rotor, and pads. Warranty says they'll only cover the bearing and hub and nothing else because I "drove the car after the part failed till the car was completely inoperable" which is completely untrue and caused a fight between me and EasyCare. Question is-Mercedes definetly should have checked the bearings on one of the first few visits I've been told and continually gave me back a car that had failing wheel bearings that finally did fail this morning. Had they diagnosed this 1,2, or even 3 months ago the bearings would have been replaced under warranty but now that they have failed the dealership says I'm liable for $1,500 in damages after what EasyCare is paying. Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the dealer? I really feel like they are liable for what happened as the car was in just last weekend for wheel vibrations. Sorry this is so long! But it's been a bad trip with this car, and for a wheel bearing to go on a 2000 c230 with 57,000 miles sounds a little strange to me.

[Proven Guilty]

water can cause a wheel bearing to go bad. i had a chevy cavalier with a wheel bearing go out on me at 14k miles.

that unknown vibration could very well be tires. anytime i ever get vibration i check the suspension for wear and excessive play, and change the tires and brakes.

[2000c230sport]

I really think the vibration was from the wheel bearing being so loose, and the brakes had been changed out 9,000 miles ago. Supposedly the rotor is ruined just from the time the bearing self distructed and I stopped the car. Are the bearings on the 2000 c230k sealed or can they be packed?

[NISMOPOWERED]

I would nicely talk to the service manager and see what you get. Tell him the history and ask for help. If you get nowhere then go to the general manager. Just be nice and polite!

[davis449]

Sorry this is so long! But it's been a bad trip with this car, and for a wheel bearing to go on a 2000 c230 with 57,000 miles sounds a little strange to me.

The passenger's side front wheel bearing actually froze on my car when my sister still owned it. It went and destroyed a shit load of stuff in there too. This was all before 50K miles, so I can't say I'm surprised. I now have a clicking noise in my suspension that's been there ever since that I have to just live with until it breaks cause the dealer says it's possibly gonna cost me a fortune to rip it apart to find it. They said this because whatever they find might possibly be out of warranty (which I believe to be B.S.).

[2000c230sport]

So after a 2 hour fight with the service manager and a hour talk with the general manager, I owe $780 for hub, rotors, pads, and $200 deductible Warranty covering spindle and bearing.

[NISMOPOWERED]

Well at least you got something. Not much else you can do.

[Abuimad]

damn thats one #!@$$% up story...glad ur ok..glad ur car survived...and glad u got something from the insurance and u did not have to pay the whole sum by your self...

[2000c230sport]

This all has been the topping to a pretty negative experience with my c230.....car's listed on craigslist and went and test drove the scion tc tonight. Need something basic and reliable, a down grade I know...........Might take it off only if the car is completely free of vibration after I pick it up.

[rman]

oh man what are the odds?

i am sitting here at my old shop, where ive been all day.

this morning my car gave a jerk, vibration, then horrible grinding. i thought i lost a pad....

turns out my right front whl bearing took a crap on me and now i need bearings/seals, a hub, and a spindle. $666.46 i was able to get the guys here to shop around and even open up a new vendor acct. with a local parts store. otherwise it'd be over a grand!

im going to fix this mb up (105k), hand it down to my sister, and get back into a ford.
diesel excursion!!!

[Mercedes DIY]

ouch, what is the cause of this? hitting the wheel on the curb while trying to park?

[rman]

james, the caue of this is neglecting maintainence. it is my fault for not having inspections done more frequently.

the wheel bearings need to be re-packed from time to time, and if they are not, they start t develope some play. well after time, more play builds up and eventually it becomes exessive enough for damage to occur in the bearing, damaging everything else it's in contact with.

my main fault was not having it checked out much. i am a super idiot since i am a former mechanic, service writer, and recently i was a shop manager!
i have put 8k on this car since october, so it was easy for me to neglect it not really realizing that i was racking up the miles. shit. i havent even had a rotation till yesterday and now 2 of my tires are almost bald and the other 2 are fine.

[2000c230sport]

It is amazing though that I had the car in now 7 times in 6 months when the ball bearings should have been checked atleast one of those times. The mechanic at the benz dealer told me he did check them on the Dec. 14-Jan2 visit (Car was gone for a long time). He said he knocked the wheels around and did a visual inspection and that everything felt tight. He and the service manager tried to convince me this ball bearing failure was a freak occurence and that it was possible caused by a previous owner hitting a curb years ago, which is hard for me to buy. How often are they supposed to be repacked? Benz wanted to charge me $120 to re-pack the bearings or only $140 to replace the entire bearing, they said it's only about a 1/2 hour job and the part is not expensive. Why re-pack them at all when for an extra 20-30 bucks you can get them replaced every few oil changes and not worry about it.

[rman]

i would have them checked at least once every year, if not every 6 months.

it's easy enough for you to do on your own, jack the car up, and wobble the wheel left/right (tie rod) or up/down (ball joints).

bad thing is either of those could point to a wheel bearing as well.

i think sears charges about 30-40$ for a repack. My father was telling me to take the car to his benz mechanic, which i personally feel is a rip off. The guy asked me if my car was a sport or not when i asked him for a price on an oil change. Needless to say i owned that conversation.
Shit, if the car wasn't stuck on the rack at sears i would have done the job myself, it's very straight forward, just like any other bearing/seal/race/hub/spindle i've ever seen.

[Lordkoo]

Sound like you got ripped off one after another. NEVER believed what stealers tell you unless they are reputated. I NEVER let dealer touchs my Benz.

First of all, they screwed the hub installation. They may/ might did not put the right hub with the right bearing in it. Second, they may also purposely screwed up your car to make sure you come back again... It happened on my friend's C240 with complements from Sugarland Mercedes Houston Texas...

Oh, make sure you chew the shit out of the service manager, then the owner of the dealership. Also make sure they know you are going to the news station about it.

Originally posted by 2000c230sport
Soooo....6 months ago I aquired my 2000 c230 kompressor sport. Car was great when I got it, no vibrations and had the entire car looked over at a Mercedes dealer. The tech had found a rear differential leak and a few other repairs but was not worried as I purchased an extended warranty through EasyCare. The car was brought in and the work was done and they also replaced the ball joints and control arm bushings as they found them to be loose. Got the car back and noticed a vibration that was not there before. Was told the car had been aligned after the ball joints were done but they really only set the toe so I went back and for $200 they aligned the car. Got it back and still did not feel right, continuous vibration. Proceeded to have the car back in and out 5 more times, replaced 2 rims at dealers suggestion($300), and got new tires after dealers suggestion ($600) that had shown little wear before ball joints were replaced. CAR STILL VIBRATED. Wiper stopped working 2 weeks ago, car went in for vibration in wheel and not tracking right, broke wiper motor, and broken A/C. Could find no prob with A/C, fixed wiper, and told vibration could not be replicated and that they had looked at it. They also damaged my bumper which kept me out of the car another 5 days, they fixed it. So, driving to work this morning and I heard a horrible vibration/clunking/grinding/scraping. Pulled over immediately and called dealership, told to go ahead and just drive it in and it should be fine-they thought frozen caliper. Called tow truck and dealer called later to tell me wheel bearing fell apart in front left wheel and damaged spindel, hub, bearing, rotor, and pads. Warranty says they'll only cover the bearing and hub and nothing else because I "drove the car after the part failed till the car was completely inoperable" which is completely untrue and caused a fight between me and EasyCare. Question is-Mercedes definetly should have checked the bearings on one of the first few visits I've been told and continually gave me back a car that had failing wheel bearings that finally did fail this morning. Had they diagnosed this 1,2, or even 3 months ago the bearings would have been replaced under warranty but now that they have failed the dealership says I'm liable for $1,500 in damages after what EasyCare is paying. Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the dealer? I really feel like they are liable for what happened as the car was in just last weekend for wheel vibrations. Sorry this is so long! But it's been a bad trip with this car, and for a wheel bearing to go on a 2000 c230 with 57,000 miles sounds a little strange to me.