Mercedes G500

[glen4cindy]

This post is directed to anyone who drives a G500 or knows anyone who drives G500.

There is currently about 9300 miles on my G wagon. This problem is that at speeds over 40 mph, there is a vibration in the steering that you can see and feel. If I let go of the wheel, it actually sits there and "wobbles" I guess is the best word for it, back and forth. There is not great movement, but, it sits there and moves about 2 inches clockwise and counterclockwise rapidly. This is not constant, but, at different times, on most any highway.

I have had my g500 to the dealer 4 times now for a problem related to the steering. 1st time, they rotated and balanced the tires. 2nd time, they rotated and balanced the tires. 3rd time, they installed some sort of steering shock, and rotated and balanced the tires. Now, the 4th time, they called me today and told me that they had contacted Mercedes directly and was told that this problem is related to how the tires wear.

I don't go out and "see what she's got", "drive crazy", or anything like that at all. I take very good car of it, have never had it off road, never over 80 mph, probably not ever over 75, I take really good care of this truck.

The dealer has offered to swap the tires out, which I have accepted. But, I just cannot see that a car that cost me $80K has tires that "cup" as they wear, causing this vibration. The dealership says that this is the problem. They say they can replace the tires, but, the problem will come back, and when it does, it just does, and there is nothing that can be done. They also told me that there are only 3 types of tires that Mercedes will allow to be put on this vehicle, and that only 1 is available in the US.

What I am asking, in this very long post, does anyone else have this or a similar experience with a g500 with under 10K miles? This is a 2003 model, by the way.

Thanks!

Glen

[ZorroAMG]

Glen,

Post the same question as you did here, after registering on these 2 sites:

http://forums.mbworld.org Go to the G-Class section.

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/index.php3 Go to the tech help section

Hope that helps

[turboMiata]

That's because it wants you to take it off road.


Actually, your 80K truck has very utilitarian origins. All they did was take an old style solid axle military truck and added a whack of creature comforts and then sell it for top dollah. Because of the solid axle design, it's not uncommon to notice wierd tire wear.

Usually, when tires cup, it's because there is not enough tire pressure. When you get new rubber, make sure it's properly filled up and keep monitoring it.

Next, rotate the rubber every 3000-5000 miles. This is necessary to even out the tire wear.

If you still notice cupping in (outside wear), air up more. If it's cupping out (inside wear) reduce pressure. If the wear is to one side, there might be alignment issues (track).

[method]

g wagons have solid fronts? didnt know that.

all the solid front trucks can suffer cupping and whatnot just like what turbomiata said.

tons of yuppies that buy f350s to tow their 5th wheel come in with their tires at 35psi, and bad cupping.

[turboMiata]

Actually, I'm curious to know what is the "recommended" MB tire for that truck. Must be like Pirelli scorpion AT crap or something.

I'd slap on a set of GY MT/R or BFG MT on it myself. hehe!

[glen4cindy]

Originally posted by turboMiata
Actually, I'm curious to know what is the "recommended" MB tire for that truck. Must be like Pirelli scorpion AT crap or something.

I'd slap on a set of GY MT/R or BFG MT on it myself. hehe!

According to the dealer I am using, Yokohoma is the only tire available in the US that Mercedes approves.

[turboMiata]

When you look at the tire, can you see which is worn down more? Is it the inside (middle) or outside (edges)?

[Texas]

One thing I know is that the 5 or so people that I know that bought one....arent having that problem....sounds like it could be alignment....or you got the one bad seed....Also of course MB will only "approve" tires that come from their supplier for that model...Sounds like a lot of shit.

[FiveFreshFish]

As a last resort if you can't resolve your problem, can you apply the Lemon Law and make them buy it back?

[kevie88]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish
As a last resort if you can't resolve your problem, can you apply the Lemon Law and make them buy it back?

I don't think so, this could be due to tons of things.. the alignment could be way out, the owner could have hit something and not realised they did damage ect.. I'd just take them up on the new tires, then get it aligned properly to make sure everything is good first and then go from there. I'm sure that'll clear things up.

[G500Lori]

Any help would be appreciated!

The steering wheel vibration starts at 60 mph.

Car has been in to have the steering damper replaced. Nope, that didn't solve the problem.

Then...in quick order.....dealer rotated, balanced the wheels. Did not solve the problem. Dealer then installed new tires due to the cupping problem. Still did not solve the problem. Now I'm paying for their guesswork.

Has anyone successfully solved this problem...or have any ideas?

Thanks!

[turboMiata]

It could still be a tire/wheel problem.

Have you tried to get the wheel balanced on the car? There are some shops that can do that.

If all else fails, throw a pack of Equal into each tire. Equal distributes throughout the inside of the tire when rotating to balance the wheel. It works really well for big tires that are not easily balanced.

[ole dsm]

if your paying for there crappy guess work then i would go to a different dealer/shop.
if ur not satisfied then why give them ur business?

get a second opinion!
have another shop give it the full monty on the front end - check every nut and bolt!

[Kenny_boy]

^ Prolly the best thing to do if it is still under warranty of some sort...

[Gtank]

I have had the same problem with mine and resolved it. Although there are many opinions on this, my belief is that the panhard rod on newer Gs is not substantial enough for the truck. After many discussions and arguing I had the dealer replace the panhard rod. The problem went away completely. However after about 20,000 miles the problem began again not as drastic as before, but I could tell it is coming back. I am currently having a custom panhard rod made out of stronger material at a suspension shop. The problem with the factory rod is a long discussion, but they should replace it at the dealership if your request is strong enough and you will be amazed how well it drives with a new rod. Then you can make your own determination where to go from there. The cost of the custom rod is going to be about $300 fyi.

[E36M3]

Tirerack has the OE tire listed as Yokohama Geolandar H/T G038G and that is what they sell in Calgary as replacement.. amazing scam at 1600 for 4 tires (looks like Tirerack is about half price not including tax + shipping)

Originally posted by turboMiata
Actually, I'm curious to know what is the "recommended" MB tire for that truck. Must be like Pirelli scorpion AT crap or something.

I'd slap on a set of GY MT/R or BFG MT on it myself. hehe!