Tony Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 The car Mercedes E class estate with active air suspension. Complaint Inside rear tyre wear History Due to the rapid inside rear tyre wear this car had been to two independent calibration centres who both concluded the rear calibration positions were within manufacturers specifications. The last calibration test due to the repetitive rear inner tyre wear was done at Mercedes who concluded once again all the rear positions were within normal tolerances. At no point was there a conclusive explanation for the tyre wear. At wim Once the car was on the ramp two immediate observations were made... 1: The rear of the car looked rather low 2: The car has a tow bar fitted. With the car running i pulled the rear down to test the air suspension's air actuator. This a a device that adjusts the suspension pressure/ height according to the downward change in the sprung body. Needless to say the actuator was not registering a change in load. Summary I could almost forgive the independents for missing this, but not the dealer, the fact we had found the problem before the equipment was even fitted is not an accolade for us, more a bitter disappointment for the industry. Some images The tyre The actuator. This is a hard image to understand since the actuator is buried, nevertheless here it is wim says The complaint always have a reason, this is why box's have lids to open and look out of!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 I am speechless at how they can say everything is in spec and ignore the tryre wear! Well done WIM. h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_r Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Tony. It is fortunate that your lot and you can think outside the 'box' so to say. When the car was taken to the dealership with the customer stating the rear tyres where wearing badly. they would just look at the rear cal of the car. Its hard to say but unless you have a trained professional who has a passion about their job would they have thought about the air suspension. the usual tyre monkey (quick thick) etc would never look to see if the auto suspension was working correctly. I really hope, armed with this info, the customer will return to the main dealer and kick up a fuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Maybe the dealers employ crap fit staff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted October 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 As you may or may not know i train staff from centres in our network. The staff are not with us to be trained on how to use the machine or what the angles are since the level of understanding should already be high hence the reason they are part of the network. The reason for the training is as follows.... Those angles? You know what they are and represent but why are they there and why are they different between one car and another. Looking outside of the box The chassis is measured and everything falls within the manufacturers settings..... Then why do you have a customer? The settings offered by the manufacturer Braking the "settings displayed are law" rule And other stuff...... Braking the "fast fit" regimental train of thought is hard to do because this is the arena staff and indeed instructors are lead to believe is true, this format is also true of some dealers who's entire understanding of chassis calibration comes from a collage book and the bloke who installs the machine at the dealership. Part of the art within geometry/ suspension complaints is to funnel your solution attention area to a more appropriate point, rather than wast time following the same path as those previously. This Merc today, i made a visual observation of the rear body trim height being a little low, the tow bar and the complaint since the rear camber on this Merc is not adjustable. The tyre wear is camber so the "WHY" mental button get hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighlandPete Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 This Merc today, i made a visual observation of the rear body trim height being a little low, the tow bar and the complaint since the rear camber on this Merc is not adjustable. The tyre wear is camber so the "WHY" mental button get hit. If only more folks would ask 'why' when the obvious doesn't fit the problem, then the motoring industry would have a few more friends. Good to hear when success is achieved by a bit of 'out of the box' thinking. WIM 1, Merc Nil. HighlandPete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parthiban Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Wouldn't the faulty air suspension show up as a fault when they plug the car in? Can't believe they all didn't bother to check that though, lost count how many times we've said this but once again: WIM 1 Mercedes and others 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 I wonder whether the car was still in warranty? Is this a cheap fix? or will it cost a few bob? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Owner has cause for complaint at the dealership since they missed the actual reason..... I think it's a costly mend for someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 My w210 E Class had self levelling air suspension. Easy to test Sit in boot, feel suspension sag Get friend to start car Watch/feel car rise up on the suspension MB dealership are in the main hopeless , little more than basic service centres only expensive ones as they used to charge £110ph two years ago !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Owner has cause for complaint at the dealership since they missed the actual reason..... I think it's a costly mend for someone. It really would not suprise me if they missed it on purpose, then low and behold, as soon as warranty runs out, they spot all sorts of things wrong with the car. Liner33: I agree 100% with your comments, nothing more than expensive basic service centers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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