Tag: Mercedes Specialist

Causes of Loose Front End Steering in Your Mercedes

Posted on September 7, 2021 by - Mercedes Repair

Mercedes-Benz Car

Mercedes may develop front-end steering issues, and if you do experience problems with this system, it is imperative that you take your Mercedes to a certified mechanic right away. Below you will learn more about what causes the front-end steering of your Mercedes to become loose.

There are three major components of the steering system within your Mercedes:

  • Rack and pinion: The rack and pinion are responsible for connecting the steering wheel to the steering column.
  • Linkages: The linkages connect the rack and pinion, or steering box, to the wheel assemblies.
  • Front suspension: The front suspension holds the tires in place allowing the wheel assemblies to pivot as the tires turn.

Identify the Problem with Your Front End Steering

If you find yourself experiencing steering problems with your Mercedes, you should seek out an immediate inspection from a certified mechanic or technician. This inspection can alert you to worn-out parts or components. Let’s take a closer look at a few commonly-reported causes for loose front-end steering.

Worn, Damaged, or Broken Tie Rods

The tie rods essentially “tie together” the wheels and the steering system. The steering system is made of your steering wheel, the steering column, the rack and pinion or steering box that connects it to the wheel assemblies, and the wheels for the tires. Tie rods connect your four round, metal wheels to the steering system.

Worn out or damaged tie rods pose quite a risk on drivers as if they become damaged or completely broken if the wheel breaks free of the steering system. This driver will not be able to control the direction the vehicle travels.

Ball Joint Failure

The ball joints are an essential part of your Mercedes steering system, as without these vital parts, your vehicle is unable to remain stable on the roadway.

Know the Signs of Loose Front End Steering

There are some warning signs and symptoms to watch for in your Mercedes that will point to problems with your front end steering. Check out these below, and if you suspect your car has a problem, bring it to our shop as soon as possible for an inspection:

  • Strange audible noises coming from your vehicle: Over time, parts of your vehicle’s steering system become worn or damaged. When this occurs, you may begin to hear strange noises coming from underneath your vehicle. These noises range from knocking, squealing, or grinding noises as a result of the loosened or damaged parts.
  • Abnormal vibrations: Loosened ball joints or tie rods may lead to abnormal vibrations that can be felt through the steering wheel of your Mercedes. Abnormal vibrations felt from your vehicle can be caused by several reasons, which is why it is important that you have your vehicle inspected immediately.
  • Vehicle drifting: Worn or damaged tie rods or ball joints affect your Mercedes wheels alignment. As a result, your vehicle may drift from one side of the road to the other on its own, even when your steering wheel is straight.

Carotech Automotive for Mercedes Repairs

Carotech Automotive has been helping the drivers of Los Angeles, CA for more than 50 years. With our ASE certified technicians, we quickly Mercedes Loose Front End Steering Check became LA’s go-to auto repair shop for European auto maintenance. We do not want anyone to feel they are not welcome and do not wish to leave a single person wondering where they can find a trusted repair shop, which is why we specialize in Domestic, European, and Asian automotive service and repairs.

Carotech Automotive offers:

  • ASE certified technicians
  • Free snacks, coffee, and soda
  • We provide a code of excellence to our customers
  • Easy-pay financing

We stand behind the automotive service and repair work we provide to each customer, which is why we are proud to offer a 24,000-month / 24,000-mile warranty. We provide all customers with the highest quality work available in the area with the latest factory-grade tools and equipment.

We believe in providing our customers with only the best. In order to do so, we adamantly seek out and provide our technicians with on-site training, updated safety courses, and shop etiquette programs. We will ensure you leave our shop feeling comfortable and satisfied with the service work we provide to you and your vehicle.

To schedule an appointment, call or stop by Carotech Automotive today, and one of our friendly staff members will be glad to assist you.

* Mercedes-Benz Car image credit goes to: teddyleung.

How to Effectively Deal With Gear Selector Issues in Your Mercedes- Benz

Posted on May 1, 2021 by - Mercedes Repair

Mercedes-Benz Gear Selector Issue

Mercedes-Benz vehicles are known for their reliability, but like any other car, they sometimes run into problems. One of the more common issues Mercedes-Benz owners deal with is the gear selector wearing down. Read on to learn about what the gear selector does, the symptoms to look out for that will tell you something’s wrong, and how to deal with the problem if it arises.

The Purpose of the Gear Selector

As you might expect from the name, a gear selector is what allows you to shift gears. In automatic cars, it detects things like your speed and what position the gearshift is in to tell the transmission what gear the car needs to be running in.

As you can see, the gear selector plays a crucial role, and if it’s not working properly, you could find yourself suddenly going backward when you want to move forward, or shifting to a lower gear when you want to speed up. You could also encounter several other problems, all of which are potentially dangerous to both the health of you and your passengers and your transmission’s health.

Luckily, however, chances are that you will notice the symptoms of a potential gear selector failure pretty quickly, so you can get it fixed as soon as possible and avoid damaging the transmission any further or, even worse, endangering the lives of the people who ride in your car.

Warning Signs of Gear Selector Problems

The tricky thing about gear selector issues is that the symptoms look very similar to other transmission problems, so you won’t be able to immediately tell that the gear selector is what’s acting up just by observing the symptoms.

However, any problem with a transmission is serious, so no matter what, if you notice one of the things I mention below, you should take your car in for repair. A professional mechanic will have the diagnostic tools necessary to determine exactly what the problem is and fix it much faster than you could.

With that being said, here are some common signs of gear selector failure:

  • Grinding or clicking noises, particularly if they happen while you are shifting gears. In any vehicle, but especially luxury ones like Mercedes-Benz, shifting between gears should be a seamless process.
  • Rough shifting. This can include sudden jerks while the car attempts to change gears, vibrations, or delays between shifting.
  • Difficulties moving between drive, reverse, and neutral. Your vehicle should change immediately between these when you tell it to. If instead, you notice that it’s hesitating, or you continue to move forward for a little bit even though you changed the gearshift into the reverse position, that’s a sign that the transmission is having trouble.
  • Gear slipping. This is a common symptom of transmission problems where the car will suddenly slip into a lower (or higher) gear even though you have not changed your speed. It can also happen when you’re accelerating, and the car unexpectedly shifts to a lower gear when it should be moving into higher ones as you speed up.

What to Do About Gear Selector Problems

Ideally, you want to avoid having any of these symptoms at all. The best way to do that is to keep up with the routine maintenance Mercedes-Benz Transmission Repairschedule suggested in your owner’s manual. Getting regular checkups and tune-ups allows mechanics to catch problems before they become problems and prevent them from turning into something much bigger (and more expensive).

If you are already experiencing one or more of the symptoms I mentioned, though, then you should schedule an appointment with your local Mercedes-Benz specialist as soon as you can before the issue gets even worse. Replacing a transmission can be a very expensive and stressful process, so it’s best to stop any potential hiccups before they get to that point.

If you live in the Los Angeles area and you’re looking for a great place to bring your Mercedes for maintenance or repair, look no further than Carotech Automotive and Tires. With expertise in a wide range of brands and highly trained technicians, you can trust that we’ll have the knowledge and tools necessary to get the job done efficiently.