[K44ent]

I’ve noticed since I picked my GLC 43 up a week ago that the steering wheel, when traveling straight ahead seems to be slightly off to the right.
If I let go of the wheel it seems to centre in a pretty much straight ahead position however I seem to have to apply a very slight amount of right lock to keep it in a straight line so the wheel looks off centre.

It doesn’t pull badly to one side but does seem to follow the camber of the road. At low speed the steering wheel position looks ok but it’s as you speed up it seems to be out.
I’ve tried driving on the other side of the road (opposite camber) but the results aren’t conclusive as the roads are just so busy.

The fact that the gear selector sits higher than the indicator stalk also exaggerates this as your brain wants to line the wheel up with them when however it would actually be off to the left if you did.
Not sure If I should take it back to the dealer with a risk of it being made worse or just live with it. Would appreciate other people’s views who have a GLC 43, do they tend to follow the camber? I did run a GLC 250d AMG Line and that was off to the left however it was not as road camber sensitive as this one.

Thanks

 

[Visa]

Hi K44ent, sounds like the wheel alignment is out, you would not believe how common this is in new cars.

Find a local wheel specialist with a hunter machine and get them to check it out, be warned though it can cost a few hundred pounds, alternatively get your MB dealer to do it for free

 

[AndrewB]

The older Mercedes often used to tend to follow the camber but my 43 doesn't do this at all so I think you may have a geometry issue which is a bit disappointing on a new car . What tyres did your car come with and have you got the dreaded crabbing on full lock ? Mine is now a delight on the all season tyres .

Regards Andrew

 

[K44ent]

The older Mercedes often used to tend to follow the camber but my 43 doesn't do this at all so I think you may have a geometry issue which is a bit disappointing on a new car . What tyres did your car come with and have you got the dreaded crabbing on full lock ? Mine is now a delight on the all season tyres .

Regards Andrew

It has Michelin Latitude Sport 3 I think, made the middle of last year so not a new compound as I was told by the dealer. It does suffer from the crabbing issue but I can drive round it in everyday use so no real problem and it's been cold where I live.

I'm trying to get it booked in for an alignment check, it's by no means bad but the car will wander off to the low side of the road gradually.

 

[Philamg]

Maybe I am wrong but don't all cars tend to move to the low side of the road if you don't correct it on the steering wheel, I'm sure all mine have.

 

[K44ent]

Maybe I am wrong but don't all cars tend to move to the low side of the road if you don't correct it on the steering wheel, I'm sure all mine have.

That's my point Phil, I'm just trying to determine how much a GLC 43 does this and by how much does the driver have to counteract this with steering input. We have a 2017 Cooper S Clubman and that doesn't tend to do it as much where as our 2007 mini does.

 

[AndrewB]

That's correct if you let go of the steering wheel the car will tend to follow the camber but you shouldn't have to hold the wheel off centre to maintain the straight line.

 

[Philamg]

That's my point Phil, I'm just trying to determine how much a GLC 43 does this and by how much does the driver have to counteract this with steering input. We have a 2017 Cooper S Clubman and that doesn't tend to do it as much where as our 2007 mini does.

We have a 67 plate countryman and driving it feels no different to the 43 steering wise.

If it feels wrong to you it probably is, take it to the dealer and see what he thinks.

 

[K44ent]

OK, i drove home tonight and really paid attention to how it behaved and it doesn't pull to the side any more than the mini Clubman in fact the GLC has more self center action, The steering wheel is IMO about 1 mm maybe 2 mm maximum out of level on what appears to be a straight road. It doesn't feel wrong in fact I think it feels better than the Mini which is very artificial in comfort mode.
I'll pay more attention in the GLC but think it's just a slightly off centre wheel issue, as said before the GLC 250d I had was off as well. Question is do I trust the dealer to try and make it better.

 

[Toobad]

I'll pay more attention in the GLC but think it's just a slightly off centre wheel issue, as said before the GLC 250d I had was off as well. Question is do I trust the dealer to try and make it better.

With the general state of roads in the UK it is quite probable your steering geometry is slightly out due to potholes. Dealers use Hunter Hawkeye machines to check your geometry and will provide you with before and after printouts so the results will speak for themselves. You can expect to pay £100 for a realignment as it falls within general wear and tear unless you can prove it was incorrectly set at the factory. Red Ken's printout results from the Hunter can be seen here:

Before and After printout.

 

[K44ent]

With the general state of roads in the UK it is quite probable your steering geometry is slightly out due to potholes. Dealers use Hunter Hawkeye machines to check your geometry and will provide you with before and after printouts so the results will speak for themselves. You can expect to pay £100 for a realignment as it falls within general wear and tear unless you can prove it was incorrectly set at the factory. Red Ken's printout results from the Hunter can be seen here:

Before and After printout.

It's only done 192 miles and I've not hit anything at all, I'm really fussy about pot holes and try to avoid them if safe to do so.
My guess is that the geometry is ok but the steering has been set slightly off centre from new, it is only very slight so some may not even notice it.
Agree that the roads are in a shocking state!

 

[K44ent]

Ok, it's booked into the dealer for Monday, I really hope they don't make it any worse!!

 

[Philamg]

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Mercedes.AMG]

Don't forget the tyre pressures and don't just rely on the accuracy of the TPMS. I find the MB ones quite inaccurate.

 

[K44ent]

Good point about pressures, my gauge is more accurate than the car and I did check them when cold.

Any way it was a complete waste of time. I have established that my steering is out no more than half the height of the P on the gear selector and that's usually when the camber is dropping to the left on a straight road. The car drove really nice and on the journey to the dealer I even questioned if I should be getting it done as it really is only very slightly out on some roads.
I arrived at the dealer and explained the issue and how I wanted to see the before print out of the alignment before making any adjustments as it is only very slightly out. The tech went off in my car and the service manager spoke to me and explained that the factory alignment tools were better than those at the dealer so not sure if they could improve it.
The tech returned and the service manager came back and said "we can move the steering wheel one spline to the left but think that may be too far" I immediately said NO, please don't move the steering wheel as I believe you should make adjustments using the adjustment points built into the cars suspension and moving the steering wheel is masking the issue.
He then said he would get the car on the ramp and see what the results said.
A few minutes later he appeared with the result, everything is in green and said "well its OK so the best we can do is alter the front toe on one side to try and help a little"
I enquired about the thrust angle and it being moved by altering just one wheel, he said "you can't alter the thrust angle on these"
WTF!!
I asked him to politely leave it alone and thanked him for the time he had spent on it vowing to never return for even a service. I watched my car being brought back round to the front of the show room where the tech flung the door open back on the hinge stops, got out and slammed it shut.
A close call IMO and I think I will just enjoy driving it and stop fretting about a steering wheel that's not quite perfect. Other than that it's an awesome machine.

I did notice the crabbing today as I was snowing and the roads were iced up.

I'd post the print out of the alignment if I knew how, however it says GLC (253) Sport 2015 - 2016 on it so not even sure if they have used the right target results or car set up data. I also notice that the alignment tool doesn't appear to have located on the wheel hub through the holes in the wheel but on the tyre, the system used is a Supertracker system so who knows how accurate my print out is.

 

[Philamg]

I would have thought that they would only alter adjustment points if they were out, my car also drives on UK roads with the steering wheel off line to the right to allow for the camber. The only way to test correctly is to find somewhere to drive the car with no camber.

 

[K44ent]

I would have thought that they would only alter adjustment points if they were out, my car also drives on UK roads with the steering wheel off line to the right to allow for the camber. The only way to test correctly is to find somewhere to drive the car with no camber.

That's what they said as all readings were green. Sounds like mine is no different to yours Phil.

 

[Philamg]

That's what they said as all readings were green. Sounds like mine is no different to yours Phil.

I know it is difficult but have you tried driving on the wrong side of the road to see if the steering wheel is to the left to keep the car straight, not in the rush hour though :laugh:

 

[K44ent]

Tried it yes and it does go to the left but maybe not quite as much as to the right when on the correct side. Also tried driving down the middle but difficult to tell if that puts it dead level as well as watching out for other road users.
On a normally cambered to the left road my right hand gear paddle is siting just a fraction under the bottom of the letter P on the gear selector so not much out of line.

 

[Visa]

@K44ent, my gut feel is that it maybe doing something similar to dogtracking (an american term I think), the link describes what happens better than I can but basically its when all the wheels are aligned with the trust line (the direction of travel) and not the centerline of the car. This is only really noticeable when the car drives and tracks in a straight line but the steering wheel is not straight.