In a Mercedes, shocks and struts generally start showing wear and tear after about 50,000 miles. They are easy to miss until they get really bad, since you drive the car every day and are used to how it handles, so you likely won’t notice the gradual changes.
Shocks and struts both keep your ride comfortable and help to keep your wheels aligned. If your shocks and struts start to go bad, your handling and the comfort of your car’s ride will get worse—and it will lead to harder wear and tear on your tires. Your shocks and struts are an essential aspect of Mercedes repair. Some systems use electronics to control the absorption of the shocks. These are much trickier to fix, you will definitely want to contact a specialized Mercedes mechanic. If you own a Mercedes that’s less than 10 years old, should take it to Cincinnati Mercedes repair experts like European Auto Specialists.
Mercedes shocks are built to last and don’t damage easy, but if there is a problem, it’s best to address it right away as failing shocks or struts can greatly affect the performance of your vehicle and lead to more expensive problems down the line.
Are they Shocks or Struts: What is the Difference?
Both shocks and struts are found on all types of passenger vehicle. While both take care of similar functions, they are different from one another. Shocks primarily are designed to take care of the quality of your car’s ride. They absorb some of the shock of your tire hitting a pothole on a Cincinnati road, so your ride is smoother and the car isn’t jolted as hard.
That’s not to say that struts don’t also improve the ride. But they also incredibly important to the structural integrity of your car’s suspension. They both help to absorb the shocks and make sure that the tire is sitting where it is supposed to be. If you remove a shock from your Mercedes, you wouldn’t want to drive the car, but it would still be sitting on all 4 wheels. If you remove a strut, you have a major structural problem.
Many cars have a combination of both shocks and struts, with some having shocks on the front and struts on the back or vice versa.
Going For A Roll: How Are Your Shocks Feeling Today?
A good indication of shocks that are wearing out is if you ride in the back seat and it feels like you are a boat on rough seas. When your car is parked, you can easily check the integrity of your shocks using the bounce test. Stand outside your car and press down hard on one of the corners of the car, allowing it to spring back up before pressing down again, doing this multiple times so that the car is really bouncing. Once the car is really going, stop and see how long it takes for it to settle again. If your shocks are still good, it should, according to the Seattle Times, “come back up once and stop immediately, and not oscillate.” Your Mercedes should stop bouncing almost as soon as you finish making it bounce. If it keeps going, it’s time to call your Mercedes mechanic.
Avoid Generic Replacement Parts for Mercedes Repair
Resist the temptation to take the cheap route and replace your shocks and struts on your Mercedes with a generic alternative. The shocks and struts built specifically for Mercedes have a special design which is better able to handle all of the demands that any Mercedes owner will put on their high-performance vehicles. Genuine Mercedes parts may be more expensive, but are well worth the investment when it comes to Mercedes repair.
