2017 Melbourne 24L Vibration?

[Vezfly]

All,
Purchased unit new in early May, during acceptance drive noticed vibration in steering wheel. Shop could t get to it that day so got a we owe you from Dixie Rv.

First trip out , had to stop at a Goodyear truck tire store because steeering wheel vibration became so bad. Goodyear put in 4oz. Of counterbalance in each front tire, dampened vibration some and felt it in wheel and seat of pants.

After that trip took it to another Goodyear near house to do counterbalance to all 4 rears.

Now I'm out on A 2 week trip and 1800 miles, vibration will come and go thru steering wheel at a constant speed. I've tried heavy on water and fuel and light, makes no difference.

Jayco says I have to take to MB Sprinter dealer as it could be something else, I notified them that it was ridiculous that delivery driver never mentioned this to dealer: or so I assume.

Any input would be helpful, is it possible the 1200 miles of delivery with this thing vibrating horribly could have messed up tires permanetly? Anything else to look at?

[Pfflyer]

Did the Goodyear shop have a med duty tire balancer center adapter? From what I understand not all tire shops have the adapter for the center of a med duty wheel. It is possible to get it on the machine but you wont get a proper read with a passenger tire balancer.

[Pfflyer]

PS. If you take it to a dealer make sure they service Sprinters. All the ones in my area do now but when I got my first Sprinter only 1 out of 4 dealers did.

[Vezfly]

The good year used this product , Counteract Balancing Beads | The only tire balancing product proven to improve fuel economy., and it helped but not acceptable still.having dealer Bring it Monday to Sprinter . Will advise

[petersrc2]

Vezfly

I had a similar problem when we took delivery of our 2017.
Pfflyer is right.
Take it to someone who balances wheels on MB Sprinters.
I did and now enjoy a SMOOTH ride.
Cheers.
Rudy

[Vezfly]

Thanks - at MBS repair facility now , will advise

[BullDozerBob]

I had the fronts balanced at Les Schwab Tires and I still have a wobble at 62mph.
Waiting to here the outcome with Sprinter.
BullDozerBob

[Vezfly]

Well MBS says the wheels are not what Mercedes Benz delivers on their chassis to Jayco, and are not able to balance. Also all 6 tires have flat spot and have to be replaced along with new wheels that are OEM for this chassis. Will advise how this turns out with Jayco, sounds like they are going to do the right thing. Will advise

[BullDozerBob]

Vezfly
Does your Melbourne have the alloy wheels on the front and outside dual? Others on this thread have had success with Sprinter balance but I wonder if they had alloy wheels!
Our 2017 Melbourne has alloy wheels. I'll be watching for your results.

Thanks for posting.
BullDozerBob

[Vezfly]

This is what I have from MBS today

ALCOA aftermarket wheels will not balance properly. This is a known issue by Mercedes Benz. At this point in time, we are recommending 6 new wheels and then recheck the vibration. Because of the low miles on the tires, we believe they are ok at this time. We will advise after this is done.

[BullDozerBob]

Vezfly
I'm waiting for Jayco to contact the dealer regarding changing the alloys wheels out on our 24K. Been almost a week.
How is your changeout going?

BullDozerBob

[Vezfly]

Just heard from them today after a week, Jayco is sending wheels originally outfitted by MB as well as liners to make the alloys balance. MB won't balance the alloy

As an aside - hellwig sway bar wth sumos on front and rear has been a drastic difference in sway

[petersrc2]

VEZFLY

Oh, the joys of owning a Motorhome ---------i.e. sorting out who (manufacturer, or dealer) take responsibility for correcting issues realized by the Customer.
Fortunately for us, I found a nearby Service Department which specializes in servicing various European vehicles, including Sprinters.
They, balanced the front-mounted Alloys satisfactorily and our Dealer/Jayco "picked up the tab" under warranty.
I don't know whether they used a Mercedes-specific balancer, or a "generic one" ------ I'm pleased that it accomplished the job.

[Vezfly]

Now have the original wheels that are delivered to Jayco. Night and day No vibrating down the road. Jayco warranty did the right thing, great customer service especially Mark S and Randy w

[BullDozerBob]

Vezfly
Glad to hear you got fixed! Jayco is paying for Mercedes to try to balance the alloy wheels b/4 changing out to steel wheels and adding liners. I take it in Friday morning. I just want the steering wheel wobble to go away.
I'll post results either way.

BullDozerBob

[Vezfly]

That is exactly what I had done, it is so nice not to have the wheel vibrate. With the sumo and hellwig combo it's a real treat now. One of my tires was bad(only5k miles) from the vibrating. They did road force balancing. Hope you have the same luck

[smitty690]

We just purchased a melbourne 24k and had the same issue. We finally took it to Discount Tires for correct balancing on the front tires. The technician was very observant and noticed the weights that Mercedes uses are too thick and they were scored from hitting the brake housing. They used a much thinner weight for balancing and the vibration is 99% corrected

[BullDozerBob]

The front end shimmy I had was finally resolved when all the after market wheels were replaced with original steel wheels. There is a known problem when the aluminum wheels are mounted on the front spindles incorrectly it damages the wheel and causes the shimmy. Both Jayco and Alcoa know about the issue. The alloy wheels look nice but to rotate tires the tires must be removed each time from the wheels and remounted.
Plus each time the front wheels are removed from the spindle the risk of damaging the wheels can occur. I spent months chasing this issue. Finally a very sharp employee at Discount tire, after wrestling too long , contacted Alcoa and found out once the wheels were damaged from mounting incorrectly the problem will not go away.
I purchased a spare steel wheel and another Continental tire which will work any where on the Melbourne. That is not an option with the alloy wheels.

BullDozerBob