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Passenger van loud rattles

26K views 46 replies 24 participants last post by  stiksandstones 
#1 ·
New passenger van. Took the seats out because the dealer said the noises were from the seats. Not so. Rattles like a hammer knocking around but appears to come from the tailgate area. Jack and tools are wrapped up in towels and secure. Not the cause. Will be going back and forth to the dealer until they acknowledge it and fix it. Dealer says, "This is a cargo van and they make noise." No one pays $44k for a cargo van. This is a passenger van and shouldn't rattle!
 
#2 ·
I'd say you need to isolate a condition in which you can make it happen. Does it only happen when you stop hard, accelerate hard, or hit a bump for example. Then find a spot in near the dealer where it does it reliably. Once you have that you probably can get someone from the dealership to go for a right with you so they can hear it. If it is not reproducible it is going to be very hard to get the dealer to fix anything.

I assume you've already crawled under to have a look for anything loose or miss aligned.
 
#5 ·
We fixed it! My husband drove while I lay inside with my head against the inside tailgate. When I pressed on the black paneling on the tailgate at the corners and the middle, the rattles stopped. We took rubber window insulation and slipped it between the lower panel edge almost all the way across the tailgate. The noises which were really loud, disappeared. So much for the service department telling me that all vans rattle!
 
#11 ·
In October I test drove a Metris Cargo van demo that Mercedes Benz of Seattle had in stock for the Seattle Auto Show. The salesman went with my on my test drive. The first thing I noticed when I pulled out from the dealership was an annoying rattle coming from the upper left driver side door. I told the salesman that if I were to order a new Metris and it rattled like that I would be bringing it back to the dealer right away. His reply was, "and you should, no Mercedes should rattle like that".

I ended up ordering my Metris after that test drive and I am happy to say so far no rattles. I do need to put some foam discs in the center console cup holders as I tend to set loose change, keys, glasses, & stuff in them and with the hard plastic loose items like that will make a racket.
 
#12 ·
Follow-up after a month: They fixed everything after we showed them our temporary solutions (putting rubber window insulation under the rear door inside panel top, bottom and sides. The also adjusted the striker and the hinge fittings. Works great now! My advice: keep complaining until it's fixed correctly.
On a side note, learned that the van is made in Germany then disassembled, shipped to Atlanta and reassembled! Lots of room for things to go wrong in this process.
 
#13 ·
Actually, the van is built in Vitoria-Gasteez, Spain. (Hence its world name, Vito) passenger vans are not disassembled, they are prepped for sea transport, RORO'd onto a boat, and prepped for sale in Ladson, South Carolina.

Cargo vans are built in Spain, test driven, cerfied, sent to Germany, the drive train and a few other things are removed,, the van and the parts are loaded into seperate containers, the containers put on seperate ships, and are sent to Ladson where the same exact parts are then re-installed on its original van. It is then sent to your dealership. This avoids a 25% tax on commercial vehicles (which includes windowless vans) known as the Chicken Tax. And yeah, it includes a lot of room for error, especially American assembly workers.
 
#20 ·
Any MB service advisory on this rattle, rumble problem?

I have a loud resonant rattle or rumble once my cargo van is very warm and usually going between 40-55 mph usually begins with deceleration--sounds something like a small 18-wheeler with Jake brakes. Had it in to MB 2x. The catalytic converter shield is tight. You can feel the rattle when it's going by putting a hand on the floor panel on the passenger side above the converter. Does anyone know about a specific service advisory on this?
 
#21 ·
Admins: I would move Mark's post to a new topic. I suspect it is a mechanical issue rather than a relatively cosmetic rattle like what others are experiencing.

Anyway, I have a theory, which I would like you to try if you have a van with the steering wheel buttons. Under the main screen (the one that displays mileage) toggle to the "distance remaining" screen with the fuel economy bar. Drive your van around, warm it up, and then see if this noise corresponds to that bar either going to the "80 mpg" level or (I think this more likely) the "charge" level.

The M274 has a system similar to what GM once referred to as a "mild hybrid", although nobody refers to this type of system as a hybrid anymore. It is a type of regenerative energy recovery system- when the car reaches a point where the power requirements for the current circumstances no longer require the engine (e.g. during deceleration or going down a hill) the fuel injectors are shut off, and the engine pumps air- thats when the bar reaches the "80 mpg" end of itself. When even more power is being generated than is needed, the wasted mechanical motion is used to charge the (regular) battery- which is what that bar means when it reaches "charge".

What this system primarily does is frees the engine of the need to charge the battery and provide electrical current to the system, thereby reducing parasitic losses from the electrical system. The alternator engages only when the system is not providing adequate charging for its needs. I suspect you are having an issue when one of those systems is engaging, and slight deceleration at highway speed when the engine is warmed (the system is less active when the engine is cold, because it runs less efficiently to more quickly heat up various systems) is the only time that the problem is audible to you. If I am right you will also hear it if you really listen to it whenever you are gently braking with the car warm.
 
#23 ·
Greenmanedlion, I tested it this morning on a cross-town drive and watched the screen many times indicate 80 mpg and go to full charge without hearing the rumble/rattle. When I did hear the noise, it was during a low-mileage indication on the screen. I have to revise my description slightly of when the noise happens. I now hear it happen at lower speeds, but it's not as loud as at higher speed.
 
#25 ·
I see. Any suggestion of where to look? The heat shield is tight. The exhaust system has what seems to be lots of sideways play, but it also looks like the exhaust system mounts are designed for it. The noise seems to be coming from the passenger side of the undercarriage and you can feel the vibration of the rattle from the inside on the floor above the catalytic converter. Any suggestions on what to check?
 
#27 ·
Have done. It took quite a long ride with the shop foreman because the noise only happens when it's very hot and it is loudest coming off the freeway, so we were a long way out of town. Happily, he was patient and heard it loud and clear. If I understand him correctly, he found that there is a service bulletin out on it and the problem is in what he called the "middle muffler." That part should arrive in a couple of days and I'll let you know if this cures the problem. Thanks for your advice.
 
#28 ·
Lets hope it resolves the issue, my 8 pass is too quite, so I hear every rattle, squeak, pebble, on the other hand, our Cargo I cant hear anything, the road noise of driving a empty can is so audible that I have to stop to take a call on my hands free. So, can't win either way. Since these vans have been in production for so long, I would expect them to be issue free, as my Vito was. Maybe the Vans going to the USA being dis-assembled and re-assembled, may cause issues, as out of 9 we had through our shop, they all have been basically problem free. But in Canada they come direct, chicken tax free.
 
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