I was turning into a main road from side street and it was dark and my left front wheel caught the median went up and landed safely but the impact made the wheel go up and touch tire guard which came off and fell on street. card drives fine. Its a mercedes e500 4 matic with 150K miles. That left front i.e. driver side has a brand new strut put in 5K miles ago. so took the impact. But wondering if there could be any expected damage. Its driving fine. should I think of a wheel alignment? The steeringwheel stays steady event at 100mph I dont see any pulling. Any advice
I wouldn’t do anything unless there’s a change in how the vehicle feels/drives, and if there are no noises.
Tester
1 Like
If unsure, take it to pro for an on-lift inspection.
Your incident reminds me of the time I witnessed a driver somehow get their wheels on each side of a raised median. Camry I think. At night, they probably didn’t see the median. Big streams of sparks were shooting out from the bottom of the car hitting the top surface of the median. Driver seemed unconcerned … until car stopped moving forward at all b/c all four wheels off the ground … on the plus side, the front tires were still spinning … lol …
If nothing appears bent and drives fine, I’d dismiss it. But best practice is to replace both struts at the same time.
On a dark and rainy night I drove up onto the landscape curb at the convenience store. Made a scraping noise and had to gun it to get it free. But when I got home I noticed there was a heavy steel plate underneath that took all the abuse.
Probably nothing but on a MB E500, unknown age, with 150,000 miles, I’d definately have it checked out by someone who knows what their doing.
Not knowing the age but given the mileage and assuming it’s over 10 years old, I’d be concerned about the state of the bushings and every other wear point.
The mileage is getting up there and life can get very exciting when your steering/suspension decides to crap out on you at 70 mph or negotiating a a tight turn.
Seriously, do you really want to explain to your wife and kids why your’re turned over turtle because you were too cheap to have it evaluated by a mechanic?
2 Likes
yes I do want it completely checked. Its a 2005 model.But been maintained by MB dealer single owner. Driver side strut was recently changed. That took the brunt. The next service is coming up and I want it to be completely checked at that time. What about alignment? No one commented on it? I dont see any pull but still???
Yes have the alignment checked, that should be done at least ever year anyway…
Of course have the alignment checked, if only to avoid premature wear on what are probably fairly expensive tires BUT from your description you had a pretty significant “bump” on what’s probably an “older car”.
Quality alignment equipment is expensive, requires regular maintenance and operator skill to do it right so take it to a competant shop and while it’s there, explain the circumstances and ask them to take a look.
A professional mechanic/shop will do this anyway and refuse to do an alignment on a damaged/worn suspension but I’ve seen others who will simply take the money and wave good bye.