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One of the main selling points for Mercedes Benz is in their ability to offer comfort and high performance at the same time. This they can do thanks to the superior workmanship that goes into manufacturing the brand’s vehicles.

When issues like differential failure happen in your Mercedes, it’s understandable to feel shortchanged. Many Mercedes owners have had to deal with differential failure issues at some point in the course of their driving. These issues happen for a number of reasons. When they occur, you’ll need the best shop in San Rafael to help you fix the issue.

The differential in your Mercedes is what enables the transfer of power from the engine to the wheels to propel the car forward at different speeds. The differential also allows the four wheels to move at different speeds. This makes it easy for the car to make turns while you’re driving, ensuring you enjoy consistently high performance driving throughout.

The differential makes thousands of turns per minute with the weight of the vehicle on it. This puts a strain on this component. In Mercedes Benz, this can wear out faster than most people expect, even with a regular servicing schedule for your car.

Causes of Differential Failure

Differential failure is often a result of wear and tear. Considering the heavy weight that is constantly on the differential as it runs, it’s not uncommon for tiny metal shavings to shear off the gears. When this happens, these shavings end up in the differential fluid.

Unfortunately the differential fluid has no filter that can remove these metal shavings from the differential fluid. The metal shavings in the differential fluid can damage the differential system, causing extensive problems for the other smaller components in it’s unit.

Another cause of differential failure is overheating of the liquid that lubricated it. Considering how many turns it makes in a minute, the differential fluid can sometimes get extremely hot to the extent that it compromises the lubricating fluid. When the quality of the differential fluid deteriorates, it will not be able to reduce friction in the differential parts. As a result, there will be a lot of resistance in the turning of the differential to transfer power to the wheels. Because of this, you should get the differential fluid in your Mercedes changed after the recommended number of miles. It also doesn’t hurt to have your mechanic look into the differential even if you haven’t reached that mileage.

Signs of Differential Failure

When your Mercedes suffers differential failure, you’ll notice a few signs pointing to the problem. Some of these include uneven wear in the tires. You’ll notice that one or two of your tires will wear out faster than others. This is a sign that the weight of the vehicle isn’t evenly distributed, as the differential ensures equal distribution to maintain the stability of the vehicle. The wheels may also be spinning faster while corning, causing them to wear out faster.

Differential failure will also cause poor handling of the road, which can be quite dangerous when driving. Because the differential enables the wheels to spin at different speeds to enable smooth turning, if this isn’t possible, you may make a hard turn which might end in an accident in some cases.

Another sign of differential failure is excessive vibrations from worn out universal joints in the differentials. These vibrations often become more pronounced when you’re accelerating.

The other sign that you’ll experience that can point to differential failure is the whining & grinding noises from the differential. These noises are usually as a result of poor lubrication and worn out gears rubbing against each other.

Heynneman European: The Best Repairs in San Rafael

If you’re in San Rafael, the best repair shop to get Mercedes Differential Repair the differential failure in your Mercedes fixed is Heynneman European. We have been in the business of providing high quality repairs to owners of European model owners to drivers in Larkspur, Kentfield, Corte, Mill Valley, San Anselmo, Fairfax, and San Rafael, CA.

At Heynneman European, you can rest assured that our ASE certified mechanics will fix your differential issues quickly and affordably. Call us today if you suspect that you have differential and other problems and we’ll get you sorted.

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