Front Suspension Coil Spring problems of the 1996 Mercedes Benz E320

I was driving down a back road in my 1996 mercedes E320 when I heard a bang and the passenger front side dropped. The front coil spring had popped out. If I had been going any faster I would have lost control of the car. I have heard that the front coil spring mounts in this model corrode due to improper undercoating.

I recently heard a loud pop from the front of my car while traveling at highway speed. I stopped to inspect the noise and found that the car was slightly leaning to the right. Not seeing anything on the roadside, I drove it home slowly to inspect further. Information I read online informed me of a design flaw involving the failure of spot welds that attach the front, top coil spring perch to the chassis. Upon deeper inspection I found my r side spring perch welds were 80% failed and the force of the coil spring had bent the spring perch up 45 deg. From normal. Evidently the noise I heard were the welds breaking! the coil spring was bulging outward, about to pop out. Thankfully, the spot welds did not fully let go on this curvy road. If they had fully failed at highway speeds the car most certainly would have lost control and death could have been the result. I called the dealership and they offered to weld a new spring perch in for $440. The l side had already been corrected by a previous owner. I have photos and the failed part in my possession. I was totally unaware of this problem when I bought the car. I had it inspected but the defect was missed. At a minimum, owners of this make, year and model should be contacted and warned of this problem. The manufacturer should recall and repair at no charge.

1996 Mercedes Benz E320. Front suspension collapsed due to faulty spring perch. This seems to be a common problem among w210 chassis vehicles.

Highway driving 45-50 mph when there is a loud clunk from underneath car followed by a slight loss of handling looked in rearview mirror and saw a spring lying in the street. Upon stopping to inspect the vehicle and retrieve the spring I noticed the drivers side front was very low. I looked underneath the car and saw what appeared to be a rusty mangled can. Come to find out it was the spring top mount and it had rusted completely away from the frame. Had to have vehicle towed over 60 miles away to have repaired. Had to have parts re-welded and fabricated at the shop to solve the problem.

Corroded driver side spring housing on 1996 E320 Mercedes Benz. Corroded to the extent that it spring could have dislarged. Reports have been made in other locals that this has occured. Manufacturer contacted and investigating, but hasn't recalled part.

Front coil spring top support corroded and broke away from the body. When driving vehicle became unstable. Currently vehicle cannot be driven. Consumer heard that this was a common problem with the 1996 e class mercedes .

While driving the front left coil spring failed. The coil spring failure caused the consumer to lose control of the vehicle.

The front left upper spring support bracket rusted and bent under normal daily driving conditions, this allowed the spring to become partially exposed.

The front left upper spring support bracket rusted and bent under normal daily driving conditions, this allowed the spring to become partially exposed.