Front Suspension Lower Ball Joint problems of the 1999 Mercedes Benz E Class

While driving car on a local excursion of approximately 30 miles, I noticed that the steering wheel no longer lined up strait. Toward the end of the trip, I noted what seemed like steering irregularities, then a rubbing/ whining noise coming from the front left. After arriving home after dark, I could smell hot rubber. Also the left front tire was hot to the touch. The next morning, I removed my front left tire to inspect the area. I found the end of the lower control arm cracked open from the bottom and bent upward. The control arm is hollow and appeared to have rusted from the inside out, which apparently caused the failure. The lower ball joint was bent inward and the drivers side front of the car was lower than the passenger side. During my travels, I had not hit any bumps to cause such damage. Had this broken all the way through, I would likely have lost control of the vehicle. I feel very lucky. After an online search, I found two other incidents of this happening in this model mercedes. Also, my independent mercedes repair shop has seen this failure before.