As I was accelerating onto the freeway, I heard a loud noise from my engine. I started losing power steering and my battery charger light kept flashing indicating a problem with the crankshaft pulley. Luckily I was able to get home safely.*ak after safely driving home, I looked under the hood and noticed huge chunks of rubber parts inside. I took the car to the mercedes dealership the next day and was told that the harmonic balancer had been damaged. When the harmonic balancer was damaged, it in turn ruined the oil pan cover and the timing chain cover resulting in a $2500 repair bill. The service manager stated he would write merceds to see if some of the costs can be defrayed and will be getting back to me. I highly doubt any substantial amount will be defrayed by the manufacturer. I am extremely disappointed in mercedes and the e320.
1999 Mercedes Benz E320: loss of power steering
5 of the 83 complaints about the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320 describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- recalls
- 0
Loss of power steering by model year
- 20051
- 20031
- 20011
- 19995
- 19982
- 19961
- 19951
What owners say
During normal operation I experienced total loss of steering assist and the engine quit running. I barely missed hitting several roadside obstacles and was nearly stranded in the middle of a high speed roadway. I am a woman of over 70 years of age and do not have the strength to wrestle a 3000 pound car around without power assist. I had great difficulty maintaining control and avoiding a collision. The car had to be towed nearly 20 miles to the dealership where it was out of service for approximately a month at a cost of $4500.00. The dealership told me that the car had a failure of the harmonic balancer on the engine which destroyed a large number of surrounding parts. The damaged parts were replaced and the balancer was also replaced. The old part has been requested from the dealer.
While driving, power steering fluid leaked. This would cause the vehicle to lose power steering. *ak
1999 mercedes-benz e320t, 60k miles - crankshaft harmonic balancer (damper pulley) failed. Advised by mechanic to replace immediately, so as to avoid loss of multi ribbed-v-belt and concurrent loss of power steering, alternator and water pump function.
The rubber insert in the pulley crankshaft experienced a mechanical failure which resulted in no power steering or brakes. *jb *scc
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320 power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320?
5 of 83 owner complaints about the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320 (6%) mention loss of power steering. The model year with the most reports is 1999.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320?
There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1999 Mercedes Benz E320
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