We've owned this car since new and since new the right front side has been secreting some kind of fluid which covers the right front wheel. The dealer says it's brake dust. I've pointed out that the other 3 wheels have "brake dust" ie the kind that when you run your index finger over, leaves a mark where the dust once was. However when doing same to the right front wheel you get some brake dust but the sticky discolored material remains on the wheel. In fact, using Meguiar's wheel cleaner doesn't touch it, not without a brush. When I picked the car up after it's 20,000 mile warranty service, once things warmed up just a few miles from the dealer, I couldn't help but hear the familiar hum of wheel bearing noise. I took it back and pointed out that the "mystery fluid" was no longer seeping because, in all probability, most of it was now gone, replaced instead by the hum of bearing noise. The service desk writer got in, heard the noise after rolling just 60 feet and said you're right. Later that afternoon the Service Manager, the fellow who oversees all of this kind of business, called to tell me it was the tires. He didn't see any leaks because A. most of the seeping is over B. he failed to look at the pictures I'd provided. Never mind he got in the car after it'd been sitting and went for a quick spin. Last year, while waiting for a ride at this same dealership I couldn't help but notice our exact model exhibiting the exact same problem on only the right front wheel. I hand wash our cars for a range of reasons... one being to keep an eye out for preventative maintenance. Being in the minority I'm probably among the few then who have noted this business w/ the right front wheel. I returned to the dealer a few days ago for a one on one w/ their house expert, a great mechanic w/ 38 yrs experience. That said, Rick couldn't hear anything and to be fair, when I had my hearing checked at 55 they said "very normal hearing... for your age group." So I have this fellow whose been around air hammers for 38 years and I'm not surprised he can't hear anything. He has me speed up and then blames tire noise! He also said that these models are poorly insulated. Hmmmm... our Toyota 4Runner w/ mud/snow tires is quieter as are the Audi A6 and perhaps "of course" the Benz. Volvo NA says not to worry, that since I've been documenting the problem they'll honor any/all repairs to that issue... but who wants to drive around til the wheel falls off?
Am I the only one w/ this problem? Note, I have worked on cars before, rebuilt lots of brakes, replaced wheel bearings, worked on an F2 team in Europe etc., so not flying entirely blind here. Looking forward to any input. If I'm able I'll attach a picture. Looks like I may be in luck w/ the attachments. Note the one with the tile floor ... that was taken in the dealers checkout area. They wash it prior to returning it to you (a nice thing) but their car wash didn't touch the right front wheel which, told me one more thing. I'd asked them to rotate the wheels and said I would pay for it. Clearly wasn't done!