salis

Hi guys,

Yesterday a red "ABC Malfunction, Stop Vehicle" came up on my 2008 CL500's screen (the day before it was the milder yellow version) and I discovered a very big leak of what appears to be the ABC liquid underneath the car. I checked with my pocket car diagnostic tool and the 2 errors relating to the suspension are "Malfunction in pressure supply" and "Pressure check of system". I am planning to visit my local garage, but the big question I have is - is it safe to drive the car (for c. 20 minutes)?
If I drive the car, will the issue get worse?
I know ABC issues can be expensive to fix, but I am hoping mine can be fixed by replacing a corroding/faulty hose (am I wrong?). So it would be a shame if I made the issue worse by driving the car.
Also, I have not noticed (yet) the car height dropping - hopefully it stays like this.
And a last question - should I top up the ABC liquid before driving to my local garage? Would that make it less likely for the ABC system to get worse while driving?

Thanks a lot!

steveb9771

Ideally your vehicle should be towed to a repair facility. Further driving may cause the hydraulic pump to fail which is very expensive (approx $2000) since this pump and the power steering pump are contained within a single unit. Without ABC operating, your vehicle has no shock absorbers and can suffer major damage if you hit any bumps in the road. If the failure was caused by a ruptured hose under the hood, it is likely that the serpentine fan belt has been soaked with hydraulic fluid and will also need replacement. If your are lucky, the repair could cost as little as one thousand dollars.

2014CL600

What was your outcome?

GMBALL

Had exactly the same problem. I decided to drive it, but after 10 minutes it completely dropped, so it had to be towed anyway. In my case it was a faulty hose, relatively cheap repair bill - about 800 dollars.