Rear suspension problem on 2006 CLS 55 AMG
12-29-2014, 02:35 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Rear suspension problem on 2006 CLS 55 AMG
The rear suspension on my 2006 CLS 55 AMG continues to drop.
Over the past couple weeks the rear would occasionally drop after being parked for 2 to 4 days without use. There was one incident about 3 weeks ago when I went to the body shop to repair the mesh grill on the front bumper. We raised the car on the hoist lift to work on it - in order to get the lift arms under it we had to raise he car into " high " mode.
We set the car back on the ground and put back the switch to normal height mode. While the car was lowering itself, the back suspension started to make some weird " crack, crack" noises and lowered in a "jerky " manner. I have never experienced this before as it is always very smooth and controlled.
Anyway, it settled into normal height mode and performed as normal.
Over the course of the preceding days up until Christmas Eve, the rear of the car would drop right down after not using it for 3 or 4 days but would pump right back up when I start it and remain in normal mode under use. It is only if I did not drive it for over 2 days would it drop. There was one day when it did drop the following morning after about 10hrs though.
This is what happened on Christmas Eve.
Earlier that day I had driven about 70 miles with no problems. Went to S'Fdo, came back up , went east etc.
Later that evening I had to go out again.
I had the car in "Comfort" setting while driving on a bumpy road in Cascade ( I always have it in "Sport 1" for normal every-day driving) and raised the suspension in order to enter a steep incline so that the under side of the front bumper would not be damaged.
The left rear wheel came off the ground while attempting to turn up into the incline and I had to do three attempts in order to get traction as the car does not have a "limited slip differential" and only the left rear wheel is the drive wheel.
I parked on a very, very steep incline for about an hour.
After leaving, while back on level ground, I returned the car to normal height and that was when the fun began.
After driving about 1/2 mile the red warning message " Stop vehicle, car too low" came on.
I stopped and came out to see what the matter was. The rear suspension was almost completely lowered while the front was at normal height. I pressed the switch to raise the suspension to "high" level but no luck - the back would only raise a little bit but not enough to enable me to drive - Tried it a couple times - no luck. Called a tow truck. Well guess what happened ?, as soon as they were about to hook-up the car, the suspension raised itself to normal height ( not 'High") - bear in mind that the car was running all this time while waiting for the tow truck and that the height adjust switch was on "high". I decided not to risk it by driving home and opted to tow the car back home. The car remained in normal height mode overnight until next morning ( 12 hrs ) and about an hour after checking on it, it had dropped again.
I started the car, it raised itself to normal height mode.
I then decided to switch it to the "high" setting and see if it would drop again .
From 9.00am Thursday - Christmas Day to 11.00pm the following night Friday,( 38hrs ) it remained in the high position without dropping. I decided to return it to "normal" ride height that night.
The next morning ( Saturday) - it had dropped again - less than 7 hrs after I put it back into "normal" mode.
I put it back into " high " mode (on Saturday at 9.00am ) and it has not dropped since ( over 48hrs ) .
I have also not driven the car since Christmas Eve.
I don't know if a sensor is malfunctioning or what. It only seems to be leaking/ dropping when it is reset in normal height mode.
It would seem to appear that the problem occurs whenever I switch to "High" and then back to " Low" and is probably triggered when the rear suspension is "extended".
I am going to set it back in "normal" position now to see if it drops by tonight.
Any suggestions from anyone as to what is happening ?
Over the past couple weeks the rear would occasionally drop after being parked for 2 to 4 days without use. There was one incident about 3 weeks ago when I went to the body shop to repair the mesh grill on the front bumper. We raised the car on the hoist lift to work on it - in order to get the lift arms under it we had to raise he car into " high " mode.
We set the car back on the ground and put back the switch to normal height mode. While the car was lowering itself, the back suspension started to make some weird " crack, crack" noises and lowered in a "jerky " manner. I have never experienced this before as it is always very smooth and controlled.
Anyway, it settled into normal height mode and performed as normal.
Over the course of the preceding days up until Christmas Eve, the rear of the car would drop right down after not using it for 3 or 4 days but would pump right back up when I start it and remain in normal mode under use. It is only if I did not drive it for over 2 days would it drop. There was one day when it did drop the following morning after about 10hrs though.
This is what happened on Christmas Eve.
Earlier that day I had driven about 70 miles with no problems. Went to S'Fdo, came back up , went east etc.
Later that evening I had to go out again.
I had the car in "Comfort" setting while driving on a bumpy road in Cascade ( I always have it in "Sport 1" for normal every-day driving) and raised the suspension in order to enter a steep incline so that the under side of the front bumper would not be damaged.
The left rear wheel came off the ground while attempting to turn up into the incline and I had to do three attempts in order to get traction as the car does not have a "limited slip differential" and only the left rear wheel is the drive wheel.
I parked on a very, very steep incline for about an hour.
After leaving, while back on level ground, I returned the car to normal height and that was when the fun began.
After driving about 1/2 mile the red warning message " Stop vehicle, car too low" came on.
I stopped and came out to see what the matter was. The rear suspension was almost completely lowered while the front was at normal height. I pressed the switch to raise the suspension to "high" level but no luck - the back would only raise a little bit but not enough to enable me to drive - Tried it a couple times - no luck. Called a tow truck. Well guess what happened ?, as soon as they were about to hook-up the car, the suspension raised itself to normal height ( not 'High") - bear in mind that the car was running all this time while waiting for the tow truck and that the height adjust switch was on "high". I decided not to risk it by driving home and opted to tow the car back home. The car remained in normal height mode overnight until next morning ( 12 hrs ) and about an hour after checking on it, it had dropped again.
I started the car, it raised itself to normal height mode.
I then decided to switch it to the "high" setting and see if it would drop again .
From 9.00am Thursday - Christmas Day to 11.00pm the following night Friday,( 38hrs ) it remained in the high position without dropping. I decided to return it to "normal" ride height that night.
The next morning ( Saturday) - it had dropped again - less than 7 hrs after I put it back into "normal" mode.
I put it back into " high " mode (on Saturday at 9.00am ) and it has not dropped since ( over 48hrs ) .
I have also not driven the car since Christmas Eve.
I don't know if a sensor is malfunctioning or what. It only seems to be leaking/ dropping when it is reset in normal height mode.
It would seem to appear that the problem occurs whenever I switch to "High" and then back to " Low" and is probably triggered when the rear suspension is "extended".
I am going to set it back in "normal" position now to see if it drops by tonight.
Any suggestions from anyone as to what is happening ?
12-13-2020, 02:31 AM
#3
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Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Central Queensland
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2005 CLS55
So if it were a leaking bag wouldn't it drop one side quicker than the other side ? Why can it not be the ride height sensor or distribution block up the front ?
