Not impressed with Airmatic
#1
Not impressed with Airmatic
Our Airmatic system on our GL seems like a weak point on the car. We first got occasional airmatic malfunction messages which the dealer could not reproduce. To their credit, it went away for a few weeks.
Today, I noticed the front suspension is completely lowered to with 1 finger gap between the fender and tire. Few drops of black fluid on the garage floor which I'm assuming is from airmatic compressor. See picture from my last post.
Car is 2011, 14K miles. I'm not impressed with the airmatic so far. It's a good thing we got the 7/100 extended warranty.
Today, I noticed the front suspension is completely lowered to with 1 finger gap between the fender and tire. Few drops of black fluid on the garage floor which I'm assuming is from airmatic compressor. See picture from my last post.
Car is 2011, 14K miles. I'm not impressed with the airmatic so far. It's a good thing we got the 7/100 extended warranty.
#2
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E55, GLS450, GL63, GLE350
It certainly is the weak spot in our cars much like the weak spot in my CL600 was the ABC suspension. I've had to replace two struts on the GL. One was in the front and one in the rear but both were on the drivers side.
#3
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2013 GL450 (traded for 2015 Escalade), 2012 Corvette, 2014 Ford Fusion, Previous: 2007 GL450, 2011
Our Airmatic system on our GL seems like a weak point on the car. We first got occasional airmatic malfunction messages which the dealer could not reproduce. To their credit, it went away for a few weeks.
Today, I noticed the front suspension is completely lowered to with 1 finger gap between the fender and tire. Few drops of black fluid on the garage floor which I'm assuming is from airmatic compressor. See picture from my last post.
Car is 2011, 14K miles. I'm not impressed with the airmatic so far. It's a good thing we got the 7/100 extended warranty.
Today, I noticed the front suspension is completely lowered to with 1 finger gap between the fender and tire. Few drops of black fluid on the garage floor which I'm assuming is from airmatic compressor. See picture from my last post.
Car is 2011, 14K miles. I'm not impressed with the airmatic so far. It's a good thing we got the 7/100 extended warranty.
#4
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2010 GLK " SOLD", 2008 GL550 "LOADED", 2001 Volkswagen GTI VR6 "SOLD", 2000 E-320, 2004 Audit TT
I agree that it is a weak point.... however.... I owned a 2007 GL and now a 2011 Gl and never had an issue with the suspension. The very nature of the system ( air pressure and rubber bladders ) lends itself to reliability issues.... but like everything else in this world ( regardless of price ) you can get flawless examples or be the one who gets the mistakes. Guess I better go "knock on wood!"
#5
I did a search and the issues has been around for a while. You would think MB would have fixed it by now. Our car is in california and lightly driven by my wife (no towing, rough terrain, climate, etc).
It's kind of funny to see the GL with the front suspension bottomed out. There's barely a finger gap.
It's kind of funny to see the GL with the front suspension bottomed out. There's barely a finger gap.
#6
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2019 AMG GLE 63S
I don't know much about the tech details of the components, but I know if something isn't used enough it can erode and not work when called upon. I push the "raise" and "lower" buttons while driving every so often to keep the mechanical components used and lubricated. Might help might not ...... But, it can't hurt.
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#8
Junior Member
Boy... I don't like hearing about this problem... I just bought a GL just for the Airmatic system... wasn't on any ML's... MB better get their act together on this one... This is my 2nd MB and I'm glad that I have never had any problems... But I believe the true character of a company comes out when you have a problem...
GL dougpark714...
GL dougpark714...
#10
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2011 GL450, '06 R500 traded, '08 ML350 sold
I don't know much about the tech details of the components, but I know if something isn't used enough it can erode and not work when called upon. I push the "raise" and "lower" buttons while driving every so often to keep the mechanical components used and lubricated. Might help might not ...... But, it can't hurt.
#11
Car rises and lowers automatically depending on conditions. But honestly, I'm not sure if it's really necessary. Once, our rear door got stuck in our garage since the car lowered after opening the door against the wall. I had to manually raise it to close the door.
Car is in the shop today. The only upside is I got a brand new E class as the loaner with the new nav and active driver seat. The new nav is similar to the C class but seems nicer. The active driver seat is very cool.
Will keep you guys posted.
Car is in the shop today. The only upside is I got a brand new E class as the loaner with the new nav and active driver seat. The new nav is similar to the C class but seems nicer. The active driver seat is very cool.
Will keep you guys posted.
#12
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2019 AMG GLE 63S
It's not an issue to drive with the airmatic raised, but be mindful of the center of gravity issue. At a certain speed (30 MPH?), the vehicle automatically lowers itself to the correct level depending on the load of the vehicle.
#13
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2011 GL450 P2, Appearance Pkg, Leather. 2012 C250, P1, Sport, AMG Wheels, Panorama Sunroof.
i actually think it is just above 40 mph.
#14
Dealer replaced the airmatic compressor. The airmatic compressor fuse was also blown.
The leak was not related. It came from an engine mount. SA was surprised to see an engine mount leak after only 1 year / 14K miles.
They are keeping the car overnight and will double check the work tomorrow.
The leak was not related. It came from an engine mount. SA was surprised to see an engine mount leak after only 1 year / 14K miles.
They are keeping the car overnight and will double check the work tomorrow.
#15
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2010 GLK " SOLD", 2008 GL550 "LOADED", 2001 Volkswagen GTI VR6 "SOLD", 2000 E-320, 2004 Audit TT
Dealer replaced the airmatic compressor. The airmatic compressor fuse was also blown.
The leak was not related. It came from an engine mount. SA was surprised to see an engine mount leak after only 1 year / 14K miles.
They are keeping the car overnight and will double check the work tomorrow.
The leak was not related. It came from an engine mount. SA was surprised to see an engine mount leak after only 1 year / 14K miles.
They are keeping the car overnight and will double check the work tomorrow.
#16
Got the car back. Everything is back to normal.
Replaced airmatic compressor, replaced burnt fuse, pump relay, leaking engine mount, and steering wheel wiring connector (came loose and was causing noise when turning wheel), replaced both batteries on keyless go fobs.
Yikes! On the plus side, the dealer was very detailed and addressed all issues and kept the car an extra day to confirm. Plus, I really enjoyed the active, massage seats on the new E. The seat applies negative, lateral pressure to help support you during hard turns. It's hard to explain but it's nice. The full massage feature (back and neck) is very nice during longer drives. I would get this feature if it becomes available in the future.
I'm only a year into the car but I'm glad I got the 7/100 extended warranty. The airmatic and engine mount issues would have been very, very costly to diagnose and fix out of pocket.
Replaced airmatic compressor, replaced burnt fuse, pump relay, leaking engine mount, and steering wheel wiring connector (came loose and was causing noise when turning wheel), replaced both batteries on keyless go fobs.
Yikes! On the plus side, the dealer was very detailed and addressed all issues and kept the car an extra day to confirm. Plus, I really enjoyed the active, massage seats on the new E. The seat applies negative, lateral pressure to help support you during hard turns. It's hard to explain but it's nice. The full massage feature (back and neck) is very nice during longer drives. I would get this feature if it becomes available in the future.
I'm only a year into the car but I'm glad I got the 7/100 extended warranty. The airmatic and engine mount issues would have been very, very costly to diagnose and fix out of pocket.