newmexico_amg

Today, I took a right turn in my CLS55 and began hearing a high-pitched squealing noise coming from my driver-side front-wheel area.

Luckily, I was only a block away from my office, so I pulled into the parking lot to investigate.

I got out of the car and immediately noticed that my front-end was basically slammed to the ground as the high-pitched squealing noise continued (it's that high-pitched sound you hear when you slowly let air out of a balloon).

I turned off the car, waited a few minutes, and re-started it. I got the "Car is Rising, Please Wait Briefly" notice on my dash and I stepped out and watched as my front end would lift up for a brief moment only to fall again while that high-pitched squealing noise filled my ears.

I am pretty damn sure my air strut(s) or the hose & connection assembly that delivers air to the strut are shot and that's why my front end won't lift high enough to drive. MY SPECIFIC QUESTION IS THIS: Because I can hear that obvious "high-pitched squealing" air noise when the front end falls, does this mean that it's probably a leaky hose as opposed to the strut itself? Or does common experience point to the strut itself in this situation?

I'd really appreciate your guys' help on this one. Thanks in advance.

Wasabiz55

It's possible that the strut is leaking but just enough to be ae to hold a little bit of air in to lift the car. Chances that the hose is the culprit is slim unless it's been tampered/moved between the pump (which is in front of the driver side front wheel) to the connection at the top of the strut itself. I ends up ordering a new set of front struts from Arnott when mine decided to leak before a long trip. If you are handy, this job is fairly doable at home. There's a write up here for it.
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/282772-i-know-there-s-lot-concern-over-failed-airmatic-components-there-any.html

newmexico_amg

Thanks Buddy. I'm taking it to an independent mechanic tomorrow morning to make sure it's indeed the strut(s). I fully expect purchasing both struts from Arnott to be replaced.

I just never heard or read anyone complaining about that high pitched noise, so thought I'd check.