I just got this car 2 weeks ago. 2003 CL600 with 66k. First it was a check coolant warning. Bought oem coolant and topped it off. Found that after a few days there was a noticeable leak. Looks like it's shaping from lower radiator hose. Leak spontaneously stopped and all was fine. In the next week I got a random ABS/BAS/ESP warning, twice but both times it went away. Read that these cars were notorious for throwing false warnings and being I saw no change in the ride or braking while warning was up, I didn't stress it. Well the other day I get "check coolant level than automatically followed by ABC visit workshop white message. I drive it home, no sagging. Next morning driver front has sagged. I start it up, driver front jumps right back up to level. I raise and lower it a bunch of times and it does it on command with no hesitation. Turn it off, every corner is leveled. Check on it a half hour later, both driver front and rear are sunken into wheel well, passanger rear is sagging but not as badly. Passanger front it at normal height. Red warning "ABC CAR TOO LOW, STOP DO NOT DRIVE." So I'm secretly crying on the inside. Call my Indy and tell him, he says it'll need to be towed so I don't blow the pump. Call MB USA to see if there are any recalls on the car, I just got it. Only campaign on it was in 2004, campaign number 2004070012, but it was supposedly done in 12/2004. I look up campaign number and guess what, it's the engine coolant system and the ABC hydraulic pressure valve and high pressure hose. So now if the work was done and it fails again, is the manufacturer still liable? If not is it likely these failed parts are my current issue?

 

Welcome to the world of abc and v 12 repair bills . Hope you have $5000 to spend

The recalls will not fix the problems you describe

 

Any idea what I'm looking at? I checked the fluid level and I'm good, no noticeable leak of hydraulic fluid anywhere under the car. The car is an 03 with 66k so obviously it wasn't driven often. From what I've read it seems it could be a leaking valve block but which one, being the front passanger is level and the rear passenger is sagging but definitely not like the drivers side which is sunken. Is it possible the O rings have deteriorated from it sitting before sale? Fluid in reservoir looks okay, but under the hood is anything but clean (no detail, dangers of buying out of state and having them shipped). Dirty fluid? These problems couldn't at all be related to the engine cooling and hydraulic valve/high pressure hose recall??

 

Any thoughts on the conversion to regular suspension? I can't find anyone who has personally done this and either recommends or doesn't recommend doing it. I've heard it will change the ride quality but only if you drive like your on the track. I know it's pricy but I'm thinking it might be more economical vs the possibilities of what this system can cost. Also I don't know if it makes a difference, I thought it did originally when I went searching for this car, but I have air suspension, can you explain to someone who is mechanically illiterate how the air suspension works with hydraulic fluid/lines/etc? Hate to be cliché but I'm a girl and I only know what I read really. I thought these cars were either hydraulic or air and I made it a point to look for one that was air to avoid all the problems I had read about with the hydraulic system. Thanks in advance.

 

I believe starting in 2000 all CL models only had the hydraulic ABC system, no air suspension. Only in the S500 did you have a choice. But I am talking CANADA models....USA might be different ??

 

I'm not 100% sure, I had read somewhere some time ago that the models were either air or hydraulic, so when I was finally ready to go buy this car I had been drooling over for so long that was my first question for every dealer I spoke to. I was told this one had air, and it was in great condition(at least I thought) mileage was low. I couldn't resist. I ran the vin on a database I can't remember which one it was and it lists all the specs and it did say air. I just don't understand really where the hydraulic fluid, lines, etc come into play with air suspension. Kinda thought it was one or the other, obviously I was wrong but I'm hoping someone can explain so I can understand the complexity of this system a little better.

 

After a couple days of not running her the front passanger sagged too, but nothing like the driver side. Spoke to my Indy who had originally told me not to run it just incase cause I could blow the pump. He said give it a go. Let her run up to temp and slowly but surely she rose the occasion. ABC TOO LOW MESSAGE cleared and she's been sitting at the same level for a while since shut off. Still a little lower on driver side than on passanger tho. What to make of this?

 

could of been debris in the valve blocks. raising and lowering could have dislodged it. if you have fluid you have abc hydraulic suspension. does your indy have a star diagnostic machine? a must to analyze these cars properly.
good luck

 

Yea he has a Star, all he works on is Benz. It's held its stance except for the driver front which is back to sagging but not sunken (kind of how it started before I played with the level button). Somehow the car is listed as having air, but you're most likely right, my Indy said the same thing but he hasn't seen it yet. I believe it's holding its stance well enough to drive, so I'll update once I get it to him and we have some answers

 

Here's an abbreviated way forwards:
Don't worry, its not that bad.
The cooling and suspension problems are not related.
Neither problem is related to any recall.
Dont' trust everything that your indy says.
Nobody is an expert on everything with every car.
Your car (like all recent '600's) has ABC suspension, which is electro-hydro-mechanical.
It's not air suspension; it's much better than that.
However, its complicated, and few mechanics understand it properly.
You will probably need someone proficient with MB Star diagnostics to fix everything.
The best advice you will get anywhere will be in this thread - we're not just "someone on the internet".
Keeping your cooling and ABC fluid levels topped-up at all times is essential.
If one corner sags, but lifts again on starting, then the pump is OK, and you don't need a trailer.
Biker349 is almost certainly right - you probably have contamination in the valve block (one front, one rear), though it may simply be worn seals.
Raising & lowering the suspension many times may be enough to dislodge the dirt.
Getting a garage with MB STAR to run a "Rodeo" may help, but that's a harsh test that needs good advice and careful consideration first.
Its important to keep the cooling system in good condition.
If you have a failing radiator hose, that's a no-brainer (and maybe the right time for new MB 325.0 anti-freeze).
However, you may have a cracked radiator - not uncommon, but fairly expensive to replace.
Either way, you need a good cooling system, otherwise really bad things happen.
Park with your wheels straight for now.
Help is always here.

Nick

 

Every CL from 2000-2006 is hydraulic abc suspension , not air . Many websites get it wrong

Check the color of your abc fluid and power steering fluid they have separate rubber caps next to each other . Both should be green . If they are brown or black chahge the hydraulic fluid and filters in both resrvoirs with chf11s fluid

 

That was very much appreciated Nick, thank you. I'm assuming the coolant leak is hose related because I can see the coagulation on the seal of the lower radiator hose, just below the sleeve. I'm imagining it swells which stops it temporarily and then shrinks which may make it start again although I have not had any leakage on the ground and I'm not seeing any moisture anywhere at the bottom of the engine compartment. When I noticed the leak it was only after parking that it would occur. I guess it may have started to only leak while being driven and it's burning off. I did top it off with oem and I haven't driven it in a few days but before I take it to the Indy shop, I will check it again. I do plan on having the leak addressed while he has it and I'd imagine a flush and new fluid will be necessary. As far as the ABC, I'm relieved that it's held its stance and I seem to be back where I started with sagging only on the driver front. The Indy did say if I had gotten it to raise with running the engine than to go ahead and drive it to him, so I will be doing so tomorrow as I have to leave it and need someone to follow me out/bring me back. I have checked my fluid in both reservoirs and they do appear to be the right color, the levels are fine as well. Hopefully it is simply the o rings that need replacing and/or some lightly contaminated fluid. Has anyone had any experience using "the abc flush tool?" I think the company is All Things German or something of that nature. If so is it effective? Necessary? Regardless I'll be making sure the fluid is changed. The Rodeo test seems a bit more for entertainment value, it does seem like it can do more harm than good. I was told it wasn't necessary as using the level button is just as effective. I agree these forums are golden, I've learned so much about Mercedes and its complexity from what people here and at benzworld have offered me. As a woman it helps to be informed so even if you can't do the work yourself, no one can take advantage of you either. I agree that all techs aren't going to be experts in everything. I normally take my car to a friend of the family who owns a body shop, but him and his guys are what I consider some of the best mechanics I've ever seen. They have done all my work on my CLK500's. I naturally went to them with this and he very honestly told me that he was not familiar with this system and he referred me to a friend of his who was a Mercedes Master tech, so was his father, opened his own shop and all he works on is Mercedes. According to my normal guy who I trust greatly this guy is the best person possible to be working on this issue. So I'm bringing it to him tomorrow so he can hook it up to the computer and lift it up. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Okay, so my abc sensors are reading backwards. When the car is going up its reading down and vice versa. Tech says they were in properly, at first he said it may be the sensors have gone bad, he played with them and switched them around and he says the sensors are working properly it seems to be the module that isn't reading them right. Anyone else have this happen?

 

Sounds bizare, but maybe that's what they're supposed to do?

This is complicated by the sensors themselves. There are two sensors per wheel:

One measures the position of the wheel relative to the chassis - so that is used to level the chassis. That sensor is in the wheel well, and is conencted to the upper suspension arm by a short link (It's a rather fragile link, by the way. Its worth inspecting to make sure its not damaged, corroded or seized. The consequences of that are fairly bad).

The other sensor is inside the strut itself, and is used to measure the position of the
hydraulic piston, so the ABC system knows how much correction its applying to each wheel. Without that, you might get the funky lizard position, with two diagonally opposite legs in the air. This may be the sensor that's reporting upside-down - I don't know for sure, but will have a play tomorrow.

If your car is raising and lowering normally using the dashboard button, than I'd say the sensors are working OK. If you disconnect one of the level sensors, or damage the mechanism so it reports a bad value, the system will recognise this and shut itself down. If that happens, drive slowly and don't try to adjust the level. Ask me how I know....

Nick

PS. I forgot - I meant to add that the difference between the measurements of the two sensors is the compression of the road spring, which would otherwise be an unknown to the system.

 

Yea he checked all the wiring and connections and he said all appeared well there. He updated the software and that seemed to do the trick on the sensors and they are currently putting out the correct values. With the update, the fault now showing in the system is the rear valve block which makes much more sense according to everything I have read and what has been previously stated here. I'm not familiar with the normal "stance" of these cars but immediately upon my tech seeing it, he said the rear was wrong. I got it and the rear say very high, I thought that was normal. He's saying it's because it is receiving pressure but it isn't releasing it. So it looks like a new block is required, might be possible to clean it, have to see.

 

This was how it sits in the rear, which I thought to be normal but upon looking at a few others it would appear it is much higher

 

Nice car.

Yeah, that's high at the rear. Is that how you got it? It could be that someone tried tried to adjust the suspension ride height using MBStar, and got it wrong.

What happens to the rear ride height when you adjust it between the three different levels?

Nick

 

Thanks!

This is how I got it. I assumed it was supposed to have that stance. I've only had it a few weeks and from the few times I have watched someone raise it or raised it myself, I believe it does go higher but based on what my tech is telling me, it's been locked at this height in the rear so it may raise but won't release enough pressure to go lower. 3 weeks of ownership, not even 100 miles driven and here's the laundry list:
New rear valve block
Clean out front valve block and reinstall
Coolant leak is from the water pump
Rodeo ABC system to flush and replace fluid
Coolant Flush
A Seal or something is leaking on the tranny, he says it's only a $20 clip, he does then all the time
Tranny Service
4 Continnental Extreme Contact DWS 275/35/19 (r) 245/40/19 (f)
Seal from trunk hinge faulty and allowing water in
Brake light switch faulty throwing intermittent ABS/BAS/ESP warning

Grand total: about 6000$ with labor parts and tax

Looks like I'll be drinking early today

 

Looks like my $5000 estimate was about right

 

Much to my dismay, yes. . . Yes you were correct. Extended Warranty time!!!

 

I called the dealer cursing in every language I know, I swear

 

Those are smart repairs; it sounds like your car is in good hands.

The tires, rear valve bock and water pump are just painful expenses

 

I see, I had a bit of a false sense of security or stability in the Mercedes brand. I had two CLK's and my second one gave me an issue with the ESP module but that was it. They're just much less complex than this one apparently, but non the less I adore my CL. Yea she's in good hands, he seems to know his way around her complexity, so I trust him.

 

CLK,

Not sure this will be of help to you but I was in a similar situation. I bought an SL600 with known ABC issues. I feel like I got such a could deal on the car that I was willing to take a risk. It was undrivable and I don't think the guy had the $5k to fix it and he still owned money on it.....he was in a tough position so I took it off his hands for cash.

I have yet to drive the car..........after reading the horror stories about the ABC, I just said F-it, I'm going going to play that game. I called a guy in Florida at a place called Mercedes Master Tech in Pompano Beach. I talked to Jeff (the owner) for about a half hour and really came away with the feeling that he knows what he is talking about. He coverts ABC systems to coilovers, at about the same price as a standard ABC repair ($4-5K). I shipped mine there and it has been about a week.....not sure about the progress he has made since he has never done a SL600 before. He is the only one that appears to be doing R&D in this space. If everything works out I will be doing a KW Variant 3 coilover conversion, which is the same suspension that is on the SL65 AMG Black Series.

If you like I can keep you posted on the results.....

 

I'd absolutely like to know how you make out with that. I have gotten mixed opinions on whether or not people think these cars should be converted, most leaning toward no. I haven't however found anyone who has actually done it and can attest to the ride quality either negative or positive after doing so. I'd definitely be interested in hearing how you feel about it.