W215 ABC Pump/Valve Block/HPE Hose Repair (21 Pictures)
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
All, this is great info but don't know what to do for my mom's ride.
It's a 2001 CL600 and has only 60K miles on it. I looked on Craigs List and they go for $20K tops.
Car has ABC issues and I took the car to an MD dealership. Here is what they came back with!!! We have decided to just add fluids to the shocks and that's it.
Spending $10K on a car worth $20K makes no sense to us!
Should we just run the car to the ground, sell it , or is there a cheaper way to go around the ABC issues. We live in the Bay Area, California.
From MD dealer/service guy:
ABC system needs the folowing parts, two fluid lines, right rear strut and the pump to be replaced. The hoses are what's causing the leak of hydraulic line, the rear strut has an in ternal issue and the pump is not supplying the correct pressures consistently.After replacement of failed parts the ride height would need to be adjusted and a four point alignment.
Parts:
Strut $1800
Pump $1250
Fluid $87.45
Hose $250.92
Hose $735.00
Parts $4123.37
Tax $381.41
Labor $4981.00
Total $9485.78
It's a 2001 CL600 and has only 60K miles on it. I looked on Craigs List and they go for $20K tops.
Car has ABC issues and I took the car to an MD dealership. Here is what they came back with!!! We have decided to just add fluids to the shocks and that's it.
Spending $10K on a car worth $20K makes no sense to us!
Should we just run the car to the ground, sell it , or is there a cheaper way to go around the ABC issues. We live in the Bay Area, California.
From MD dealer/service guy:
ABC system needs the folowing parts, two fluid lines, right rear strut and the pump to be replaced. The hoses are what's causing the leak of hydraulic line, the rear strut has an in ternal issue and the pump is not supplying the correct pressures consistently.After replacement of failed parts the ride height would need to be adjusted and a four point alignment.
Parts:
Strut $1800
Pump $1250
Fluid $87.45
Hose $250.92
Hose $735.00
Parts $4123.37
Tax $381.41
Labor $4981.00
Total $9485.78
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
cl 5oo
w215 front suspension drops when driving
My 2001 cl500 drops in the front when I am driving, but computer tells me to change the REAR valve block.
Is this possible?
Now the technitian cannot calibrate the shocks without the rear valve block
Is this possible?
Now the technitian cannot calibrate the shocks without the rear valve block
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
cl 5oo
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 515
Likes: 11
From: Houston, TX
W209 CLK Renntech Widebody, C140 CL600 V12, AP2 S2000, NSX Twin Turbo, R8 V10
I am so unbelievably glad to be rid of my 01 CL500, sold to the dealer for a pathetic $9k with not even 100k miles on it after a $100k purchase price new in 2000. It would have cost more to fix the car than sell it, there were many examples on the market for months that were only asking $12k and still won't sell due to well-known suspension troubles. So it only cost about $8k/yr in depreciation to own, not including the thousands spent on repairing the ABC system repeatedly. What a waste of money, I never want to own another car with Mercedes' ABC system ever again. The previous generation S and CLs had a beautiful ride quality, even if you couldn't change it on the fly between 2 settings. I'll take a good old fashioned set of adjustable coilovers or traditonal shock/spring setup anytime. One of the reasons I started looking at CLKs- less weight, less complexity, less hassle, and less money wasted on fundamental flaws that can never be repaired. Unsubscribing to this thread, and excited about the free time I will have not trying to research forever-elusive ABC problems on the CL! When it's time, the SL55 will suffer the same fate I'm afraid...
Last edited by Nero Tenebre; Nov 30, 2011 at 02:50 AM.
Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
2005 CL65 (current), 2001 CL600 (chopped)
I agree, the CL's reliability issues are alarming, but to compare it to the CLK is just madness. They're nowhere even close to being in the same class. One time I had the CLK floor mat in my CL temporarily, and I noticed how much gap there was between the CLK mat and the CL carpet. It's pretty tragic to see a 90% depreciation over 10 years. When you're talking about high end GT cars, Bentleys and Astons seem to hold their value much better. I've never owned one though so I can't say anything about reliability. I do know that fewer shops are inclined to even touch one though, so usually they'll have to be dealer serviced, or you'll have to learn how to do it yourself.
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Super Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 939
Likes: 5
From: Del Mar, CA
2003 CL600 2005 745Li
I am so unbelievably glad to be rid of my 01 CL500, sold to the dealer for a pathetic $9k with not even 100k miles on it after a $100k purchase price new in 2000. It would have cost more to fix the car than sell it, there were many examples on the market for months that were only asking $12k and still won't sell due to well-known suspension troubles. So it only cost about $8k/yr in depreciation to own, not including the thousands spent on repairing the ABC system repeatedly. What a waste of money, I never want to own another car with Mercedes' ABC system ever again. The previous generation S and CLs had a beautiful ride quality, even if you couldn't change it on the fly between 2 settings. I'll take a good old fashioned set of adjustable coilovers or traditonal shock/spring setup anytime. One of the reasons I started looking at CLKs- less weight, less complexity, less hassle, and less money wasted on fundamental flaws that can never be repaired. Unsubscribing to this thread, and excited about the free time I will have not trying to research forever-elusive ABC problems on the CL! When it's time, the SL55 will suffer the same fate I'm afraid...
I love buying high quality (no not perfect), lower mile, very well cared for and highly maintained $140K cars at an 85% discount.
Yes I am enjoying my CL600, but if I had bought it new I might feel as you do.
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 515
Likes: 11
From: Houston, TX
W209 CLK Renntech Widebody, C140 CL600 V12, AP2 S2000, NSX Twin Turbo, R8 V10
I agree, the CL's reliability issues are alarming, but to compare it to the CLK is just madness. They're nowhere even close to being in the same class. One time I had the CLK floor mat in my CL temporarily, and I noticed how much gap there was between the CLK mat and the CL carpet. It's pretty tragic to see a 90% depreciation over 10 years. When you're talking about high end GT cars, Bentleys and Astons seem to hold their value much better. I've never owned one though so I can't say anything about reliability. I do know that fewer shops are inclined to even touch one though, so usually they'll have to be dealer serviced, or you'll have to learn how to do it yourself.
I love post like this, it discourages people from buying these great cars and drives the price down even more LOL.
I love buying high quality (no not perfect), lower mile, very well cared for and highly maintained $140K cars at an 85% discount.
Yes I am enjoying my CL600, but if I had bought it new I might feel as you do.
I love buying high quality (no not perfect), lower mile, very well cared for and highly maintained $140K cars at an 85% discount.
Yes I am enjoying my CL600, but if I had bought it new I might feel as you do.
Sorry for the rant guys, I am not going to derail this thread about how to repair ABC stuff anymore!
