Oh nooo, not the airmatic problem!!!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 121
2022 SL 55 AMG, 2020 AMG GT 53, 2015 GL 550
Oh nooo, not the airmatic problem!!!
Ok, so this morning I got in my car, everything was fine. Went to take an exit and put suspension on sport mode 2, murdered the exit ramp then merged on to the highway put it back on sport 1 and noticed the car seemed to be hitting the road a lot harder. Almost as if it had a sport 10 mode. I knew something was wrong.
Once I arrived at work I looked at the front end and my front driver side was slammed. Front driver side was nearly sitting on tire (I'm surprised it wasn't rubbing as I have 20inch wheels and didn't hear anything odd while driving. By the way, the car never gave me any messages, alerts, etc. Which is really odd.
I hit the raise button but didn't notice the car raising. But I could hear the pump, I got out of the car, turned it off, closed the door, locked the door, then unlocked the car, opened the door and I guess the airmatic tried to raise the car and it did manage to raise that wheel slightly, very slightly but I heard a squealing noise I had never heard before. It didn't sound like a leak, but a squeal.
I've read the numerous threads on the issue but I never saw an actual DIY write up on checking the seal/boot, etc.
I assume the pump is working because it raised that front side a tiny bit before I heard the squealing noise. So I'm hoping it's the dirty boot/seal thing rather than a bad strut or pump.
I'm looking for a DIY troubleshooting process.
Where should I start? Jack car, remove wheel, examine what? I was hoping someone had a DIY with pictures. I'm really interested in seeing how this boot/seal that people say gets dirty.
Anyone had a similar issue? No computer message, no alert, dropped front, squealing noise from strut?
Once I arrived at work I looked at the front end and my front driver side was slammed. Front driver side was nearly sitting on tire (I'm surprised it wasn't rubbing as I have 20inch wheels and didn't hear anything odd while driving. By the way, the car never gave me any messages, alerts, etc. Which is really odd.
I hit the raise button but didn't notice the car raising. But I could hear the pump, I got out of the car, turned it off, closed the door, locked the door, then unlocked the car, opened the door and I guess the airmatic tried to raise the car and it did manage to raise that wheel slightly, very slightly but I heard a squealing noise I had never heard before. It didn't sound like a leak, but a squeal.
I've read the numerous threads on the issue but I never saw an actual DIY write up on checking the seal/boot, etc.
I assume the pump is working because it raised that front side a tiny bit before I heard the squealing noise. So I'm hoping it's the dirty boot/seal thing rather than a bad strut or pump.
I'm looking for a DIY troubleshooting process.
Where should I start? Jack car, remove wheel, examine what? I was hoping someone had a DIY with pictures. I'm really interested in seeing how this boot/seal that people say gets dirty.
Anyone had a similar issue? No computer message, no alert, dropped front, squealing noise from strut?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 121
2022 SL 55 AMG, 2020 AMG GT 53, 2015 GL 550
Update, it must be a leak. There's air hissing, and a squeal, the squeal is louder than the hiss. And the car tries to raise itself slightly but doesn't make it.
So it shouldn't be the pump or strut right?
So it shouldn't be the pump or strut right?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 121
2022 SL 55 AMG, 2020 AMG GT 53, 2015 GL 550
Oh well....
Well I payed $100 to have it diagnosed, they confirmed failed strut and bad compressor. I'm still skeptical on the compressor, since the failed strut does in fact raise. But I went ahead and bought them both and will do the work myself since it's a 15 minute simple job according to the forums.
Here's what I bought.
http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...18_pid129.html
I paid $749 for one air strut/shock and one air compressor. Versus paying dealer $2100.
Here's what I bought.
http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...18_pid129.html
I paid $749 for one air strut/shock and one air compressor. Versus paying dealer $2100.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 121
2022 SL 55 AMG, 2020 AMG GT 53, 2015 GL 550
Yep, they've got excellent ratings from people on the forums and they have confirmed the warranty is lifetime. I'm impressed. Hopefully lifetime warranty doesn't mean I'll need a new one every 6 months for life. 
That would be like a Hyundai with a 100K warranty, that's fine and well but not if the car spends more time in the shop than on the road.
In all seriousness I actually read people who replaced using Arnotts haven't had a failure since. We'll see.
That would be like a Hyundai with a 100K warranty, that's fine and well but not if the car spends more time in the shop than on the road. In all seriousness I actually read people who replaced using Arnotts haven't had a failure since. We'll see.
Last edited by lexnoir; Jun 9, 2010 at 01:34 PM.
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