kevtran

So I parked my 07 CLS550, and heard the usual compression sound while the suspension was rising. But it did not turn off for at least 20 minutes. I later drove my car and received the picture of a car with the arrow up and "Malfunction" under it.

After doing much research it looks like this is a common problem, and what sucks is that I am out of warranty by 2000 miles. My question is, has anyone experienced this problem and still able to drive? What is cool is that my car actually sits lower now (I have not installed my links yet) and still driveable. I just don't want to drive it and it just slams to the ground due to the suspension malfunctioning. Thanks.

-Kev

RedBullJnky

Dont drive it like that. I tried to and hit both fenders while in mid turn on the way to get it fixed. That sucked! It was in my E500 and it was out of warrenty also. Dont know where your from, but Im in South Florida and I have a MB master tech that works for himself and does all the work for more than half off of dealership.

DuaneC63

Welcome to the world of MBZ self leveling suspension. The system is failure prone and seems to be timed to fail right after the warranty runs out. The fix is usually stupid expensive. I'll stay with the "cheap" C63 with a normal suspension everytime.

kevtran

My car isn't so low where its going to bottom out on turns, I've actually driven it on the freeway for the past couple days. But I know someone local that is a MB tech and has the STAR system in his garage. So Im going to have it checked out today.

RedBullJnky

The car wasnt too low. It has 20 inch Asanti's on it. 8.5 front and 10.5 rear with 245/35 front and 275/30 rear. Where the roads met at turn it dipped down. I went slow and still caught it. But thats alright, everything has been fixed.

locogringo

My suggestion: Look into the aftermarket Arnott strut airmatic replacement.

A lot of technical info here in this forum on the matter and they cost $400 (or thereabout) per Arnott. Built way better as well.

Here is their site.... ARNOTT INDUSTRIES

locogringo

Here is the actual section for the CLS...

http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...18_pid129.html

kevtran

So I found out it's the compressor that is not functioning. I can force feed air to each of my shocks, but the compressor does not turn on with the STAR system. I'll check out Arnott.

If anyone lives in Washington, I found a great mechanic that has the STAR system that will scan for $55 and lets you see everything he's doing.

mez1976

Hope that things work out. i live in Kirkland, who's your mechanic?

kevtran

His name is Andrew, from Spanaway. He does everything out of his garage, but has all the tools, lift, and STAR system. He diagnosed and replaced my compressor for a few hundred. This would have been $2000 at the stealership. The best part about his work is that he only works on Benz and he allows you to watch and even help out. He went through the STAR system with me and asked if I wanted to tweak anything. Not your typically mechanic. PM me if you want his contact info.