OCBENZGIRL

I recently took my 99 E430 on a trip to San Francisco and had the pleaure of sitting in the back while my friend was driving. I must say that sitting in the back was quite brutal. It was so bumpy and uncomfortable, it left me with a sore butt I suspect that the shocks may need changing (car has 48k miles and stock wheels). I talked to my service advisor at the dealer and he stated that the shocks had a lifetime warranty and that perhaps one of my shocks was leaking. Anyone have experience with this?

Ben'z

I think my shockes are not good, and took my car to the stealer.
After checking my car, they told me the shockes are fine.
I don't believe them! :v
BTW, I think my shockes go bad at 70,000 miles.

lexrex

I think bad shocks would make the ride softer instead of harder. In most cases you can hear a broken (leaking) shock rattling when you hit bumps. Maybe your rear tires are overinflated?

TruE320Ridah14

From what I heard is that shocks go out every 30,000 miles

raymond g-

Springs usually last a lifetime. Shocks are the piston thingies which dampens
the up/down movement of the springs. They are oil/gas/air charged and they
do wear down. Usually, you guage the health of a shock by pushing down on
a corner of your vehicle and observe the undulations. Normally, they should
go down once....then slowly rise as rebound damping takes over. It is rare
that a properly functioning shock allow the car to bounce more than 1-2x.
There is also compression damping....usually set lighter then rebound damping.

If shock is worn, they need an inspection and possibly rebuilding of seals and
valves, recharged with nitrogen (air for economy units) and you're good to
go.

But, now that you're having an issue with the comfort of the ride, it would
also be a good idea to see if you want to change the shock model to improve
handling.....or keep the boat cushiony ride.

Yes, do check the inflation pressure, as well the trunk to see if there is
something heavy back there that you forgot...like a dead body or something.

Don't (!) let them talk you into anything big ticket cuz yer a gurl. Get back
to the boards and check back with us.....or get independant assessment.
A bad person may pull that squirt-oil-on-the-shock trick and other crap.
If their estimate exceeds several hundred $, I'd want real clear specifics
on why. No red flags yet....just being cautious. The worn shocks line has
been used for decades....as a stepping stone for more expensive (overkill)
solutions.

JamE55

So your dealer going to replace the shocks and springs for free right? Just get them replaced and get done with it. What other mods do you have on your benz or is it all stock?

gstigler

Almost 100k on my car, shocks are fine. Only under the most brutal conditions or the crappiest of shocks will wear out under 50k miles. As stated, they get soft and sloppy. If the road was rough that could be what you were feeling.

carlsson9

ditto...had my shockers for about 125K and no worries....only decided to change to bilstein SP since i wanted a slightly better ride...no regrets!

and life time warranty of shockers are weird..didn't know merc had deals like those..don't think they have em here