oofie910

Hey guys, my dad's having trouble with his 2003 e500. He bought it about 2 months ago from MB of San Diego. It ahd 49,XXX miles and it came with CPO warranty.

Here's the deal. Whenever he drives on speed bumps/humps, there's a bumping sound after the wheels drop from the bump. It's like there's stuff in the trunk and it "thuds" after humps/speed bumps. So he brought it to the dealership to have it fixed. A week goes by and they said they didnt find anything wrong with the car. So he then asks to test drive another e500. The 2nd e500 still has the bump but a little softer. Then they tried his E500 again and tried different modes. In Sport 1 and 2, the thudding sound is less noticeable, but still there. They said they'll look at it again. Today, my dad called again and they said that they still havent found anything wrong with the suspension. When he asked what he should do, the service advisor just said to drive in Sport 1 mode.

Has anyone encountered this? Do you guys know of any fix for this?

WEBSRFR

You just have a dead body in your trunk

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/148997-dead-body-my-trunk.html

Someone should write to Mercedes about this!

Benz-O-Rama

Sorry but this made me smile when I read the title of this thread. Before I even opened the thread I knew what it was about.

You see, I'm the original poster for the dead body in trunk problem and apparently that sound is "normal" for the airmatic suspension. I went through a lot with my dealer before accepting the fact that it's normal. I too drove 2 other E500's and they also made this noise. It's just something that you'll have to get used to. But you're right, driving in sport 1 definately helps.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Luckily I love so much about my E that I can ignore the thump.

oofie910

Yeah, I figured it was normal after reading your thread after I started this one. I guess Ill just tell my dad to get his E back from the dealership. Thanks guys!

georgedaman

I had the same "dead body sound" but mine was one of the struts around 73K.The dealer changed it under warranty

oofie910

Hmm, would you happen to know the specific part that they replaced? My dad is bringing the car back tomorrow, maybe he could suggest that the technicians look at them.

georgedaman

The part # is 211 326 01 00 It is the right rear shock absorber and the warranty code is 032311367(here in Canada)

Benz-O-Rama

I had everything replaced back there. Basically the entire rear portion of the air suspension and I still have a dead body flopping around back there. Here's a list of everything they replaced.

(2) 211-326-28-00 Replace rear shock absorbers
(1) 211-320-07-25 Replace air spring driver side
(1) 211-320-08-25 Replace air spring passenger side
(2) 211-328-00-58 Replace seal holder
(4) 201-990-02-92-9051 Replace rivets

Good luck. Keep us posted as to what happens with yours. Many of us are very interested in the solution to this problem.

epasc

I have a 2004 E500 and a '79 450SEL 6.9 which, with its "hydropneumatic suspension" was the test platform for the modern Airmatic.

The cars have little in common except for the sound they make when going over a speed bump.

2K6E55