rcollins2867

I have located the recall complaint form from the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHSTA), I have submitted a complaint to have Mercedes benz investigated for a possible recall of the Airmatic suspension issues, I feel that the cost of repairs and the fact that the Airsprings, and rubber bellows being such a common failure point of the airmatic suspension, as well as there not being an inexpensive repair solution leaves many low mileage Mercedes owners at the mercy of the expensive repair dealerships for dealer only parts at a cost of parts and labor being roughly $1500.00 per side for the front end alone. I have searched the Benzworld.org forum as well as many other forums, and the airmatic suspension is one of if not the most common repair issues for anyone owning mercedes automobiles equipped with the airmatic suspension, i only wished that i had seen some of the post prior to making the purchase of my 2003 E320 sport, as i would have made a different choice of an automobile manufacture. who would have thought that you spend 25K to have this many issues with suspensions :bowdown:

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/Consumer.cfm

Benzo1999

I just filed a complaint too. Maybe the factory will recall the airmatics???

Diesel Benz

I'm puzzled with this complaint filing process, you hardly mention safety but refer to high repair costs mainly. Should all Maybach cars be recalled because it probably is expensive to have them repaired?

Considering safety, I'm not aware of an Airmatic failure that would happen like a complete tyre puncture or something similar.

I'd be glad to see you all getting some compensation if you are entitled for that by the system but I would also like to understand the typical arguments that hold.

rcollins2867

Safety is not the issue here reliability of the airmatic system is the issue here, these cars are prone to Airmatic suspension problems from the C Class sport models to the E and S classes as well, i have owned many mercedes products in the past from the 190e, 300e, 300ce, to a 1996 e320, and have never seen such mass repair issues, however most or all people that have the Airmatic suspensions will at some point have costly repairs, we are speaking cars that are by most standards considered to be low mileage vehicles, my car has 64k miles, warranty or not, there is the inconvience of being at a repair facility with money in hand or the warranty covering the cost, paying for one airspring knowing that there are 3 more on the car, knowing that the rubber bellows are fragile, that the airspring is sold at a dealer only cost of $1000.00 per each front and cannot be repaired, this is still not acceptable to have so many of these cars to have these issues, it is not a consumers fault for buying a mercedes product....the fact is that the suspension systems are faulty when you have so many mass failures....my car is not drivable at this time and failed with no warning at all, would it have been acceptable had the suspension failed or dropped while driving the car.....would it at that time been an acceptable safety issue.....

rcollins2867

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/defects/results.cfm

55fanatic

its a wear item... yours wore out, ACCEPT IT, some guy who is reading your recall request is laughing saying this kid's car broke and his angry he bought something that wore out too quick...

my ML55s brake pads wear out at 15k miles... should I ask for a benz recall too because they wear out too fast?

rcollins2867

thanks 55fanatic, in making me aware of what is considered wear and tear on an automobile, also i am not a kid, i appreciate even your remarks, i don't agree that faulty suspension would be condsidered regular wear and tear as the case with the airmatic, the audi's as well as Range Rovers have had simuliar air suspension issues, i am well within my rights to file a complaint whether it goes anywhere or not, i don't want or need your support only people here that can lend helpful advice need reply, if this post irrks you please ignore it as it is obvious that your car has not given you these issues, glad for you.....thanks for your reply 55fanatic as your insightful and positive words are well taken and do not offend me....this post is for folks that have had issues that feel that there may have been faulty designs in the rubber bellows, or airspring suspension components of the airmatic, whether anything comes from the complaint or not, it's just the fact that it is being addressed, looked into and or corrected is enough for me, This post was intended for good use and not put here for me to be scrutinized by a super member here on the forum, this was only to help myself and any others that are having the same issues....loosen up ignore the post if it doesn't concern your vehicle, or pm me if you have issues with me and or my post, there is no need to involve everyone else here if you have issues with my post, thanks everyone else that has PMed me with suggestions, issues and or ideas.....

Benz-O-Rama

Dude,

Learn where the period (.) key is on your keyboard. Reading your posts hurts my underdeveloped brain.

CynCarvin32

Im sorry but you sound like a bit of a sore loser. Your wear item died and you knew it was an expensive item when you purchased the car. For some reason Americans dont understand that the buck stops with you. Everyone wants someone else to pay for their problems or lack of planning. In Europe the warranty is far shorter and people still love and drive their cars. They know things break and they dont expect to have the manufacturer pay for it for the life of the product.

I posted in your other thread but with my history of 5+ airmatic equipped mercedes cars I have never had 1 failure. I doubt that this justifies a recall. You have the first year W211 with the oldest generation of the W211 air shock. They fail. They seals break, the pump dies, and the bump stops on the inside of the shock can break off if you have the car lowered. If you cant deal with that you should fix the car and trade it in on something less complicated.

I may sound harsh but I always get agitated when people expect others to fix their problems. Shocks like tires are WEAR items. Do we all call Michelin and say you need to replace my tires since they wore out in 15k miles? No we accept that as a cost of ownership.

Good Luck

55fanatic

I think you are ignoring a MAJOR fact that people on this board have given you plenty of options and that you continue to blame the system... there have been plenty of problems with air ride systems in the past, they like a benz require more attention... we are trying to give you some background on what causes these leaks and you seem to think your car is not related...

You have posted this in 3 places... on this SAME FORUM... I consider that spam... you could have kept it in one area, and made it much simpler for people who MIGHT have this problem in the future that feel the same way as you to search for the answer...

55fanatic

finally another owner with some sense

Diesel Benz

Have you sent a complain about C-class sports models' Airmatic issues?

perishatmyhands

i spent $1800 on wednesday to get my front driver side up off its nuts. at only 50K miles, this is ridiculous, wear item or not. i'd love to see MB acknowledge that this is a widespread reliability issue. i recognize that i bought a complicated (read expensive) car and will pay the premium. but am i getting my money's worth?

personally i'd be interested in an aftermarket coil spring conversion such as the ones available to range rovers...comes with coils and an electronic bypass module so the computer thinks the air suspension is still functional. just an idea...

lkchris

Recalls by law cover strictly safety and emissions issues.

Lots of manufacturers go beyond warranty on items that fail frequently and where there's little liklihood it's the owner's fault. They usually do this for original purchasers only and usually only for original purchasers that have continued to have their cars dealer serviced.

Used cars are bought "as is" and that's the end of that story, although of course used cars can be bought with warranties, too. All this means is that you prepaid for maintenance and you may pay for more than you need. You're still paying, just as the new car owner paid for that warranty.

BTW, there is no evidence given the sample of one reported here that this is a "widespread issue." There is also no evidence or logic in thinking you know what the lifespan of airmatic components should be--perhaps you should think of them like you think of tires or brakes. Even steel coil springs require replacement at some point.

Life in the automotive world is not about the manufacturer owing you something just because you've purchased one of their cars--again except for emissions and safety issues. They do owe you something, too, when you've purchased their warranty.

IMHO any and all owners of W211 should be prepared to pay $1500-2000 at a minimum per year on their car's maintenance. Budget for it.

MercFiveHundred

Just on maintenance? You mean maintenance and repairs with driving about 15,000+ miles per year. I agree that an driving an expensive car should mean repairs are expensive, so $1500 per air strut (although on the upside) is not much considering the complexity of the shock - sport mode 1, 2, and raise. Another point is: if you want to save money - regardless of make/model car - become handy and change it yourself.

However, i think the frustration of W211 owners is more directed to quantity of issues. I bought my '03 E500 with 57K 2.5 years ago. I have had at least 30 problems with this car, some of which are still not corrected. When everything (almost everything) is working, this car is great to drive. I have 103k on it now and i am hoping that it will drive me 2.5 more years until my payments are up. I've definitely learned my lesson.

I used to own a Lincoln Mark 8 and the Air struts were also an issue. There were aftermarket coil overs springs made that i read up on the internet years ago, but i think there was a more complicated way to disable the Air compressor and malfunction codes.

Barry45RPM

Early 211s (probably untill the '07s came out) were not great cars. Its unfortunate that they cost the same as if they were great. Its also unfortunate that MB management thought they could get away with it. It cost them dearly in reputation, resale, and loss of repurchase customers... not to mention the cost of repairs to them during the cars' new car warranty period. An example of horrific management, and ignoring the "elephant in the room". The '07s onward are truely better cars.

That being said, I think it fair to budget $1500 of todays money per year for UNFORSEEN, unscheduled repairs. Not routine maintenance & wear items, but unforseen failures such as your air shock.

As problem free as my car has been... and I plan to keep it a total of 6 years from date of delivery because of its problem free-ness... I added an MB extended warranty for the additional 2 years just before the 1st year of ownership was over, when I made my decision to keep it. The cost averages out to $1500 for each extra year, which if you back out the dealers profit, leaves half for MB to cover the cost of the expected repairs at their lower than I would have to pay cost, and still make a small profit on the warranty. Its a gamble... I'm betting the car will fail to the tune of $1500 a year, they're betting it will be less.

Again $ 1500/year figure for repairs is bourne out.

csumt76

Why don't you just tell them to slap on some shocks/struts/springs off a non airmatic car? Take the pump off but leave the hoses and wiring. The code airmatic out of the car.. done deal.

perishatmyhands

is it really that easy? could i get that done for less than 1800? maybe using aftermarket springs like H&R? i'd be tempted to do that if another were to go out...but then after all that money put into the suspension, i'd want it to work like brand new from the factory. and i'd hate to lose resale value by doing that modification.
i dont know, i'm new to MB and i'm about to get scared away by the likelihood of extremely expensive unforeseen failures such as this. shoulda seen it coming, i know....

MercFiveHundred

Hmmm... How much would you actually lose on the resale if you did the swap? It might be a more attractive buy because the future owner wouldn't worry about having to spend more $ on shocks (only if it's a clean fit). Either way, i think in a couple of years, our '03 e500's would only be good for parts - the newer parts we swapped out LOL. Mines was produced in May 02, so it makes it a 6 year old car. I've change 3 of my 4 shocks and repaired a leaking hose (all under warranty). Now the only preventative fix left to be made is the driver side shock and the radiator/transmission TSB.

55fanatic

most definately a hit in value... the difference in ride is also amazing, springs and shocks(traditional suspension) offer no change, where airmatic gives you three rides and even allows you to raise the car... if you were to take navigation out of a car and sell it, you would take a hit, same would happen with the airmatic

Diesel Benz

Not sure what you expected but it isn't the springs only but the whole strut that needs to be replaced.

It is easier to go from Airmatic to steel springs than the other way but you still need quite a few parts. I would never go from Airmatic to steels but still, it would be nice to have the price summed up.

perishatmyhands

oh i know you'd have to do springs AND struts, just thinking aftermarket springs would be cheaper (and lower haha) than stock ones @ the dealer. i was just thinking aloud though, i dont think after buying a car for all the bells and whistles that i could take such an action to "dumb down" a sophisticated component like this.

zergcerebrates

I doubt the air suspension is a mass failure. I have my car for 5 yrs, the air suspension is even modified and has never had a single problem. You said your car was 64K, I'm guessing its over warranty? Well thats why they offer you extended warranties. Anything outside of the warranty the manufacturer is not liable for anything which will make your complain quite useless. Cars are natural wear items we all know after 4yrs problems might surface, you wont expect an air suspension to last forever do you, when it goes through so many movments every second whenever you drive.

K-A

From what I understand in '05 quality went up significantly across the board, namely on the 211's and 220's, and 06+ is when it all got a ton better. Let's hope this holds as true as another year is close to passing on our cars and more people rack up the miles.

Diesel Benz

It would be nice to get some more accurate statistics about the air suspension failures on a W211. If you have had the car for 5 years, I calculate it must be built at some time in 2003. My impression is that there was a change during 2003, early 2003 and earlier cars have quite a lot of air strut failures. Perhaps your build date is on the "safe side"?