See my response above. Regards. Ned.

 

IMO you are completely missing the point.

Every area in the US is going to have some bad stretches of road - and no car is going to float over it so you wouldn't spill a sip of coffee out of a full mug with no cover.

The point is the E series becomes terribly unsettled over rough road conditions. The suspension bottoms out, thuds, and transmits shocks through the frame of the car. IMO, it appears nervous, unsettling and twitchy. Someone else used the technical term - sh-tty. The point is that no car should do this - especially a $60K MB.

Please let me know if I have failed to clearly explain the difference.

 

You and I seem to be in complete agreement. I find that interesting since you drive the e350 with more standard type suspension and I drive the e550 with the airmatic. I'm willing to bet that you would find the airmatic suspension even less civil than the e350(I'm assuming you have the sport). Regards. Ned.

 

Yes, you have failed to clearly explain the difference. Additionally, I am only referring to airmatics as the comfort mode does give me a smooth enough ride, as far as 350's, there very well may be serious issues with the sport suspension, I do not know. In any event, was clearly stated that the car did properly or sufficiently absorbed potholes and or crappy roads to his satisfaction and I wanted to know, in his educated opinion, what car suffciently or satisfactorily does so, especially potholes. I am interested in knowing what the superior car is so that I can use that info in future car buying decisions.

As a side note, I feel the car rides fine, comfort mode is smooth and sport
mode gives the road feel and tighter handling, BUT, I am attributing my lack
of dissatisfaction to possibly better road conditions, which is completely subjective.

 

I'm now curious to feel how an E550 handles the rough roads in question.

And for the record, I'm NOT even talking about potholes, I'm talking about basic rough or un-smooth road. In the E350, on smooth road, it feels like your gliding smoothly, then over said rough road, you feel EVERYTHING in it, like the car is trying to do its best Ferrari impression, only failing miserably because it's a *Luxury Sedan*.

Now, if you want to talk about potholes.... the car feels like it's about to snap in half, and again, this is talking about the most advanced and possibly strongest body-shell used today, using the highest grade steels of any car in history, and more of it than any car in history. That says one thing: This suspension does absolutely nothing to absorb and coddle away harsh elements, and it leaves it up to the frame, which means the suspension sucks *over rough roads*.

I love my car immensely, I find it to be the best in Class without question, and I'd love to say that it's perfect, but there is one major flaw, and this is it. The 268 HP is fine, the barely decent MPG I can live with, but the handling of rough roads is enough to be a potential deal-breaker of an otherwise masterpiece of a car.

 

In regards to the suspension...

The BMW 5 series for one. The Infiniti M, the Audi A6, the Jag XF, etc.

In my opinion EVERY car in the segment is more civilized over poor stretches of pavement than the E series sport.

What other car in this segment has a suspension that bottoms out, thuds, and transmits shocks through the frame of the car by simply driiving over poor stretches of pavement?

 

So in your opinion the E class is the worst car... but you bought one anyway.

 

I did get the ABC option suspension. I just figured that MB would have given their other lines of cars the option,not just the "s." I probably would have kept my "E" if it had this option.

 

If your car rides as bad as you say, we may be beyond just a discussion on harsh road feel or an overzealous sport suspension, there may be an issue with the car, have you had it checked out? I assume when you and others say "bottom out", that means that you feel the undercarriage is actually touching or scrapping the pavement, is that possible?

As for other makes, I would only seriously consider the BMW 5, no way on an Infiniti, Audi or Jag (although the new XJ is nice), but a fully loaded 535i prices out at about the same as the E550 (I know, it includes full service).

 

I bought the new e because I've been a Mercedes customer for 25 years and the last thing I thought I needed to focus on when I test drove the car was the suspension. That, in addition to a well built state of the art luxury sedan, was what I thought I was getting. Whenever I would be speaking about cars with work associates and/or friends, I would always say that there was no better suspension in the auto industry than Mercedes, great balance between comfort and handling, the reason I never wanted a BMW, which had a much less forgiving ride. This suspension is not what I associate with the heritage of great Mercedes suspensions with great balance. Now you live in an area where the roads are not an issue and you can and should be grateful for that. But a great Mercedes suspension should perform well under a wider variety of surfaces. That is what is annoying those on this thread. We are happy for you that the suspension works great in your environment. But you might have empathy for those of us who feel differently. We are not nit pickers. We just expected a suspension that Mercedes have traditionally been known for not one that fails when the going gets rough. Regards. Ned.

 

We don't mean that the car bottoms out, but the suspension runs out of "travel" and the shock bottoms out with a thud that transmits through the frame to the passengers(I'm speaking from the airmatic perspective). Jarring. It takes moderately bad roads to get that affect. On "average" rough roads, the ride is plain hard, not at all forgiving, like BMW's of yesteryear. I have taken my car to two dealerships and both say that they can't find anything wrong nor are any codes being tripped. That of course doesn't mean something isn't wrong but certainly reduces the odds. Regards. Ned.

 

It's very possible that you have a stuck valve or that the strut isn't valving properly. SDS will pick up the electrical currents but can't readily determine if the fault is mechanical (unless it's creating another malfunction that SDS can pick up.) It's a complex system and is both electronic, pneumatic, and mechanical. I have a workshop .pdf file of a schematic and details of the system. PM me if you want a copy. (I also have a training .pdf on the protocol for testing the system.)

Why not get the shop foreman and/or your service manager in the car with you and take them on some of the roads that you know will create the issues you're describing? Get them to drive it with you and discuss what's going on while it's happening.

Plus you can ask for a loaner and try to compare your ride against it. Even ask your salesperson who sold you the car to let you test drive a new car.

I think you need to do some comparisons and not just let the dealer try to check what's wrong. They can't get debited (at least not very easily) on a customer's complaint unless something appears that can be determined as a fault.

I'm sorry that you're experiencing this. It's unusual only in that the majority find Airmatic with ADSII to be a comfortable ride over all kinds of road conditions. Granted, the roads in Southern California might be better (but only because of weather; infrastructure is falling apart here, too), and I've driven on really crappy roads with the suspension being solid and yet smooth. Anyone who is in the car with me always comments about the smooth ride.

Whatever the issue I hope it works out. Although there will always be some subjectivity as to what is the "perfect" ride (Goldilocks phenomenon.) p.s., also go drive the S Class with ABC.....

 

Ironically I hopped into and drove my car for the first time in one week today, and it was incredibly smooth and plush, simply outstanding of a drive. I think it's pissed at me, and is on its A-Game (err, I was fortunate to not hit many rough patches).

On smooth roads, I'll take the balance and characteristics of the E350 Sport over the 5-Series, and even S-Class. It's perfect in that aspect, IMO. I wish M-B could have carried those characteristics into handling and absorbing harshness.

 

As I read these posts, I have to wonder what type of roads you guys are driving on. I am in central PA, where they regularly pave over boulders rather than move them. Potholes? We invented them. I test drove both the Luxury and Sport versions of the Blutec prior to purchasing. I drove my normal commute route in both. While I definitely noticed a difference between the sport and luxury setups, I did not find the Sport objectionable in any way. I simply found the ride more plush with the Luxury and it fit what I was after in ride. I did not drive the E550, as I was not interested in a gasser. I did drive the E350 gasser just for comparison with acceleration between gas and Bluetec. I generally do a pretty thorough test drive (always in the actual vehicle I will drive off the lot). When I read some of these posts, I wonder if these are the same cars. I really feel for you folks that are unhappy with the ride. Maybe a set of Bilstiens will fix you up. Not sure if there is anything that can be done for the Airmatic. I have a co-worker with a 2010 E550 and he tells me it is the best riding car he has ever owned. I would get the service techs involved, as I am wondering if there could be something wrong with the few folks posting dissatisfaction.

 

I clearly said that IMO the E has the worst suspension in its class (over rough pavement) - not that it was the worst overall car. I think the E series is amongst the top of the class overall.

Having said that, I am definitely disappointed in my E350. It's more of a personal preference thing than a rebuke of the series. The E has several desirable attributes.

However, I'm not afraid to admit that I think I made a mistake in choosing this car. After 6 months and 7,500 miles I know it's not the best car for me.

I have never been a overzealous fanboy of anything I have owned. I praise the things I like, but I'm not shy about being critical of what I feel are shortcomings, or design flaws.

YMMV.

 

I am sure this has been covered before, but is there a difference in the stiffness in the E550's airmatic suspension between the Sport and Luxury versions?

This is a moot point for we Canadians as we can't get a luxury model in either E350 or E550. It's a shame because our roads can be very bad. Maybe this will change for 2012 and beyond, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

None, however the Sport comes with 18" wheels so the Luxury with the 17's will have more rubber to absorb bumps.

I recently upgraded from 18's to 20's and I can't feel the difference so I suspect that it might be the same for 17's and 18's.

 

And I went down to 17's and don't feel that much of a difference. I'm still happy to have the 17's to lower the chances of blowouts. Regards. Ned.

 

my lexus gx470 does the same thing as it is equipped with air-ride. nobody can figure it out either!

 

I have the same problem with front suspension bottoming out even when going over a speed bump in a parking lot at just 5 MPH. Called dealer and they said maybe a bubble in air suspension system but if you have had it looked at by 2 dealers I am not wasting my time (40 miles to closest dealer) just so they can put in a claim for warranty work on my car.

Would love to hear from other owners who have this problem and what the outcome was for them. I wonder, can anything be done? Kind of outrageous that an almost $80,000 car would have this problem.

 

I also drive a 2010 E Class 550 with airmatic and have noticed the front suspension runs out of travel at speeds of 5 MPH or less when going over a speed bump in a parking lot. Not expected and totally unacceptable in a car which costs over $75,000

 

It seems like too many people have this issue in the Airmatic for it to be an actual fault with their individual cars. Seems like a design problem.

This 'bottoming out' shouldn't even happen in sport mode, never mind comfort mode.

 

I find the suspension to be very frustrating. As I pointed out, it runs out of travel too quickly and is also hard over rough roads. Otherwise, I love the car, but that is a major, major shortcoming. I know exactly what you mean about going over small speed bumps. I sent an e-mail to MB-USA last week to complain. I told them I was considering selling the car to buy a BMW 5 series. I got a call from them on Tuesday and they called Morristown Mercedes to have the service manager have me test drive another e550 to see if it feels the same way. I'm not optimistic of anything coming of it. My fear is that it is what it is. I'm going next Tuesday. I'll keep you posted. Regards. Ned.

 

Keep us posted ngerstman, I'm curious to know whether your car is an "unlucky" one, or if it's a problem plaguing all Airmatics. IMO, the ONLY benefit of Airmatic should be a doubtlessly cozy and isolating ride from rough imperfections, as if it doesn't provide that, I wouldn't personally have a necessity for such a complex and ultra expensive-to-fix suspension.

Also, don't be afraid to tell MBUSA that you were looking for a Luxury Model, and couldn't find one, hence you having to deal with certain things you would have rather not have.

 

The only difference between an e550 sport and luxury in ride would be the 18 versus 17 inch rims. The airmatic is not tuned any differently. I bought a set of 17 inch rims after my double blowout and don't feel much difference. Regards. Ned.