HJZ06

We have a 2007 GL450 and had many air suspension problems. Going to trade in 10k miles, wondering if the problems have been resolved with the more recent years?

BlownV8

For whatever it is worth, I have right at 100,000 miles on my 2007 GL450 with no suspension issues.

fgv1it

I have about 30,000 miles on an '07 GL 450 with zero suspension problems. I have heard or read about very few cars with suspension problems, so I wouldn't worry about it in a trade.

DaCeptak0n

Touched 35K miles on ours and no issues with suspension :::::::knocking on wood:::::::

HJZ06

Thanks, we've had many issues with this GL, have a new dealer in our area and they do a great job. Looking for a '12 GL450 or 550. Last week dealer let us have an E350 while GL was in the shop. Great car but the GL is in a league of it's own!

ksdprasad

i have my GL450 with me for 6 years with 58K on odometer, last weekend my air pump and strut broken.

zam2000

My suspension failed twice in the last two months. First it was the left front, then last week it was the right front. I also have the dealer replaced the steering rack due to leak.

My Escalade ESV didn't have a single problem for the 3 years that I own it so far. The GL visit the dealer 4 trips in 4 months already :-)


Lucky that the car is CPO so no cost on repair

43221B

How many miles do you have on your GL?

zam2000

54K mile when I bought it, 58K mile now

alx

you experience is not typical. are yoursure there is no "ex rubicon hero" sticker hidden somewhere on yours?

most of us have very few if any suspension problems with our gl trucks. the air pump on certain 2007s was recalled, but that is about it.

BlownV8

I've gone through two air struts in less than a year. I'm sure the other two will fail soon.

stickygreen

Knock on wood...48k on our '09 Bluetec and not a single issue. But this is the airmatic with adjustable ADS, so not sure if that makes a difference. I think most of the issues were with '07 and some '08 models.

And have yet to see any air suspension complaints from GL550 owners, all of which have the same ADS suspension

BlownV8

Can't comment on the ADS struts and their dependability. The sample size is much smaller than the regular struts.

However, it brings about a common theme I see on the boards regardless of Mercedes model. Owners of the later model cars feel theirs are more dependable just because it is a year or two newer. I saw this same sentiment when I owned a 215 CL 600. "Mine is a year or two newer so it won't happen to me." Not! Mercedes is very consistent. If one breaks, they most likely will all break within that model. The newer ones just have the failures at a later time. Also see the 211 E55 and E63's fuel tank sending unit.

It will take Mercedes 4 to 5 years to update a part to a newer more dependable one. By that time, it is usually a whole other model. The 2013's will likely have better components but there is no guarantee on that either. I'd bet they used the same struts through the whole 164 line prior to the refresh. Then again, they may still have the same struts.

zam2000

I guess both my services adviser and dealer shop foreman lied to me when he told me these things fail often, so dealer have to stock plenty of part in stock.

JimBarnhart

I had 111,000 miles on my 2007, had to replace the rear shocks and had an air bag pop on the rear passenger side. I think suspension issues are one of the more frequent problems with our GLs. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say they are 'common'.

stickygreen

Don't forget that a large percentage of people that look up these forums are the ones that have experienced trouble with their vehicles. So though the air suspension is more "prone" to failure than most other parts of the vehicle, it is still a very, very small percentage of vehicles sold. And in the same way that shocks are wear items, I think it's safe to say that the air springs (being made of rubber) are also a consumable component, that I would imagine have AT LEAST an average lifespan of over 100k miles.

Our '05 e320 cdi with the "dreaded" and failure-prone SBC has been essentially flawless for nearly 180k miles (knock on it's designo poplar wood). Only non-maintenance repairs so far have been a set of glow plugs (could fall under maintenance), a few injectors, and a shifter assembly.

lorreno_17404

hi,
got my 07 gl450 repaired for left front strut breakdown.have noticed before that the car is not sitting on a normal height when parked.so went to have it fixed and spent $2800 on both front strut.adviced that this part wears out especially past 80k miles as my car at 80600k.bit expensive but given it is an airmatic and somehow,someday it will break down,mine is leaking .decided to do both since in the long run can save some money for the labor and taxes.

BlownV8

You got jacked. I hope they at least gave you a kiss as you were leaving.

Larrytraw

I have a 2007 GL450 and have had a lot of problems with the air suspension, I have changed the front struts three times and the rear air bags once. I have 70K on the car. The only reason I keep the care is because I like it.

jsten

My 2007 GL450 (101K miles) has a leaking right front strut. Dealer quoted $1.4K for parts and labor. Parts counter quoted $940 for rebuilt strut. I'm a decent shade-tree mechanic. I change my own brakes and such. Is the strut difficult to replace on my own?

alx

Get an arnott reman unit. Well respected company, cheaper and with lifetime warranty.

You can do it yourself, but you need das to depressurise the shock if it still holds air.

jw1977

I've got an 07 GL450 with 57,000 miles, Just done replacing the rear suspension. Already had to do both front struts. The units were backordered for 3 months at the dealership because this so common.

Larrytraw

Go to Ebay and buy your struts. They come from the same supplier and work perfect. Will cost a lot less.

Larrytraw

No it is not. You will need to have them balance by the computer. The are easy to replace. They also sell just the air spring but i would not replace just the air spring. Go on eBay or www.buyautoparts.com and the air spring has a manual that shows you sept by step process of removing the strut.

atimpau

TRY--http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Sxy61zMUHtk


https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...18_pid146.html

Front air bags $346.00 each