I have a 2011 GL 450, an SL500 and a 2010 Mercedes Sprinter Van and cannot believe the service at our dealership! Our GL has 65k miles on it and we started complaining about a clunking sound in the front end about 6 months ago and they kept putting it off on a different problem. Eventually the noise has now become so unbearable that the front end has now dropped and they are saying that the struts have gone bad! This is a very expensive for us to pay and also to trade in at this time due to the economy! Most these miles are highway miles and it does not seem to me that they should be going bad so fast!

Can someone give me some advise? Thank you!

 

In all honesty I seriously doubt the clunk and the air struts are related. The clunk isn't uncommon and is usually a control arm bushing or sway bar end links. And while those are parts of the front suspension they really wouldn't impact or accelerate any wear of the air struts.

The air struts (and compressor) really need to be viewed as a "wear" item like brake pads and air filters. You are trading a much higher quality ride and suspension performance with the trade off being more maintenance. 65K is not at all unreasonable for them to fail, many have experienced it far sooner and I would say it's exceedingly rare for them to make it past 90K/100K.

There are a lot of things that can contribute to wear and tear on the struts. I've even heard it suggested that certain wheel cleaners and or car wash chemicals can accelerate their hardening/leaking.

Now that all said, if both wheels on the same axle dropped simultaneously it's likely not the struts but the airmatic compressor. If one dropped and then some time later the other did it would be the struts, but all four at once or both on the same axle at once is usually the pump.

Same thing the pump is a wear item and 100K would be considered very very lucky, 50K is pretty typical and I know the independent shop that just replaced mine says the best course of action is to treat it like a wear item like brakes, and replace the pump every 50K miles whether it needs it or not. That might be a little over the top but it's really not any more expensive than a tune-up or brake job (actually probably cheaper depending on where you go for them).

If the clunk was typical of failing airmatics and you were at 30 or 40K miles I'd say you'd have a reason to go complain to MB, but I'd be surprised if they are related and 65K is actually a pretty solid lifespan for them.

 

The front clunks on some. Sagging is unrelated and as mentioned above is either a shock a valve block or compressor.