Air Matic suspension issue
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
Likes: 2
From: Florida
S600
Air Matic suspension issue
My '11 GL450 did something very strange. Here's the story. Purchased vehicle about 6 months ago, the dealer replaced the right front bearing. When check it out I noticed that the right height sensor arm was missing the nut that attached it to the upper A-arm. So I installed a nut and tighten. After a day I notice the right front seemed higher, a 1/2 in. than the left front. I didn't do anything more at that time about it. Now comes the fun stuff. A month ago, about 5 months after first issue, I noticed that the left rear would lose pressure and drop. Not all the time, 30% of the time. Once started and driven, it came back up to normal. This week it got worse, every time I turned it off, it would drop after 5 minutes. On Wednesday my wife to the car and I saw that it was leaning heavy to the left while she was driving, no my wife doesn't weigh 600lbs. HAH. When I checked the rear air bag and line, it was totally deflated. After checking, moving prodding and jacking the vehicle around, I started the vehicle, and raised and lowered it several times. The bag inflated and stayed inflated I made the adjustment to the sensor to level the vehicle. 3 days later, it still is perfect and doesn't deflate. Crazy? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2017
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From: Bethesda, MD
2010 Mercedes GL450; 2000 Mercedes ML55 AMG; 2016 VW GLI SEL Stick!!!
if you retightened the ride height sensor you then need to reset the airmatic ride height using a Mercedes scan tool.
With your continuing problems check the air bags for leaks using a water soap spray solution. They usually end up leaking and require replacement.
Rears are easy to replace as well as the front Fronts are recommended to replace with the strut and air bag in one for ease of installation. Check fcp Euro for bilstein oem struts or Arnott struts. Lifetime replacement warranty with them are great.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
Likes: 2
From: Florida
S600
Thank you for your input. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Just got back from vacation UPDATE! Car sat at airport parking lot for two weeks and did not drop at all. I did check air bags and no cracks, dry rot or wear marks. I did reset the suspension system, but the rear still sits higher. I'll have to drop rear and reset again. I'm thinking maybe a glitch in the left rear sensor. Maybe issue inside contacts inside sensor. I may want to replace left rear sensor before resetting again. Any thoughts?
