Airmatic on 2008 GL 450
 

New member here. I drive 2008 GL 450 with 72 k miles on it. Couple of months back noticed the rear right side sagging down. It comes back to its normal position when I open any door or start it. I took it to the dealer and was told its the rear left air spring that is leaking and causing the right side to drop down. Did not make sense how leak on the left side could cause the vehicle to drop on the right side. They quoted over 2 k to replace 2 rear springs. I declined it as I thought it is too much. Few days after I came back from the dealer I noticed that all four sides started dropping down but the vehicle comes back to normal position every day in the morning when I open the door or start it. It says at normal level all day but drops down overnight. The drive has been soggy and the I feel the rear sloshing up and down when I go over a speed hump. I want to change the air struts in front and air shocks and springs in the back. Any suggestions on good individual shops or good mechanics in or around Richmond, Virginia that can do this work

I wish I could do it. Unfortunately, I can't. I did see few videos on youtube but I don't have any tools or jacks or lifts. The most I did on it were changing light bulbs and batteries (they were under the passenger seat and weren't easily accessible, unlike other vehicles)

Another vote for it to be a DIY thing. It is super easy but I understand it is relative.
Since it is super easy, it is very hard to mess up by any mechanic. Therefore I would suggest to buy struts online from Arnott or FCP Euro, and take it to your previously trusted mechanic (even if non German car specialist). Buying it yourself is best as you will get lifetime replacements under your name.
Good Luck

Whatever you do, act quickly. We let our GL sag when parked for about a month and it burned up the air compressor from working so hard trying the raise the vehicle higher from parked and to keep leaking airbags from going flat while driving. The compressor added about another $500+ to the repairs.

$2K to replace the rear air bags? That's not right - they're doing something else for that money. Maybe you misunderstood and the $2K is to do both the front AND the back? I have done a front strut, but haven't done rear bags, yet. Fronts are the ones that take more time and that was about an hour and a half for me, first time doing it. From what I hear, rear bags are like a 30-minute job each.

Ditto to the notion of getting this done ASAP. Also ditto to it being pretty straight forward and any decent shop can do it. Ask your mechanic if he will install parts that you provide - some won't as then they won't warrantee their work.

It was $1500 at dealer to get my rear bags replaced, then another $560 for the blown compressor. I wish I would've replaced them myseld now that I've replaced my front bags on my own.

The valve block is another item that fail if bags arent replaced quickly. That's another $700-$1k parts and labor.

yes. The dealer quote was $2k just to replace the rear air bags and not including rear shocks. They quoted $4.5k for front airstruts and rear airbags which includes 10% coupon that I got in mail from them.

Oh my! I understand the $125 or $150 per hour labor charge, but I totally don't understand why the labor time is so high. I don't mind paying a little more for "MB" service, but, wow. Heck, you could BUY the jacks/tools you need and still be ahead of the game.

10% off coupon is THE cherry on top.
Oh My!!! 4.5K to replace airstruts. I think it is the highest I ever heard. I went to medical school and I still don't get paid even half of these kind of $$$ / hour what they are charging you for labor.

Check Engine Light
 

I got this work done by my colleague's brother who is a certified mechanic and runs a shop but also works on cars at home. While I was getting the air springs/shocks and front struts changed, I had him do the transmission flush, spark plugs and engine air filter changed as well. Everything went well and the vehicle was handling like almost a brand new car until this morning. The dreaded "check engine light" came on. I wonder what could be the reason ? I also noticed aggressive downshifts when I decelerate or hit the breaks (Not aggressive breaking).

Get the code read, and then post back with that. Codes don't always tell the exact item that has failed, but it get's us into the correct system where a sensor is having a sissy-fit.

The codes were P0170 and P0173. After finding no vacuum leaks, my mechanic reset the codes and asked me to call him if the CEL comes back.

I just replaced the compressor on my '12 350. I was getting 5503 which is the error that says the compressor can't fill the central tank. I checked for leaks and couldn't find any so just replaced the compressor itself. Arnott compressor was $279 shipped. Took me 1.5 hours to check the leaks and replace the compressor. Compressor itself was probably a 30 minute job tops. The air springs actually looked really good at almost 70,000 miles. Hoping I can get a good bit more life out of them.