Benzolito

I've got a 2014 GL450 that was purchased used with 63k Miles about 2 years ago. When I bought it from the dealer a few days later the suspension malfunction message came up. I took it back and the dealer fixed the issue. Never had any issues after this but yesterday while returning from a 2 hour journey, i was at a red light and when i was ready to give gas the suspension just gave out in the front and the car dropped with a bang. Obviously the truck rode like poop but i was able to get home safetly.

I did a quick inspection and noticed the front was sagged but the rear was fine. The compressor was engaging but the truck wouldnt lift. Anyone have any ideas what the issue could be? Do you think the air struts gave out? Any helpful advice or similar experience would be appreciated. Thank you.

NaviTimer1

It seems that you may have a tear or leak in the bag itself. spray water on the airbags and look for bubbles. I would have the engine running in order for the compressor to pump air and allow you to see the leaks.

Also, do you get snow in the fall? Salt or the chemicals used to eat at the snow tend to destroy airbags too.

Benzolito

Thanks for the tip Navi, i will try that out over the weekend. Im in NYC so we do get snowfall but closer to December-Feb. The truck is barely driven though, barely put 10k miles on it over 2 years, and most of it was long distance trips.

Benzolito

So the driver side air strut is toast. Hope this didnt damage the passenger side. Upon inspection, it looked good externally.

My question now would be that if the driver side strut failed and made the whole front end drop, would this have caused damage to the passenger side air strut? Basically, should i replace both or just the damaged one?

BlownV8

Do both. The other one will fail soon.

mustbebenz

In my former Audi owner days, those in the know turned to Arnott Industries for replacement air struts or air springs. Better made than OEM, improvements that let the units last much longer than the stock, and OEM grade performance. Less costly, always.

Check this out, rebuilt struts for the front of a GL
https://www.arnottindustries.com/pro...rmatic-w-o-ads