Revice

I went to the NHTSA website and there are several complaints about MZB and these silly airmatic issues. I think we all should literally FLOOD their website with complaints so they can do something about this. I think MZB should be ashamed of themselves making a car that costs so much and then a few years later (not even 10 yrs), the car has such a major issue. Thoughts?

PlatinumEdition

im with you on that!

Quadcammer

bull****. The airmatic system is perfectly fine. If you are proactive about it, and don't ignore the obvious warning signs like most people, you will not have any major issues.

Benz5656

I'm with you.

Some of us have cars that are over 4 yrs old you know.

Quadcammer

ok. Guess what, suspension components wear out. Standard struts will need to be replaced as well. Most early cars can be fixed with a simple strut top seal replacement. The trouble is that people see the car drop, but when it comes up when they start it, they don't fix it, until it burns out the pump or until the strut is completely screwed.

Not to mention, at $400 a pop for replacement struts, who really cares. Thats cheap.

newton22

I had a 2000 W220. The top of the struts leaked at around 35k miles. We installed the patch kit. 55k miles, both front struts completely failed again. You tell me if that's normal to you.

cameraman123

not when the suspension was advertised as a 300,000 mile suspension, shouldnt cost thousands of dollars to maintain. PERIOD. and you can blab all you want about buying a $100,000 car, SHOULDNT COST LITERAL PERCENTAGES OF THAT TO MAINTAIN. If Mercedes is going to go for the top of the line in quality, their parts have to last and be affordable to replace.

In 2000, Mercedes was #1 on the JD Power list. By 2006, guess what? 7th from the bottom. Hmmmm... what happened between 2000 and 2006, oh thats right the W220's airmatic suspension.

DONT GET ME WRONG. I LOVE the cars. BUT the airmatics are an issue.

</long painfully truthful story>

cameraman123

From thread: "Air-Matic Failed"

Now whats odd..... in accordance to MBUSA's reply to NHTSA, when Airmatic fails there is no rubbing or loss of steering to the car.... looks like somebody LIED. Please report this to this NHTSA.

QuadBenz

Please... Yeah, it's ALL the W220's fault. Yupyup.

P.S. I like the pic in your sig.

MR.J

damm mercedes-benz!

get a pinto!

Quadcammer

ok, replace them at $400 each and move on.

Porsche 993 shocks are shot at 30k miles. Nothing special about them.

You also bought the FIRST year of this technology. If you expect it to be perfect, that was an error in judgment.

Quadcammer

Ok, again, you own the first model year of one of the most complicated vehicles made. That was your choice to make that purchase.

Please show me the 300k mile advertising, because I'm pretty sure MB would not say that.

It was a $100k vehicle when new. On average, the airmatic struts last between 75-100k miles, in most cases with a $500 repair. So you replace the struts (even at $800 each). Thats $1600 every 75k miles. If you don't think thats acceptable for a $100k vehicle, perhaps you should consider a Kia.

Quadcammer

They can't be responsible for owners who let their cars go for so long that the system completely collapses.

As soon as you notice the car dropping, you get it fixed.

Its cheap people that would rather hit the airmatic raise button then fix the car that run into these serious issues.

bigben320e

It's a valid point.

I have not had any issues on my CLS so far, but on my R500 the airmatic pump had to be replaced at around 20K miles.

My SA, SM, my wife and I thought that was premature to go out so soon. True enough, airmatic works a lot but I think the parts should last longer as well. I do think MB has improved some things, but they have to do better to earn back that title of being the best. We pay premium prices for these cars, and you expect better performance, I get it.

I am not too worried as my CLS has about 50K left on the warranty and the R500 has while on warranty as well, but I am sure MB would prefer to have maintenance work rather than a bunch of warranty work. That's what happened after the merger of Chrysler and Benz, shops were full of warranty work.

bigben320e

This is also valid as well. First year purchases are expected to have some issues. You also have to expect some expenses that are higher, just as you said.

The concern seems to be around MTBF, but as you said OK, What is the actual MTBF on this equipment? Also, if I read correctly MB has improved on the design as models progressed.

BTW- What are the warning signs (besides lowering) on airmatic before failure, so I can look out for them?

cameraman123

-$400 re manufactured NON MB parts. not the same.
-Porsche 993 is not a flagship luxury car
-NO product should be sold if it is not 100% functional

-Must struts dont last that long
-$500 is a PATCH, NOT a complete repair
-Struts, MB STRUTS, are $1600 a pop
-stop pricing Arnott's, a 100k vehicle should also NOT have NON-OEM remanufactured parts put on it

In the NHTSA report, they still had to prove that even if a complete failure happened, the car would not compromise any steering or saftey. And regardless, once again, A SAFTEY HAZARD TO EACH VEHICLE IF THE FAILURE OF THE AIR SHOCKS IS INEVITABLE

Oliverk have you even had to replace a shock on your 4 year old car?

Yes, in 2003 the design was adjusted for what was presumed a longer lasting strut.... we still dont know how well they hold up consider those cars arent very old. The old struts AT BEST would do 7 years-75k so we'll see how those hold up

Quadcammer

1. The arnott parts are OEM-MB parts that are remanufactured. When you realize what the strut is, there is no reason remanufacturing the strut is not perfectly acceptable.

2. Porsche 993s were flagship sports cars from a german automaker with similar history and prestige.

3. ok my friend from fantasy land. Do you realize how many not-100% functional products are sold. Ever hear of recalls? TSBs? burning toasters? Get real man. A modern car is extremely sophisticated, and you bought one that is about 2 fold more complicated than average. Then you go and buy the first year of it and wonder why? live and learn.

4. Show me some empirical evidence. And don't try to bring up this forum or benzworld. We represent maybe 1% of all S-Class owners and most of you drive your cars like crazy people which I'm sure doesn't help. Furthermore, most people join these forums to ***** about something, not to say how wonderful their airmatic s class rode again that day. Do most last 75k miles? Yes.

5. Why fix what isn't broken. The $500 repair fixes the piece of the strut top that is most prone to leaks. Why replace the strut when all you need is a new strut top? This solves the problem for most people for a long time.

6. Again, if you decide you want to pay dealer retail, they are $1,300 each. You can find them online at www.parts.com for $890 straight from MB of naperville in the MB box.

7. Again, arnott is the OEM supplier and rebuilds OEM struts. They offer a lifetime warranty. Check out the reviews of these products. They are legitimate.

8. Fine, the nhtsa can require whatever they want. You may not have a full range of steering, but I believe you can get to the side of the road. Never experienced this failure, so I can't speak to it.

9. Of course I haven't had to replace a strut. Maybe I've just gotten lucky





Bigben, the primary cause for concern is cracks around the epoxy on the strut top. Regarding your pump, no it should not have failed. Typically these pieces only fail if there is a leak because they run a lot more than normal.

Also, the airmatic compressor is only $210 online

cameraman123

Exactly.

Quadcammer

exactly what?

If I have to replace a strut, I'll pay the $500 or $900 or $1600 and be on my way. These amounts do not dampen my enthusiasm for the vehicle and I simply view it as the price of admission.

I could see how this would have negative effects on a 17 year old's savings account, but then I don't think a 17 year old should be driving an S-class in the first place.

transferred

The 996 is the generation you should be comparing to, not the 993.

Quadcammer

not exactly a lot has changed in strut/shock technology between the 98 993 and the 996.

the point is that suspension components wear out. Expecting airmatic struts to last forever just because its an air suspension is silly.

bigben320e

Very good rebuttal, these are areas I can speak on:

I agree.

Again, correct. I work in the field of IT so trust me, I know exactly how technology can get very complex. Also, with technology comes cost and problems. The model of most software is to release it, the people (customers) find bugs, complain, vendors fix, repeat. The way my SA explained it to me is, these are performance, sophisticated machines. The CLS (for example) has over 200 relays in it. yards of fiber optics, and oodles of electronics. I can relate to it, as technology is my field.

Yes, most people only join to whine and complain about something. Myself, I joined because I wanted to learn more about the cars I drive. I wanted to learn how to do some simple things for myself, as I am a car nut.

Agree on that!

I can attest to that as well. Many OEM parts I have gotten online and saved thousands. Literally.

Good to know.

I can, actually, my wife can. The pump failed on the R and the red thing popped up and the car slammed. She called my freaking out, and being that I had learned about this issue on MBWorld I told to slow down some and drive the car to the shop. She got there just fine, it was about 20 miles away from where she was.

I heard about these cracks, I will make sure to take a look periodically.

Quadcammer

cheers!

parts.com has saved my thousands. Its really awesome. They even verify with you ahead of the time that the parts fit your car by vin. Great vendor!

enjoy the rest of your weekend.

garyinwintersca

Mine is showing some morning low rider sag...or maybe it's just my vision before caffeine.

Is there any place to plug in an air gauge? A dash mount air gauge would be a good mod for these cars (wife does not agree, but maybe under the dash?). How would one know which strut to replace first; assuming they start leaking one at a time? Soap bubble test? Where?

What red thing pops out upon failure?

I see rebuild kits for about $90 US. Any comments?

Sure, this system presents some extra issues but, since California went broke, the freeways are just going to hell...an off road adventure every day. Got to love that air ride.

Great forum and thread...thanks.

Gary

AH1W-COBRA

never had a single issue yet,i am a fanatic about the car and whenever im finished driving and the car is garaged i raise the hood to allow the engine compartment temp to cool rapidly.im not sure if temp is an issue but i know you could bake biscuits under the hood after a long drive.more than likely it is based upon terrain and driving habits than any other factor.