bzliteyear

The car was driving great, and all of a sudden red light comes on regarding ABC...and there's some steam coming out from under the hood, and the front end a bit lower than the rear. Although still drivable, I plan to take to MB asap. The only good news is that I still have zero deductible warranty. Man, I thought the "newer"/later MBs had better parts and therefore would be fine. Plus, I recall retardedmonk said to keep the ABC in "sports" setting and these should never go out. bummer.
PL

rondocap

I don't think keeping it in ABC sports mode really make a big difference to their longevity, I've never heard anyone but that one person mention that.

You may have some sort of leak or hose is loose, I had my high pressure hydraulic hose literally pop off and all of my ABC fluid came rushing out. Hose was replaced+Fluid and all was fine, cost less than $300: But still scary.

Keep us updated on what goes on with the car. I, too, thought the newer models would be a bit better in this, but it seems like ABC problems always pop up no matter what year.

Now, to go back to leaving the "ABC" sport on: This raises a good question. Is there anything we can do in order to make the ABC last as long as possible without problems? I.e maybe the more you drive it - or perhaps the less you drive? Obviously avoiding pot holes and rough roads can help - but I wonder what the best route for babying the ABC is, to not necessarily avoid a problem, but delay one as much as possible!

p_mentir

I have the same question. I have had numerous issues w/the ABC, at this point, i've had multiple lines replaced, leaks found and a block changed. My 2004 S600 is off warranty TODAY and has been in the shop for about a week now (partial backlog at MB Manhattan likely a contributing cause). My rep told me I should flush out the hyraudlic fluid to keep it from corroding the valve blocks and lines - which I did to the tune of $900. I love my car, but frankly thinking of selling it as I was told each block costs 3-4000 to replace.

For what it's worth, I think I had more problems when I left the ABC switch on all the time. Now I leave it off in the city and crappy roads and I get considerably less Tire Pressure Monitor failure messages...

Let me know what happens w/your car, unfortunately, I think you have more trips to the dealer in the future and I wouldn't be surprised if you end up swapping out all the lines and a valve block or two eventually.

Another thing, pay close attention to possible engine mount failure. Mine (fortunately?) had to be remounted and pinched two lines on the ABC causing big time hydraulic leaks. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS LAMPS FOR THAT. The car made some noise when I turned the wheel and they found that the mounts had gone bad. Engine remounted under extended warranty (thank god, that's a $3000-$4000 job) and the lines were replaced.

The things we go through for cars we love....

rondocap

I second the engine mounts - if you hear any type of noise, check it out - engine mounts on my car have gone every 30k miles, and they can take out hoses and other parts if you let them go long enough, so always replace them.

p_mentir

Seriously? Routine 30k mile remount? Who wants a 2004 S600? Black/black, ~80k miles....