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Now that I've driven my 2019 quite a bit I am really enjoying MBC. Right in my neighborhood there are streets with odd humps and dips and innumerable speed 'cushions' and I almost forget they're there with the 2019.
I only saw two facelift cars with MBC when I was shopping. I almost bought the first one but I couldn't get excited about the odd 'gold' color (they call it 'Dune Silver'). And it didn't have the AMG styling package. I passed over a number of other cars with features I wanted, like semi-aniline exclusive leather and Hi-End sound, but I think now getting MBC was worth it.
Now that I've driven my 2019 quite a bit I am really enjoying MBC. Right in my neighborhood there are streets with odd humps and dips and innumerable speed 'cushions' and I almost forget they're there with the 2019.
I only saw two facelift cars with MBC when I was shopping. I almost bought the first one but I couldn't get excited about the odd 'gold' color (they call it 'Dune Silver'). And it didn't have the AMG styling package. I passed over a number of other cars with features I wanted, like semi-aniline exclusive leather and Hi-End sound, but I think now getting MBC was worth it.
They are rare for sure, forum member's @Streamliner W222 used to have one.
It's a great option but rare for sure. Most people didn't order it new and dealers didn't stock cars with MBC because as I remember it was a 6400 dollar option. I found a used 2018 S560 about 4 years ago with 16K miles on it at the time that has every option on it except the fridge in between the seats. it was used as a corporate limo before I got the car and in like new condition so when I saw it listed at the dealer I couldn't get down there quick enough to offer them my 2017 S550 in trade plus cash. When I test drove the S560 with MBC I immediately noticed a much more planted smooth feeling over the S550. It's interesting watching the cars ahead hit dips in the road and bouncing around whereas the benz with MBC just stays level and smooth. The car now has 81K miles on it and I recently bought a 2025 E450 All Terrain which rides very nice itself but no match for the MBC plus the S560 is a much bigger and heavier car. I debated on selling the S560 but with the kind of miles I have on the car it really cuts down the value of it so decided to keep the car as a second car long term. I've just study up on servicing the MBC, no dealers will do it, they say nothing ever has to be done with it. I've heard from other sources that it's a good idea to change the Hydraulic fluid maybe around the time of Transmission service. To change the fluid apparently the filter is built into the Hydraulic Tank so you have to change the whole plastic tank. I can imagine thats a special order item and expensive. I thought about just taking a suction gun to the tank and sucking out the fluid and replace it with new fluid although that definitely would not get all the old fluid out, but maybe if I did that a couple of times, I dunno.
It's a great option but rare for sure. Most people didn't order it new and dealers didn't stock cars with MBC because as I remember it was a 6400 dollar option. I found a used 2018 S560 about 4 years ago with 16K miles on it at the time that has every option on it except the fridge in between the seats. it was used as a corporate limo before I got the car and in like new condition so when I saw it listed at the dealer I couldn't get down there quick enough to offer them my 2017 S550 in trade plus cash. When I test drove the S560 with MBC I immediately noticed a much more planted smooth feeling over the S550. It's interesting watching the cars ahead hit dips in the road and bouncing around whereas the benz with MBC just stays level and smooth. The car now has 81K miles on it and I recently bought a 2025 E450 All Terrain which rides very nice itself but no match for the MBC plus the S560 is a much bigger and heavier car. I debated on selling the S560 but with the kind of miles I have on the car it really cuts down the value of it so decided to keep the car as a second car long term. I've just study up on servicing the MBC, no dealers will do it, they say nothing ever has to be done with it. I've heard from other sources that it's a good idea to change the Hydraulic fluid maybe around the time of Transmission service. To change the fluid apparently the filter is built into the Hydraulic Tank so you have to change the whole plastic tank. I can imagine thats a special order item and expensive. I thought about just taking a suction gun to the tank and sucking out the fluid and replace it with new fluid although that definitely would not get all the old fluid out, but maybe if I did that a couple of times, I dunno.
Sort of like the new e-abc of which yet another expensive option yet rare on W223.
I’ve had two with MBC. The 2014 S-550 that had all options except the fridge and the S-65 which came with the fridge. It got almost immediately removed as it is an utter waste of space in the trunk. What an amazing bit of engineering that went into this system. As mentioned above... driving on roads that cars ahead of and behind me can be easily seen to be tossing the occupants up, down, side to side as I drive along; aware of how much suspension is moving, but I’m not. The utter lack of body roll in turns.... the way that side winds that are moving other cars around in their lane is just not noticeable.
As for maintenance... change that fluid. When the noise dampening Nitrogen bomb that threads into the MBC pump fails you will know the noise. Easy replacement. 142,000 miles on mine. Love it.
-Is MBC as smooth/soft as the standard airmatic on all surfaces and scenarios?
-How reliable is it?
-Does it work at night?
-How repairable is it? and at what cost?
-Other than looking for well-optioned RWD examples, is there any other way to identify a MBC car aside for plugging in the VIN to a decoder? I have decoded three dozen W222 cars and never once saw it optioned.
-Is MBC as smooth/soft as the standard airmatic on all surfaces and scenarios?
-How reliable is it?
-Does it work at night?
-How repairable is it? and at what cost?
-Other than looking for well-optioned RWD examples, is there any other way to identify a MBC car aside for plugging in the VIN to a decoder? I have decoded three dozen W222 cars and never once saw it optioned.
Good questions Quietride ... I'm trying to tell if the MBC car rides any different or better than my 2016 ... hard to know as any difference could be tires, wear in the suspension, etc. With both cars in 'Comfort' mode, the MBC car does seem a touch stiffer at low speeds, but again, another MBC car might feel different.
MBC's 'Road Surface Scan' functionality is based on cameras so does not work at night or in low visibility conditions. IIRC correctly, it is not available with 4MATIC in regular, non-AMG cars. No ideas on repairability, not sure I want to find out LOL!
Two ways to tell if a car has MBC are code 487 in the build data, or the presence of the MBC reservoir to the right of the radiator when you look under the hood. I looked at dozens of facelift cars when I was shopping and only saw two with MBC ... one on Craigslist custom-ordered by the original owner and mine that I saw on EBay. On my car, the sticker showed a price of $4,450
Last edited by Tom in Austin; Feb 18, 2025 at 11:34 AM.
Good questions Quietride ... I'm trying to tell if the MBC car rides any different or better than my 2016 ... hard to know as any difference could be tires, wear in the suspension, etc. With both cars in 'Comfort' mode, the MBC car does seem a touch stiffer at low speeds, but again, another MBC car might feel different.
MBC's 'Road Surface Scan' functionality is based on cameras so does not work at night or in low visibility conditions. IIRC correctly, it is not available with 4MATIC in regular, non-AMG cars. No ideas on repairability, not sure I want to find out LOL!
Two ways to tell if a car has MBC are code 487 in the build data, or the presence of the MBC reservoir to the right of the radiator when you look under the hood. I looked at dozens of facelift cars when I was shopping and only saw two with MBC ... one on Craigslist custom-ordered by the original owner and mine that I saw on EBay. On my car, the sticker showed a price of $4,450
Thanks!
I'm also an Austinite. if you're happy with the comfort of the car on our roads, well that says a lot!
Any difference in road noise between the two cars? We are unlucky to have lived formerly smooth roads that were paved over with coarse chipseal.
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