Two weeks ago i took my 23 S 580 in for an aliment. They said the toe was out pretty bad. After driving it home when i would hit a bump the read end would get loose (it left like it was slipping on ice in the winter) I wrote it off to a tire pressure issue. the deal always seems to set all 4 to 40 when the gas cap state something like 35 front and 37 rear. I have the 20' inch rims. after checking the pressure it was set correctly. This behavior continued. I brought it back on Friday am. The shop foreman took it for a spin up on the highway. He noticed the same thing I was describing. He thought it might have something to do with the air suspension. They ran a test over night Friday on the bags and lines. I got a call from the dealership today stating they needed more time to figure out whats going on. Has anyone else seen this type of behavior?

 

One thing I’ll notice on occasion is that the suspension seems abnormally stiff. Like overtly noticeable, bone-jarring abnormally stiff. It’s not consistent and only happens very periodically for me. It feels like there’s no movement in the suspension at all.

I wonder if what you’re experiencing is what I’ve noticed but on a more consistent basis. I also wonder if this issue, assuming it is an issue, is partly to blame for all of the 21 inch wheel blowouts. Those 21 inch wheels are properly rated to carry the weight of this car, but maybe the 21 inch wheels just doesn’t have the safety margin like the smaller wheel sizes to account for a malfunctioning suspension.

 

Mine is defiantly not stiff. its super soft and slushy and feels like the car is loosing control. It happened to me on the highway the other night at 60MPH and The meaning of not being able to control the car made a certain body part I was sitting on PUCKER right up

 

So I had this issue once. To find that the technician did NOT enter the correct code (4Matic) for my car and test drove it then stated that they needed to order suspension components. I drive my car very gently. This may be one thing you consider. Oh by the way the word is alignment not aliment.

 

Update: they called me tonight and said they figured it out. The shop alignment rack was out of calibration. Which in turn messed up the alignment on my car causing the issue. Sounds suspect to me But picking it up in the morning and we will see. I hope it was something that dumb. Just wonder how many alignments they have done in the last 2 weeks that have messed up others cars and they have not noticed it before it wrecks their tires.

 

Whatever it might be hope they really corrected it, as long as they didn't break anything and make you whole...

 

I wasn’t far off the mark! Glad they caught it.

 

Do point out the reality (New car industry’s best kept secret) - Today's models even performance AMG - the often quoted reassuring “Will carry out a full Front and Rear ‘4’ Wheel Alignment” is now nothing more than basic TOE (directional) adjustment.

Cost cutting and ever increasing speed of new car assembly lines Front Camber and Caster along with Rear Camber has been deleted (stopping to adjust is no longer an option) !

Now Front and Rear is set to suit showroom height conditions.

No adjustment yet essential when encountering high cambered roads (with excess passenger side edge wear). Or excess inner edge where both sides through altered height or extra passenger loads. Spirited driving and excess outer edge wear.

Onus is now put back on owners to fund costly, premature tire replacement !

Also ‘S’ class current models (W223) or previous (W222) are heavy vehicles and with owner feedback not only did we see the need to provide Bolt-On Front and Rear adjuster kits (which we have designed so not requiring special tools or the need for control arm removal to install).

But also feedback that “limousine” feel for city is compromised at highway speeds. So have therefore taken this into consideration and front adjuster kits have slightly uprated for improved Braking and Steering response. While Rear kit is uprated for more stable rear end response - especially when applying power to lane change / overtake.


SEE SPOILER RE (W223) S350-680, 63 AMG, Maybach S580, 680
(also separate listing for W222 S300-600, 63, 65 AMG, Maybach S500, 550, 600)










AUDI to VOLVO - K-MAC Experience Of Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings (and Costs) Since 1964 !

 

This may be slightly off-topic, but how do the technicians adjust the alignments on the S class, or cars with air suspensions?
I know the car drops slightly after the engine is turned off, which can lead to incorrect adjustments if not done within a few minutes.
Do they leave the engine running?

 

The car doesn't have to drop after the engine is turned off unless there is a leak or the suspension is programmed to do so.

 

But the car DOES drop after the ignition's been turned off for a while.
Even the manual warns of the possibility of injuries from getting stuck between or around the wheel well due to this.

 

Yes, and some manuals also tell the user to not drink the battery acid. The manual warns of a lot of things that don't happen on a daily basis. Only a moron would climb under an unsecured car, or stick their head between the top of the wheel and the wheel well. Probably the same moron who would drink the aforementioned battery acid.

Point is, I believe in xentry / star there is an alignment mode, where it tells the airmatic module to not vent air (drop) the car, for procedures such as, I don't know, alignments, leak checks, etc.

 

I think that there is a ride height and suspension correlation, relative to alignment however, I have seen auto technicians turn the car on and off during my alignments.

 

That makes sense. I guess I wanted to know if the non-MB alignment shops have the ability to keep the ride height stable while performing an alignment

Thanks for the feedback. Was this at a MB dealer, or independent shop?

 

Every time I have ever seen an alignment done the car has been running

 

Thank you for confirming.

 

Yes, this was actually at the dealership. I can speak to this because the same type of incident occurred with my car; dealer thought they would have to order an entire new suspension part however, the technician had the incorrect vehicle programmed in for my car.

 

Back in my dirt bike days I had a Can Am with an opaque orange fuel tank. The owners manual warned me about checking the fuel level with a lighted match. Presumably, someone tried it. Parent company, now makes jets.

 

The racks very rarely go “out of calibration” but the people who operate them do on a regular basis. Bad alignments are a regular thing in my world.