My suspension was noticeably stiffer today. It felt really unsettled over rough surfaces and it felt like my wheels were skipping over bumps. I was in comfort mind you.

This change coincided with a software update I just received today: 2.6.1.

 

I think this is not the only complaint about the same issue that I've seen few weeks about the W223?}

Also, what (was) your previous OTA? There was a software update that model year 2023 and 2024 cars received about 1.5-2 years ago that several users reported it had ruined the ride compared to the original baseline. What was your previous software version? I recall the 223 being comfy to some degree in 2024 or so when I was shopping for cars. My brother has one now, and it is not near what I recall as ultimate comfy car; it is much more stiff than I recall it, unless am calibrated now to better riding cars or softer rides. I know that in 2024 or sometime after that was a software update that made the car stiffer or "unsettles" as users called it.

 

I can’t find anything that makes me think that 2.6.1 has any updates to the suspension…

 

OP: actually I found one of those threads that I was referring to above. Sounds like u contributed to it. I thought I was crazy when I drove one several times this year that my brother has. Sounds like the spectrum between Sport mode and Comfort has shrunk by tuning the Comfort to be closer to Sport, and only those who owned or drove the car before that 2024 OTA have noticed it. It's unfortunate if that's true, but what are the chances that you never updated your software until just now and that you were running on an early 2024 software update?
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...pension-2.html

 

Yeah, this has happened before. I remember when a previous software update negated any differences between comfort and sports+ in the suspension. It was fixed a few weeks later. They need to fix this because comfort is way worse than what Sports+ use to be. It’s bad.

 

I remember you saying that before.

Try cycling suspension high and back to normal.

Every car I have ever had with air suspension has some degree of variability in ride quality. Sometimes the ride is surprisingly hard and I have found cycling them helps to reset things.

Someday maybe I will get 2.6!

 

This is insane! Automakers should not have the ability to futz with something like suspension settings via OTA. You test drive a vehicle and you either like it or you don’t. If you decide to buy or lease the vehicle, you should at least be able to depend on knowing that it will ride & handle exactly as it did when you test drove it. Of course, tire & wheel changes will affect it somewhat, but we shouldn’t be at the mercy of some unseen “Wizard of Oz” making unnecessary changes to OUR vehicles. This is WAY too much “Big Brother” like for something as innocuous as comfort settings. The next thing you know, “THEY” will be deciding which radio stations you are allowed to listen to.

 

Agree. They messed something up.

Why would they even fiddle with it to begin with is another question.

 

GLS owners also reported 2024+ (facelift) suspension was more firm the pre-facelift. I looked it up and found the part numbers to be exactly the same, and that the modules software is likely the only difference. I had 2 GLS loaners, and while the ride wasn't terrible, it wasn't as great but to be fair the wheel size and tire pressure were exactly the same, so it's hard for me to personally confirm, but I always felt mine that 2024 facelift wasn't as soft as my GLS.

 

I’m noticing that the rear suspension seems generally worse off vs the front but both are bad. The rear feels like it’s skipping over unsettled surfaces. They need to undo whatever they did.

 

So this ride difference happened after the 2.6.1 update?
Mine was installed back in 6/30/2025, about a month into ownership.
I don't recall any change in ride comfort after the OTA... something I would've noticed.
But then, the roads in GA are generally smooth, so my case may not be a good reference point...
I need to ride back to back with a pre-2.6.1 S/W to tell if anything changed.

 

Yeah it’s normal over smooth surfaces but I can tell the difference over rough surfaces, which are plentiful near me.

Maybe you are just accustomed to it since you haven’t been driving it for long before the update. I can definitely tell.

 

OP, you may consider having Maybach mode coded.

 

I would reach out to @EleBest also and see if there is anything he can do to go in and look at the settings even if you don’t use Maybach mode

 

I just want them to fix it. It shouldn’t be like this. This has happened before. SW, did you get the update yet?

 

They should at least be willing to switch it back to the older software; if not, I think (though not sure) that Elebest might be able to install the previous software before Mbenz messed up things or made it a bit too firm for an S. Same happened with GLS and most people don't like it.

As for your choice to not try Maybach mode coding, I think I agree with you and I wouldn't do it now given your issues with the original baseline. In all cases, it's useless to some degree for the firmness of the drive. Without E-ABC, all it does is in the S is to adjust your car height (for a sedan it'd look goofy btw) by adjusting to higher level at lower speeds (just like you can do manually anyway at lower speeds). You S already adjusts the speed to -1 at higher speed even without Maybach mode. Maybach mode needs E-ABC to do real micro adjustments and anti-roll, wherein regular airmatic can't do micro-adjustments. In my GLS, as an SUV, elebest was able to unlock the actual suspension Maybach mode, cause the GLS airmatic has an extra module that the S doesn't have, that is shared with the Maybach, but it is still missing a lot of the E-ABC modules that Maybach cars utilize. Maybach cars also come with an additional node on top of the E-ABC components. For my GLS, the improvements were noticeable to me but not dramatic. When I compare it to newer GLS with E-ABC that I had driven, mine still sucks. However, when I compare it to newer models with the new software but no E-ABC, I like mine better, but I also liked it more even before the Maybach mode. Someone needs to figure out what's going on with these new software releases. I hate the new software so much that I can only like newer models with E-ABC. Luckily, my GLS didn't get the same newer software as facelift GLS, unlike your S which seems to have been updated to the newer software released around 2024. Once your suspension is actually fixed and back to normal, getting Maybach mode would be a nice add-on if you can take the look at low speeds for a sedan.

On top of the need for E-ABC to get all the benefits and the hardware needed, the actual Maybach vehicle comes with an additional node to better manage the suspension amplitude. WIthout it, the car is basically raised up and allows for a more floaty feeling, which can be better than a firm ride, but won't glide over road imperfections the same way as E-ABC and/or E-ABC in a Maybach.

 

As many here know, when I had my 2022 S580 with EABC, I was EXTREMELY unhappy with the ride quality, coming out of three W222’s all with MBC that rode like a “magic carpet.”

At the time, I had no idea that OTA software updates could adjust it. And, at the time, when MB dealers were performing “TRIAGE” stunts with customers, just trying to get them out of the service department and back on the road, I doubt that ANY attention was paid to EABC complaints such as mine, since there were so few vehicles equipped with the $6,500 option.

I realize that the OTA updates originate at the factory level, but doubt that any attention was paid to EABC complaints, since the vehicles were still drivable and MB corporate had just SO MANY other, more serious issues on their plate back then—not to say that it isn’t currently the same or worse, as I really don’t have any current MB dealer experience.

 

Well, in fact, yours had a software that most people were okay with. The newer software caused even more issues from what am reading. Caused the same also in facelift GLS wherein the suspension hardware is the same and it is only the software running the modules that was updated.
Number of cars with E-ABC is very limited. And for how Mbenz has been slow in tracking even other serious issues, I think E-ABC is at the bottom of their list.

 

Yes, it makes zero sense to me. I rmb vaguely what it was like test driving a 2022 GLS about two years ago and it was like a cloud. I don’t get that with my 2025.

 

My issue with the EABC was that when any wheel would hit a road imperfection--especially smaller ones--it would react MULTIPLE times, giving the ride a very "nervous" feeling. If two or more wheels hit bumps at the same time, it was crazy nervous. I remember after turning in the S580 when they bought it back and getting into the CPO S560 with AirMatic that I bought in a crunch, that I felt just SO relieved to again be in a car that felt NORMAL.

 

No, no update. Had my oil changed at the dealer today and they ran the VIN, "no available updates"

As for what you were told above about Maybach mode in the W223, it is not correct, its more than just raising the suspension. It also controls damping such that side to side motions and rebound is considerably reduced, I'm amazed at the difference. I have been trying it out the last couple days and comparing it to Comfort mode and Comfort mode with the height raised and there is a distinct difference in the ride feel. It does raise up at low speeds which does look goofy, but the ride difference is there. Obviously its not eABC and won't behave like eABC...

It doesn't "ride softer" though, so I don't think it would solve your issue and I would get it sorted before I did any coding to make sure they don't try and blame that. Personally I think its a coincidence and is unrelated to your MBUX update...

 

Lots of people complained the GLS was too wallowy and boaty, which is why they likely stiffened up the suspension. I had a pre refresh GLS450 for a loaner for a week back before I traded my S560 for my S580 and it was so boaty I had to drive it in Sport mode, and I love a softly sprung car, it was just too much.

 

If this S/W update indeed messes up the previously superb suspension setup, then MB truly screwed up big time.
Based on what others are describing over bumps and rough surfaces, my guess is they've retarded the rebound rate - maybe to reduce the cracked wheel claims?
It just doesn't make much sense for them to give the existing (already sold) cars an OTA with such drastic suspension setting changes.
There's gotta be a reason behind this change and I'm dying to read the release note to this EO.

 

@EleBest do you have any insight into what specifically is changed with the MBUX update? I haven't ever read anything that says it changes anything with the suspension...everything just points to it being an operating system and multimedia update.

 

Just like my experience. There are more than one formal notes across the models on suspension updates and it sucks. Am still running mine on its pre-2024 update, thankfully. My brother’s 223 ride is much inferior than previous 223 I had test driven in the past. Just not comfy. Unsettled is the the right word and he also runs a software that comes with 2024-present vehicles.