nycebo

Hey all,

I have the 2019 E450 wagon and simply love the car. Sublime in so many ways. However, I've been noticing a peculiarity of late and it has to do with the front suspension. When going over potholes at a speed where you would dip in, or dropping down the road surface where the front end dives, the car occasionally seems to bottom out. In other words, it hits the 'firm' end of the bottom of the suspension and makes for a more jarring sensation. The tire and the suspension do not appear to be eating up the transition and instead bottom out.

Has anyone else noticed this on their cars? As a frame of reference, I drive among the angry streets of the Tri-State NYC area. As such, I estimate that southerners won't even know what I'm talking about, what with the glass smooth pavement on I-75 in southwest FL.

Even if you're not experiencing this, do you think it is the shocks? The coil? Any suggestions? I just want to have the correct lingo down when I speak to the service manager at my next service.

Cheers.

2012 merc amg

I think that happened with that big rut I hit in Jersey on the way back to RI 3 weeks ago. It definitely bottomed out, the radar detector flew off the dash. I think this whole 213 platform was designed without a whole heck of a lot of suspension travel. But, ya definitely mention it to MB service and have them check to make sure you don't have a blown out shock or something I'm sure they are gonna tell you it's normal, but can't hurt to ask.

madtrader

I’ve not had this yet with either my 2018 e400 wagon or 2019 e450 wagon in the 4500 combined miles I have put on them. Both are sport line (supposedly lowered vs the luxury line) and full air suspension. Maybe I’ve not hit a big enough pot hole yet.

nycebo

Yeah, it's not so much the pothole back lip that pushes the tire up into the suspension and car...though that has happened once or twice. Instead, it's a dropoff in the road where the wheel drops down quickly and then the car's weight bottoms out the suspension because of force and gravity. I wonder if the shocks can be dialed.

madtrader

I’ll keep an eye out for such behavior, but certainly not going to try it intentionally.

rbrylaw

Both our E400 and E450 have bottomed out pulling out of the same parking lot, with an unusually big dip. Pissed me off TBH. You can't see any damage, but if you run your fingers under the front bumper, you can feel the rash it caused. I don't understand why they engineered these cars to sit that low. So low that if I didn't have the 360 degree camera, I would routinely get stuck on parking curbs. Thank goodness for the camera, which I now engage when pulling into any parking space. This is truly the only thing that I think MB did poorly in the design of the car. When I read posts of people who lowered their cars further, I think there must be a screw loose somewhere. It already sits too low.

madtrader

This is one of the reasons I got the air suspension, you can raise height at the push of a button. I try to make it a habit to raise before parking.

nycebo

I hear you Rod, but it's not so much that it sits low (and mine does given the the sports package). It when driving down the highway and "falling off" a dip in the road ahead. When the car's weight "falls" forward, the suspension bottoms out, but to clarify the front bumper does NOT scrape the asphalt. It's going to be my first question when I go in for service.

rbrylaw

Well to clarify, I didn't mean the front bumper, I meant under the bumper. It's not visible, but can bottom out easily when pulling out from a parking lot to the street, if the parking lot grade is higher than the street grade. That shouldn't happen. Even with the sports package, which we have on both cars.

nycebo

Ah, I see what you mean. 100% agreed. I have had this problem with my 911 for decades. Whenever I pull up to a parking lot curb, I "stop short", to borrow from Kramer!

JTK44

Why I have the luxury styling and not the sport edition: more than 1/2 inch of extra clearance when parking!

But you guys who bought the sport knew that didn't you!

It is what is called "form over function"!

ua549

I never pull over a curb at a 90° angle. That is asking for trouble. I angle my departure so that only one wheel hits the dip at a time. I've never had the issue that rbrylaw reports.

haibieb

The new models 2018/2019's with the sport AMG suspensions set-up (like our 19 CLS 450) do beg to be driven very slow and carefully when the car is about to face a small dip on the road or driveway. Our front sensors go bat s&it crazy lighting up warning me. On our 2018 E400 Convertible, my wife ripped the front apron going over and backing out of a parking space. Damage cost $700. Yet, the front sensors DID NOT GO ON. And a month ago, a similar car (E450 Conv.) experienced similar damages pulling out of parking spot near our home. The lady told me that she never heard the sensors warning her of the impending clearance. So, yes the front end of the cars look great, but it comes with challenges in daily driving. FYI, our dealer has informed me that a few MB owners have filed concerns about the sensors (Parking etc.) going on when no impending danger seems imminent, yet they fail to go on when really needed. MB front office has been advised of these issues. I do not hold much hope for a solution on these technological advancements meant to aid the drivers. We just need to be very careful indeed.

2012 merc amg

I think NY meant how the front end suspension compresses all the way and makes a bang when you hit a big bump. I don't think there is any solution to this issue it's just a function of the short travel suspension and the fairly soft shocks. As far as the front ends being low, ya, I have to be super careful with my AMG line E450 Cabrio as its super low. Like you said you cant rely on the warning system, it generally does work fine, but what if it does not, the outcome could be taking the nose of the car over a curb and when you back off that curb your looking at a 700 to 1000 dollar bill for the facia damage. On my car cant even raise it with the air suspension button on the dash because it does not have that. On my wagon it's a little better because of the luxury package I think it's a couple inches higher.

rbrylaw

Well, I had no clue this would be the result the ONE time I pulled out of this parking lot. I learned a valuable lesson in that experience and now I too never pull out of a steeper incline full on. Instead, I do what you do. But I wasn't even remotely aware this would happen the one time it happened to me. After all, I'd pulled out of this very same parking lot in several other MB cars over the years, none of which scraped the under bumper doing so.

LILBENZ230

Digging this back up.. I have a W212 RWD E350 and it is in the shop. For some reason they loaned me a 2019 E450 4M wagon with a $77,000 sticker and 5,200 miles. It has a lot of features, but no air suspension. I picked it up today and twice today on the same highways I drive my 212 the wagon front end has hit the bump stops - hard. Same load as the 212, same speed, same dips in the road.

Is this really something they find acceptable in the 213? This is my first drive in a 213. I have had loaner GLCs and loaner 205 C cars that did not do this at all. If this is a normal characteristic of this chassis, I will never own one.

2012 merc amg

Like I said above I think it’s a question of not having enough suspension travel compared to the stiffness. I notice on the amg lines they seem less likely to bottom out than the luxury lines probably a function of the Extra stiffness. They fixed up the roads pretty good in the state where I live. It use to be a problem but not so much anymore.

LILBENZ230

This might be the case, but to think Mercedes allowed this to happen - is stunning. They are not new to building cars and designing suspensions. This E450 wagon has the same code 677 suspension as my W212. It's probably heavier, but that's no excuse. This thread went a little sideways when it was active to people talking about scraping bumpers which is not the same thing. I'm talking 75mph on the interstate and a dip in the road (such as coming off a bridge overpass) causing the front suspension to slam into the bump stops like a 1999 Grand Cherokee with 200k miles. On a $77,000 car with 5k miles. Seems like the springs are not matched up properly with the weight of the car. I'd hate to imagine it with 4/5 passengers. I've been driving these highways for 20 years almost and the only other vehicle I've ever had this happen with was a Jeep with blown shocks/struts.

I am curious if anyone ever got Mercedes to acknowledge this issue and take corrective action. I have actually really started to like the new interior after being unsure for a long time, and within my first few minutes of driving thought maybe my next car would be a W213. Rest of the car is superb but this is a flaw that ruins the whole experience.

nycebo

I'm so glad you have more capably described exactly what I tried to describe. My car still hits the bump stops when driving at speed in the highway and "hitting" a bump that never caused the same issue in my own old S212. MB service said they couldn't detect the problem. My thinking is that it either needs new firmer springs or newer stiffer shocks. It is a major downer on an otherwise outstanding car.

UYD4LYFE

New here but wanted to say the I have had the exact same thought and experience bottoming the suspension out in my E400 wagon. It does seem to me to maybe be slightly better depending on what dynamic mode I’m in however I don’t have the airmatic option. My guess is it’s the shocks and it’s a bummer and low key terrifying when it happens. Could I (we) upgrade the shocks to something stiffer or more progressive? Would that fix it ? It’s one of the few things that I dislike about the car.

2012 merc amg

I wonder if it is just the luxury suspension versions that bottom out like this? Like I said I did have a 2019 E450 Cabriolet with the AMG line suspension and it never bottomed out, my 2019 E450 luxury Wagon does bottom out sometimes. The question is the shocks must be a different part number and perhaps stiffer on the amg line cars? I'll try to look up part numbers now. The odd thing is my E450 Cabriolet rode much better than my luxury wagon which was very surprising, you would think it would have been a more stiff ride. So editing to say, I looked up parts. With non air suspension shocks there is either Variable dampening down towards the bottom of this page or the Sport suspension shocks which I suspect must be AMG line cars. Now the question is are they interchangeable in that can you put the sport shocks on the luxury line? I suspect you can. Might be worth the gamble to try. The Sport shocks are slightly more expensive than the variable dampening shocks. https://www.suburbanautoparts.com/v-...and-components

cetialpha5

It's the springs. The shocks/struts control damping. Springs control ride height and how far the car goes down. Previous models sometimes had broken springs. The springs sink lower the older the car is. That 2019 isn't very old though. Roads can be like that though, there's always a few potholes out there that are so deep, it's going to cause the car to bottom out because it doesn't have enough suspension travel. I've hit a few where it either blew out the tire or right afterwards I knew the alignment was off. Or I found out later I had a bent/cracked rim and figured it was from that bone jarring hit. I wouldn't really blame Mercedes too much. There does seem to be way too many people out there who think a lowered ride and better handling is worth it but don't realize that makes for a lousy harsh ride and bent/cracked rims and flat tires. Those are the people dictating the trends in the markets, not the engineers. The murdered look is pretty awful too but now you can get it as a factory option.

nycebo

Cetialpha5, you might be misunderstanding what we are describing. These are not potholes. These are bumps in the road that my other cars handle with ease, including sports cars. What's happening is that the spring is bottoming out and there is not more suspension travel before slamming into the bumpstop. I would hope springs might dampen the compression a bit. But it's probably the springs.
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Also, for clarification, I don't have the luxury line...inhave the amg style e450. I don't know if the suspension is the same or different between those two systles of e450 but I do know that the AMG E63 rides much more roughly but yet does NOT bottom out.

2012 merc amg

Well so much for the amg line vs luxury line theory then. Just so strange that my 2019 e450 cabriolet did not do this at all and my luxury line wagon does. You’d think it would be the opposite. Too bad I never put the cars on lifts side by side to see what the difference was.

CaprichioArabe

The “sport” suspension on my E450 wagon has never bottomed out.