2Mercedes

So i drove the car to Washington DC yesterday and enjoyed the drive down there with the top down and was doing the same on the way back and was sitting in traffic and "ABC- Visit Workshop" blue warning light came on. It completely took the fun of driving the car. So disappointing. Mercedes made such a beautiful and fun to drive car but with a sucky suspension system. Can't even simply enjoy it without going through a disappointing issue.

So I stopped by an Indy on the way back home and dropped the car off at his shop this morning. He ran the diagnostic test and the following codes were stored:

C1531-008- Right rear suspension strut moves although locking valve is closed
C1353-001- Fault in component Y86/1 (ABC suction restrictor valve)
C1525-002- Critical vehicle level front right
C1525-008- Critical vehicle level rear right
C1525-064- System pressure too low

The car has no leak from anywhere and has perfect level of ABC fluid but apparently the front pump needs to be replaced as one of the sensors in the pump is not effectively reading the pressure. He quoted me $5700 for the repair as he stated the pump itself is $1700 and $4000 in labor? I was like are you seriously an indy?

I am looking online and worst case scenario, if I do need to change the pump, from what I am seeing on the posts here, I can get a re-manufactured one like for $799:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-MERCEDES...-/290480868860

Any ideas on the codes that I have mentioned above?

I have driven the car about 100+ miles since and have not seen the ABC warning again. Again, the car sits in the garage and I don't even see a drop of the fluid on the floor.

Thanks,

Paul

theintelligent1

I wont make comment on if it actually needs doing or not but if it does (what colour was the warning light? white or red?):

the guy is taking you for a ride labour to change the ABC pump is something like 5-6 hours..............

A new Pump can be had for about $1,100-$1200 you should be able to do the lot at a decent indy under $2k

seven_out

There is no sensor on the pump, but there is an actuator -- the "Suction Restrictor" valve -- and it's function is to help regulate the supply pressure of the ABC hydraulics. You have a fault for this.

The pair of level faults are likely a consequence of the car sagging from sitting idle...I'm guessing "rear suspension strut moves" is triggered when a controller plunger moves while the system has shut-off ABC. In my opinion this is an inconsequential fault in the case of a car which generally operates fine. To resolve the problem the car should have a rodeo routine performed...The restrictor valve and system pressure faults could be serious, or they could be a consequence of an electrical glitch. To investigate further you ought to have a $300 Chinese-cloned or other SDS to run diagnostic tests, and monitor both the system pressure and the electrical current going to the valve.

Years ago I got the same warning that you got. When I returned home I connected SDS and found a fault for low pressure, but the pressure was fine. I never saw the warning again.

2Mercedes

Thanks everyone for this very valuable information.

The warning that I got was blue and not red. Well, the indy cleared off all the codes in the car. I agree that he is $5700 quote is probably even higher that what a dealer would charge so he is definitely out.

I would drive the car for now and will worry about it if the warning pops up again.

Can you guys give me the Mercedes Part number for the ABC pump?

Thanks much!

Paul

dealmaker5

dont forget the accumulators, some may have torn membranes , thus the sagging

V12TTenthusiast

4000 in labor? What is this guy smoking, my engine mount job on my SL65 which requires the engine to be dropped with 20+ hrs of labor was less then that. If you want a good indy go to Benz Elite in Alexandria VA. Its good for us DC Metro guys but your closer to Baltimore so this might be more of a hike for you

seven_out

A failed accumulator can not cause sagging. When the car is shut-off, the ABC controller seals-off the four suspension struts from the pressure supply, and this isolates them hydraulically from the accumulators.

Sagging is caused by fluid escaping from one or more struts through closed valves in the valve blocks.