Thanks for replying!! My car has only 12000 miles. Is it common for this part to fail with with this low mileage?

We had three of us members of the local Houston MB group that had total failure of the ABC system and paid between 12k-14k to have the systems replaced. If the dual pump goes south microscopic particles of aluminum get into the system and every part of the system is stripped including all tubing and replaced. On the older SL's the same pump pressurized both the ABC and power steering loops though they are otherwise separated systems. Others that had individual parts break would have one quadrant of the car sit lower than the other three sides and one person locally where the ABC System leaked and lowered the body where the wheel wells sat on the tires. I believe Mercedes discontinued ABC as standard and made it a option because of the huge problems they were having. Those that lease cars with ABC are usually great fans because they turn the cars in before problems occur. This is just my opinion and others may be different. Your mileage may vary!

Maybe misguided but out quite a chunk of cash I do not think should have been necessary. Due to my wife's poor health, she would no longer ride in the '2008 deeming it unreliable and did not want us stuck on the side of the road, so I opted to buy the 2017 brand new and with a warranty !

It is almost impossible to detect where it is coming from. I can rear/feel it from the driver's seat. I think when you are referring to the left front wheel area, it is the place where the old R230 pulsation dampers were located, right? Mine is a R231, and the pulsation damper is connected directly to the pump. That's why I think I cannot pin point the noise. Maybe it is pulsating the entire system? The only thing that makes me worry is that the noise is not continuous, it is intermittent.

And regarding the fluid. It is almost transparent green. It is like new.

Springs. The only reason that I feel reasonably qualified to a “subjective” opinion on the differences is that we owned two 2013 SL 550’s back to back. One with springs and one with ABC. So it was easier to distinguish the suspension pros/cons on the very same model car (less variables).

But it is subjective as most things in life. That said I will also agree if somebody buys a car and keeps it for 10 years, ABC can have more issues as anything complex carries a higher risk than simple tech.
Mercedes did revise their ABC and Airmatic components over the years and these systems have been solid compared to older generation MB’s. In those days it didn’t take 4-5 years to see first issues, it took only months. Our 2000 CL500 and 2003 SL55 had both issues 6 months in. That’s why I suggest not to generalize across 18 years of ABC.

ABC is it for me

Btw, I learned that MB seems to be using the terms ABC for two different suspensions - Active Body Control on the SL and Air Body Control on AMG’s

My '2008 developed a situation about 6 months after I bought where it would stall at idle at odd times for no reason. After the third time it stalled I took it to a local mechanic who does not have MB software and he concluded that the problem was a sticking throttle body valve part and wanted $550 to change it out. I had been looking for a reputable MB/BMW mechanic also and found one a few miles away so I decided to take the SL to him for a second opinion. He put the SL on his system with MB software and concluded it was a bad purge valve in the gas tank and put in the new part for $125. The SL ran perfectly after the purge valve was replaced. My point is that some times it's easier and cheaper in the long run to take a car to someone experienced rather than diagnose and try to fix yourself.

Double Post...

Thanks for replying. The problem here is even the dealer have no clue about it and the MB software don't show any problems. That's why I am thinking about the pulsation damper. I pulled the trigger and bought one. It should arrive in a few weeks.