davidliu68

Anyone notice their car is not leveling. I noticed my SL55 rear driver side is about 1/4 inch higher than the passenger side. I try to raise the car to level 1, level 2, and than turn leveling off. it looks level, but after I take it to a spin and come back, it is not level again.

Thanks advance for your advice.

David

B R

I don't have that problem, but it sounds like there may be a problem with a check valve? When was the last time the suspension was serviced?

davidliu68

I don't think I ever has the suspension serviced. you mean the check value on the air Hydraulic suspension?

B R

I would take it to an expert first, but if it is a check valve that's not holding, you might want to try a service/flush which may fix the problem, or you may have to replace the unit. Talk to an expert tech about it, I'm def not an expert & there is a lot going on with these suspension systems.

davidliu68

I will take it to dealer to check it out since it still has warranty. I think it is related to technical service bulletin, #P-B-32.50/34b.

cal1

Have you seen any ABC warnings on the dash MFD?

davidliu68

there is no warning on the dash MFD. here is what I notice, if I turn on ABC level 1, the car is level, if I turn on ABC level 2, the car is level. but if I turn off ABC leveling, the car is leaning to right side, the car is about 1/2 inch higher on the left side.

amok55amg

My car is a little higher in the rear left side .... but it comes and goes ....... in level 1 and 2 theres no prop. guess sometime I will have to fix it ...

photonut

unfortunately i had a bit of experience with a leaning '04 sl55.

the abc (active body control) suspension, as others have noted in this post, is a MAJOR problem, especially on the pre '07 models.
in '07 mb redesigned the abc (called it abc II) and this may have addressed the headaches so many of us experienced.
the hydraulic suspension system has "check valves" which are designed to prevent the vehicle from dropping when the engine is turned off.
the valves are a metal on metal design and if metal particles get into the closed system (as they will eventually, due to the valve design) the valves fail to seat properly and the car will drop down, sometimes an inch or two overnight.
mb initially advised the dealers to perform a "rodeo test" on effected vehicles.
the "rodeo" cycles the system to flush & bleed the system after opening the hydraulics - makes the car lift up & down on each corner & pumps the fluid around the system.
check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=chJvOGkmv_I

while the rodeo "test" might pump out air bubbles in the hydraulic system, it never helped my vehicle.
an inline particle filter on the hydraulic system was another attempt at preventing metal particles from contaminating the fluid.

my sl55 was eventually replaced by mb under the michigan lemon law.
i now have an '09 sl63.
the sl63 is stored in the winter and after 4 months there is no loss of vehicle height.
i think mb finally learned their abc's!
by the way, the sl63 is a quantum leap better than the sl55.
and i predict they will depreciate less (wishful thinking, i know!)

read the following posts from this and other forums to learn about the abc issue (the last post is mine).

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230...on-issues.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-a...uspension.html
http://owners.mercedes-benz-usa.com/...23Comment22275
https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-a...n-problem.html

alx

Ah, they all are crooked. My advise- don't bother. If you have sds you can level it (maybe), but generally not worth the effort unless your camber is off because of this (unlikely).