GT-ER

Just curious what percentage has actually experienced it.

03'55AMG

not once since i bought it in 2003, and 66,000 miles later

03'55AMG

JW, is this for all airmatics or just 55ks? i know a lot of other people read this so jw

GT-ER

I think it should only include the 55K since the airmatic seems to be different than the rest.

Evolved8

none here 67k miles

BenzoDoc

Didn't vote, because my 07 E63 DID have failures, but my 05 E55 has not, knock on wood!

E55Dimon

But how often do you use it?

I raise the car everytime I visit my parents, long driveway...
And she's always in sport1 (and lowered via star)

I've had the compressor go..fixed by dealer. Thats about it.

03'55AMG

i raise/lower the car EVERY day to clear my driveway or it scrapes, then again on one of the bad roads here. and i switch from comfort to sport ii often aswell

pte5

i know we're dealing with 55s here but my 500 has had it's compressor go, and my rear left airbag (or whatever theyre called) was found to be leaking.... twice.

tbal

Do these airmatic struts fail depending on use??

dpavid

both of my front failed about 18 months apart.

220S

Might be helpful too if people also say whether they are lowered or not (either via SDS or a module.)

Turbo 6

My driver's side blew out one night while I was standing next to the car in the garage. Got my attention!
Replaced it with an Arnott rebuilt unit. Easy fix, Arnott new exactly what I needed and had it here in two days.

X2Board

61K no failures. Lowered via washers, raised to enter or exit driveway, and I mostly drive in sport 2.

06E55

Had a rear failure at around 30k...

Yuille36

I wouldn't call it a failure for say. Well you can call what you want, but my left rear was sagging 2 years ago, and they replaced the rear air bag, then about 6 months later the other side was starting to sag, replaced that one as well. A year later no issues have resurfaced.

GT-ER

That is a failure....just not one that left you stranded.

Yuille36

Okay you got me..... it's a failure

redlineAMG

No fails for me (yet) and I'm at 105,000 (!) no I consider myself lucky. I am replacing rear shocks myself this week because of the BANG over sharp bumps in the rear but the rear shocks are independent of the actual air suspension system. Anyone know an alternative source for the rear shocks besides the dealership. I got the hook up at $443 ea (25%off), just wondering if there are options. Anyone get em cheaper than that? Pleez PM me! (thread jack over)

emoving

Lets just say anything over @75k is not a failure. That is called maintaince. What do you guys think they should last forever!!


"Hey, my Honda has 235,000 miles and the tranny went out....what a piece of crap....I hate Honda....oh and, I never changed the tranny fluid on time and I always put it in park when I was still going 5 mph. Honad wont fix it. I hate Honda! Junk, if you buy a Honda put 3gs away for a tranny"

Seriously! You guys need to get a grip!

GT-ER

I've had MANY cars that have had well over 100K miles with zero strut/spring failures...why should the life expectancy of the airmatic be less than 75K? I don't recall the owners manual stating that airmatric should be replaced at 75K. Sorry, while I don't expect it to last forever...it's not a maintenance item. Some people are getting failures at less than 30K miles.

I have to admit though, the poll is going a lot more in favor of NO failures than I expected...that's good news. I guess airmatic isn't really as bad as I thought it was.

emoving

You are talking to a group of guys that are on airbags and race them, lower them and put 20s on them (me being one of them). One should expect failure at some point!

GT-ER

LOL... I guess I can agree to that.

Jakpro1

Had my right front fail right after I Star lowered so not sure if that contributed.

Bought refurb from Arnott and with Star it's not too bad a job. Without Star/Das I say near impossible (due to having to compress the strut and only Star will do that)

Evolved8

Is there a serivce of some sort that can be done to add longevity to the Airmatic suspension parts? (I don't think so but I figured I'd ask)