Airmatic long term
 

Hopefully will be picking up an E55 next week. Obviously the Airmatic suspension is a common issue these cars have. Been searching and searching to find how many miles people have been able to put on their factory suspension setups. Haven’t been able to find a thread in regards to this. I know every car is different and the system could have issues at any age/mileage. Trying to be optimistic here. Thanks in advance.


https://mbworld.org/forums/market/718386/page1

140k here with 0 issues

That is because it varies with each owner. There isn't a set years or miles that this suspension lasts. Some have had issues, some haven't. It's a crab shoot.

2004 with 52k on originals

my E63 had its airmatic shocks and bags replaced at around 70k and then at 110k. now i am using arnotts so they will come with a lifetime warranty.

replaced my compressor and filter at 98k...honestly wasn't sure it even needed replacement as the issue was related to something else entirely. one of the pins for the connector to airmatic computer was broken in the connector.

I did coilover conversion 3 years ago... BC Racing. Total cost $2K include control arms, installation, alignment...
I have my car for 10 years only issue or fail is Water pump then everything else is just regular maintenance. It has 118K miles now.

86000kms or 54000miles and I have had to replace both front shocks, they went about 5000miles within each other. 2005 CLS55

86,000 on my 2007 E63 and no issues with the Airmatic.

Changed my 2006 E55 right front in 2015 with 120k, did both rears last November at 170k and left front in December. Arnott is the way to go for saving money cause OEM costed me $800 for one front strut and that’s with 30% discount from dealer. Rock auto have the best price for Arnott. Good luck with your car purchase!

Yet. You missed that key word.

HAHA. I'm going to knock on wood for everyone who posted in this thread and hasn't had an issue.

keep in mind browsing the forums you will always find the people posting about the issues which creates the illusion that it is far more common than it actually is. hundreds of thousands of these cars were made and not all of them will fail...i'm close to 100,000 miles and no issues yet!

Arnott says on their website that the life expectancy of air springs / struts is about 100,000 miles. Sure, you may be able to go longer than that but what happens if one of them fails and you're far from home? If you plan to keep your car long term, the best thing to do would be to treat it like a maintenance / wear item.

I've got Arnotts at all four corners, Installed the fronts at a little over 200k miles, rears were on the car when I got them so unknown mileage but they are the Arnott designed bags. One of my brand "new" rebuilt front struts sprung a leak a couple months after I got it. They swapped it out no problem. Great company and I'm very satisfied with their products so far.

Actually I’m sorry to say all of them WILL fail. It’s great that you’ve made it to 100k miles, but you are the exception not the norm. I am not sure if you purchased the car new but it could be that a previous owner has dealt with some Airmatic headaches. My car was an absolute cream puff, 7th car for the original owner (who I bought it from), dealer over-maintained. Everything ever suggested was done. She still replaced the compressor twice and I had a shock let go at 60k miles. I am amazed that your Airmatic setup made it to 100k without issues.

That being said, I love the system and will continue to replace it.

I made it to 99,000 miles when the rear air springs started to leak. I went and replaced all four air springs plus rebuilt front and rear suspension all the way around. FWIW, I'm about to replace my rear tires that now have ~33,000 miles on them. I would worry more about bushings and ball joints than the air springs. However, I'm a believer in preventive and pro-active maintenance.

170k with the rears replaced once.

I agree...I enjoy the ability to raise and lower my car especially more so now that I have a CF Front Lip.

I know......You have to protect that lip.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...144124b74c.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...915e3d524e.jpg

Yuille, if there is an award for posting the most pics of your car, you are the winner!
Hahahahahaha

Have to get it out there :y I mean it's a good looking car.

Maybe I should update my thread. Lol

wow...nice paint...if only i had the time and overall effort as you do.

My 2006 E55 just hit 78K miles and has the original Airmatic with no issues.

just buy the car expecting them all to fail, factor that into the original price you're paying for the car, and that way things can only work out great!

Look nothing lasts forever on any car, at some point things will either fail or break, thus requiring it to be replaced.