The leak of the strut is in the middle part, where there is some flexible rubber covering the metal. How many miles are these things supposed to last, my car only have 31,250 miles and I already had to change both rear ones.

 

Well, they charged me 1,400 dollars, and now the SRS light is coming on and off. Can you believe that?

 

MB Star scan will sort that but maybe you are no longer at the dealer.

If this has happened since you collected the car from the dealer you can try disconnecting the battery for a short time and reconnecting to determine whether this forces a reset.

Battery disconnection is the only thing that I can think of that they would have done that might have caused this latest "gremlin".

Make sure you have your radio security code otherwise you will be asking how to get the radio working again!!

Stuart.

 

i don`t know what to do with this car, when it runs it is a beauty. in 2 years i had to change 2 rear struts, one front strut, a sbc or wharever they call it, the brake module, a 4 set of tires ( that`s ok), please if somebody tell me what should a expect in the near future. i love the car, but i don`t trust it anymore. next time, transmission?engine? a/c?

 

If indeed all these parts needed changing you have been very unfortunate.

Usual problems are confined the assorted warning lights on the ABS, EPS, etc which usually require a sensor replacement. This is typical across most modern cars.

The front strut problem (haven't come across it previously on the rear) is seemingly quite common in the USA and is likely therefore territory (temperature?) dependent.

Generally MB are very rugged but do suffer from ****ling and difficult to diagnose electrical problems.

I wouldn't swap mine for its main rivals BMW or Lexus. The Lexus according to JDPowers experiences less problems but I wonder how much of this is down to aftersales culture vs fundamental engineering reliability. Part of the MB "problem" IMHO has been the disastrous Chrysler marriage and divorce which has compromised some of MB "standards".

Biggest problem IMHO is the use of sophisticated systems that do not have a useable limp home capability. e.g. Air suspension, Fly by wire brakes (SBC). Security lock out systems. Try driving on SBC with no hydraulic pump! Try starting an MB when the security system decides that the car is immobilised! Doesn't lead to good customer relationship.

Engines used to be a problem but the intro of a realistic limp home means that you should not be stranded by the road ALTHOUGH the handbook or "dash message centre" is not very good at pointing out that the car has gone into limp home BUT that it is OK to proceed home. Most people still call the rescue services and have the car towed in!

Stuart

 

thank u again. i'll keep it on probation for a couples of months. let's hope nothing bad happens again.

 

I just had the same air-matic problems in my 03 E500. Driver side front strut failure. Took it to a Merc repair shop. They replaced the strut AND the compressor to the tune of $1900. They said the compressor motor had burnt up, and the compressor had not been putting out enough pressure. They also said the strut had a leak.

After replacing the two above items, they found a leaky air line in the air matic system, and had to replace that, as well. Shouldn't they have found the leaky line first?

I feel ripped off, but really don't know.

 

WIS says that several shops has been changing the struts in pairs, without any reason to do so.
WIS recommends that for cars with over 80k miles on the clock both sides to be replaced, less than that its not recommended.

Rgds
Odd

 

Any thoughts on were I can find an airmatic stut... cheep?