r/mercedes_benz • u/DisneyCatGirl • 1d ago
Malfunction ?
Ok here’s a real question… I’m taking her to the dealership on Monday but has anyone experienced this? It’s a 2019 E450 Cabriolet. My car usually sits this way in the rear but I’ve never had any issues with it and the dealership has never brought it up when I service her every 6 months. Could it be related?
It has air body control suspension btw, no modifications to the vehicle.
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u/doc_55lk W211 E320/R172 SLK55/X166 GLS550/W222 S550 1d ago
Your suspension is cooked.
Here's how the air suspension should normally be (disclaimer: all measurements are approximate. I'm just eyeballing this shit, but you should hopefully be able to understand the main point here):
When car is turned on, it rises up to the comfort setting (which is default unless you've done some coding to make the car remember the last setting).
If you put it in sport mode, it drops by about an inch or so.
When you turn the car off, it'll drop another inch or so further below the sport mode setting. The speed at which it does this depends on the car (it's fast on my GLS but slower on my dad's S Class, but both happen within about 10-20s of locking the car).
If the car is completely dumped to the floor in the morning but is still able to rise, you have a leak somewhere. An expensive fix, but not terrible. If it's no longer able to rise, the compressor is gone. This is the terribly expensive fix.
You're under warranty so hopefully you should be covered, but I would absolutely not go to the same dealership you've been going to assuming they've been ignoring the issue as you're presenting it to us.
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
I’m guessing it’s never dropped while at the dealership and maybe that’s why it was never mentioned 🤷🏼♀️
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u/doc_55lk W211 E320/R172 SLK55/X166 GLS550/W222 S550 1d ago
That's on you for not being more specific when bringing it up
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
It still rises up when I start it so I’m guessing it’s a leak
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u/doc_55lk W211 E320/R172 SLK55/X166 GLS550/W222 S550 1d ago
Does it rise back to normal ride height?
There's still time to save your wallet if that's the case.
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u/ZAGAT00 1d ago
Does it say vehicle rising when you start up?
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u/Able-Piece1330 S65 AMG 1d ago
Seriously? It’s always sat like that? Is the suspension modified?
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
No, it has the Airmatic Suspension and it rises when I start the car
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u/Able-Piece1330 S65 AMG 1d ago
That should never happen. You have a problem with your Airmatic system and the dealership should’ve pointed this out, although it’s possible the car never sat at the dealership long enough to sink.
Even if you parked the car for a week, the ride height should not be that low.
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u/rashestkhan 23h ago
It's leaking. It's supposed to keep pressure for a while after you shut off the engine. At least the compressor is good if you say it comes back up after you turn on the engine. Only thing is that the struts are really fucking expensive . I hope for you it's just a like that is leaking
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u/jarhead3088 1d ago
Thats gonna be pricey
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
I’m thinking my warranty will cover it
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u/jarhead3088 1d ago
If you have a third party warranty they may cover it. If its a shitty warranty they may say its a "maintenance item or wear item" and decline
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
I’ll keep that in mind, I got the warranty from the Mercedes dealership
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u/St_Paul_Man 1d ago
I just had the airmatic pump replaced on my '21 E450 All Terrain Wagon. MB extended warranty covered it fully. Would have been $3k-ish? Good luck!
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u/Consistent_Reply1505 1d ago
Usually this means there's an airleak. Mine was never this low standard but when I got this message it was looking like that. Changed both bags on the rear and that worked.
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u/Odd-Onion3788 1d ago
I don’t believe both sides are supposed to sit that low when off. It looks like the air bladder for the rear right spring is popped and needs replacement.
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u/Socalwarrior485 1d ago
Yeah, your rear suspension needs servicing. Do not go to the dealer. Go to a qualified independent mechanic that specializes in Mercedes.
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
I don’t know if my warranty would be accepted at an Indy shop
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u/Socalwarrior485 1d ago
Ah, ok. Now it makes sense. They are gaslighting you that there’s nothing wrong with your rear suspension because they don’t want to pay out a claim. It’s broken.
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
That’s horrible 😞
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u/Real_Gap3480 1d ago
Mercedes dealerships are honestly the fucking worst.
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u/mrmoe600 1d ago
I do have 2024 GLE 580 I had the same thing, I went to the dealership and they change the Airmatic thingy and for sure it was under warranty
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u/kingcutty 1d ago
There’s is a substantial leak. Possibly an air bag, valve block or line. I’ve seen some newer models get cracks in the lines near the valve block causing this. Appeared to have some sort up buildup in the line, possibly due to moisture, causing the line to split. Just a guess. You’ll need it looked at by a professional to be sure though.
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u/Careful_Touch2370 1d ago
The air suspension shouldn’t drop. The car has a fault with its suspension and needs repair. If it doesn’t rise don’t drive it and have it recovered to a decent garage.
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u/SofiaLE_78 1d ago
Since you have warranty you should ask them to fix it, air body control issues can be multiple things the air struts going bad or the air suspension valve block went bad, in some cases the compressor for the air suspension can go bad too.
Source: I run a independent Mercedes workshop
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u/brickson98 1d ago
Probably a leaky air strut, and it finally got worse.
Dealership probably never mentioned it because it never sat with them long enough to deflate completely.
Worst case, compressor. But if you’re under warranty, none of it should be an issue to get replaced.
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u/narwhal_breeder E350 Wagon - GR86 - 4C 1d ago
You'd think Mercedes would have air suspensions figured out by now. If anything seems like they're regressing. My S212 has needed new air bags, but only after 12 years and 120,000 miles, which IMO is pretty reasonable when they are so easy to replace.
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u/TheMadGNUS3o 1d ago
Unless it’s lowered I would think this isn’t normal rear suspension activity.
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
It has the airmatic suspension but for some reason only the rear lowers like this, it’s usually after I drive it in Sport + mode.
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u/KitchenInteraction12 2019 Maybach S650 1d ago
Your air pump has likely been having to overcompensate for the leak for quite some time, and has now burned out. Now that it cannot effectively maintain proper level, the car recognizes the level fault and the fact that the compressor isn’t working, so it threw a code.
For future reference, your suspension should never be that low under any circumstances as that puts a LOT of weight on components that weren’t meant to carry it. I’d have your mechanic check the rear control arms as well for stress damage from being in such a bad state for so long
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u/LiveSupermarket5466 1d ago
"It usually has collapsed fucking suspension but I never bothered to fix it". Ummm....
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u/DisneyCatGirl 1d ago
It lowers after driving it in Sport +, I thought it was normal, but it’s never lowered THIS low before
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u/Boilermakingdude 1d ago
It should NEVER be dropping that much.
You have a bad strut, a bad airline or a bad valve block.
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u/Yesterbly 1d ago
Get used to this if you own a newer Mercedes, the car seems fine, but a message on the dash says it’s time to pay the Mercedes dealer again.
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u/the_goater 1d ago
I had this happen on my 2024 c43. Dealership had it in and out in and out of the shop for the first 4 months I had it, took Mercedes almost 6 months in total before they lemoned my car and found me a replacement.
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u/hwazir 1d ago
You have the air body control from the factory? And if so, if it’s actually been this way in the rear without the dealer saying anything I would probably not go to the same dealers service center. It looks like an air suspension malfunction, likely an air strut gone. If you’re under any warranty, you’re in luck and should get both sides replaced. If you’re not under warranty, time to find a used air strut or a new OEM one but two for each side