2003 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Suspension

Air suspension in the rear suddenly failed making it impossible to drive, also triggered a red warning of "stop, car too low"

ALMOST IN AN ACCIDENT AS THE AIRMATIC SUSPENSION FAILED. CAR SUDDENLY LOWERED WHILE DRIVING. CHANGED AIR SHOCKED, FAILED AGAIN AFTER 2 YEARS. THIS CAR HAS ONLY LESS 93000 MILES. ALL MECHANICS ACROSS THE BOARD KNOW THIS IS THE PROBLEM MERCEDES HAS REFUSED TO TAKE CARE.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E500. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the air bag suspension detached from the subframe which caused the shock to lean into the tire. The rear driver’s side wheel ceased turning. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 139,000.

AIR SUSPENSION LOWER CAUSED CAR STOPPED WHILE DRIVING. THIS AIR SUSPENSION HAS SERIOUS PROBLEM NEEDS RECALL DUE TO DEFECTIVE DESIGN. SPRINGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM WILL CAUSE ACCIDENTS WHILE DRIVING.

AIR SUSPENSION - THE ENTIRE VEHICLE HAS FALLEN ALMOST TO THE GROUND DUE TO DEFECTIVE AIR SUSPENSION(FRONT AND REAR). THIS STARTED WITHIN A YEAR AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM A MERCEDEZ BENZ DEALERSHIP BUT DID NOT REALIZE HOW SERIOUS THE PROBLEM WAS UNTIL THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. AS OF TODAY, THE AIR DOES NOT PUMP INTO THE CAR AND THEREFORE IT'S LOW TO THE GROUND.

THE AIR STRUT SUSPENSION HAS FAILED ON LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MERCEDES-BENZ E500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE "STOP DRIVING" AND "VEHICLE DRIVING LOW" WARNING MESSAGES DISPLAYED. WHILE SITTING IN THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEEMED LOW. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT AIR SUSPENSION NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 140,000.

WHILE DRIVING, THE WARNING LIGHT CAR TO LOW. STOP DRIVING.

DRIVING A CAR IN VEHICLE WENT DOWN SAYING IS TOO LOW

I HAVE PROBLEM WITH FRONT SUSPENCION ON FLOOR

MY CAR HAS DROPPED DOWN VERY LOW ON TOP OF MY TIRES WHEN I STARTED MY CAR UP ON THE DASH WAS A RED WARNING LIGHT SAYING STOP CAR IS TOO LOW. MY CAR DROVE FINE THE DAY BEFORE THE NEXT MORNING WHILE SITTING UNDER MY CARPORT IT WAS VERY LOW.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MERCEDES BENZ E500. WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE STOP CAR WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE FRONT SUSPENSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER TO BE INSPECTED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT BOTH FRONT AIRMATIC SUSPENSIONS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

CAR DISPLAY PANEL SHOWED "STOP, CAR TOO LOW". THE FRONT LEFT PORTION OF THE CAR WAS LOW AND THE TIRE ALMOST TOUCHED THE TIRE FENDER. TRIED TO DRIVE THE CAR TO SHOP BUT CAN HEAR THE TIRE SCRATCHED THE FENDER WHEN MADE TURNS. TOWED THE CAR TO SHOP NEXT DAY. SHOP TOLD ME THE AIR SUSPENSION WAS BAD AND NEEDED TO REPLACE STRUT AND RECOMMENDED TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT TWO STRUTS. THIS COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION IF IT HAPPENED ON FREEWAY. CAR COULD LOOSE BALANCE AT HIGH SPEED. TIRE COULD BUST AT HIGH SPEED. CHECKED ONLINE AND SAW MANY PEOPLE HAD SAME PROBLEMS. NOW I REMEMBER THAT A FRIEND IN TAIWAN HAS COLLECTED MORE THAN 500 MERCEDES STRUTS IN HIS SHOP. HE TOLD ME THAT THIS HAD BEEN A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM FOR MERCEDES 500 SERIES. WHY MERCEDES DID NOT RECALL CARS FOR REPAIR??? TOO EXPENSIVE AND CAN NOT AFFORD TO DO IT FOR MERCEDES?? IT COST ME $2,850 TO REPLACE THE FRONT TWO STRUTS. NHTSA SHOULD INVESTIGATE IT. *TR

MY 2003 MB E500 SPORT IS EQUIPPED WITH THE AIRMATIC SUSPENSION. WITHOUT WARNING THE REAR SUSPENSION COMPLETELY FAILED AND DROPPED THE REAR END OF THE VEHICLE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FRAME 2 INCHES FROM THE ASPHALT. MY SMALL CHILD WAS IN THE BACK SEAT OF THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME AND WOULD HAVE BOUNCED UP TO THE CEILING IF HE HAD NOT BEEN SECURED IN HIS CARSEAT. THE CAR IS NOT OPERATIONAL AT THIS TIME AND REPAIR ESTIMATES EXCEED $3,000.00. *TR

FRONT AND REAR END SUSPENSION ARE DOWN TO THE GROUND ,,AND A ERROR CODE ON DASH: STOP CAR TO LOW, CAR IS NOT DRIVE-ABLEA. *TR

LEFT COIL SPRING BROKE WHILE I WAS DRIVING, AND THE CAR VEERED ABRUPTLY TO THE LEFT APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET. THE CAR SHOULD'VE BEEN TOWED, BUT I WAS SO CLOSE TO MITCH CARRS'S THAT I DROVE IT VERY SLOWLY TO THEM. *TR

BOTH FRONT AND REAR AIR SHOCKS WENT WITHIN 2000 MILES OF EACH OTHER 64000 AND 66000 MILES. THESE SHOCKS ARE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND ARE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS. THEY WERE NOT ENGINEERED PROPERLY OR THEY SHOULD HAVE LASTED MUCH LONGER. MERCEDES WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT..

AIRMATIC SUSPENSION LEAK CAUSED CALL TO PULL TO ONE SIDE. COULD HAVE PULLED ME LEFT OF CENTER, LUCKILY, ON A SIDE STREET AT FAILURE POINT. NO WARNING AT ALL. CAR DEPICTED "STOP, VEHICLE TOO LOW" AS WARNING IN DASH AFTER THE FAILURE. CAR REQUIRED TOWING. VEHICLE HAS 61000 MILES ON IT. FRIENDS AT WORK HAVE SIMILAR CAR AND MOST HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING ON I-65 FROM LAFAYETTE TO INDIANAPOLIS IN MY 2003 E-500 MERCEDES- BENZ. DRIVING AT HIGHWAY'S POSTED 70 MPH SPEED THE CAR SUDDENLY PULLED FROM THE FAST, LEFT LINE THAT I WAS TRAVELING INTO THE RIGHT LINE CASING THE OTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING ON THE RIGHT LINE TO TURN INTO AN EMERGENCY SHOULDER AND CONSEQUENTLY IN TO THE DITCH IN COLLISION AVOIDANCE MANEUVER. THE REASON FOR MY VEHICLE'S SUDDEN CHANGE IN STEERING AND HANDLING CHARACTERISTIC WAS AN UNEXPECTED, INSTANTANEOUS FAILURE OF AN AIR STRUT ON THE FRONT/RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. MY ON BOARD COMPUTER NEVER INDICATED ANY MALFUNCTIONS UNTIL THE MOMENT OF AN ACTUAL INCIDENT. MY CAR IS WELL, DEALER MAINTAINED 2003 MERCEDES E-500 WITH ONLY 36,000 ORIGINAL MILES. THE M-B DEALER NEVER INDICATED A NEED TO REPLACE AIR SHOCKS FOR ANY REASONS. AFTER THE NEAR COLLISION EXPERIENCE I HAVE RESEARCHED AN INTERNET AND LEARNED THAT THE PREMATURE AIR SHOCKS FAILURE IS A VERY FREQUENT OCCURRENCE AMONG THE OWNERS OF MB VEHICLES WITH AIR SUSPENSION. I'M AN ORIGINAL OWNER OF E-500 AND AFTER THIS TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE I HAVE LOST A CONFIDENCE IN SAFETY OF THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE BECAUSE THE OTHER SHOCKS/STRUTS COULD SUDDENLY FAIL THE SAME WAY THE FIRST ONE DID. ARE THE AIR STRUTS ARE HAVING A DESIGN/MANUFACTURING DEFECT? THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND LOCAL DEALER IS ASKING OVER $ 1800 TO REPLACE A STRUT. THANK YOU. *TR

I OWN A MERCEDES BENZ E-500, 2003, WITH ONLY 31,700 MILES ON IT. ON FRIDAY, JULY 16, I HAD IT SERVICED AT MY LOCAL MB DEALER IN LARCHMONT, NY. ON SUNDAY, JULY 18, AS I STARTED THE CAR IN MY GARAGE, A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED SAYING "STOP. CAR TOO LOW". I HAVE CONTACTED THE DEALER AND THEY WILL LOOK AT IT BUT, I BELIEVE IT IS A FAILURE OF THE FRONT RIGHT (PASSENGER SIDE) AIRMATIC SUSPENSION, THE CAR IS OBVIOUSLY OUT OF WARRANTY BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT, AFTER ONLY 31,700 MILES, THAT SUCH A PART CAN FAIL. I'M RATHER HESITANT TO DRIVE IT TO THE DEALER BUT THEY ARE ASSURING ME THAT IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE. IN MY RESEARCH I FOUND THAT MB HAS HAD SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THIS TYPE OF PART AND I WISH FOR THE NHTSA TO TAKE SOME SORT OF ACTION TO FORCE MB TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU *TR

2003 E500 WITH 64000MLS, MY FRONT AIR SUSPENSION STRUT BOTTOMED OUT FAILED WILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED.TOOK THE CAR TO MERCEDES AND IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY; WE REPLACED THE 2 FRONT SHOCKS AND COMPRESSOR BUT 3 WEEKS LATER MY BACK SHOCKS FAILED TO. TOTAL COST O REPAIRS $3500 AND STILL NOT DRIVING ALRIGHT HARSH DRIVING AND LOTS OF VIBRATION. *TR

DRIVING ON CITY SURFACE STREET. CAME TO FOUR WAY STOP. HEARD A POP LIKE THAT OF A TIRE OR BALLOON. CAR STARED TO MAKE WHISTLING NOISE. PULLED OVER AND SAW LEFT FRONT AIR SUSPENSION STRUT BOTTOMED OUT. TOWED TO DEALER AND ADVISED THAT LEFT FRONT AIRMATIC HYDROPNEMATIC STRUCT HAD FAILED. THAT AIR BLADDER HAD BLOWN. FURTHER THAT AIRMATIC COMPRESSOR WAS BURNED OUT. I HAD DRIVEN A TOTAL OF 50 YARDS FROM BLOW OUT. TOTAL PARTS AND LABOR OVER $2,500.00 FROM MERCEDES BENZ OF WALNUT CREEK. *TR

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE THE FRONT RT. SIDE SUSPENSION BEGAN TO SINK. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR TO TAKE A LOOK AND NOTICED THE AIRBAG SUSPENSION HAD COMPLETELY COLLAPSED. I TRIED PRESSING A FEW BUTTONS TO RAISE THE SUSPENSION AND NOTHING. THE COLLAPSE OF THE AIRBAG SUSPENSION WAS INSTANTANEOUS AND WITH BRIEF NOTICE. *TR

MY CAR (2003 MERCEDES E500) HAS HAD 3 OF THE 4 AIRMATIC SHOCKS FAIL IN 50K MILES. EACH TIME, THE CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE AND MUST BE TOWED. TWO OF THE FAILURES OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING. THE FRONT WHEELS CANNOT BE TURNED WHEN THIS OCCURS WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE FENDER A DANGEROUS SITUATION. 1 OF THE REPAIRS WAS PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY. THE OTHER TWO REPAIRS COST $3000. CALLS TO THE DEALER AND MERCEDES BENZ OF NORTH AMERICA TO REQUEST A WARRANTY REPAIR WERE REFUSED. REVIEW OF ONLINE FORUMS FOR MB OWNERS INDICATES MANY OWNERS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF THE MERCEDES BENZ AIRMATIC SUSPENSION SYSTEMS IS A MAJOR ISSUE, PLEASE CHECK CAR OWNER FORUMS AS THERE ARE MANY CARS AS NEW AS 2007 AND 2008'S THAT HAVE AIRMATIC SUSPENSION SAFETY AND RELIABILITY ISSUES, THESE CARS ARE PRONE TO AIRMATIC SUSPENSION PROBLEMS FROM THE C CLASS SPORT MODELS TO THE E AND S CLASSES AS WELL, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH MASS REPAIR AND SAFETY ISSUES, HOWEVER MOST OR ALL PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE AIRMATIC SUSPENSIONS WILL AT SOME POINT HAVE REPAIRS THAT CAN RESULT IN THE CAR DROPPING TO THE GROUND WHILE DRIVING WITH NO WARNING, WE ARE SPEAKING CARS THAT ARE BY MOST STANDARDS CONSIDERED TO BE LOW MILEAGE VEHICLES, MY CAR HAS 64K MILES AND IS A MERCEDES 2003 E320, THE FRONT AIRSPRINGS GO OUT WITHOUT WARNING, YOU WILL RECEIVE A DASH WARNING ONLY AFTER THE SUSPENSION HAS GIVEN OUT,. THERE ARE 4 AIRSPRINGS FOR MY CAR AT A REPAIR COST FOR THE FRONT AIRSPRINGS AT A COST OF $1,500.00 PER SIDE, AND KNOWING THAT THERE ARE 2 MORE AIRSPRINGS IN THE REAR OF THE CAR THAT COULD GIVE OUT WITHOUT WARNING RENDERING THE VEHICLE INOPERABLE ONCE AGAIN, SO YOU LITERALLY HAVE FOUR POSSIBILITIES OF SUSPENSION FAILURE, YOU WILL BE AT THE MERCY OF A FLATBED TOW TRUCK, AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CARS AS THEY SIT SO LOW TO THE GROUND THAT IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO TOW, KNOWING THAT THE RUBBER BELLOWS ON THE SUSPENSION OF THESE CARS ARE VERY FRAGILE AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED CAUSING MASS FAILURE OF THE AIRSPRING UNIT, THE UNIT IS SOLD AS A DEALER ONLY ITEM AT A COST OF $1,000.00 EACH FOR EACH FRONT SIDE AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED..THE FACT IS THAT THE SUSPENSION SYSTEMS ARE FAULTY WHEN YOU HAVE SO MANY MASS FAILURES....MY CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE AT THIS TIME AND FAILED WITH NO WARNING AT ALL, WOULD IT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTABLE HAD THE SUSPENSION FAILED OR DROPPED WHILE DRIVING THE CAR, I AM BLESSED TO HAVE NOT HAD THE SUSPENSION FAIL WHILE DRIVING, AS THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY DANGEROUS SAFETY SITUATION..... *TR