The handling in my CLS550 had been acting a little weird but I attributed it to the new snow tires. Well it has progressively got a little worse over the last couple days. By weird I mean that the rear of teh car felt a little squiggly. It just felt a little loose or not as connected. Yesterday I got a low suspension warning. The symptoms are as follows.
The right rear and both front corners are low. The left rear appears to at ride hight.
The air pump works
Turn car on and the front comes up to hight but then when the pump turns off it sinks back down. The right rear will raise a little but does not reach full hight and then sinks back as soon as the pump turns off (after about 30 sec or so) The left rear appears to be normal.
If it matters the comfort and sport settings on the suspension still work.
The car is obvious not drivable at the moment.
I am leaning towards the issue being with the controls of the system not the actual shocks / struts. Specifically the air suspension Solenoid.
Other than the low suspension warning there are not fault codes showing but I have not put the car on a computer to look. I still need to purchase a bi directional MB one. IF anyone has recommendations about them I am also interested in hearing from you. I have been looking at the Star C5 units but done know anything about them. They have got really cheep in the last couple years.
Anyone have experience with these systems? I have looked at just replacing the air struts/shocks with the Air delete ones but I do like the air system when it is working. Obviously if it is a blown strut/shock then I will most likely be doing the conversion HOWEVER replacement ones are not really that much more than the conversion units (about a $600-$1000 difference). I like the soft ride of the comfort mode for 99.9 percent of the time I drive the car. In sport more you feel every bump and crack in the pavement and that gets old in a hurry. From the reviews I have seen the conversion units are more towards the sport side of things.
Anyway I am much more intrested in diagnosing the current issue. The Air Suspension Solenoid is what I am thinking is the problem but I am not well versed in this system of the car.
This little thing.
If they lower that quickly, the air is going somewhere that you can find it with soap and water bubbles. Or maybe just listening? The solenoid block has a vent where it releases that air, see if it's coming out there.
I'm FAR from an expert, I've just played with the one I had a bit.
I had one of the fancy code readers for my R63 and it was fantastic. I could see all of the systems in the car and read all of the fault codes. The only thing it couldn't do is force the systems to operate. It could look at the sunroof, and read sunroof codes, but it couldn't open and close it like the factory system for instance. After using it I'd consider it a must for the DIY Mercedes owner.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
What specific system did you have?
Dean, do you have a Mercedes SDS?
dean1484 said:
yupididit said:
Dean, do you have a Mercedes SDS?
Nope
Cotton sent me a link to get a chinese copy of the software+laptop+cables. It was something like $400-700. I think it's a must have for anyone with a modern Mercedes out of warranty.
Cotton
PowerDork
2/9/20 10:46 p.m.
yupididit said:
dean1484 said:
yupididit said:
Dean, do you have a Mercedes SDS?
Nope
Cotton sent me a link to get a chinese copy of the software+laptop+cables. It was something like $400-700. I think it's a must have for anyone with a modern Mercedes out of warranty.
This, definitely. My STAR setup have been invaluable over the years and is well worth the money.
Here is hoping you can find the link. As I know I need it.
dean1484 said:
Here is hoping you can find the link. As I know I need it.
It's lost in an email account I no longer have access to.
Maybe Cotton still has it.
This was the URL from Cotton's thread but the inventory seems to have moved to newer versions so I'm not sure which is the one to get http://www.mbstartool.com/featured_products.html
That looks better than what I had. That should be able to do everything.
In reply to dean1484 :
Where's that shipping from?
Cotton
PowerDork
2/10/20 9:21 a.m.
Well sorted the problem. Right front strut is blown. I am sure it occurred when I hit a pothole a couple weeks back as it damage the tire (a new tire) and the rim as well (had to replace both). Sucks but at least it is an easy fix. The down side is that there are no aftermarket for these in this car. Dealer part only so that is going to be pricey. Like $1,500 each pricey to get them.
No place does reman units on them? When I had the R63 there was a place that would sell you ones with the bags re-done. Core was absurd, but they really wanted them back for rebuilding.
2012 and up are a new and "improved" unit. I can not find them listed anywhere nor can my mechanic. At least he was telling me that he has not been seeing any of these failing like the 2011 and older ones. Seems like MB got them right and as such the aftermarket has not had the demand for them to make them.
Aaron_King said:
In reply to dean1484 :
Did you look at Arnott?
Arnott Benz air struts
Just called them and they do make them. But it is a 8-12 week lead time. Their rebuilding facility got destroyed last September in a hurricane and they are way behind on items that were not in stock. These are a made to order part I was told so the long lead time.
In reply to dean1484 :
That sucks. If you do need bags in the future check them out, my wife's R has their bags all around and they are very nice with an added bonus of having a lifetime warranty.
Cotton
PowerDork
2/11/20 5:13 p.m.
Aaron_King said:
Cotton said:
dean1484 said:
What do you all think of this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/V2019-12-MB-SD-C5-SD-Connect-Compact-5-Star-OBD2-Diagnosis-WIFI-for-Cars-Trucks/323891016269?hash=item4b6968b24d:m:mdn61rA8UXH--YvWlCOb-Xg
That looks good. You'll be amazed what it can do.
The one that comes with a laptop is out of stock.
It's best to email them because I ran into a similar issue and hey ended up having everything I needed. I got a better price by emailing them as well because the shipping they quoted was a good bit cheaper than what the website had initially calculated.
