Problems with 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class SUSPENSION

I'm probably not the first complain about this subject, as a simple search on www.google.com would reveal that this problem is nation wide. i own a 2000 s-class mercedes-benz (w220 chasis), and i too got some aromatic (air suspention) problem. while i was driving on a side street, my vehicle displayed a warning sign saying "aromatic stop vehicle too low". i began to pull over toward the side of the street by slightly turning the wheel to the right, when i noticed that the car was shaking from the friction of the wheel rubbing against the bumper (or fender). i did not notice any visible damage to my vehicle other that the car was sitting so low that a good five inches from the top of the tire was inside the fender. it was then that i realized where the noise and vibration came from. the speed that i was traveling when this happened was 20mph. i can not imagine what would happen if the travel speed would be over 55mph (a very common speed for freeway driving in the city), what about over 70mph in rural areas. something needs to be done about this before somebody gets hurt (hopefully not already). if a moving part comes to contact with a non moving on at high speeds, the consequence could be lethal. according to my reaserch, all the w220 chasis mercedes-benz have this "aromatic suspension" problem, all the mechanics also agree with that statement. please investigate for a possibility for a recall before it's to late. thank you. *cw

As i was driving my 2001 mercedes benz s500. my airmatic suspension fail and my car front went down as i was driving on the freeway. my tires start rubbing into my wheel well and started smoking. the problem left the front end damage. i had the problem fix by a mercedes dealership. six month later the problem arise again. i don't drive the car for fear that i might get into an accident. *tr

This car has an air suspension system which has a severe problem. the car has no springs, instead each shock absorber has a pneumatic system that supports the weight of the vehicle. *tr when both rear shock absorbers fail at the same time the whole rear of the car drops down and the car has to be stopped, posing no hazard. but when only one of the rear shock absorbers develops a small air leak, the car does not loose much height and there is loss of traction in the tire in the involved side because there is not sufficient vehicle weight being applied to it. this loss of traction in only one tire causes the tire to spin on light to moderate acceleration, but worse, it causes the tire to "lock up" on braking. immediately the abs system gets activated and in trying to prevent this "lock up", the abs system decreases the braking force on the remaining 3 tires causing marked decrease in braking capacity. when this happens at highway speeds, braking distance is extensively prolonged, posing an extreme hazard. this is a severe design flaw which merits immediate correction by the manufacturer, or action by the government to prevent this type of suspension from being installed in any vehicle sold in the usa.

Failure of "airmatic" suspension allows front of car to drop down to the point that the tires rub on the fenders. apparently there is no failsafe to prevent a dangerous highway situation. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz s500. the contact stated that the vehicle would ride very low on a constant basis. the air suspension indicator was illuminated on the instrument panel. he noticed that the indicator would illuminate and remain lit immediately after the vehicle was started. the vehicle would lift up and the contact noticed a leak in the air suspension system, which caused the vehicle to decrease in height. the dealer and manufacturer stated that there were no recalls for the issue and offered no assistance. the current mileage was approximately 60,000 and failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

2000 s 500 airmatic failure. car inoperable. *tr

As i was driving the airmatic system failed and cause the car to lower to an undrivable height, i checked and found that this is a major problem for this model. *tr

Had 2000 mercedes s500, car in garage for a week, noticed the car is very low, tires almost rubbing the inside of the fenders, turned car on and warning massage said " car is too low, stop aeronautic system" raised the car with a panel button, car raised. called the dealer, said you can drive it. i drove it and it very noisy, the second day did the same, very low almost on the ground. same problem happened before about six month ago,while out of the state, told by the dealer it need reselling the aromatic system. fixed that time (october 2006) cost me about $650. problem keep going with the same aromatic system. looked up online, www.benzworld.org and found hundreds of similar complains about the same airmatic system. it is very expensive to repaired, and if repaired, it keep failing over and over. there must be a recall to correct it. it is very dangerous if it happened while driving, the whole suspension might collapse which may cause serious injuries. pleaase help, thanks. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 mercedes-benz s430. while driving approximately 60 mph, the contact heard a scraping noise and noticed that the vehicle was lower to the ground than usual. the contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealer. the contact was informed that the airmatic suspension system had allowed the frame to rub the top of the tires. the vehicle was repaired. the failure occurred again five years later. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where it was being repaired again. the failure mileage was approximately 90,000 and the current mileage was 130,038. the vin was unavailable.

1) the car was parked in a garage for one week while i was away. 2) upon return, the whole suspension system had failed, causing the vehicle to rest only 3 inches from the ground. fortunately the car was parked when this happened! 3) outcomes: mileage: 46120 repaired: $2050.84: replaced both front air suspensions, replaced hydropneumat relief valve and compressor for sir suspension car value: approx. $25,000 4) follow-up: today, august 21, 2006 there are warning lights on the dash that the suspension system has 3 failures. will take to dealer for inspection. *jb

Driving on the highway all of a sudden the front suspension of my car drop. *nm