Problems with 2002 Mercedes-Benz S-Class SUSPENSION

I own a 2002 mercedes benz s430 and feb. 2010 the "airmatic system" warning light came on. there are only 43,000 miles on my car.the dealer wants close to $1000 to put a 'kit" on to replace the failing seals on the airmatic struts, which the mfg has since changed the design and offered recalls on other models. i have not driven the car since as i was told if the pump burns up from the air leaking out the suspension will drop the car, causing the car to be undrivable, and it could be dangerous if the car is in motion. i have 2 children and can not take the chance. *tr

Airmatic system warning light indicated that the car was too low to drive. hence, had to call a tow truck to get said car s430 mercedes repaired. *tr

I have a 2002 430s mercedes benz with only 69,000 miles on it. i have replaced the airmatic pump and paid $641.89 on sept 25, 2008 at rick hill imports in kingsport tn and my car is again lowering to the ground while driving speeds of 40 to 50 mph. i have to pull off the road to air my car up which is dangerous. i took it back to rick hill imports they tell me the shocks are leaking air and that is a common problem with these cars. i have started doing research online i have found that their are several issues with this car yr make and model. i am told that i will have to spend another 3000-4000 to get my car in the running condition it needs to be in. my car has not been driven hard or that much. the yr of my car should have about 100000 mile on it, and it does not. i also found where there is an investigation already in place for the airmatic system. i have made mercedes aware of my problem they refuse to do anything about it. i feel that i have defaulty system and i want them to replace it after all they are known for expense luxury dependable cars and that is why you pay 70,000 dollars for their cars. this lemon airmatic system is going to cause me or one of my family member to get killed lowering to the ground at speed of 40-50mph and pulling off the side of the road to let it air up. *tr

The seals on the front air shocks cracked causing the car to drop almost down on the tires. i see the 12 cyl.car has already had a recall to correct this was the s-500 with the 5.0 engine in this recall? *tr

In april 2007 i noticed the car dropping and the hissing sound of air when the car was parked and turned off. on april 12, 2007 the car dropped extremely close to the tires and i was forced to it for repair since my car is my livelihood. i was told my rear suspension compressor and front suspension on one side needed replacing along with the r/f strut costing me a total of $2086.00. i hope that i will be reimbursed for something that could have been very tragic. to this date there still seems to be a problem with suspension as i had to take the car back to the shop in december 2007 and a hose was replaced. *tr

I own a 2002 mercedes benz s-430 with 69,000 miles that i purchased new. on february 7th & 8th i had the dealer perform a scheduled servicing of my car which was an extensive checkup (cost over $1,000) despite having no problems. the following day my family took an automobile trip of 140 miles. on february 10th, while driving i experienced a failure of the airmatic suspension system. the car's warning system alerted me to stop the car and not drive it. after talking to mercedes on their emergency response system, i had the car towed to my dealer 140 miles away. this morning,2/12/2002, i went to the dealer and spoke to the service manager. he told me that it was probably a failure of a hydraulic strut/shock which suspends the car. had i tried to turn the wheel before noticing the problem i would have been unable to negotiate a curve and would have had an accident. while at the dealer, i was shown 5 or 6 mercedes benzes, some much newer than mine, whose cars had collapsed over the front wheels. this seems to me to be a serious safety defect which could cause serious injury or death to others. the defect is not limited to the s class that i have since i was shown an e class with the same problem. i was told that a replacement part was not the original part but rather an improved part that mercedes engineers came up with after many reported problems. since the part has not been recalled, the repair will probably cost me well over $1,000 despite mercedes being aware of the problem. more importantly, drivers, passengers and other vehicles are in serious danger if the mercedes becomes unmanagable. my car has not been repaired nor do i known exactly what failed, but given the seriousness of the potential problem i did not want to wait before reporting the problem. this is not an isolated incident since i observed many other vehicles at the dealership with similar problems.*jb

Tl* - the driver noticed that vehicle became lower to the ground as he was driving at 20 mph. the road conditions were dry. the contact was parked for approximately 2-3 hours, when he returned and noticed that the vehicle was even lower than before. took the vehicle to a dealer, who diagnosed the problem as an airmatic system failure. the airmatic system was replaced. the contact did not remember any warning signs prior to the incident. *ak updated 1/31/2007 - *nm

The airmatic system fails and the body of vehicle came down to touch all 4 wheels while driving high speed on an interstate i-66 highway. -the dashboard indication showed "airmatic-------stop, car too low" making scraping noise in the front wheel wells both sides. *nm

After driving and placing gear of 2002 mercedes benz s430 in park, my car collapsed so low that car could not be driven, leaving all occupants stranded. airmatic compressor system, which is car's suspension system totally failed. car towed on flat bed to dealership. several parts replaced, including airmatic compessor, sensor, fuse, pump, and more. car repair cost me $1000. *nm