E Class Estate 141 - rear suspension problem

Johnny_Fontane

Hi lads, just wondering if anyone has any advice on this.

Basically car had been lower last few weeks. sometimes when you were starting it would say 'car rising - please wait' and you would hear it kind of chugging, cranking up higher. At the weekend on the dash 'malfunction' came up. at that stage the suspension got very hard and uncomfortable but limped her back and brought her in Wednesday to a local guy (mercedes had two week wait). initially guy said it was the level sensors on the rear and we replaced them but back left suspension is still dropping. Apparently its to do with the airbags in the suspension. they are €590 to replace each apparently and he recommends that both be replaced. He said he can get parts from germany that are more like €300 instead of the genuine parts. Apparently there is 7 hours labour with it. He said though that its definitely this problem.

any thoughts on this? I'm not a car guy and I'm facing a very large bill!

firstlight

Hows things
I'm not really clued in on mercs and especially airbags
But 4 years seems a fairly small lifespan for that part
I'd be looking for another opinion other than his
It could be something simple like another sensor or perhaps a small hole in the airline causing a problem

I would bring the car to another garage for another opinion before you shell out lots of money
7 hours labour won't be cheap

Johnny_Fontane

firstlight wrote: »

Hows things
I'm not really clued in on mercs and especially airbags
But 4 years seems a fairly small lifespan for that part
I'd be looking for another opinion other than his
It could be something simple like another sensor or perhaps a small hole in the airline causing a problem

I would bring the car to another garage for another opinion before you shell out lots of money
7 hours labour won't be cheap

really appreciate that. Does anyone know a garage that would specialise in Mercs? I originally tried the main dealers, but 2 weeks to get it seen. A diagnostic alone is €290 before anything is done.

clintondaly

Is it still under warranty by any chance

firstlight

Just a link

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/w212-estate-self-levelling-suspension.122418/

From a quick reading on forums seems to be a common problem with several components being an issue
I guess the chugging and cranking is the compressor trying to work or working overtime
It does say several times that the airline can fray on the subframe of the cars the way their routed
Have a read around
I would not pay 290 anyway, i am sure somebody could help you on here with advise

Johnny_Fontane

clintondaly wrote: »

Is it still under warranty by any chance

its march 2014, so I think its 48 months. Also I brought it in from the UK (13 months ago), my mapfre warranty on bringing it in was 12 months :rolleyes:

Johnny_Fontane

firstlight wrote: »

Just a link

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/w212-estate-self-levelling-suspension.122418/

From a quick reading on forums seems to be a common problem with several components being an issue
I guess the chugging and cranking is the compressor trying to work or working overtime
It does say several times that the airline can fray on the subframe of the cars the way their routed
Have a read around
I would not pay 290 anyway, i am sure somebody could help you on here with advise

What I really need is a mechanic who specialises in Mercs who doesnt work in a main garage. If anyone knows of someone like this, do get in touch.

firstlight

Does the car still raise up to normal ride height?
If you get a bottle of soapy water with a spray nozzle and spray it on the airbag when its raised you will see if it's leaking
Can you hear any hissing sound from the side that won't raise?
Worth a shot and costs you nothing

Johnny_Fontane

firstlight wrote: »

Does the car still raise up to normal ride height?
If you get a bottle of soapy water with a spray nozzle and spray it on the airbag when its raised you will see if it's leaking
Can you hear any hissing sound from the side that won't raise?
Worth a shot and costs you nothing

the car is in the guys garage. I need to chat to him again now, but nothing will be done until Monday at this stage. From what I can see, I can get the parts in Germany - https://aerosus.co.uk/mercedes/e-class/w212/mercedes-e-class-w212-s212-rear-right-air-suspension-spring.html

significantly less than what he is looking for.

More i dig, the more sceptical I am becoming.

firstlight

I would be of the same thinking
You have all weekend to have a good read and look around anyway

Let us know how it goes

Bmw123d

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

really appreciate that. Does anyone know a garage that would specialise in Mercs? I originally tried the main dealers, but 2 weeks to get it seen. A diagnostic alone is €290 before anything is done.

He we specialise in bmw and mercs. I’d imagine from ur discription that it’s the compressor. Of course I’d need to put it on to the star diagnostics. If ur in bother give me a shout il point u right

CeilingFly

Aftermarket compressor is about €420 when also trading the old on in. (that's the bmw f11 price and I'd suspect merc are similar)

Max 2 hours labour


Total should be €550

Bmw123d

CeilingFly wrote: »

Aftermarket compressor is about €420 when also trading the old on in. (that's the bmw f11 price and I'd suspect merc are similar)

Max 2 hours labour


Total should be €550

In truth I’d fit a f10 or merc compressor in 20 mins max. Deffo not a 2 hour job