E320 Estate W211 2004 Rear Suspension - NOT Airmatic

[RAllen75]

E320 Estate W211 2004 Avantgarde
WDB2112262A697919

The Car only has C or S Suspension settings which I think indicates it is not AirMatic

When I got back from 2 weeks away & my Merc had been sat doing nothing - I came back & found the rear suspension way down - the tyres almost touching the inside of the wheel arches

On starting up the engine - RED WARNINGS - Car too low

I didn’t move the car just kept engine running

The rear suspension eventually, 2-3 minutes, then pumped up & Red Warning went off. I kept engine running for a bit but haven’t moved car since

Suspension after a couple of days seems to have stayed pumped up

It’s the first time it’s done it & it has been left for a couple of weeks or more many times before.

Any suggestions to cure Gratefully received

Cheers

Bob

 

[whitenemesis]

Your symptoms would suggest a slow leak either in the airbag(s) or, more likely in the valve block.
Doesn't the C and S pertain to the automatic gearbox?

 

[RAllen75]

Yes C & S pertain to the automatic gear box, referring to Comfort & Sport settings

but

in another Thread someone indicated that with C/S it wasn’t Airmatic self levelling suspension. With Airmatic there are more options.

& I was told my car was manufactured just before they introduced Airmatic on the Avantgarde

but I’m a little confused as to exactly what I have got & where to start in remedying the issue. I don’t want to spend a lot of money replacing all sorts of parts when it could be something quite simple.

 

[andym2]

I think all 211 estates had air rear suspension, but check with a vin decoder site and that will confirm for your specific car.

 

[moulin82150]

Hi RAllen 75 , did you ever find the answer as I have the same problem on much the same car , an 04 w211 estate without airmatic - thanks

 

[Telebass]

I think all 211 estates had air rear suspension, but check with a vin decoder site and that will confirm for your specific car.

Yes, Airmatic is all-round air suspension, so far as I know. I have the dreaded sinking rear suspension on mine, although it never throws a warning and levels up within 30 seconds or so of starting.

 

[edgersoldchap]

Yes, Airmatic is all-round air suspension, so far as I know. I have the dreaded sinking rear suspension on mine, although it never throws a warning and levels up within 30 seconds or so of starting.

The S211 as standard has self-levelling suspension at the rear, using airbags with compressor etc but with standard coil springs at the front. Full air suspension, front and rear, was an optional extra.
I have had problems with my rear suspension for about 5 years, usually with the left side going right down but occasionally the right side as well. I didn't always get the red warning but it was very obvious that it had dropped. Sometimes it would go for weeks or months without it happening It seemed to get worse in cold weather but that might not be relevant. I spent a lot of money with my indie specialist replacing the compressor, control units etc but still couldn't track down the problem. It always pumped back up after a minute or two and my indie said he thought it was safe to drive as long as it did. We decided to do nothing more until such time as it didn't pump up and then consider replacing the suspension using a conversion that was availble to revert to standard coils. Obviously I would lose the self-leveling function but at least the problem would be solved. However last week another problem hit me - the reluctor ring on one of the drive shafts went which affects the ESP/ABS. The repair to the suspension would have cost around £1000 with another large amount for this latest issue so I decided that, as a full service/MOT was due in December and I would be paying out more than the car is worth, to cut my losses and change the car. A pity really as I had had it for 13 years and it had only done 83,000 miles. Anyway, I now have an S213 E220d (2017).

(At around 75,000 miles one of my front coils springs broke (with a hell of a bang one night when my car was on the drive) so I replaced both of those).

By the way, the C and S relates to the gearbox - C for Comfort and S for Summer (or Sport I forget which and don't have my handbook now). C is more suitable for winter use as the gear changes are more sedate and i think it starts off from rest in second gear which helps avoid wheelspin in snow or ice

 

[glojo]

Edger is spot-on and it looks like the air suspension has a habit of eventually failing. I think it was last year (15 years old) that ours failed (rear nearside) It took the main dealer a couple of attempts to locate the fault but whilst the car was 'in hospital.' it gave us the opportunity to try a number of hire\courtesy vehicles