Should I be worried? W211 air suspension trouble

[WilliamMaldivess211]

Hi everyone,

I've got a 2008 S211 E280 CDI Estate with air suspension, and I've noticed a slight difference in ride height between the two rear sides. The car has only done 38,888 miles as of today, and everything else is pretty much perfect. It’s had a lot done to it recently:

• New brakes and pads all around.
• Four new Pirelli tyres.
• New ball joints all around.
• Full service history.
• Gearbox service booked for this summer.

The only other thing that isn’t perfect is the tracking seems slightly out — I have to steer to the right to go in a straight line.

I've attached photos of both rear sides. Apologies for the dirtiness — I cleaned the car today after getting a screw in one of the six-month-old Pirellis, and of course, no tire shops on the island have a replacement. Because of that, it’s been parked for about a week. Interestingly, neither side changed height over that time — they were uneven to start with and remained uneven afterward not dropping at all.

And of course, this happens just after the warranty has expired... typical!

Has anyone else experienced this? Is a slight difference in ride height normal for air suspension on these models? Or should I be looking into this more closely? It would appear the drivers side is always lower than the passenger side at the rear no matter where it is parked. I have tried cycling it through the different suspension modes but that seems to lower it - but it is still uneven.

Thanks in advance for any advice! I hope I am just being overly concerned and it is just nothing, otherwise it will take a lot more shifts at my Saturday job to pay for new suspension.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

I would take it for a decent run, well as decent as you can, given your location, once you have the new tyre. There is only one sensor for the rear suspension so both sides should be equal height, if on level ground.

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

I would take it for a decent run, well as decent as you can, given your location, once you have the new tyre. There is only one sensor for the rear suspension so both sides should be equal height, if on level ground.

So today I went for a two hour drive - I think I have must have driven most of the main roads of Jersey. And I ticket over 39000 miles! When parked back in the drive the drivers side which was the lower one before is now higher than it was. If anything the left hand side now looks lower! I’m not too concerned anymore - I think the long drive helped.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

The suspension is self levelling, the car should remain level when parked on sloping ground to some extent, so can look uneven when comparing between sides.
If it works in all modes and rises and falls as it should, enjoy driving it.