Has my new Arnott air strut failed prematurely?

[moj91]

Hi all,

Trying to diagnose an issue...

History: W220, S320Cdi, non-ABC, standard airmatic.

Circa 280k the compressor failed, replaced with new MB one, suspension issues resolved.

Front N/S dropped, diagnosed as failed strut. Both fronts replaced with Arnott. Fair for mileage as they were original.

A couple of months later rear N/S dropped, diagnosed as failed strut, both rears replaced with arnott.

Valve body also replaced as car dropping slightly when left parked for a couple days or so. Also bubbles leaking from it.

All fine...

Rear N/S has dropped again suddenly on the M1, crawled off and recovered.
If car left for a while then started it will attempt to lift this corner, can clearly hear air rushing in to fill bag on that corner in stages - car lifts slightly but then drops again.

No obvious issues at valve body and airline to strut seems to flow air and build pressure ok. No fault codes on Icarsoft.

Does this sound like the arnott strut has failed prematurely or am i missing something? Other three struts are still operating correctly.

Any help appreciated before we take the strut out, again, and try and return it through Autodoc... who have been a nightmare to deal with so far.

I would appreciate any further input before calling arnott for advice.

Thanks!

 

[mioba]

Bilstein were OEM AFAIK.
Have you had the codes read, Have you checked for leaks going to and at the strut itself.

 

[bembo449]

I fitted a pair to a CLS last week , drivers side failed after just 6 miles . . . . .

 

[moj91]

General consensus is that the replacement strut has failed. Probably managed less than 500 miles.
Oh the joys. Are arnott really this bad at build quality and quality control??? Regretting using them for all 4 corners now.

 

[Oldspanners]

Had recent dealings with AD trying to return a part they had wrongly listed as fitting my car. Took a week of emails and ended up having to post it back at my cost to Berlin, where all their parts are dispatched from, before they would refund after checking the part hadn't been fitted.
My advice is to take photos of the faulty part and have a mechanic report on the cause of the failure as I suspect they'll be tardy at best refunding.
Good luck.

 

[bembo449]

my customer has spent a week trying to get a replacement airbag for the failed one , supplier didn't even apologise ! offered to sell him 2 more ( wtf ? ) after a lot of tooing and frowing , the sent him 2 more aslong as he paid the postage , whats happened to customer service in the last few years ??

 

[moj91]

At the moment the best bet seems to be to source another elsewhere and just try and return the autodoc one for a refund. I bet that wont happen though. Waiting 6-8 weeks for a replacement strut isnt viable. Ive put a different post in the general chat forum...

 

[Oldspanners]

my customer has spent a week trying to get a replacement airbag for the failed one , supplier didn't even apologise ! offered to sell him 2 more ( wtf ? ) after a lot of tooing and frowing , the sent him 2 more aslong as he paid the postage , whats happened to customer service in the last few years ??

It seems AD think that customer care is an option which they don't offer. Recently I've had a car cover I had noted was a bit tight replaced after about 10 months no quibbles in a few days, an air inlet tube damaged in transit immediately replaced no returns all FoC on Ebay makes you aware that the retailers are aware of the clout of bad reviews.