S211 E Class estate rear suspension overloading problem

[IH911]

i have had a 2007 S211 E class estate for the last few years but i think i have damaged the rear suspension, i had a load of bags of earth/rubble to move so i loaded them in the back which squashed it down but i did not think too much of it as i know that it self levels, when i started it up i got the too low message on the dash but after it had run for about 30 seconds the back pumped up and the warning went out and it drove fine , so no problems i thought but the next day the car had sat right down again with nothing in the back, again after starting i got the too low warning and again after about 30 seconds the back came up and it drove fine, came out again this morning and its back down again !!!! i have read some of the post's on this and other sites regarding suspension problems on this model and none of them seem to cover the problem that i am having, as the car raises evenly when started it would appear that the compressor is ok and as the car sinks equally on both sides i don't think that it is the air springs/bags leaking also when it pumps up the ride height is correct with or without passengers so i don't think its the sensors either, so i can only assume that there is a fault somewhere that is allowing pressure to escape from the whole of the system slowly over night allowing the rear to drop equally on both sides, there was no previous problems with the suspension so i am sure that i have caused this problem by overloading so any members thoughts on what part of the system i have damaged would be helpful

 

[matthew k]

i have had a 2007 S211 E class estate for the last few years but i think i have damaged the rear suspension, i had a load of bags of earth/rubble to move so i loaded them in the back which squashed it down but i did not think too much of it as i know that it self levels, when i started it up i got the too low message on the dash but after it had run for about 30 seconds the back pumped up and the warning went out and it drove fine , so no problems i thought but the next day the car had sat right down again with nothing in the back, again after starting i got the too low warning and again after about 30 seconds the back came up and it drove fine, came out again this morning and its back down again !!!! i have read some of the post's on this and other sites regarding suspension problems on this model and none of them seem to cover the problem that i am having, as the car raises evenly when started it would appear that the compressor is ok and as the car sinks equally on both sides i don't think that it is the air springs/bags leaking also when it pumps up the ride height is correct with or without passengers so i don't think its the sensors either, so i can only assume that there is a fault somewhere that is allowing pressure to escape from the whole of the system slowly over night allowing the rear to drop equally on both sides, there was no previous problems with the suspension so i am sure that i have caused this problem by overloading so any members thoughts on what part of the system i have damaged would be helpful

How many miles has it done? Looking through my W211 wagon's paperwork it had a new bag around 120,000 then another shortly after. You may have just expedited their inevitable demise tbh.

There are many different companies supplying replacements, and it's not a massive job. Don't keep using it in this state however, you'll burn out the pump.

It's easy to overload a car with bags of rubble/rocks. I remember being 25 and after breaking up a friends old drive literally hurling huge rocks into the back of my old Vectra DTI Envoy. It was on the bump stops front and rear, and lived to tell the tale. Bit naughty doing it to a nice car, but these things are designed to take punishment, my vote goes on the bags having been polished off!

 

[IH911]

Hi thanks for your reply, my car is coming up to 190,000 and it has been well used as i have been renovating houses for a number of years and it is regally used to transport tools and building materials and i have had half a ton in the back on a number of occasions without any problems but i think i just over did it this time as i have never had the warning come up before.
But on the bright side it seem to have corrected it's self and is no longer sinking overnight and no warning lights so i am keeping my fingers crossed, i can only assume that when i overloaded it a valve somewhere in the system got stuck slightly open and with a few days use it has reseated its self, the real test would be to not use it and leave it a few days to see if it sinks over a longer period of time but as i need to use it every day for work thats not an option at the moment, i guess that this is about as far as this thread go's for now but i will post again if the problem returns, and as a word of advise to any one else who uses there car to carry extreme loads i would advise that you leave the car running while loading so it can compensate and self level as the load increases so it never gets the chance compress the suspension to the point of triggering the warning system.

 

[matthew k]

Hi thanks for your reply, my car is coming up to 190,000 and it has been well used as i have been renovating houses for a number of years and it is regally used to transport tools and building materials and i have had half a ton in the back on a number of occasions without any problems but i think i just over did it this time as i have never had the warning come up before.
But on the bright side it seem to have corrected it's self and is no longer sinking overnight and no warning lights so i am keeping my fingers crossed, i can only assume that when i overloaded it a valve somewhere in the system got stuck slightly open and with a few days use it has reseated its self, the real test would be to not use it and leave it a few days to see if it sinks over a longer period of time but as i need to use it every day for work thats not an option at the moment, i guess that this is about as far as this thread go's for now but i will post again if the problem returns, and as a word of advise to any one else who uses there car to carry extreme loads i would advise that you leave the car running while loading so it can compensate and self level as the load increases so it never gets the chance compress the suspension to the point of triggering the warning system.

Great stuff, sounds the most likely explanation. Great cars, V complex tho!!