W213 on the floor (malfunction)

[Janchee]

Sorry to hear this you‘re certainly suffering some bad luck with this car, as you say the money spent on extending the warranty is really worth while especially if you are doing the miles

I am Let’s see what they say. If it wasn’t under warranty ... it’d be a very expensive washing up liquid bottle to see where it’s leaking from!

 

[alexanderfoti]

That is a shame, although could be airbag failure due to the previous failure..... I know!

The other thing that is odd, mb changed the warning from "STOP!!! Car too low!!" in red, to "Malfunction" With a yellow icon.

As far as I am concerned, if the car is bottomed out, that is a dangerous situation, and that should be relayed to the driver. It may also have given you more of an indication that the fault was with the air suspension rather than something that could be ignored (Eg the handle)

 

[Janchee]

That is a shame, although could be airbag failure due to the previous failure..... I know!

The other thing that is odd, mb changed the warning from "STOP!!! Car too low!!" in red, to "Malfunction" With a yellow icon.

As far as I am concerned, if the car is bottomed out, that is a dangerous situation, and that should be relayed to the driver. It may also have given you more of an indication that the fault was with the air suspension rather than something that could be ignored (Eg the handle)

They had the car overnight and left it running for 3 hours (could tell by Mercedes Me) and it didnt drop. I’ve done 200 miles in it since and I can hear the compressor when it kicks in. Rear goes up!

I will post back on here for what they say...

 

[steveq]

I would guess that the air suspension units were damaged from the previous pump failure issue. The air units lost all the air and would have flexed excessively and creased - much the same as a tyre rubber cracking when it is completely deflated.

 

[steveq]

I would also get the dealer to leave your car outside overnight to test it.
I have found that the air suspension dropping is worse in cold weather (I am assuming that the weather is cold at night where you are).

 

[Janchee]

I would also get the dealer to leave your car outside overnight to test it.
I have found that the air suspension dropping is worse in cold weather (I am assuming that the weather is cold at night where you are).

They did this before I picked it up and it didn’t drop. Not heard from them, Mercedes Me showing it’s unlocked and windows down 20 mins ago so must be in the garage!

 

[Janchee]

I would guess that the air suspension units were damaged from the previous pump failure issue. The air units lost all the air and would have flexed excessively and creased - much the same as a tyre rubber cracking when it is completely deflated.

It’s an interesting one. If I had the option, would’ve probably just asked for four springs all round. The dynamics of front on coils and rear on air makes the car drive weird (and expensive to maintain )

 

[steveq]

I think you have been unlucky with yours.
I had an S211 with rear self-levelling suspension (SLS) for 8 years (and it was 4 years old when I got it) and never had an issue.
I now have an S212 with rear SLS and had to replace the rear air suspension units as soon as I got it but that was 4 years ago and no issues since. They cost about £350 and I fitted them myself so it wasn't even that expensive.

SLS works really well when there is a heavy load in the rear. It looks and drives as if there is nothing in the rear unlike most(all) other estate cars.

I have never noticed any issues driving it -- to me it handles fine but it isn't the type of car to throw around corners anyway.

 

[Janchee]

I think you have been unlucky with yours.
I had an S211 with rear self-levelling suspension (SLS) for 8 years (and it was 4 years old when I got it) and never had an issue.
I now have an S212 with rear SLS and had to replace the rear air suspension units as soon as I got it but that was 4 years ago and no issues since. They cost about £350 and I fitted them myself so it wasn't even that expensive.

SLS works really well when there is a heavy load in the rear. It looks and drives as if there is nothing in the rear unlike most(all) other estate cars.

I have never noticed any issues driving it -- to me it handles fine but it isn't the type of car to throw around corners anyway.

Yeah I have read that the S212 is quite common for problems. It does work quite well and I have to admit the rear does glide over bumps.

This model always seems to sway from side to side and IMO never feels planted like other estate cars. I’ve never driven an s212 so can’t compare unfortunately.

 

[steveq]

Swaying from side to side sounds like shock absorber failure to me.

 

[Janchee]

Swaying from side to side sounds like shock absorber failure to me.

I thought this, however they’ve been checked and all good apparently. This car will be brand new when I’ve finished with it

 

[Janchee]

As an update though, they’re still diagnosing the issue apparently. I now have the dealership mechanic on Facebook messenger as I’m fed up of ringing and the lady saying ‘they’re engaged, can they call you back?’. Six times I rang them today with no answer.

Currently got a c200 estate from europcar and it’s alright. Nothing special. Can hardly get 37+mpg from it and that’s driving nice. One thing that really bugs me, is the indicator seems to crack into place rather than a soft click. Haha don’t know why but it really iterates me!

 

[Janchee]

Update: Mechanic messaged saying he’s found the problem. Said it was a rascal to find, but it seems to be the pressure relief valve sticking and letting the air out.

I’ve rang service department for an update and guess what ... they’re engaged and will ring me back. That will be the 8th time I’ve rang, and not once have they contacted me since they’ve had my car last Friday.

Should be covered by warranty but I don’t trust the things as far as I can throw them haha

 

[Janchee]

Update: Warranty approved the work which would've been (£600+). Part is currently on back order and no idea when will be in stock. Warranty has nearly paid itself back already...

 

[steveq]

That is some expensive pressure relief valve.
I see that valve blocks (non-MB ones) are around £100 - £200.

I assume the quoted cost incorporates the labour including the investigation work.

At least you are covered for it.

 

[Janchee]

That is some expensive pressure relief valve.
I see that valve blocks (non-MB ones) are around £100 - £200.

I assume the quoted cost incorporates the labour including the investigation work.

At least you are covered for it.

It is a very expensive pressure relief valve! Most of it is labour to be fair, and then you include diagnostics. Dealership prices, so I'm not surprised ...

I said it was going to be a very expensive bottle of washing up liquid!

 

[steveq]

I hope this is the end of your woes.

In six months time you'll be singing the praises of SLS !!!???

 

[Janchee]

I hope this is the end of your woes.

In six months time you'll be singing the praises of SLS !!!???

Fingers crossed!

In 12 months, I’ve spent £3k on this
Mercedes and that’s with Mercedes contributions. Most of the items are not covered by any warranty apart from alarm (£200). Probably a rare case but an example of why more people are going for new cars on contract hire (with maintenance). This is still a car with brake judder, alloy wheels now in poor state after lacquer break. Also central dual screen that has started to go milky from the left (known issue and new part released)

It’s a life lesson to not buy a car of this calliper outside the dealership network however, when I look at it - I’m at the price Mercedes wanted for a similar if not less spec.

However, what I will never get back ... is the time.

The time it’s taken me to sort all these problems out is phenomenal thanks to average Mercedes after care. The constant push you have to do to get any kind of contribution is very time consuming.

It’s now under Mercedes warranty and yeah, it’s nearly paid itself back in the first 6 days. Lol

But I’m expecting the AdBlue issue to come just around the corner. That’s 2k easy. Yes, warranty should cover it but, will they? You can’t guarantee it.

Edit:

It wouldn’t be so bad if I had a decent Indie close by. They’re all **** poor ‘Multi brand garages’ around Lincoln and closest one is Notts (2hr round trip). First one I thought was decent, failed to even notice a crack in my alloy wheel ...

TL;DR

I could’ve had a brand new Mercedes E-class on Contract hire (with maintenance) for the amount of time and money it’s cost me to keep this used one running.

 

[Janchee]

Update: Car is still in the garage after 14 days with no update on when the part will be in stock. When I went to drop the hire car off and pick up a dealership loan car, my car was sat completely deflated outside the garage. I'm hoping that it being sat deflated for so long won't damage the airbags on the rear...

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

’progress’ isn’t always better than what came before, my S124 and S210 estate SLS was based on a hydraulic tandem pump which provided pressurised fluid to the power steering and rear self levelling units and was still faultless at 20 years old. It’s no surprise to me that the successive air based units have been less reliable, the S211 rear suspension airbags generally lasted 15 years and it looks like the quality has deteriorated since with both the S212 and S213 - MB can and should do better.
Agree with you on contract hire the current cars aren’t a very attractive buy for long term ownership with so many expensive components failing prematurely it’s becoming quite a gamble, I might just hang on to my S212 after all