Noticed a thin trail of oil in our only snowfall of the year the other day. It was about 5 feet long as i backed out of the garage. Stopped when I put it in drive and haven't noticed a leak since.

I looked under the car and notice what looks like a wet shock absorber. Dealership says if there's no warning on the dash then don't worry about it. I'd like to check the level but the service advisior didn't know where the resevoir was located.

Anybody know?

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

"I'd like to check the level but the service advisior didn't know where the resevoir was located."

I'm assuming your car is a W211. If so, then there is no fluid reservoir for the suspension. The only suspension option for the W211 is the Air-matic system.


"Noticed a thin trail of oil in our only snowfall of the year the other day. It was about 5 feet long as i backed out of the garage."

"Dealership says if there's no warning on the dash then don't worry about it."

Ask the service advisor if HE had a five foot trail of oil in HIS driveway if HE would worry about it.


If your car does indeed have a leaking shock absorber, it won't cause any warning lights to come on, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be fixed. The types of responses your service advisor gave you are why dealers have such a lousy reputation.

You're right, it's a 211 with airmatic. I'll call another dealer and see what they say. I have noticed that it clunks when I hit a bump in the road so something definately needs fixing.

Any idea how big a job it is with the airmatic suspension? Any special tools or procedures needed or is it just a swap of a shock absorber?

Thanks.

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

"If your car does indeed have a leaking shock absorber, it won't cause any warning lights to come on,"

I should clarify this statement. If the strut doesn't have an AIR leak it won't cause any warning lights to come on. Sorry if I confused anyone.

There are a few DTB's about various Air-Matic issues. Your dealer should be able to sort it out for you.

"I'll call another dealer and see what they say."

A word of advice. Whenever possible, try and stick with the dealer that sold you the car. If you bought it used, try to use the selling dealer for service issues. It may give you a little more leverage if problems arise. Good luck.

I bought the car used, the original dealer is on the other side of the country. Car is out of original warranty and the extended warranty doesn't cover shock absorbers.

Can you describe what part might be bad and how much work it is to replace it?

Thanks.

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

The first thing I'd suggest is get the car up on a lift and see where the oil is coming from. Post a picture if possible. Where does it sound like the noise is coming from. Front, rear, right, left? Is it a thud, clunk, knock,etc? Does it happen on right turns, left turns, braking, accelerating? Only on rough roads or anywhere? Is it easy to reproduce the noise? If you get me the VIN I'll run a VMI and check if the car has had any suspension issues in the past.

How many miles on the car?

Its out of warranty as you say (so >50k) but whats the total?

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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

It's a pretty sharp thunk whenever I go over a bump like a manhole cover or sharp change in pavement. Small bumps don't cause the noise. I looked underneath from the rear and can see oil on the driver's side shock.

VIN is WDBUF70J93A118112 Please PM or email me any service info you can find.

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

Around 55,000 miles

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

Well, I ran a VMI, but it didn't show ANY warranty repair history. I don't know why, but I'm guessing it has something to do with MB warranty differences between the U.S and Canada.


"I looked underneath from the rear and can see oil on the driver's side shock."

I'm assuming you're talking about the rear strut. The work instructions for strut replacement are straightforward. Although they recommend releasing the air pressure with SDS, you can carefully loosen the fitting and release it that way. After that simply unbolt it, take it out, and install the new one. You'll need a special socket to reach the pressure fitting, though. The number is 211-589-00-09-00. It'll run you around $18.00 U.S. Keep us posted.

I ran into problems because of Ontario's privacy laws... I did get a local dealer to tell me some of the things that have been done and there was some bushing replacement done on the front end due to road salt damage. I guess that might be part of my rear problem too.

I've made an appointment with my indy. He's quoted me $575.00 CAD for the strut and 1.5 hours labour to replace it. Does that sound reasonable?

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL

The labor time is right on the money. I don't know the exchange rate, but list price for the strut at the dealer should be around $325.00 U.S.

The exchange rate is nowhere near that high! Our dollar is worth approximately 85 cents so the part "should" be just under $400.00 if all was normal.

For some reason, German car parts in Canada tend to be more expensive than in the US. Maybe I should get involved in a grey market genuine MB parts business, I already import Saeco Espresso machines and silver jewellery....

Know any dealers that want to set something up?

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2003 E500
2002 C230 Kompressor
1986 420SEL