I was driving on 95 North leaving Florida and the front end of my car dropped. I was driving about 65 mph. Fearing for my life I attempted to pull to the side of the road but it was very hard to even turn the wheel. The second time it happen on interstate 83 in baltimore city, the other side drop and I experienced the same thing. The failure that happen in Florida I went to Mercedes Benz of orlando and they stated they have been seeing this problem often. The second incident, I took my car to pars auto in towson, md and they stated they have been doing about two to three of these cars a week for the same problem.

- Baltimore, MH, USA

As I was driving the airmatic system failed and cause the car to lower to an undrivable height, I checked and found that this is a major problem for this model.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

The airmatic suspension system in my Mercedes Benz S500 finally failed after acting up for some time. The whole car suddenly sank to the ground and made driving unsafe and almost impossible. My research into this problem on bensworld and other sites showed that this is a very, very common problem and an obvious defect in these cars. Mercedes is so well aware of this that they sell a repair kits for leaks in the struts ($126 times 2!) as well as stocking many air compressors ($360) to replace the ones that go bad. Plus mb charges exorbitantly high prices for the parts -- a simple electrical relay for the suspension was $75. The parts cost me over $700, and I did the work myself to keep from being further raped by mb to fix this defect just so I could drive my car.

- Dallas, TX, USA

I own a 2000 Mercedes Benz S500 sedan. While pulling into my parking space at home, the rear of my vehicle dropped to approximately 3" from the ground without warning, I had no idea why this happened. Had the vehicle towed to a mb dealership. They told me that the airmatic pump on the suspension system failed and needs to be replaced at a cost of $1500 us. I'm hoping there is no further damage to my vehicle. Thank god I wasn't on a highway when this happened.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz S430. While driving 35 mph, the air ride suspension failure warning light illuminated. The vehicle dropped approximately four inches, which made it impossible to steer. The dealer did not inspect the vehicle. The contact stated that the cause of failure was due to the air compressor that controls the air ride suspension. The dealer replaced the air compressor and no other failures have occurred. The current mileage is 70,000 and failure mileage was 68,000. The consumer stated he would like to know the status of his complaint. Updated 06/20/07.

- Riverside, RI, USA

Had 2000 Mercedes S500, car in garage for a week, noticed the car is very low, tires almost rubbing the inside of the fenders, turned car on and warning massage said " car is too low, stop aeronautic system" raised the car with a panel button, car raised. Called the dealer, said you can drive it. I drove it and it very noisy, the second day did the same, very low almost on the ground. Same problem happened before about six month ago, while out of the state, told by the dealer it need reselling the aromatic system. Fixed that time (October 2006) cost me about $650. Problem keep going with the same aromatic system. Looked up online, www.benzworld.org and found hundreds of similar complains about the same airmatic system. It is very expensive to repaired, and if repaired, it keep failing over and over. There must be a recall to correct it. It is very dangerous if it happened while driving, the whole suspension might collapse which may cause serious injuries. Pleaase help, thanks.

- Greenville, MS, USA

1) the car was parked in a garage for one week while I was away. 2) upon return, the whole suspension system had failed, causing the vehicle to rest only 3 inches from the ground. Fortunately the car was parked when this happened! 3) outcomes: Mileage: 46120 repaired: $2050.84: Replaced both front air suspensions, replaced hydropneumat relief valve and compressor for sir suspension car value: Approx. $25,000 4) follow-up: Today, August 21, 2006 there are warning lights on the dash that the suspension system has 3 failures. Will take to dealer for inspection.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

Driving on the highway all of a sudden the front suspension of my car drop.

- St.Louis, MO, USA

As I was driving on the US280, at 65 mph, the front end of my 2000 Mercedes S430 suddenly dropped almost 12 inches. A message appeared on my dash saying something like: Car too low, stop immediately. As I turned the stearing wheel to exit to the road's shoulder, a load squealing sound began because my wheels were striking the car's wheel wells. Therefore, I had to slowly navigate to the right so that my tires weren't torn to shreads. I had the car towed to Park Avenue motors and they replaced a hydraulic pump that controls raising and lowering the car.

- Los Altos Hills, CA, USA

When driving vehicle over 50mph it sways up and down, and also sideways. This is due to the air suspension system failure. Dealer has seen vehicle several times, and said there was nothing wrong.

- Miami, FL, USA