2001 Mercedes S55 Active Suspension fault

Specific repair issues for other imported vehicles
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MarionB2BAuto
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2001 Mercedes S55 Active Suspension fault

Post by MarionB2BAuto »

Wow this car really is wanting to tick me off. lol.

I have in my shop a 2001 S55 Mercedes with the Active Suspension system. (ABC). This system is hydraulic, and runs off the power steering pump. Originally it came in with the entire right side collapsed onto the wheels. I used my MaxiDAS 708 scan tool to check the system, and it had fault codes for right side low, and low pressure in the system. I ran a system test to actuate the entire system. The "Rodeo" test is supposed to individually and group-wise activate the 4 struts. Well it raised up the right side, collapsed the left, then stopped. Now when I try to activate anything, my scan tool states "requirements not met" for running the test, and the new code is "left side low". However when I compared the vehicle to the requirements, I have everything matched. I have tried to run all of the different tests listed, and every one will respond with the same "enable requirements not met". I have all of them met, so I have no idea why it is not working. I told the customer that I would be able to find the problem for them, so I don't want to sublet it to Mercedes. I don't want a customer to lose faith in my shop. (Another reason I never sublet to other shops) Anyone have experience with this system? I have done some research and I know that there are a lot of problems with this system. I want to at least locate the failed part(s) and then talk to the customer about options. Does ANYONE know anything about these systems?
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steven kiser
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Re: 2001 Mercedes S55 Active Suspension fault

Post by steven kiser »

Never have worked on one of these myself but i looked through one of my diagnostic servers and was i floored. Three recalls for hose issues and two TSB's P-32 50-09A, and P-32 50-42. One is for a bad module but the other that better describes your issue is the restricted filter in the system. Again, not knowing about this particular vehicle but having experience in hydraulics, a piece of crap in the system or some dope putting in the incorrect fluid at a Spiffy Lube will hammer a system. I've run across screens in banjo bolts in other German Vehicles that have caused huge issues and the dealer supposedly didn't even know, but that bolt was required to be replaced during any power steering part replacement.

Again, a guess is that the system functions using a preset flow meaning that if the module reads low r/r it has to deal with it by running a pressure test including all shocks and after one side the resistance is high enough to trigger a stop or if there is a by pass valve somewhere it gets triggered.
never argue with a fool, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience
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