Suspension complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The suspension , namely the airmatic struts fail on the E500 . Mercedes has know about this for years. I had an s500 that had the same problem. This needs to be check into, while driving the car will bottom out , tires on the frame. The aromatic struts fail and make car un drivable. Very costly repair.
I was sold this car and because I did not know what the red "STOP CAR TOO LOW WARNING" meant when I was driving it home, I was not only scammed by the used car dealership with no recourse, but I also was tricked into driving this car while it was not supposed to be driven for safety, per the manual of the vehicle. I will include a picture of the safety message from the manual where it states, "HIGH PRIORITY MESSAGES APPEAR IN THE MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY IN RED COLOR". and the STOP CAR TOO LOW message states very specific safety instructions that a reasonable person could not know. I am filing this recall complaint because how the system operates. …
Rear end goes down when the car in parked. "stop" message (red) appears on dashboard. Do not drive car and take to mechanic immediately. When I start car after 15 to 20 min message goes away and car again comes to normal position. Its happening almost everyday from last few days. In forum I read it is common issue with e series of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. My car only has 120K miles. Learned that there is leak in air springs and it is very expensive to repair. I had same issue 6 years back on front passenger side when I was driving. Front passenger side sat down completely and rim started hitting tire. I was driving on highway at 65K/hrs. I had to call Mercedes and they asked me not to drive and they towed the car to dealership. It took 2 days to get car fixed and cost me $2000.
We had just stopped the vehicle in a parking space at a grccery. As we exited the vehicle and were walkng away from it we heard a loud pop as if a tire had a blown. We looked around but did not notice any low tire from loss of air. When we returned to the vehicle after grocery shopping my wife noticed the front passenger side was lower than the front driver side. When I started the vehicle I noticed the red warning light on the dash instrument panel "stop, car too low!" I turned the steering wheel to see if the wheel/tire would rub against the wheel well and it did not, so we drove home which was only one mile. I parked the vehicle in the garage. After reading a nmber of other similar complaints, it appears this malfunction should be a manufacturer recall for a deficient part or engineering design flaw for the malfunction.
Airmatic suspension dropped while driving on the highway. Red light warning flashed that vehicle was low. Tried to raise car but it would not raise. Car was very close to ground and would not raise..began looking up, if other same models as ours have this problem and they do. Read several consumers compliants/ concerns who also own a Mercedes Benz they seem to have this similar problem. It's very expensive to fix at a dearlership. Looks like this vehicle May have a problem/defect with their airmatic suspension and it is very dangerous driving on the highway unknowing that your vehicle is dropping to ground.this really needs to be investigated to see if there is a problem with their airmatic suspension before someone gets hurt or killed while driving.
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E500. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the air bag suspension detached from the subframe which caused the shock to lean into the tire. The rear driver's side wheel ceased turning. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 139,000.
Car display panel showed "stop, car too low". The front left portion of the car was low and the tire almost touched the tire fender. Tried to drive the car to shop but can hear the tire scratched the fender when made turns. Towed the car to shop next day. Shop told me the air suspension was bad and needed to replace strut and recommended to replace both front two struts. This could be a very dangerous situation if it happened on freeway. Car could loose balance at high speed. Tire could bust at high speed. Checked online and saw many people had same problems. Now I remember that a friend in taiwan has collected more than 500 Mercedes struts in his shop. He told me that this had been a well known problem for Mercedes 500 series. Why Mercedes did not recall cars for repair??? Too expensive and can not afford to do it for Mercedes?? It cost me $2,850 to replace the front two struts. …
Frequently asked questions
Which Mercedes-Benz E500 years have suspension problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2004 (23), 2003 (19) and 2005 (10) model years. Suspension complaints make up 16% of all complaints for the 2004.
Is there a recall for Mercedes-Benz E500 suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for any Mercedes-Benz E500 model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Mercedes-Benz E500 suspension problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 94,000 miles; 18% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front (9 mentions), followed by the rear (2).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.