Air compressor fail
- NHTSA ID
- 11737595
- Incident
- Feb 5, 2026
Owner-reported complaints naming the suspension system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2011 Mercedes-Benz GL450 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Air compressor fail
WE WERE STOPPED AT A RED STOPLIGHT, OUT OF NOWHERE THERE WAS A LOUD EXPLOSION, SHOOK THE WHOLE CAR AND SANK, THE FEELING LIKE WE WERE IN A SINK HOLE OR LIKE A TIRE BLEW BUT THE TIRE WAS FINE. A LOYD HISSING SOUND ENSUED. THANK GOD, WE WERE AT A STOP LIGHT AND NOT IN A SPEED THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DEADLY.
MY 2011 GL450 MERCEDES SUV IS DRIVING SIDEWAYS ONE FRONT AND ONE BACK SUSPENSION AIRBAGS ARE NOT WORKING I FEEL LIKE MY CARE IS GOING TO FLIP OVER WHEN I TURN. THIS IS A HAZARDOUS PROBLEM. CAN CAUSE ACCIDENTS A DEATHS NOT ONLY ON THE DRIVER BUT OTHER PEOPLE ON THE ROAD
RECALL THE AIR SUSPENSION BAGS KEEPS BUSTING ALSO I CAN'T TELL HOW MUCH GAS IN MY TANK I REPLACE THE BACK AIR SUSPENSION AIR BAG AND NOW THE FRONT HAS GONE OUT I ALSO REPLACE THE SUSPENSION LEVELING VALUE THE CAR BOUNCES WHEN DRIVING
THE AIRMATIC SYSTEM EXPLODED WHILE THE CAR WAS AT THE MERCEDES BENZ DEALIER IN MODESTO, CALIFORNIA PARKED TO HAVE THE BREAKS REPAIRED .. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER THE CAR IS NO OPERABLE DUE TO ONE OF THE VARIOUS AIRMATIC CONTROLES EXPLODED WHILE PARKED WAITING BEING SERVICES. THE EXPLOSION WAS LOUD AND KEEPT THE CAR BOUNCING FOR A COUPLE MINUTES WHILE THE OTHER AIRMATIC CONTROLES WERE DEFLATING DUE TO THE EXPLOTION. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE MERCEDES BENZ DEALER IN MODESTO CALIFORNIA SINCE THE EXPLO TION OCCURRED AT THEIR SHOP
MY FRONT AIR STRUTS, REAR AIR SPRINGS AND SHOCKS, SUSPENSION AIR COMPRESSOR, AND VALVE BLOCK WENT OUT AFTER OWNING THE VEHICLE FOR 4 MONTHS. I'VE GOTTEN ALL THOSE COMPONENTS REPLACED AND I AM STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SUSPENSION. MY CAR ROCKS FROM SIDE TO SIDE, LEANS ON THE LEFT SIDE WHILE DRIVING AND I CAN FEEL EVERY BUMP AND ROUGH SPOT IN THE ROAD.
THIS CAR WAS SOLD TO ME AS A CPO VEHICLE FROM MERCEDES BENZ OF GREENWICH WITH 32K MILES IN 2014. SINCE OWNERSHIP ALL AIRBAGS HAVE FAILED AND BEEN REPLACED EXCEPT THE RECALLED TAKATA STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG. THE CURTAIN AIR BAGS, REAR AIRBAGS ETC. ARE NOW ON THE SECOND REPLACEMENT. THE COMPUTER FAILED WHILE DRIVING AND THE DASHBOARD WENT COMPLETELY BLACK AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALERSHIP HAS TOLD ME THAT THIS YEAR VEHICLE HAS CONTINUAL PROBLEMS AND FAILURES. IT THE SOUND LIKE THE CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED. I WAS TOLD TO SELL THE CAR PRIVATELY SINCE THE VALUE HAS PLUMMETED.
WERE TOLD BY A MECHANIC AT BETTEN IMPORTS IN GRAND RAPIDS, MI, THAT THE SUSPENSION WAS STUCK IN THE 'LOW' POSITION, CAUSING THE TIRES TO BECOME CUPPED AND PITTED. AFTER KEEPING THE VEHICLE FOR ONE WEEK, BETTEN'S SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT IT WAS BAD TIRES AND NOT THE SUSPENSION. ONLY ALL SEASON TIRES AVAILABLE FOR THIS BODY TYPE ARE NOT ADEQUATE FOR WINTER DRIVING, AND MAKE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE IN ANY PRECIPITATION HAZARDOUS. DRIVER HAD UPS DRIVER TRAINING EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS, ON THE ROAD SALES DRIVING EXPERIENCE. VEHICLE BOUNCES AROUND THE ROAD AND TIRES BECOME CUPPED AND PITTED. DRIVER DID NOT HAVE THESE ISSUES WITH ANY PREVIOUS VEHICLE. HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRES THREE TIMES BEFORE 44000 MILES. WE ARE NOT SURE IF THIS IS REALLY AN ISSUE WITH THE TIRES, OR IF THERE IS A SUSPENSION ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE, SPECIFICALLY, OR THE MODEL OF THIS VEHICLE, IN GENERAL. VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE IN THE WINTER. *TR
FRONT END NOISE. BROUGHT TO DEALER WHO REPLACED THE RIGHT STRUT. 2 MONTHS LATER SAME NOISE ON LEFT SIDE. DEALER REPLACED THE LEFT STRUT. AWAITING RESULTS. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .