I have a 2003 Mercedes Benz CL55 amg. The abc or active body control system failed and with very little warning, the fluid started to leak, smoke was everywhere and I nearly caused a collision because of the thick smoke and poor visibility. I had to pull over immediately and have the CL55 towed to my mechanic my mechanic, who specializes in high end Mercedes Benz told me that this is a very common issue with the Mercedes cl 55,65,600 models from 2003-2006. Mercedes knew about this particular problem and redesigned the later models. The original sticker price of the cl model is about $120,000. Mercedes knew about this issue with the abc system on the amg models but did not make a factory recall. I have know met several other owners of the same model car, 2003-6 CL55 amg and all of them had to have the entire abc system replaced which is well over $5500. Also, a website dedicated to Mercedes Benz, called benzworld.com, have numerous owners who have had this particular problem with the abc system. There is a campaign of current owners who are planning to file a class action lawsuit. The breakdown of the abc system while drive comes very suddenly and with very little warning. I am very lucky to avoid an accident when it happened to me. The repair is not only very costly ( $5500 ), but will continue to break down again even after being replaced by original Mercedes parts because of the flawed design. Instead of a class action lawsuit, the NHTSA should force Mercedes have a mandatory recall on the 2003-2006 cl amg models to address this potentially dangerous problem.

- La Mesa, CA, USA