It could be a number of things including shock absorbers  
			This is known as the "dead body in the trunk" sound. A number of owner's have reported this sound particularly on the W211 chassis. Kent explains what he did to fix it in this 2004 E500 sedan. The same problem can happen on other models as well, even without the airmatic suspension.
Problem & Solution
Common among these chassis:
    R107  
  
    W108  W109  
  
    W110 W111 W112 Sedan  
  
    W111 W112 Coupe  
  
    W113  
  
    W114  
  
    W115  
  
    W116  
  
    W123  
  
    W124  
  
    W126  
  
    R129  
  
    W140  
  
    W201  
  
    W202  
  
    W208  
  
    W210  
  
    W211  
  
    W220  
				

