snanceki, how to check if the height sensor arm is broken? because my back rises really high,maybeits that sensor?

 

Not sure exactly where sited on the rear. maybe only one.
Looks like little plastic arm similar to on a building site crane.
Shouldn't be too difficult to locate.

Stuart

 

HI

Just wondering if anyone resolved there air suspension issues. I have a 2003 E500 which also has air suspension issues. It seems to drop overnight and in very cold weather. I contacted the dealership and received information that the cold weather can case leaks with the seals.

Also sometimes the vehicle will raise after it idles.


Can anyone help?

 

so can somebody explain to me what to do? because this is getting on my nerves already, dealership just wants my money for testing it and looking at it but they wont do anything about it, they want me to change the whole suspension for 3000$, and I dont have that much money to spend on this car. I just want to fix it and sell it or trade it in... my front strut caps are cracked as you can see on the pictures, I heard that theres a repair kit for it cost about 600$ anybody knows about it?
then for some reason when I start the car, my back raises all the way up, its like SUV right now, could it be because of leaking air in front? when compressor pumps air it pumps front and back together, and since front leaks, it keeps pumping it, and my back goes up, front still sits down. or could it be a bad sensor on the back? the only time it goes down is whne battery dies...

 

PM me with your real email address and a recap of what happened, when it happens etc. + service / mileage history for the car.

I will respond with as much info as I can.
Airmatic isn't particularly complicated BUT it does give trouble and IF you need new struts they are mega expensive.
However I suspect that many are changed when there is no need.

If you apply soapy water or similar do you get "bubbles" formed adjacent to the cracks. Ensure suspension isn't fully down when you do this.

However in exchange maybe you can tell me how you managed to attach these (quite) large photos to your response?
Everytime I try I get "an error occurred" during the download process.
I resize, I ensure I have the .jpg suffiox on the file.
However I use a Mac and suspect that this might have something to do with the problem.
I don't have this problem on any other site.
I have no size restrictions on my ISP account.

Stuart

 

In short that is what it is supposed to do.
The longer you leave the car the greater the sink.
The problem comes if the degree of sink is such that you get a "Do Not Drive" warning after a normal overnight parkup.

The wait while the system pumps itself up gets annoying. Alternatively the pump is unable to raise the car due to an excessive leak or something else that impacts the system.

Unless you have a warning after a simple overnight stop don't worry.
If you get a warning after lets say 3 days of not being driven then the source of the leak needs to be corrected otherwise the pump has to work overtime and will eventually quit.

Lots of places other than the struts where a leak can occur especially if the vehicle has ever had a front end repair after a (even small) accident.

Stuart

 

Hi,
I am a new member as well, and i was reading up all all of your comments regarding the air suspension. I have a similar problem with my suspension. It airs up fine, but does not stay aired up, which obviously i have an air leak. I believe I have tracked it down to the top of the struts (which i noticed was mentioned in one of the posts) My question is can just the top of that be replaced or does the whole strut have to be replaced?
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Yep.
Strut top leak is a known issue with the "bigger" engined dervaitives (i.e. V8) in high ambients. i.e. High underhood temps.

There is a kit available in the USA but I don't know where it can be got from. Others have posted this detail previously.

Some leakage is acceptable. If it sinks overnight and displays a "Do Not Drive" warning then yes the leak needs to be fixed before the pump goes bad thru overwork.

If you get an occasional Airmatic Low warning then this is not unusual. Should manage to stay up without a low warning overnight.

Stuart

 

Stuart,
Thanks for the info. I found the repair kits. So for anybody else if they need the website here it is http://www.allmercedes.com/parts/

Also is the repair kit easy to install? and how? Can it be repaired just from the top or does it have to be repaired from the bottom, by removing the entire shock?

Thanks again,
Sam

 

Hi Stuart

I am a new member to this forum and read with interest the issues other members are having with the Airmatic Suspension.

I currently have a 2003 E500 and am experiencing similar issues in that the rear (both left and right) drop after parking for a day or two. The car did go in to the dealer recently to have the trunk assist repaired. Is the Trunk Assist linked to the Airmatic in any way and if so could this problem be related to the 'fix' that was done? If it is a faulty pump, could it cause just the back and not the front to drop? Or if the strut is leaking, would both sides drop?

If it is the pump, is removal and installation very difficult?

Thanks