niallhs

Dear Forum

Thanks so much... have enjoyed reading all the helpful posts... "things you didn't know about R-Class" was a particular favourite.

I've been fortunate to buy a super low mileage R63 here in the UK, Chromite Black with a good list of extra options. I'm still puzzling my way through the owners manual but wanted to see if anyonecould help with a couple of questions...

The Airmatic seems to behave oddly... often I'll park up and find that the rear of the car is jacked up. I had thought that this might be happening when parking on an incline as some form of self-levelling, but it happens on the flat too. usually, it'll lower itelf with a slight hiss of air some random time later. Is this normal?

Second question... usually on start-up and then quite frequently whilst driving there is a loud noise like an air raid siren... just about audible inside car, loud outside. Is this something to do with the airmatic too... some form of air pump? Normal? I suspect connected with this is that, usually soon after turning ignition off and exiting car, there a noise like blowing your nose or sharp exhaling of breath! Is that normal too?

Thirdly, is there a way of cancelling the audible warning when the power tailgate is in operation?

All for now... the car has been a dream to drive... covered around 3K miles now... fantastic for lugging 5 people and a good luggage load at high speed and around town i can just about get my mpg into double figures... petrol is £6 per gallon here... but the sound from the 6.3 is worth every penny!

Thanks
N.

user 823908234

Don't have full Airmatic on our R320CDI, just in the rear, but every morning when wifey starts it up in the garage I see the rear drop 1/4", without fail. I have no clue why it thinks it's high, since nothing weight-wise has changed. Also hear the pump running a short time at start up. Replaced both rear air bags at 90k miles, now 94+k. We've put about 32k miles on the car since we got it, and love it.

And, belated welcome to the forum!

niallhs

Thanks for your thoughts Jerry. The rise and fall on the R63 airmatic that I'm experiencing, without using the "raise" function is circa 2 or 3 inches! Will be good to hear if anyone else is getting the same range of weird noises too!

N.

xxGenericSNxx

Congrats on the purchase. I've got the same color over here in the US (except the American marketing name is Majestic Black but still the same paint).

1. Rear Airmatic too high- yes this is normal. Mine did that all the time and it drove me nuts. It looked like a handicapped van with the really high rear suspension. To fix the look, I had my MB tech do a "STAR Lowering" through their MB computers. I had my rear lowered about 1.5" to be in line with the front wheel's height and now it looks right. I'd suggest you do the same but you have to find someone that knows what the heck you're talking about.

2. Airmatic making noises- yes this is normal. Mine does it all the time- it's the air compressor and air bags adjusting the suspension- it's louder when it's lowering the suspension (letting air out). When I have the suspension in the raised position and then I want to lower the car back to its normal position I will hear the suspension making noises the most because it's letting air out. I also notice if I have the suspension on Comfort or Normal setting and I switch to Sport I will also hear air coming out and I see the car lowering itself a little bit to the Sport setting.

2b. Yes the car always makes noises and adjusts suspension when the car is off and you open and close the doors.

3. To the best of my knowledge, no you cannot.

That's great that you are enjoying the car. I think some pictures are in order! Is yours a SWB or LWB? In the States we only got LWB R-Classes so it's always a treat for me to see a short one. If you get the chance, check out my R63 build thread (link in my signature) I posted it over on the R63 section of this forum. And yes I agree, although this car loves to drink gas, I'm smiling all the way to the gas station.

starbound01

There are some basics about the airmatic system. Unless you change the height manually, change the weight vehicle or drive fast, the airmatic should not be doing much

The noise you hear after you turn the vehicle off is the exhaust from the compressor. If you pull the driver side wheel splash shield back you can see the compressor. There is a larger hose (about 1/2" OD coming out of the compressor and going up and around to the back of the wheel wheel where it attaches to a muffler. That line is likely cracked or broken, likely where it connects to the compressor. If its near the end, just cut off the broken piece and reattach.

The compressor is likely getting ready to go out. As they age or get lots of use from leakes they fail. If you can hear its running loudly, it's telling you its getting tired.

Replace the air compressor relay. They are know to fail. If it failes closed it WILL burn up your compressor - especially if its weak. $20 from the dealer, 5 minutes to switch out.

The hieght issue is more difficult. The control block could be leaking by when the compressor is running and forcing the rear up. The sensor could be bad and failing to signal to stop pumping air to the bladders - there have been a number of threads about failed or corroded sensors. If you are hearing the compressor run often you also likely have a airsping leaking. If the vehicle is moved often you may not see it fall for a while. The easiest way to see if there is a leaking issue, pull the compressor relay and leave it overnight. Opening and closing doors "wakes up" the vehicle and that sometimes hides an airspring leak.

niallhs

Thanks so much for the most recent replies to my post.


GenericSN... that was all sounding encouraging to hear your similar experiences... I'll look into that 1.5" drop. My R63 is LWB... not aware of any SWB here in UK... I do know that there are just 8 others on the road here. Of course most people don't really know about the R63 or even the R-Class! Pictures will follow...


Starbound... thank you for your detailed reply too... what you've suggested does make a lot of sense to my own circumstances... the compressor is real loud and I did think it seemed to be cutting in an awful lot! Car purchased from a good dealer six months ago with an aftermarket warranty... going to check the fine print there and see if I look like having any cover... otherwise it sounds potentially expensive at MB rates! I'll keep you posted.


Thank you both so much...


Cheers from London


N.

niallhs

An update on my Airmatic problems...

Spoke to the dealer I purchased from and they made no quibble about collecting the car and taking to their MB specialist... they tested all pipes and connections, and didn't find fault but have replaced the pump. I have a copy of the invoice for my history which I'm glad not to have been paying (£840 / $1400) and I'm sure that would have been a lot more if it was myself going to MB.

So far the above seems to have been a good fix... none of that loud compressor noise and suspension height seems to be behaving itself... so far.

Thanks again for the earlier helpful posts and I promise to ost pictures soon...

N.

PeteInLongBeach

Another reason for unexpected height correction can be due to changes in ambient air temperature. For instance, if the car is parked at night when ambient air temperature is relatively cool, then driven the next day when the temperature is warmer, the air in the springs has expanded a bit and raised the car. The system will exhaust air to correct.