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Hi,
I have a 2012 E-350 cabriolet that has a panel w/4 roller type buttons located to the right of my drivers seat.
They are supposed to control air bolsters on the seat in 2 places, and 2 bolsters/lumbar area on the back of the driver’s seat.
They have all stopped working. First the 2 buttons that controlled air to the bolsters on my back stopped working. Over the past 2-3 months the bolsters on the seat that are supposed to support my thighs have also stopped working.
I can live without the thigh bolsters, but recently had a spinal fusion and am so missing my lumbar bolsters.
Any suggestions?
TIA,
Karen
I’ve added a pic of the 4 buttons in case my description wasn’t clear enough.
Most of the old A207's suffer fron cracked and broken air lines to the bolsters and seat back. If left unfixed the compressor will fail trying to inflate them resulting in a compressor replace and lines replacement.
Several threads on here showing the cracked broken lines and the resulting repairs.....the compressor is in the trunk area behind everything...of course :-)
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just had this system replaced in my car at a cost of about $3,000 (and that was with parts and labor allegedly "discounted" by the dealer). I hope that whoever thought having an air pump inflate balloons inside a seat was a good idea has been fired from Mercedes-Benz; it is a design destined for failure.
There are four potential failure points in the system and it is likely that more than one of those points is your culprit:
The seat bladders are leaking (they're shockingly flimsy).
The hoses from the pump in the trunk to the seat cushions are leaking.
The control pods (the black plastic pods with the thumbwheels) have failed.
The air pump has failed.
The air pump often fails as a result of items 1-3 because it is not designed to run continuously. Consequently, if there is a leak anywhere in the system, the pump keeps running in an attempt to maintain the required pressure in the bladders. It does have an auto-shutoff feature in the event that it runs continuously for more than a minute, but ultimately this does not save it from burnout.
The dealer had my car for four months, during which time they replaced all seven of the bladders (four in driver seat and three in passenger seat), the air pump, and the two control pods between the seats and the center console.
I checked my seat controls, they still work. However, I've noticed that my preferred settings is the default, which is completely flat. For me, it doesn't really matter if they work or not, but it would bother me knowing that they don't work...
Hi,
I have a 2012 E-350 cabriolet that has a panel w/4 roller type buttons located to the right of my drivers seat.
They are supposed to control air bolsters on the seat in 2 places, and 2 bolsters/lumbar area on the back of the driver’s seat.
They have all stopped working. First the 2 buttons that controlled air to the bolsters on my back stopped working. Over the past 2-3 months the bolsters on the seat that are supposed to support my thighs have also stopped working.
I can live without the thigh bolsters, but recently had a spinal fusion and am so missing my lumbar bolsters.
Any suggestions?
TIA,
Karen
I’ve added a pic of the 4 buttons in case my description wasn’t clear enough.
Some cars have the compressors in the seat. When you turn on the engine (ignition?), see whether there is a faint buzzing noise inside the seat. If there is, I suspect you have a broken air line. Only two bolts secure the seat base, once you lift it up, you can see the hoses. Just make sure they are firmly connected on both sides. If they are, disconnect them from the box of switches and work out whether air goes in - glass of water works miracles.
If the lines or connectors are broken, it's pretty cheap to fix.
The fuse for multicontour seats is #60 in the trunk.
mine have been operating intermittently so i am just syart to dig into them. I am pretty sure for basic multicontour seats the pumps are in the seat backs.
If you have dynamic multicontour seats the pump appears to be in the left side of the trunk.
Karen's picture of the controls look like she has the multicontour contour seats not the dynamic multicontour seats. Mine is the same as he's.
I hope to pull the seat backs off this weekend and confirm the pumps are in the seat backs.
I'll report back when I do.
I am pretty sure for basic multicontour seats the pumps are in the seat backs. If you have dynamic multicontour seats the pump appears to be in the left side of the trunk.
I have the "basic" multi contour seats, and the lone air pump is in the trunk.
The combination of front seat climate control (less cushioning) and the air bladders was so uncomfortable I've seldom used them in the two years I've owned my 2011. If they did go out I wouldn't fix them. Instead I found some old school seat cushions.
I have the "basic" multi contour seats, and the lone air pump is in the trunk.
I've been going through the info and diagrams in Xentry and seems to be conflicting. But again it may be due to various option codes too.
THANKS for letting me know how yours is set up.
I could use the lumbar support for my back.
If it wasn't for that I wouldn't fool with it.
I've been going through the info and diagrams in Xentry and seems to be conflicting. But again it may be due to various option codes too.
THANKS for letting me know how yours is set up.
I could use the lumbar support for my back.
If it wasn't for that I wouldn't fool with it.
I agree that the lumbar bladders are the only really necessary ones. The seats are relatively narrow and the side bolsters are fairly prominent even when not inflated, and the driver seat thigh extension has little appreciable effect. Unfortunately, the entire system must maintain the air pressure; if one leaks, they all deflate.
This is for a cabriolet with option 409 FRONT LEFT AND RIGHT MULTICONTOUR SEAT not the dynamic multi seat option.
I finally got around to removing the paneling in the trunk of my cabriolet. WOW quite challenging in the cabriolet, at least the first time. Ha
The pump is located on the left side behind the amplifier in my case. Very difficult to get to with out removing other components. I have not located, or overlooked, a WIS for removal on a cabriolet yet. If anyone has one, I would appreciate a copy.
I could barely get my hand to it and feel it run on the blue hose when the car is started, so the pump at least works. Whether strong enough yet to be determined.
while I could feel it running, I could not hear it either in the trunk or on the fender. Is that typical or representative of a weak pump?
I removed the control , started the car and could feel air from one of the hoses for a short time. I didn't feel like it was very strong so plan to pressure test next. Not sure if
pump is weak,
Supply hose is leaking or
Bladders are leaking.
the passenger seat seemed to inflate at start a couple of times.
one question I have is, will the pump inflate the seat if you are not sitting in it?
Any suggestions are welcomed and would be greatly appreciated.
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