theeddie

was down the street from the house got the red car to low warning

pull into the garage and i find the drivers side is tucked in the fender well.

i jack the car up and hear a air noise coming from the wheel well


does this mean the strut is gone?

Benz-O-Rama

Most likely it's either the strut is toast or the air line that connects to it is the source of the problem. Hopefully it's the latter. But the good news is, if you need a strut, contact user RBrenton on this board. He can get you one at a discount.

Good luck.

Ben Daneshgar

I say strut! good luck though.

Benzo1999

I just replaced the rt/frt airmatic strut on my 03 E500. Not to complicated an R&R. The harder part was the $1000.00 it cost me!!! Let me know if you need any tips.


Good luck...

Benzo1999

Oh...I figured out what caused the failure. The rubber boot failed & let dirt into the airbag chamber. Keep a close watch on the condition of your boots & you should have years of trouble free miles.

Diesel Benz

I had this same issue with my first W211. I fixed the protective rubber and it was fine at least as long as I had the car.

The band that holds the protective bellows may become a bit loose too over time, mine was loose at the rear but no damage so far.

I still feel the early W211 cars had some kind of a parts issue, the protective bellows broke too easily.

Benzo1999

That boot is made of thin rubber. It will always be a weak link in that system. I asked the MB part's man if the factory has updated the strut since the original design & he said no. Hmmm...You'de think they would design a better boot.

Diesel Benz

How would he know if the rubber has been improved? I bet he was looking at the strut part number but that could remain the same even if the rubber was changed/improved later as MB considers the original ones OK too.

Edited: just checked, they have even updated part numbers. The first one been produced up to 06/2003. Another change at about the face lift time.

konigstiger

Front
MY03: Left A2113205513, right A2113205413
MY04-06: A2113206113, A2113206013
MY07-08: A2113209313, A2113209413

Rear
MY03-05: A2113200725, A2113200825
MY06-08: A2113201525, A2113201625

DTB P-B-32.22/15a initially released MAR03 – up to VIN A255298 if the front axle level decreases after the vehicle has been parked at cold ambient temperatures, replace the affected air strut.

In addition to known early production Airmatic strut failure (DTB) front Airmatic struts were replaced in ’04 with a new part # and then again in ’07 and rear struts were replaced in ’06 indicating possible modification.

TexasSteele

Plz check Pms

supracrazy

RBrenton is not a member of this board

Benz-O-Rama

He recently changed his username. Now it's Mister Brenton

steveberde

Is there scheduled maintenance on the Airmatic - ie when the car is in the shop for a routine service is part of this service supposed to be looking at things like those boots or other routine items on the Airmatic? All in the way of preventative maintenance or is that too much to ask?

Steve

konigstiger

05-08 maintenance - “Underside of vehicle” in general (not specific to Airmatic) every 26000 miles/ 2 years whichever comes first https://mbworld.org/forums/3294991-post83.html

Suggest/remind them to check for any stored fault codes that may be present.

vettdvr

Update.. I have been getting the visit workshop for suspension for 6 months. I took the E500 to the dealer when it first showed. "could not duplicate problem". So I drove it for 6 months and now every time we drive it for about a mile the warning comes up. Last week overnight the rear suspension deflated fully. It of course corrected when the car was started. I made a appt at the dealer (warranty) again but this time I left the car running with the warning showing. (It clears when turned off). I explained the rear collapsed and the warning is comming on frequently and last visit they could not find the problem. The service mgr brought the tech out and verifed the warning so now they know this is a real "issue".

The car has been in the dealer ship for 2 days now with no calls. It will be interesting to see what they find. I really believe the rear strut is leaking down when the car is off. I have experienced pinholes in airsuspensions before and a fold in the rubber will seal the hole until temps change with the power off to contract the air and allow it to fully delfate. So we will see how this goes.

konigstiger

Check your email.

vettdvr

Thank you! Again

enr1co

Last weeked I also experienced finding my front left side wheel tucked under the fender well. I didnt get a warning lite after turning the ignition and was going to drive it to the dealer but it seemed to go back to normal
after driving a few miles.

Brought it in to a dealer later in the week and they said they could not
get any fault codes.

I imagine something is leaking so will just keep an eye on it for now...

In the meantime, still looking for any recommendations of Mbz service reps
to deal with in the SF Bay area. Thanks!

vettdvr

Exactly the type of issue I had. It got worse with the malfunction comming on after a few miles every week or so. Then it began to come on within 1 mile of driving. Last week the entire rear of the car had collapsed. But my dealer also said on the "first visit" no fault codes. Then I carried a small digital camera and photoed the FSS with date and time stamp to show the frequency. The photo also showed the mileage. This time I brought it in I also left the engine running so the malfunction warning was showing as it reset every time I turned the engine off. After 3 days still haven't heard from the dealer. Don't know if they are really searching or haven't started yet.?

vettdvr

Update. Malfunction Airmatic suspension with FSS warning

After 4 days at the dealer I finally called to find the status.

Dealer answer:

" I'm sorry your service mgr is on vacation did you leave a car with us?"

" I don't see were you have a car in our dealership"

My answer,," how big was the check when you sold it?"

" I look to see what I can find"

Me wondering,,, time for new one!

" Was yours in for the airmatic?"

me.. Yes

" Well it's ready "

Me I"ll be there today to pick it up. (Note: Fri 5:PM )

SO I drive the 200 miles to pick up the car and they bring the car out.
I'm with the wife ready to meet the rest of the family at nice resturant.

What do I find. The rear of the car is totally collapsed as they drive it out.

The guy ask, " Are they suppose to be this low in the back",, guess he thought it was a lowrider.

He tries to get a service mgr but the answer,,, You got it,, there all gone for the weekend.
I call the sales mgr that sold me the car and point out the bumper almost dragging the concrete.

"you can't drive it that way".

Well dah,, that's why I brought it in.

He and Other guys in white shirts/ties pull the record.

They installed new

compressor 211-320-03-04
Relay 002-542-72-19
line 211-327-02-45

All warranty.

My thoughts.

The compressor continues to run and failed due to strut leaking.
Changing the compressor only supplies more air to the failed strut.
Nothing will make the repair but strut replacement and this won't happen Easter weekend. But then what do I know about machinery I am only an Engineer of large equipment.

So next week the saga continues. Whew $$$ really glad I bought the 100K warranty.

At least they have seen the same problem I have seen, and acknowledge the issue. I do believe they will correct the problem once they get past "the compressor" as the problem and really look at the car.

Struts can have leaks in a fold on the boots that are difficult to find. So I don't fault the dealer for having difficulty in finding this issue. I went through a similar issue on my Lincoln Mark series with air suspension.

Next week same time same station stay tuned for next weeks cliff hanger!

mcleantmw

I also recently got the Visit Workshop - Brakes message and it turns out to be the Stop Light Switch instead of the brakes or SBC.......covered by my CPO Warranty. I also asked my MB Dealer Service Dept to check out the AirMatic pump since it's been making a real pounding noise the last few months.........they replaced it and the relay under my CPO Warranty. The other thing I asked them to check was the suspension since I'm getting about 1 inche bad inside tire tread wear on the left front and left rear tires. They did perform a suspension adjustment for ride height front and rear and indicated vehicle was leaning........also did alignment which adjusted caster, camber and toe-in to factory specs. All that cost me $300 but hopefully will help with the tire wear issue.

vettdvr

The stoplight switch can give a malfunction warning. So good to they found it. I don't mind paying for alignment,, if it drives straight and tires wear is normal.

I have been through all the whoo ha on alignment to find that Michlin's are the tire to run. If your rear height is off it will throw the camber into negative numbers and wear the inside. If you haven't been getting the suspension warning your alignment will probably corret your issues.

mcleantmw

Last Friday my MB Dealer replaced my AirMatic air pump.......since picking up the car last night, I've gotten an error message a few times that's has an outline of a vehicle with an Up Arrow inside with the statement Visit Workshop. I'll call my Service Rep on Monday but I wonder if there's really anything wrong with the AirMatic pump repair they did or it's just an error code they need to remove from the computer caused during the repair process?

vettdvr

Same issue I have. My guess is the air spring is leaking causing the pump to run longer and give the error code. The pump is about $400. The air spring is about $1100 for each wheel. So the cheapest fix to do is change the air pump before the air spring. But consider the pump's job is to pump air. If the air spring is leaking the air pump MUST run longer to keep the car level and this gives the up arrow suspension malfunction.

SO the real cause IMO is the air spring is defective and you will continue to have the alarm until you change the air spring or burn the pump out.

Just my $.02

mcleantmw

That's an interesting issue you've raised........I never had the Suspension Malfunction on the display prior to taking my car into the MB Dealer Service Dept this week and they replaced the pump because I said it was very noisy and annoying. Maybe the old pump was overworked if the air spring has been leaking and causing the thumping noise. The new pump is definitely quieter.....no more thumping noise......but either the pump is not working properly or the air spring(s) leaking. When I get the malfunction message, I push the button to raise the car and the Display then says Vehicle Raising....something like that......and the malfunction message disappears. I'm taking my car back to the MB Dealer on Monday and let them solve it............still got my CPO Warranty for eight more months!