mercedesNZ

Hi All

I have had some mind boggling issues with my Airmatics during the past 3 months. I keep getting the Visit workshop warning on my dash.

Took it to the local dealer who initially said it was a sensor and then said it was the control module it self playing up. On their advise i replace the control module and the fault still kept coming.

They then took the car in for two days said the re calibrated the module and tested and should be fine now.

After about 5days the warning message came again, right now both the dealer(work shop manager) and my self are scratching our heads thinking what we can do.

I have noticed that the rear right is about 3/4 of an inch lower than rear left, but if i drive and leave the car parked at raised position no warning will come up.

If i set the ride height to normal on comfort mode it some times comes with the warning. and if i drive on sports1 then park for a couple of hours and get back in the warnings on again.

Please help me and would like you hear your remedies.

Also the work shop so far could not find any leaks on the system.

Thanks

AMGAffalterbach

Never knew the E320 CDI came with AirMatic but the fact you are in Christchurch might have something to do with it, interesting that they offer it for the New Zealand domestic market.

If you have an issue where one side is lower than another it means there is a leak plain and simple. It might not be an air shock itself but rather a line or a shifted hose or something. Have them leak test it again or find another shop until they find an issue, or it might be some type of sensor/module issue that is not correcting the ride height. After I had a run in with a curb I had the same thing happen on the left rear side and it turned out to be one of the air springs, so I had my independent shop swap them out with some Arnott parts.

mercedesNZ

thanks AMGAffalterbach

Yes you are right on E320 it was optional and the previous owner (owner number1) got this car with all the options including the original tow package.

The Mercedes dealership said its not the air spring but i have raised it and left it over night it wont drop even sitting in my garage for 3 days. It just never goes up as the left rear.

Im thinking of leaving the car with them the next week as i'm overseas on work.

Any more thoughts you have is appreciated.

BTW if the car remains raised i get no warnings.

AMGAffalterbach

It might be a pinched/shifted hose issue or a some issue with the springs reservoir or a valve if that is the case... I would leave it for a week or so sitting there to see if it deflates, I remember when I had the issue it was sometimes sporadic... it would deflate in one day then the next time deflate in 5 days, so it's hard to say without more testing.

Diesel Benz

If there is a clear difference in behaviour when the car is parked "lifted" or not, then I would assume a leak in one of the air springs.

Did the dealer tell you any of the diagnosis fault codes? If not, it might be cheaper for you to purchase the tool and replace the correct parts instead of leaving the car for this workshop for continuous parts swapping.

PS. I've had two W211 E320CDIs with Airmatic (European).

mercedesNZ

Thanks guys.

Yes i think you'll are right i should really let it sit still for a week or so and see what happens.

What i understand is that when i leave it raised if there is a leak then it show up as the air spring is fully stretched.

How hard is the air spring to be replaced. Has any of you done it before

AMGAffalterbach?? Diesel Benz??

AMGAffalterbach

I haven't done it personally, no. From my understanding it can be a fairly complex job (for someone like me who hasn't had much experience working on their own car) so it was about $400 in installation fees from an independent mechanic (dealers can be 10x more easily). If you go with Arnott parts then they are easier to install due to the OE reservoir being integrated into the strut itself rather than being a separate mounted unit. Also note that once the bag is inflated, you can't deflate it unless you have STAR Diagnostics/DAS Xentry so I am not sure if that is required for installation or not - but from what I have heard I assume no.

Search the forum using the bar above and there should be a few guides on replacement.

mercedesNZ

thanks AMGAffalterbach

i'm having nightmares with this aromatics, i love my CDI W211 but right now i'm more loving my W123 and the W210.

Even my range rovers aren't this complicated. And me being a mercedes guy all my friends give me a hard time on how often i have to visit the dealership.

Have to say that the work shop guys are very understanding they fully listen to my input and give me genuine feed back and when i arrive there unannounced they wont get mad. Credit does go to the boys there.

vettdvr

My MB dealership was possibly the best in service of any vehicle I owned. For your right side what is missed early on on leaks is they are small.

The fold in the spring can develop a crack and depending on temp change when the car sits it might or might not open the crack. I do believe they are correct when they tell you they could find no leak. This doesn't mean it isn't there, it is just very small. But it will fail and it is an airpspring. It is complex to change if you follow the MB manual as the differential must be removed.

IF however you use the Arnott replacement that does not use the resivor in the trunk you can do a lower cost replacement and it will ride a bit firmer due to the lack of the resivor but you won't have to pull the differential to make this repair.

IF you use a MB dealer they will probably follow the book and charge $$ accordingly.

mercedesNZ

Thanks vettdvr

I'll leave the car with them next week and see what they say but after all my question is if the leak is so small does that mean i can get some more milage of it or can i put a temporary patch on it to keep going longer

AMGAffalterbach

Certainly man, glad to give advice having recently dealt with a similar issue. Word of caution though:

If it's enough to throw off your ride height or give an error, don't do the above. Reason why is it will soon turn into a much more expensive repair. Don't be cheap about it because air springs can blow out (rarely), and it can also lead to a situation where your compressor has to run longer than it has to and that can burn it out. Meaning you now have several hundred or a few thousand on top of the original issue you have to put into it.

There isn't much to do by the way of patching or re-sealing. If there's a leak, it's got to go. Or you'll be paying more in the future.

mercedesNZ

Thanks AMGAffalterbach

Now i see i have to get this done sooner than i thought well lets see how much it'll cost me to do the repair job through the dealer. I'm sure it'll cost me enough to sell and arm and a leg :-)

Diesel Benz

Find a copy of WIS and you'll see Airmatic isn't that complicated actually. Not as simple as a car with steel springs (that fail too) but nothing you could not service yourself (would need SDS for some tasks).

If you try to save a bit and get more miles, you will most likely have to change the Airmatic compressor, it dies when compensating the leak. Could kill the compressor relay too.

EDIT: I see AMGAffalterbach mostly covered this already.

mercedesNZ

thanks Diesel Benz what is a WIS

Is replacing this air spring complicated??

Diesel Benz

WIS stands for the Workshop Information System where MB provides service and repair instructions for their workshops.

If it is the rear air spring, it would be a bit complicated to change it the official way. But if you detach the additional air chamber, the task becomes easier. Everything is relative but average experience for car repair should be enough. Dealing with the filling up and deflating of air springs ideally asks for SDS again.