glojo

I have been told by a Mercdes-Benz technician that my 211 had pnuematic central locking and I commented about how a kinked air pipe was responsible for making a 'weird' noise.

My car went to the dealership today to have 'several' upgrades carried out, and this afternoon I had the dealership phone me so I could clarify whether my vehicle did indeed have pnuematic central locking.

"No sir, the old E-class did, but not yours!"

"Hang on" said I, "One of your technicians definitely told me, mine had pnuematic central locking!"

"In that case sir, I can only apologise."

I then said, "My car has an air pump with air lines, what are they for?"

"No idea" came the reply. I then stated my car was in the workshop and I wanted to know what the pump was for.

A member of this forum had suggested it might be the moving floor, but this was ruled out.

'Alf' the technician working on my car then came on the phone and explained that this pump actually worked the air bags in the front seats.

So, unless anyone knows differently the 211 does indeed have electrically operated central locking (Steve's are exceedingly noisey)

BUT the funny noise that was caused by a kinked air pipe was indeed factual, and those that cannot locate this noise, do they have the dynamic seating option?

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

Regards,
John

SAguirre

John, I am glad that you finally got to the bottom of the power lock issue. I doubted that your locks were the only pneumatic locks in the 211 production lines. As per my locks being loud; they are not nearly as loud as they sound on the video. They are much quieter than any other electrically actuated locking system I have had.

'Alf' the technician working on my car then came on the phone and explained that this pump actually worked the air bags in the front seats.

I cannot believe they told you this load of bull!!! How in the world could that pump inflate the side airbags? My car has 8 airbags and the wagon that I had also had all 8. Where is the air pump for them? Airbags deploy very quickly (they have an explosive charge) and I doubt that that pump could ever inflate them fast enough to protect you in a side impact collision.

John, you best lift up your feet. Because your dealer is making it get pretty deep over there. If you have heard that noise from the kinked air tube, did that mean that your side airbags have deployed? If that is what the pump was for (airbags) why would it be running?

This is my theory: I bet they are for the upgraded seat option! That is the only known pneumatic feature in a 211. Could that be?? I don’t have this option, so I am guessing. Also, from another thread, US cars only come with leather seats. You asked this so I thought I should tell you since I just thought of it.

Steve A

etenn

Steve seems to have it right about the airbag claim.

I do have the dynamic seats and there are a number of air operated features on the seats. It would require a pump of some type to operate.
The side bolsters inflate on turns, the front of the seat can be extended, there is a lumbar support that can be adjusted and located...and there is a "pulse" feature for a massage in the lumbar support.

A pump would be needed for these seats.

p.s. You can special order US cars without leather. Someone here did that about a year or so ago. They had a religious reason for not wanting leather.

glojo

Hi Steve and Ed,
In all fairness to 'Alf' he was correct, my English is\was terrible.

When he said the air bags please insert side bolster cushions. My fault entirely.

My query regarding the 'leather' is due to the fact that full leather is only standard on the 500 in the UK. The full leather for the 320CDI are Ł1250 for the Elegance and Ł950 for the Avantgarde (which already has part leather)

Again sorry for my bad grammar, but the good name of 'Alf' must be preserved. Mine obviously remains where it deserves.

Regards,
John

SAguirre

OK, it was not your grammar or English. I just read "airbags" in the seat and I thought of the side impact airbags in the front seats. They used to be in the door, but now they are in the seats. I think that in the end, what you wrote could be interpreted in two ways and I took the other meaning.

Also, I would be willing to bet that your lock actuators are very similar if not the same as mine. So my locks should not be any louder than yours. If I get to it, I will tape the locks on my Audi and that will show you how pneumatic locks (old generation) work. Silent, smooth and slow.

On a side note, if you get a sunroof in the US, then you automatically get rain-sensing wipers (I think that is what I was told). There are a bunch of things in the US that are either standard or can not be picked individually. I have the rear seat package, but my understanding is that not all of the rear seat packages come with a ski sock in the rear armrest. I have both. I like the ski sock, but it is a pain to get it folded back in it place. Also, in the US we only have 3 engine choices (nothing like the European market!) and I have never seen a US spec. car with hubcaps.

Sorry I told you to lift up your feet! I misread your statement, it is not your English it was my fault. English is my second language, (15 years of my life have been spent as an American in other countries speaking other languages) so it must be my fault

Steve

glojo

Hi Steve,
I BLAME YOU for the phone call I have just received.

The dealer has just contacted me and stated they are having to keep my vehicle overnight as it needs new parts which are being despatched overnight.

Steve, I blame you for that, insulting my mate, my very good friend 'Alf'. The car only went to the dealer for some 'upgrade' work.

I did however read 'liftmans' post and noticed he had suffered similar problems to me so I asked for the master memory module to be checked. (No doubt they found out it was pnuematic )

Luckily they have left us with a new E200 Kompressor saloon.

I must defend the dealership, although they gave me incorrect information about the central locking the original technician recognised the symptom and knew it was coming from the air compressor. The important thing being he solved the irratating noise.

I wonder how many of us are suffering a similar noise and there dealers have not figured it out yet?

Bye for now,
John

New 2005 E200 Kpmpressor Classic with only four doors and a boot

SAguirre

Go ahead, I can take it! That is what you get when you insult my power locks and say that they are loud . So your car's name in "ALF" Alien Life Form?

How does the E200 K run? I would imagine that it is a very nervous engine that needs to rev quite a bit to get the job done. And yes, most sedans do have 4 doors and a boot

Steve

Oslo

How do you like it?

glojo

Hi Oslo,
'She that must be obeyed' was pleasantly surprised with the power. It does not have the same response as our own vehicle but it certainly copes very well.

This one has the automatic transmission, but she has commented on the heavy feel of the steering.

The car is a fairly basic model, but I was interested in her comments about the engine because 'I know someone' who has a very nice 200 Kompressor For a two litre engine she was very impressed.

The most impressive thing though is that when driving it there was no noticeable difference in noise. She always drives with the radio or CD player on though

I was soooo tempted to say that the engine was terrible and totally unsuited for such a big vehicle

At the moment it is being spoilt and is parked in our nice warm garage. I just hope they are looking after our car in a similar manner. I have images of 'Alf' sticking pins in the seats and pouring sugar into the fuel tank.

Bye for now,
John

scorchie

In case it isn't fully resolved, the locks are indeed electric motors on the W211. The pneumatic pump on the right side of the car is for the multicountour seats and the headrest release (on the estate). A different version (bigger reservoir? I forget) can be used for the active cornering seats. The reservoir on the right side of the car is for airmatic (when fitted).

-s-

PSG

This was all very interesting but...what's the weather today in Torquay, John?

SAguirre

GREAT!! After all of our head beating against the wall you knew the answer all along

What you just mentioned above is consistent with what we just decided to be true. I think that we are all clear on this. But, do you know why the US cars have a "golf tee" plunger and the European cars have a plunger that looks like a LEGO piece that hides all the way into the doorsill? (Ford is like that too)

If you know the answer to this, then we would like to know?

Thank you for your clarifications Scorchie,

Steve A

glojo

PLEASE, please, pretty please, PLEASE
Tell me you are joking.

The air compressor is on the left. Even in America hopefully the left side is on the Port side

I did not want airmatic so no reservoir nor pump for said lake.

I know you 'dudes' put the steering wheel on the wrong side, but surely not pumps as well.

I think I will take double my medication tonight.

Scorchie, have you seen the pictures of my air pump? It is on SAguirre (or grrrrr) thread with a video of a dancing golf tee with a big bass drum

John
They're coming to take me away ha ha
They're coming to take me away

glojo

HELP.....

I'd like to answer but you will see me swimming in the harbour.

John
Night time in MAD Torquay harbour

Oslo

Two litres? No, it's 1.796 litres! (Like 3-4 paints of Guinness) There shouldn't be any difference on the steering. Does it have parameter steering?

SAguirre

The 1.8 compressor is a great engine. Here in the US, the smallest engine (I think) is the 2.3 compressor, also a great engine. I would have a hard time getting up the mountain passes doing the 70 mph speed limit if it were on my E class here, but I think that at least the 2.3 would be a great engine/car for this market. Unfortunately Americans freak out when you have 4 cylinder engines. It is a cultural flaw. I am sure that higher fuel prices will fix this though.

Steve

scorchie

I wasn't joking.

However, I wrote the wrong thing... it indeed is on the left side of the car. For some reason, unknown to me, I wrote "right" when I know it is on the "left". I did state the airmatic reservoir is on the right, which is correct.

Sigh. Sorry about that.

After driving for a week in the UK and a week in Oz a couple months ago, I am still not completely over that left/right thing.

-s-

glojo

Hi Oslo,
Everyone is picking on and and it is plainly driving me MAD I fell into the trap of thinking that 200 = 2ltr silly me.

I think you must be right in thinking that the car does not have parameter steering.

The steering was her only moan. It appears to have basic seats but they are fully electric.

I am not up on the options for the Classic, but it has a remote opening boot, I have not checked to see if the mirrors fold?

The vehicle is a light metallic greyish colour that is just off tealitte blue.

It also has cloth trim which is okay, but I like to see the E-class with a full leather interior.

Bye for now,
Guinness is looking good
John

Edit:

Thanks for the update Scorchie
Two rights are obviously alright by me!

Oslo

200K
0-100 km/h 9.6 sec
163 hp
230 km/h top speed

320 CDI
0-100 km/h 7.7 sec
204 hp
243 km/h top speed

Price difference in Norway = 30.000 USD

scorchie

This one we figured out back in my C43 days.

The lock pins are "flush" on European cars because they can be. The lock pins on 2-door Mercedes in the US are also used on 4-door cars in Europe (except the W163 M-class; this is completely different).

In Europe, the rear door closing mechanism is configured so that if you pull the interior door opening handle, the door will unlock and open, just like the front doors work.

For the US, the door closing mechanism will NOT unlock a locked door, so it will not open. Thus, a child, entranced by the shininess of the door opening handle, and undisciplined like most US children tend to be, may pull the handle and open the door, except when it is locked, it won't open! Yay! Another anti-Darwin rule saves the day.

The same US child is obviously too stupid to grab the top of the lock and unlock the door first, thus, the lock pin is fluted to allow adult rear passengers to unlock the door and exit the car.

I didn't understand the point of this in my C43; it had the mechanism in the door with a switch to "turn off" the interior door opening handle. This would be appropriate for a child, I imagine.

Even harder to understand is why this feature was not incorporated in the US W211, and the silly fluted door lock pins remain.

-s-

glojo

Hi Scorchie
What you are saying is true, but we also have a small child lock switch which is located on the door frame so when the door is closed no one can open the back door from the inside by using the rear door handle.

It is very handy for Police and taxi operators, as the rear doors can still be unlocked from the front controls.

Regards
John

SAguirre

Yes, it is all a matter of how much you like to do jack-rabbit starts from traffic lights. I have the 320 and I think that it more than adequate, but I do use every last HP when I drive up the mountain passes and have to pass idiots. Otherwise, the gasoline e320 purrs up the mountain passes. My old 2.2 liter inline 5 cylinder was ok, but now it is long in the tooth and I avoid driving it up the passes (it is just under 425,000 Kms!! on the original engine!)

Most large V6 and V8 engines in these Mercedes cars are really for the US market. People here assume that rocket performance and luxury always need to be together. Even our family’s old Cadillacs with 6 liter plus engines were very quick (as long as you did not have to turn). In the 1970s our Eldora do ran up the mountains in Colorado better than my E320, but it got 8 miles per gallon!! (I am not joking, it was like 28 liters per 100 Kms) If the car was left running at the gas station, it would never fill up.

If I had a 4 cylinder W211, I would want it to be a stick shift though.

Steve A

SAguirre

I hate to admit it, but these statements about US children is not sarcastic. I unfortunately find it to be quite true! I work with kids all day!

Now, the front doors on my car will open when the door is locked and it also unlocks all the doors. I have not tried the rear doors.

The head mechanic at my dealer says that he can open these US locks with some thin tape or metal flashing by inserting it between the two doors then hooking the lock pulling up and then it opens. My experience is that thieves are not that nice and just break the window.

Scorchie, so you know if these plungers can be easily exchanged between these cars? Also, do you know why the W211 now has the rear door lock plunger towards the back of the door?

Just curious.

Steve A

Oslo

Steve: No stick shift for any E-class in Norway.

EU Lock pin

glojo

Hi Oslo,
In the UK the only E-class that has the manual gearbox is.... The 200K Automatic is optional.

Performance wise there is only 0.5sec in acceleration and of course that would really make a difference

0 - 62.5 Manual 10.1
0 - 62.5 Auto 10.6

I dread to think how many miles you would have to drive before you recovered your $30,000 price difference by buying the more economical 320CDI my conversion is not as good as yours and I cannot get my head round litres per kilometre, but my booklet shows the 320CDI as being 8 miles to the gallon more economical than the smaller petrol engine.

Fininancially your engine is by far the better option, plus your strict law enforcement would definitely discourage me from speeding.

Take care,
John