DCist

Hi everyone

Had an A service done about a month ago.

Now I am observing this weird change in my car's behavior: Airmatic suspension used to substantially lower the car (deflate) only after prolonged periods of non-driving (for example after a week-long business trip). But after the A service the car would lower itself substantially after just 1 night in the garage as if its been parked for a while. So, when I start the car in the morning it now always asks me to "Please wait, vehicle rising."

Any idea what has caused this change?

Cheers and thank you for your replies!

DC

MCF

Temp drop significantly lately? Airmatic, do these fail at 60k miles like on Range Rovers?

fromthebeginnin

On my S they were still working at 120,000

mbfoup

On my new car it seems airmatic deflates (farts, squeaks) pretty quickly after parking the car. And then readjusts itself the following morning when leaving. Normal according to dealer. Perhaps they fixed something in your car.

E550

Airmatic deflating is not normal; my E550 2010 will get a new strut (is with a dealer) as there was a leak in the old strut (right rear). Your car's suspension should not deflate on its own.

DHI

Stay tuned Brother.
I just had service A done and found my left rear to be rather low on two occasions now.

mbfoup

How did you find out a strut was leaky? As I said, I hear airmatic adjustment noises when parking or when leaving and the MB technician said it was normal, nothing faulty anywhere. Besides it seems the suspension works great. Thanks.

fromthebeginnin

Just got back from a 8 day trip, my car was in the garage, I actually measured the distance between the top of the rim and the fender before I left, no movement.

FTB

Ad E550 said bring it in for service and let us know the outcome.

E550

In my case, after the car was parked for an extended period, say 2-3 days, it would drop about 20mm (on the right rear); once I opened a door or turned on the ignition, the air pressure would quickly raise the car to normal level. However, with the winter upon us, the car started to drop in height every few hours (of being parked); as such, I took it to the dealer, they inspected it (overnight) and then informed me that the right rear strut needed replacement. I received my car only yesterday - not enough time to tell whether the strut replacement has fixed the problem.

DHI

Update...
Car left standing for 3 weeks and the back of the car was VERY low.
I am beginning to be concerned.
I will continue to monitor.

mbfoup

My understanding is that the car often adjusts itself and that can be heard by fart noises, whistling noises, especially shortly after boarding the car for a trip or after parking. So is it abnormal for the car to be lower after parking?

DHI

The psssshhh noises, farting and faint compressor sounds at rest or even when the doors and trunk lid I'd opened at rest is normal.

Finding the rear end of your car lowered by by seemed like 2 inches or so, is questionable to me.

mbfoup

You are probably right.

DNAPoPo

So, airmatic should not be adjusting in garage when you park? I usually hear the pshhhhhh sound when I park in my garage, or even when I unlock the doors to get in the car. I have not had my first service yet though...

DHI

Yes, normal.

DNAPoPo

Thanks for the quick response. I was worrying a little.

Diesel Benz

This happens shortly after you park the car or when you open a door before you start driving. But once the car is parked and goes to full sleep, it would not adjust the suspension any more. This is a few minutes after engine switched off and doors locked. If a temperature change or a leak makes the suspension level change after this, the car would not compensate the change while parked but only when woken up (door opened).

Arrie

I used to own a 1985 Lincoln Mark VII LSC and it already had air suspension. Was one of the best Ford made vehicles ever. This car had even the automatic Hi-beam switch...

The air suspension in this Lincoln worked so that it kept the ride height at the same during all driving and load conditions. This means that every time I parked the car it lowered itself when I stepped out from it and closed the door.

The logic behind this is that while you drive the car it is pulled down by the down force. The system adjusts the height but this obviously is with some sort of delay as it probably measures some sort of average height from sensors and not be clicking the solenoid valves constantly. Also, I'm sure there must be a delay with dropping the car as you don't want it to drop every time you stop at red light for a couple of minutes.

After you stop the down force goes away and car rises up as the "air bags" have too much air for non driving condition since the adjustment does not happen in "real time". When you turn car off and step out of it the car also "jump" up little as you exit so the height goes even higher than what just the down force does. This all means car height is higher than the set point for it.

Lincoln was programmed to lower car immediately when it is OFF and driver's door was closed. It also lowered itself if I sit in the car after drive and let it run a few minutes.

It was also normal that the Lincoln rose up every time when I start the engine. This is because my own weight pulls car down from the setpoint it lowered itself to and it has to compensate for the weight. There was no warning light or anything like that. I could just hear the air compressor kick ON.

I don't know how MB logic for Airmatic works but it must be close to the same for it to make any sense. One way to troubleshoot it could be to go for a drive and then before shutting it OFF let it idle parked for 5-10 minutes to make sure the car lowers itself to normal height. This idling without driver on the seat. Then turn it OFF and measure wheel to fender distance and compare distance measurements next morning. If next morning shows car lowered from where it was left you have an air leak.

Of course, if temperature drops between measurements it will cause the car to drop. This would show in all wheel locatios. If just one corner drops it probably indicates an air leak.

One thing I understand MB Airmatic does better than Lincoln was is that obviously Airmatic does not work when car is OFF. Linconl air suspension was active at all times. This means that if you have a leak in the system and car drops it keeps pumping it up until battery is drained. This happened to me a couple of times when I was away for two weeks and car was parked at airport. Nice surprise when returning home...

220S

Everything you said in your post about pneumatic suspensions is pretty much right on. Although apparently the air isn't always uniform in each bag, hence you can get a slight (talking maybe 1/4") differentiation between them based on ambient temperature. I know that doesn't sound logical, but that's what MB techs tell me.

I had an issue where I thought I had leaking since the left rear was about 1/4" off (lower) after sitting for several days. Nothing was wrong with my system. The dealer (or a good Indy) can put the car on an alignment rack and go through the SDS protocol to test for proper operation, leaks, and level sensor control. I have a pdf copy of that SDS protocol if anybody wants it (although it applies to the W211; but the W212 should be the same.)

I actually really like Airmatic. It offers a superior ride and I can raise the car when confronting bad driveways, etc..

Best of all is the leveling. Last week we loaded up several heavy Panavision cases to go to a remote location and the car sat perfectly level even though the heavy load wasn't evenly distributed in the car.

DHI

Small update...
I am finding the driver side rear to be rather low intermittently. No consistency.
I came THIS close to bringing the car last Monday... but the car ended up behaving. All seemed to be OK, when all of a sudden I found the driver rear back on it's *** after a couple of hours of sitting still.

WGB

I am sure your car has a problem. Mine never changes visibly and it was left undriven fo 10 days over Xmas.

The only sounds are the hisses and farts if I go out to the garage to get something from the boot without driving the car or amn initial hiss after I turn the car off and go indoors after arriving home.

Yosheego

I having the same issue now...before it was minimal, meaning if i leave the car for a few days, it drops, but now, after my first A service, it drops faster and noticeable...I will talk the dealer tomorrow and see what they think.