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I used to have a 2003 S55, and contributed a few stories about little fixes I had some success with. That was sold, and I went away from the forum for a while. Moved to FL about a year ago and bought a 2011 E63 w M156 I believe. 35K on it now. All stock, plenty of rip-yer-head-off for me the way it is. I will look into whether I have the potential head bolt problem later.
I understand that these cars make some air discharge noises when shutting down, also maybe when opening a door/trunk cold. I have all that going on. What bothers me is that it will make these noises for several hours after returning home, sometimes short blasts and sometimes several seconds at a time. Is this really normal?
Air noise is followed by sounds of mechanical devices cycling, presumably electric air valves. The compressor must be a quiet one, I never hear any obvious electric motor sounds.
Car was CPO, has been to dealer several times about this, they have tried to be helpful I think but in the end say nothing is wrong. I have tried similar cars when on display at the dealer, cold, never get a single sound from them. I have not owned another airmatic. It is at the dealer now for B service, is there anything about a past air discharge fix that I could mention to the dealer?
Wife and I also have a 2014 MB Sprinter van RV, an amazing machine.
Beautiful car. I have airmatic as well and it does let off air upon parking and/or getting out of the car. The more people/load that are in the car the louder and longer it tends to let out air. Usually this is only right after exiting or parking the car. I have heard it do it randomly a few times well after I've exited but it's been seldom. For example if I pop the trunk hours afterwards just to get something out it'll do it, or if I lean against the car or open a door it'll do it without being turned on. However, rarely do I hear it just letting out air when I'm not touching anything, it has before but rarely. I'm not sure if I've heard any of the other sounds you've pointed out.
On another note my daughter always points out the MB Sprinter Vans we see and she asks why do people have them in MB brand. I say I have no idea what sets them apart from other Sprinter types. You're the first person I've talked to who owns one.
Last edited by jahquan3; Nov 6, 2015 at 03:06 PM.
Reason: Typos
Beautiful car. I have airmatic as well and it does let off air upon parking and/or getting out of the car. The more people/load that are in the car the louder and longer it tends to let out air. Usually this is only right after exiting or parking the car. I have heard it do it randomly a few times well after I've exited but it's been seldom. For example if I pop the trunk hours afterwards just to get something out it'll do it, or if I lean against the car or open a door it'll do it without being turned on. However, rarely do I hear it just letting out air when I'm not touching anything, it has before but rarely. I'm not sure if I've heard any of the other sounds you've pointed out.
^ This has been my experience also with my E550 with airmatic. Although I can't say that I've spent much time around the car hours later. When I an near it most times I am using it.
OP, if yours is adjusting all the time, how it your battery holding up?
The telltale airmatic failure sign is if the car is sitting lower after 24 hours. The dealer will tell you the sounds are normal, but if it drops on you they will likely keep it overnight and measure in the morning. IIRC correctly the TSB calls for repair if the drop is more than 20mm.
Mine is not there yet. I keep a tape measure near the car and know the 'normal' wheel well height to keep an eye on it.
I haven't been measuring the height so far but will start doing that when I get it back. Dealer says they have been measuring each day, not dropping.
From reading a few posts about airmatics that drop overnight, I gather that if the suspension is leaking, when the car is all shut down it won't add air to maintain height, and you find it low in the morning. This would make sense to me. In my case, the car has not been used for at least a week on several occasions, and no lowering, at least not obvious enough to notice without measuring. So it doesn't seem like I have a leak. Maybe the car is not properly shutting off for the several hours that it is blowing air out, although dash lights seem to go off normally.
If the car is not used for days at a time, it doesn't make the air noise for the duration; it stops a few hours after shutdown.
I haven't been measuring the height so far but will start doing that when I get it back. Dealer says they have been measuring each day, not dropping.
From reading a few posts about airmatics that drop overnight, I gather that if the suspension is leaking, when the car is all shut down it won't add air to maintain height, and you find it low in the morning. This would make sense to me. In my case, the car has not been used for at least a week on several occasions, and no lowering, at least not obvious enough to notice without measuring. So it doesn't seem like I have a leak. Maybe the car is not properly shutting off for the several hours that it is blowing air out, although dash lights seem to go off normally.
If the car is not used for days at a time, it doesn't make the air noise for the duration; it stops a few hours after shutdown.
From what you have described regrading air noise, your car is normal.
Seems normal to me as mine is always fussing around and self leveling. All of my airmatic cars have done this. The pump does run at times and it is best described as a very faint high pitched whine. It usually will run for a very short period.
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