g4benz

I didn't drive my car for a week. I come outside and see the rear end sitting on the wheels..I start the car then stand outside and I watch the car rise off the wheels ..I spent a lot of time searching threads ..some say this could be a possible leak and others say this is typical airmatic behavior and as long as there are no warning/error codes on the dash, the car is OK.

Sometimes people get a "too low to drive" warning etc..I didn't get that ..

Do I need to worry about anything? It seems like the longer the car sits the lower it goes ..a lot of people are experiencing this..

So, anything wrong?? Or typical/normal airmatic behavior? How do I know when something is really wrong?

Thanks.

belarus27

Is it cold where you live? in my case it would leak air way faster when its cold rather than warm... so it was noticeable every morning i came in the garage.But during the day it wouldnt even leak any (that what it seemed like)
So After many researches , i decided to change the air bag , and it fixed the problem no more saggin overnight.

g4benz

I live in NY so I guess it's cold! These days it's spring like here though.

I rather not replace anything if not necessary. I hope what I am experiencing needs no repair and is "as designed"...

belarus27

Give it some time and see how it goes

thefisch

If the car sits all weekend (or week) I might see a half inch drop. Used to keep a tape measure nearby so I could check before and after measurements when I knew it would sit for a couple of days but then I stopped worrying about it. Only time I saw the rear totally dropped in the morning was during a overnight trip in Charlotte and it was cold that night in early January. But we don't see much cold living in FL so maybe that helps.

IIRC MB has a certain tolerance in millimeters for drops in a 24 hour period before they repair under warranty. Can't recall the exact measurement though.

I agree with belarus27 - just see how it goes from here.

g4benz

Its low today morning too. I will give it some time. Maybe she needs to be driven more. Ill take the car out for a long ride and see if that settles things.

I was also thinking of raising the car height manually with the button and then lowering it back to normal...maybe that will "reset" it ...

thefisch

if it is dropping each night by more than an inch, I would think it's on the way out. Once it gets bad enough that the car cannot keep it level while in use, then it would give you a warning. Hard to say how long that will be...

g4benz

I don't think it's dropping each night. I just took it out for a spin. I used the raise up down button and that "worked" without any errors ...

To me the car sits a little more lower on the rear passenger side ..and overall it looks like it is sitting lower than it used to..seems better if I came back from my ride ..my eyes can't do these fractional measurements ..only a ruler would be able to prove the point ..could be the tilt of parking space .ill check tire pressures today ..to make sure all 4 are good

My question now is..can an Indy look at my car and check if there is anything wrong with the airmatic system on my car? Is this something "easy" to check or is this one of those things he can only check if it's giving errors on the dash ..

I'm sure he can check for leaks with the soapy water trick , but I just want him to make sure I have 0 issues with the airmatic and anything related to it ..in an overall sense

I tell ya I never knew owning a Mercedes would cause this many headaches ..

Might sell this thing ..

belarus27

If its low overnight im pretty sure its on the way out , no matter how many chances you will give it , been there done that , unless you wait until it gets warmer you might be good , otherwise looks like itll be sitting low everytime when its cold. 200 hunnid bucks and get a arnott bag and be done with it. Takes an hour to replace

belarus27

Just because of airmatic you wanna get rid of it? Lol nah , come on man

g4benz

Hopefully nothing is wrong but if it is, isn't this one of the most expensive repairs???

Can't keep spending time and money on a car lol ..it's supposed to be take me from a to b and that's it ..

belarus27

As i mentioned before , if its the air bag , you can go on arnott web site or ebay ( where its even cheaper than official web site) and get it for around 200-250 bucks , and if you have a general idea of how things work you can save on labor and do it yourself , since it dont require special tools or anything. Or maybe pay another 60-100 to get it done at indy shop. So i would not say its one of the most expensive repairs at all lol , especially knowing that its a well know issues with airmatic fot those years...

i get it , from point a to point b..... but its a car and they do have issues sometimes. But i get your frustration , ive been there.... if you talking about spending money........ i changed my passenger/driver front ones and driver side rear bags.. so i dont see a point for you to worry , yet at least.

g4benz

Thanks for the encouragement ..I'm not mechanically inclined lol..I'll visit an Indy next week and see what the diag is..

I'll have to bring it up cautiously so I don't get "ripped off" ...

jahquan3

This happens to me all the time if it's 25 degrees and below area. Which is often enough in the winter time. I've had the dealership look at it twice and they said everything is ok. From what I've read you have to do a soap/water test to really determine if there is a leak. I'm sure Benz didn't do that but just look at it and say "check" it's good to go.

I never get any messages except for one time when the car was under like 2 feet of snow during the blizzard of 2015-16. I just know my poor compressor has to work OT in the winter. I'll probably be replacing this car this summer if not then i'll get new bags.

g4benz

So if I bring it to a dealer or Indy they should just be able to eyeball it and tell if it's ok or not? I rather not pay them to take it into the garage if that's the case. I'm going to show it to my Indy this week as well if he is available.

Too many expensive headaches with this car. Do all 4 bags eventually have to be replaced?

jahquan3

From my understanding you can eyeball it if you remove things and take a close look at it. However, I've read DIYers use the soapy water test and the bubbles will tell if you have a leak. I haven't tried it myself but I've seen it more than one place.
The times I had the dealership take a look I had other items being worked on not concerning it so I just ask them as an FYI to take a look. Also when I went to last years Benz Spring Clinic they said they looked and had it checked off as being in good order.

The eventually being replace can go for nearly every part. My system still functions fine otherwise for the "Slammed" look in the harsh winter before start up.

On the other hand I have a friend with a 2009 ML63 which has had the back bags replaced twice already and he has less miles then I do. I'll ask him again but I think he had the compressor and all replaced under CPO at some point in the past.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

g4benz

Thanks for the input. My plan was to have Indy check brakes and rotors and then have him look at any airmatic issues ...hopefully he doesn't have a problem with that..car shakes when braking ..

You going to sell your car?

jahquan3

If they're already in that area they should def. be able to confirm if there's a leak. When I got my brake system turned over I had it done at STS so I never asked them to look at the suspension.

I'm not going to sell it so to speak I was going to trade it in. I was initially going to upgrade to an S550 of a newer year with a warranty but now I'm just going to go for whatever caches my eye.

They have an S550 12 and 14 at the same dealer I bought this car.

I drive so many miles leasing isn't an option either.

jahquan3

I just re-read and noticed you said the car shakes when braking. Is that the whole warped rotor thing everyone talks about? I haven't had that yet and wonder if it's tons of shaking or slight?

g4benz

Nice enjoy the S series if you get it. I am assuming it's the infamous warped rotor issue ..the shaking is pretty substantial ..I'm hoping it's more bent wheels since I'm getting new wheels this summer..but bent wheels would shake even when I am not braking..so probably it's the rotors ..

I hate to ask mechanics to check out something when I'm not 100 percent sure there is an issue ..I don't want an airmatic issue when there isn't one if you know what I mean ..pointing a mechanic to "check something out" can lead to them not being trustworthy at times ..catch 22 I guess

Based on all the input you guys provided and seeing pics of my car 30 days ago and comparing it with today , the car doesn't look any lower now than it did 30 days ago ..when I made this thread the car was sitting on the back wheels because it wasn't driven in a week ..I guess

Just want the guy to look at airmatic for peace of mind

Sorry for long post..

jahquan3

No problem.

I have read on this forum that these cars go into a park mode of sorts when they sit for a week plus. If that is the only time it gets low then I wouldn't be so worried. However if yours is like mines, it only takes 1 night then it might be an issue.

Just an FYI in the summer for me it never sits low just in extreme cold.

g4benz

Sounds good. Mine drives better in the summer too. Lol.