Airmatic Buttons
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 15
Likes: 1
2009' W212 E 550 4matic
Airmatic Buttons
Hi there, I've got a 2009' W212 550 N/A with airmatic that I really love. Since a few days, the airmatic button for raising the vehicle does not react when pressing it. But when I first press down the comfort/sport mode switch, the raise button works normally again.
Reading out the car with SD gave no errors.
Any idea what might be wrong here? Otherwise, airmatic runs fine without any issues.
Reading out the car with SD gave no errors.
Any idea what might be wrong here? Otherwise, airmatic runs fine without any issues.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 377
Likes: 98
From: Savannah, GA
2010 W212 E550 4matic
You might have some sort of corrosion or degradation of the contact surfaces inside the actuator housing, in most cases caused by accidental spillage of coffee or whatever sugary drinks people have in their cars. Get the actuator out ( there is plenty info on the forum or on youtube on how to do that) and have a look inside, maybe clean it. Next culprit might be a loose wire somewhere on the line. Good luck hunting!
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 15
Likes: 1
2009' W212 E 550 4matic
Thanks for your help. I'm wondering why it works after switching sport/comfort mode. The dual switch is connected via LIN to the SAM front and from there the signal is forwarded via CAN to the Airmatic ECU. Maybe some electronic components of the switch assembly went bad. But I'll take a closer look and I'll try contact cleaning first. You never know with electronics. 
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 15
Likes: 1
2009' W212 E 550 4matic
I think I know what happened: The raise button refuses to work above a certain speed. I guess while driving and wondering what went wrong I unconsciously stepped a bit off the throttle thus lowering the speed and getting the button to work again.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,107
Likes: 394
From: West Central Florida
2011 E550 P2 4M Sedan
IIRC the manual for my 2011 E550 with airmatic states that the car automatically lowers to sport mode when going 70mph or faster. So I would expect button to not respond. As you slow down, airmatic should raise back to the setting chosen.
EDIT: Pulled up my manual and here is what it says. Perhaps your model will be the same:
The "Raised Level" setting remains saved when you are not driving within these speed ranges.
EDIT: Pulled up my manual and here is what it says. Perhaps your model will be the same:
The following vehicle levels are possible:
- normal.
- raised: the vehicle is raised above the normal level by 0.80 in (20 mm).
- lowered: the vehicle is lowered beyond the normal level by 0.40 in (10 mm).
The "Normal" and "Raised" vehicle levels can be set manually. The "Lowered” vehicle level is set automatically:
- at speeds above 70 mph (113 km/h)
- if you have selected "Sports tuning"
Select the "Normal" setting for normal road surfaces and "Raised" for driving with snow chains or on particularly poor road surfaces. Your selection remains stored even if you remove the SmartKey from the ignition lock.
The "Raised Level" setting is canceled if you:
The "Raised Level" setting is canceled if you:
- drive at speeds above approximately 75 mph (120 km/h)
- drive about 3 minutes at speeds above 50 mph (80 km/h)
The "Raised Level" setting remains saved when you are not driving within these speed ranges.
Last edited by thefisch; Jun 5, 2018 at 11:31 AM.
