Hi There,
I have an airmatic malfunction in my 2008 GL550 due to a faulty solenoid valve in the right rear air strut (Component Y54Y2).
I am planning for a longer trip next week (about 1,500kms) and was wondering if it is safe to drive if I do not try to raise the car. Unfortunately I won't get the replacement part before the trip.
So far the car seems to sit well.

I mean: The faulty valve does not allow the wheel to be adjusted perfectly right, on the other hand it's a closed system and no external leak. So I thought it might be okay to drive.

Anybody experience with/advice for this?

Cheers
Sebastian

 

Shouldn't be a problem to drive with the level sensor failure.

Basically, you won't get self leveling should you add weight to the rear and you may also miss brake dive reaction.

The sensor is not mounted to the air spring nor to the shock absorber.

 

Hi Ikchris,
thanks for your reply, but I don't understand what you mean. I had no error code for the level sensor. Do you think it's a sensor issue?

One more thing concerns me here a bit:
When the "airmatic malfunction" message came, I tried to raise the car to the higher level. But I got the message it wasn't possible and "compressor is cooling down".
Now, I understand that the solenoid valves are for the ADS - the damping system - so, in principal they should not have an effect on changing the height level of the car.
Or is there any connection that I do not know between ADS and height level?

Cheers
Seppone

 

Sounds like you have a bad ADS strut and possibly a bad compressor too.

 

The odd thing is: The guys in the workshop only found an error code for the strut...

 

Yes, typo by me.

 

ADS shocks and the air springs work together to manage body roll in cornering, especially in Sport mode. I would guess that changing vehicle height via command to the air springs also changes position of components within the struts and shock absorbers and I don't know at all whether a defective solenoid could override height changing but it is certainly a malfunction in an integrated system. The controller for the shock knows it can't perform since it's noted the malfunction.

The answer still stands ... you can drive with a defective shock absorber but I wouldn't do it for long and wouldn't engage in vigorous cornering and wouldn't attempt any body height changes ... all until you fit the new shock absorber.

I'd also speculate that ADS shocks fail much the same way as conventional shocks, that is the fluid leaks out ... and I'd expect this normally happens prior to solenoid failure. Perhaps it causes it. Inspection (dirt covered shock absorber) and perhaps an oil puddle on floor are often how one first notes a defective shock absorber. My conventional shocks lasted 70-80K miles before failure and I think that's typical. I also think shock absorber failure is a pretty good sign the end of life of the air springs is near as well. Of course at the front the shock and the spring are combined in a single unit so you replace both at once. This is probably a good thing to do at rear, too.

Note: again, a dirt covered shock absorber is not normal. It's instead the sign the shock has reached the end of its life because the fluid has leaked out. It's easy to not notice the effects of a failed shock simply by driving as it can happen gradually ... but it is easy to inspect and notice the dirt and if the dirt is there the shock has had it. It would seem that if it's an ADS shock, there can be system consequences and error messages as well.

 

F4kn relay can cause these issues worth replacing

 

Maybe a stupid question: Where can I get one?
I googled it but found no shop to buy such a F4kn relay.

 

it is the name of the relay in mercedes terms, it is located in the right rear fuse box location