andreas

How many miles are on these cars when the airmatic problems seem to occur??


I am asking as my new to me '01 S500 has 35,000 on it and I want to start saving :-)


TIA

Andreas

Bangya

Well, my Airmatic warning comes up after driving for about an hour, but once I restart the car, it reads "No Malfunction" and everything is ok. The car still levels out when it is off, so I am not sure what is wrong, it could possibly be just the relay, but I might be trading the car in for a more recent model or an E55. I have 112K miles and have an 2000. This started happening after the car was in service and they had it on a lift.

Bangya

Do any of you guys have the part number for the relay. No one and their mother has it over here in SoCal.

lloyds

try part number 0025421319 as listed here

http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.asp...SGR=084&SGN=06

winmaw

Any 12v 40A 4pin relay will do the same job. Make sure 40A.

winmaw

Any 12v 40A 4pin relay will do the same job. Make sure 40A.
sorry I forgot. Check pin assignment before install.

Bangya

Well thanks for the info. I was able to go to a dealer and purchase the relay for about $57.00. I was able to get there without any malfunction warnings coming up. I replaced it and drove even further to get home with several detours and still no warning light. I hope this was the reason I was getting the malfuntion codes, because it is a cheaper fix than replacing the air compressor($410.00 for the part itself), which the dealer had mentioned is usually the problem. The true test will be the trip to the office in the morning, which will really let me know if everything is ok or not.

ebolick

hey fellas, i have a 2000 S430, my front shocks were going out. I tried to get the shocks replaced at the dealer, they said they were on back order and could be like a year before i could get one. My service guy said Mercedes came out with a repair kit for the bags and instead of costing me 4K i only spent 500 installed. so far so good but i want to do the washer lowering just afraid its going to mess up my shocks.

irvz

i totally agree..i WAS looking into getting a 00-02 S430/S500 but now i doubt i will even test drive it. even with the lowered prices this year, it just doesn't seem worth it with all the servicing headaches..looks like i'll stay loyal to bmw

02S430

I have an 02 s430 and it has the airmatic warning light on, but when you turn the car on it goes up no problem and when you press the button for the car to rise it gives no problem and goes right up and stays. (tested to see if weight on the hood would bring it down and nothing it stayed strong, brought it to a specialist and he test the seals by spraying water to see if the front was leaking but nothing, he qouted $200 for something that needed to be done. wondering after reading these forums its the relay also any ideas?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

02 S430 67k all lights upgraded to 03 plus thanks to ebay all OEM new, 20% tint all around

Jameet

My Airmatic went out yesterday. 2001 S430 with 79,000km. I have only had 2 months.

Took it to the Mercedes Service Center, rude service by the way. Wanted $1000 for the compressor and $700-800 for labour. This is in Toronto.

What pissed me off was that they would not call my aftermarket warranty company to authorize the repair. So I called the company, they said that they would pay for the fix. The warranty company and I could not understand why mercedes wouldn't call.

The mercedes rep says it is company policy that they not honour non-mercedes warranties.

Mercedes wanted me to pay for the repair and submit the bill to the warranty company.

Has anyone ever had this problem with non-starmark warranted cars?

ps. I will be moving back to the japanese cars after my warranty runs out. My '92 Toyota keeps on going even after all the abuse I have thrown at her.

02S430

Weird mine did and they keep calling for each part they werent sure about

gregwang

Why not get another S Class with ABC suspension instead of the Airmatic? Read this thread below before going back to the Japanese Car:

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w220/169414-my-03-s55-rearended-55mph.html

I have nothing against Japanese cars because I also own a Lexus but the advantage and protections of a solid German car in the event of an accident outweighs the lower cost and maintenance bills of a Japanese car...

Good luck!

Jameet

Thanks Greg,

I guess I was a little pissed at the service I received. I did do a lot of research into the safety of the Merc. and was impressed with all the features.
Just needed to vent.

J

SUNILP

Mercedes has already come up with a repair kit for the airmatic strut leak problem. This repair kit is 50 dollars plus installation per side. This beats 800 dollars per shock many have paid before. IF your shock is leaky, your compressor (pump) will run longer and cause it to fail as well. If you have a hairline crack on the top of the strut, I would highly recommend getting the repair kit installed before having any other problems. I have done several myself and it does not take longer than 30 minutes per side to do.

winmaw

"I have done several myself and it does not take longer than 30 minutes per side to do."

We all want to read how to do it step by step guidance.

Thanks.

Jayhawk

The strut repair kits are $41.70 per strut, but the MB labor for two is about $400! I know because I just had two replaced.

gregwang

I can totally relate my Friend...Been there and done that...Just think of it as a very high maintenance Girlfriend because sometimes you can love them to death and sometimes you want them dead

SUNILP

I don't mind writing up a brief summary of what is required but you will require 2 special tools. One is to thread the new check valve on top of the strut in without scratching it. The second tool is the tripod head. both tools run 250 dollars. A heat gun will be required as well to remove the old filler on top of the strut. If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know. I'll take a picture of a repaired strut as well. The repair kit has a new metal round plate with a rubber o-ring aroung it. The current metal top plate in the w220 does NOT have a rubber o-ring. The sealant on top of the strut is what holds the air in. As soon as it cracks (most common), the air begins to seep out.

IluvS500

Could one put on the repair kit as a preventative measure? What is the life expectancy of this new kit?

SUNILP

no telling what the life of the new kit is since it has only been a couple of months since it came out. At an engineering stand point, it has been designed to rectify the problem that plagues all air matic struts. So, in combination with the rubber o-ring around the top metal plate and some good quality sealant over that, I am sure you can expect many many years of life from the struts.

And yes, I would recommend it as a preventive measure if your strut has a crack on top weather it leaks or not.

winmaw

Sunman,

If you don't mind, I would like to request to post this repair procedure for the preventive maintenance for us. I would appreciate part numbers for repair kits and tools too.

Thanks again.

Oxygen

I read the instructions for it, it does not look too difficult, could get messy though...

Here's the tool you need:



Here are the instructions for doing the work:

winmaw

Oxygen,

Thank you soooo muchhhh.

02S430