Airmatic repairs SUCK!!!
 

I just gave the go ahead to my service rep to complete $1,500.00 worth of airmatic repairs including New pump, hoses, and some fuse to make it all work :thread: Yes I'm pissed and out of warranty including last months repairs (all kinds of tiny ****) this adds up to $2,800.00 in these last 5 weeks alone :wall: :wall: But I still love her :hammer:

Damn that really sucks, mine hasn't gone out yet but I I'm on thin ice I think.

My airmatic on my 2001 S430 went out last June with three months still left on my warranty (phew!!). Unfortunately, my instrument cluster died two weeks after my warranty expired ($1200 fix that took two+ months to complete).

Thats sucks

aeromatice repair here, also, just a couple of weeks ago. Had extended warranty (one year). The dealership also sells an aftermarket company plan for only $4700 for another 4 yrs/50K miles (for vehicles with 40K to 60K on them) When the present warranty expires this Sept., we are gonna be all over that!!!!

Oh yeah, the mechanic left his channel locks on top of the RF shock tower. His initials are on them so when I take them back in a couple of weeks (or sooner if another repair is necessary), I will ask that particular individual why it is necessary to use channel locks under the hood!!!

question
 

How do you tell if the airmatic is gone?

My S-500 is having some vibration when I hit 60 mph. At about 90 mph, it seems to go away a bit (but then, I was driving a bit too fast for my age to notice anything else anyway...)

Is this a symptom for a dying or dead airmatic system or do I simply need an tire rotation/wheel balance???

I had a warning message come on the screen indicating that my car was too low and I needed to go in for service. Also, you can hear the car scrape on very sharp slow turns (like when you turn into a parking lot).

It's much worse than just a little vibration as high speeds.

With such a high rate of failure, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to organize a unified front and propose that MB warrant airmatic repairs (sort of like the 6yr/100k warranty BMW instituted on all 02/03 745's)

It is unacceptable that on such a premium vehicle, owners have to "eat" the cost of these repairs.

Good Idea!! But why stop there? ABS, engine sludge (already covered under class action settlement for 150K warranty extension) and electrical failures are numerous enough to keep Lexus laughing all the way to the bank.

the car has a warranty for 4 years of 50k miles. after that you are on your own. call me crazy but that was nice enough of MB in the first place. In europe the warranty is much shorter. Americans just like to moan until some one else opens his/her wallet to cover your issues.

if you want a S-Class with a warranty buy one with a warranty. simple stuff. older and used cars break and that is why people need to think twice about buying a W220 with no warranty or keeping it past 50k or 4 years. sure a $30k S500 from 00 is a steal but ever hear that 4 shocks, a pump and hoses for a AirMatic car cost nearly 10k intalled? Thats a risk I did not want to take and I sold my S55 2001 when it had 48k miles. I was not going to bother having to fork over 12k if something failed.

sorry for sounding like a ***** but its the nature of the beast here. all cars fail and well S-Class cars just cost a ton to fix. Sad but true.

does anyone know if this would be covered under the 7yr / 100K mile extended warranty?

[i'm at work and my warranty papers are home] Thx

i have to agree with you,many s class 00 and 01 have plenty of diffrent problems,plus deprieciation in usa is tragic.you can get 2000 s500 for 25k.in europe for the same car you have to pay around 40-50k

Airmatic Problems Here Also
 

I just had the AIRMATIC light show up on my 2001 S500 a day or so ago. I called the dealer and made an appointment to take the car in. Luckily for me I decided to purchase an extended warranty from an aftermarket company. I originally paid about $3500 for the Warranty when the car had 40k miles and have completely recovered my cost. So far, I have replaced the instrument cluster, transmission seals (3 times), replaced the entire body wiring harness because the transmission fluid leaked through the entire car, replaced the pump for the pneumatic doors (transmission fluid got inside modules). all total about $10,000. The extended warranty company has paid all but about $500.

So now I'm looking at this Airmatic problems and I see more dollar signs in my near future. I currently have a warranty for 125k miles. Otherwise, I would have gotten rid of the car. What's next?

that is really a lot for the airmatic.

I once saw what they have to do after they installed
the suspension again. they have a program that makes
the car go up and down in all directions. like a lowrider :rolleyes:

Yeah...my airmatic message showed up on my '00 S430 as well a few weeks prior to my "incident", and I was thinking about taking it in to get looked at, esp since the car dropped too low one time when I had 3 passengers in the rear on our way to a party in DC.

Not sure how the airmatic will be once I get the car back.

I really really hope mine puts up for a while.

Where'd you get that car? At a post hurricane/flood auction?

they do that with ABC not airmatic . . .

For members with 1 month before your warranty expiring, have your dealer do some fine combing throughout the car. My dealer did check the airmatics and said that the relays were ready to go out and just replaced them (relays) before the airmatics can have a total failure. They also replaced my radio amp, fixed my ac and replaced the driver's seat bolts/screws (b/c seat was loose and I'm no 200 pound guy either :mad:) :)

Has anybody in their mind to modify this nightmare to a normal shock absorber like other cars? :zoom:

Have you considered replacing the Airmatic System with a conventional Spring Shock set-up? I may be just blowing hott air as this may not even be possible, but if it is, it would be great.

i have yet to see any company offers W220 spring and dampers. However the next closest model is the W211, Bilstein has a PSS9 coilover kit for it.

even if that fits you will have problem with the Airmatic warning to deal with.

Where can I buy the relay at?

I assume you are referring to the relay for suspension air pump.
I got mine at dealer for $47 + $20 installation (10 mins job).

You might be able to DIY.
It is in the fuse box on the passenger side of the engine.
The fuse diagram shows the fuse for Airmatic is under "O".

if the dealer has fixed the airmatic after it has gone out, what are the chances that it can go out again? i know my airmatic was fixed under warrantee some time ago and my s500 is still under warrantee for about 3000 more miles when it hits 100,000. i just want to know if it is possible to go out again.

thanks
angel