Airmatic question
07-30-2009, 05:01 PM
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S430
Airmatic question
Wondering if someone could answer a question. I have a 2000 S430 and when I press the airmatic button to raise the car, the indicator light on the button lights up and on the instrument display is says "airmatic vehicle rising" and the car does seem to rise. However, when I read the owners manual, it says that the instrument display will say "airmatic vehicle rising" and that the message will disappear once the vehicle is raised. Well, on my car, that "airmatic vehicle rising" message on the instument display never goes away, even though the vehicle seems to be raised. When I press the airmatic button again to return it to normal height the indicator light goes off and the "airmatic vehicle is rising" message disappears and the car seems to go back to normal height. So just wondering for others out there, when you do raise your car, does the "airmatic vehicle rising" message disaapear after the car has been raised? Thanks.
07-30-2009, 11:58 PM
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2002 Mercedes S 430(GONE), 2001 E320(GONE), 2007 S550(GONE), 2009 BMW X6(GONE), 2014 S550
Check suspension compressor, mine didnt go up cause compressor burned out, replaced my compressor and now car raises in just a few second and message goes away.
07-31-2009, 10:05 PM
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Ok, I'm fearing the worst now. After my post yesterday, I go in my garage today to find that my front end is so low that my front tires are tucked into my front fenders. The rear seems to be normal. I turned on the car and pushed the airmatic button and the display says "airmatic vehicle rising" but the front end doesn't seem to be rising at all. I don't even know if it's driveable at this point. Is there anything I can do to raise the front end so I can at least drive it to get it repaired? Any help would be appreciated.
08-01-2009, 05:42 PM
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2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
You can drive the car to the shop - expect stiffer steering, and go easy in the turns. Your airmatic pump (or relay) has likely failed. You should have gotten the warning that Arlen777 mentioned.
08-02-2009, 12:59 AM
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That's the weird thing. I haven't actually driven the car since the front has dropped like that, but I have started the car up several times and every time there is no "airmatic, visit workshop" message. And everytime I do press the airmatic button, the "airmatic, car is raising" message comes up and stays on and doesn't disappear although the car never does rise and then when I press the airmatic button again to disengage it, the message "airmatic, car is raising" goes away. I don't know if I actually have to start driving the car for the "airmatic, visit workshop" message to appear?
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08-02-2009, 12:27 PM
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2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
Bottom line is, you must have it looked at and serviced by someone certified to repair these systems. We can "what if" it to death, but one of us can hook up test equipment over the web.
The symptoms you are describing (particularly, not getting the airmatic warning) are not common. Yes, the "car is rising" goes away once it has reached the raised height. As stated, you should also have an "airmatic - visit workshop" warning based on what you describe. Neither of these is happening, and neither is normal. There isn't much more we can tell you beyond what we already have.
The symptoms you are describing (particularly, not getting the airmatic warning) are not common. Yes, the "car is rising" goes away once it has reached the raised height. As stated, you should also have an "airmatic - visit workshop" warning based on what you describe. Neither of these is happening, and neither is normal. There isn't much more we can tell you beyond what we already have.
Last edited by Skylaw; 08-02-2009 at 01:23 PM.
08-04-2009, 07:45 PM
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So I had my car towed to the dealer I always take my car to this morning. Was there pretty much all day and it does turn out that the airmatic pump wasn't running. So they replaced the airmatic pump, replaced the brass pressure line fitting for the new pump, installed retro intake tube for the pump, and replaced the airmatic relay and 40 amp fuse. Everything works great now, when I press the airmatic button the the car does raise now and the "airmatic, car is rising" message disappears after the car is fully raised. Cost me $900 out the door with towing included. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, I'm just glad everything is working just fine now although it was a pricy repair.
08-05-2009, 08:32 AM
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$900.00 is not a pricy repair.
You could have, and may soon, be looking at $4,500.
I hope you don't but I would look into the front shock repair kit service.
You could have, and may soon, be looking at $4,500.
I hope you don't but I would look into the front shock repair kit service.
