take a look at your front strut top portion if there is a plastic line going into the top portion you have a pneumatic

Can you tell from inside photos of my dash and buttons or does the pics have to be from under the hood?

under the hood

OK, $1400 later, I had the pump replaced and a fuse and that raised JUST the rear of the vehicle. So they told me I needed a front passenger strut, so they put one of those in and the car looked great! Until today (the next day) while backing out of my drive way I can hear the right rear tires scraping the inner wall again! Now the back is sitting a little low and the right side has little clearance. Sound like a leak somewhere or does it sound like I need to replace another strut? ARGH!!

activate the vehicle rise button

Ok. I got the car back, (however) something still seems wrong. They did replace the front right strut, the pump, relay and fuse. The car rides fine, but when I get in the car and start the engine, about 4-5 seconds later, the pump clicks on and rises the car... nothing on the dash tells me it is rising, it just does, I can see it. When I shut the car off and get out, I can see the car lower a little and air sounds like it is "pissing" out of the drivers side front wheel well. I know the pump is there, right?

Does this sound like I have a leak? I have left the car sitting for 3-4 days and it never gets low or sinks down, so I have no idea what is causing this...

Normal. It doesnt tell you its rising at startup. And the pissing sound is common.

Did you get the old parts that the dealer changed?

No. BIG PROBLEMS AGAIN. Same exact thing just happened!! After spending $1400+ in the shop, 2 weeks later, same problem. I went out this morning and the car was on all 4 tires. I cannot move it or drive it. I checked under the hood and the fuse was popped. I grabbed another brand new one from the trunk, popped it in and started the car -popped again.

Keep in mind, I just has 1 strut, pump, fuse and relay replaced 2 weeks ago. It is obviously NOT the pump, relay or fuse. So, now what am I to do?? The only thing left is a leak somewhere, right? It is causing the pump to stay on, over heat the relay and pop the fuse, right? It's the 2nd time for same thing, so now I have it at Mercedes... If anyone can help me by tomorrow afternoon, this would be a huge help before Mercedes says I need a whole new system (which I dont)

Does the fuse pop instantly or after a while? You probably have a short somewhere

Usually the pump can keep running till it burns itself up without any fuses blowing

I dont know, I didnt even hear the pump running. I cant imagine that there is a problem with the new pump, new relay or fuses, so I can only think its a short somewhere...

Mercedes confirmed that there must be a leak in the air hoses, causing the pump to stay on, burn out and short out the relay and or fuse. $1100 for a new compressor + the leak...

if you say they confirmed the leak then where is it or they just guessing blindly. even if it runs for 24/7 the relay and the fuse are not suppose to burn out, check the wiring harness and check pump, not all brand new pumps are perfectly manufactured. go back to your dealer and have them check it out for warranty as well for the pump.

MB warrants its replacement parts for a year. If your dealer failed to find the problem, and as a result newly-installed parts failed, MB should stand for the cost of replacing the new failed parts. You would have to stand for any additional parts needing replacement. You might also want to negotiate labor costs for the additional work, given that earlier work did not find or fix the problem.

If the dealer doesn't cooperate, take it up to the regional rep.

Ok, I had the pump replaced, fuse and relay again! (3rd time in 2 months). Dealership assured me they checked for bad wiring, a short and all leaks. They suggested the 1st pump finally died after 11 years, the replacement must have been bad, then 2 weeks later, replaced it a third time. Well, the car is riding fine, it raises when I activate the switch, HOWEVER: it now says "Airmatic - Visit Workshop" on my dash...

Ideas?

I know if I go back to the dealer, its more $ and wasting time. Everything seems to be working properly, but i'm planning a road trip and cant risk it.

What else could possible cause this, and keep in mind, the pump-relay AND fuse had to be replaced 3 times in 2 months time, but this is the first time I ever got this error message. THANKS

Again: 2001 S500 with Airmatic and ABC (I think)

the way to go is to bring it and have them use a star to detect the fault code, (airmatic.....) yours is a 220 series right? if yes that is a usual problem, majority of those who owns 2001 to 2004 suffered the same fate, until the last year of production they were some how able to address the issue. The struts are always the problem on those 220 series, they always last for a very short time a(couple of years before the next replacement) and the pump has always been a failure due to some wiring problem. Would you kindly elaborate how the dealership diagm=nose the wiring? that will give a clue if they really did their job properly.

Yes, I have the W220. How can Mercedes actually "not" be held liable for the repairs with all these known problems. You would think a massive recall for these cars would be done, but the dealer checked and nothing is available.

I dont know if they did diagnose the actual wiring. First he said they checked for leaks and did find any. I asked about the wiring and he said it seemed fine when they reconnected a new pump. It is a good shop from what I have seen and read, but it drives me nuts to fix the same problem 4 times in 4 months...

ghost, many are no longer surprise specially with the tons of trouble thw S class had starting with the 140, MB gets away with tons of factory defects without issuing a recall bulletin. some may have attempted to call the attention of the national highway safety board but guess nothing positive for the end user had happen.

since yours is still covered by factory/dealer parts warranty best is to bring it back and let them do another thorough check. if a fuse pops right after replacing it it's either the pump motor is defective or the wire, may have suffered the dreaded cracks.

They replaced the front two struts ($2700) because one was leaking internally and they recommended both. t seems to be fixed, and I now found the problem to my "wheel bumping" problem into the wheel well... My rims and tires are too wide! The front and rear are sticking out past the wheel well, so when the tires goes UP, it actually hits the exterior fender rather than going into the well. GREAT! More money... They also said I have to replace upper & lower control arms for roughly $3,000. What a great day. :O(

if the front end is on ground , have it towed , unless you like paying for self inflicted gun shot wounds.dealer not necessary but you need some shop specialized in das 3 software . likely when bf was fooling around he may have unknowingly just repeat pushed a button while"experimenting" and spooked the control module.it may simple need a flash reset. a "rodeo"test may be done at this time too . the tech can put the vehicle in system scan and , within seconds, your car will hop around like a mechanical bull while the computer activates and deactivates various sensors and valves. until this is done ,you won't get a proper answer . the fix could be as simple as the reset solving the problem.if there is an existing problem, it will send data and codes while this is happening.

The car sits fine, no worries there. It used to drop to the ground (per previous convo's here) and it's been fixed 3 times. This time the height wasnt the problem, it was the dash telling me an error in the Airmatic. At least it seems fixed now, after about $3,700 in total costs over the past 3 months all for the Airmatic...

Airmatic problems
 

Hi. Anyone that maby know what can be wrong with my second car. Its a w221 S320cdi. Its so low in the front and its not raising at all but in the rear its working fine so i dont think its the kompressor.

Vegard,

Your problems are likely similar to those that occur with the W220. You asked about a W221 in the W220 forum, perhaps not the best place for vehicle-specific questions. However, given the similarities of the suspension systems, I'll refer you to the W220 S-Class Encyclopedia at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...tart-here.html where there is an extensive section on Airmatic. It is probably a valve block problem, but there could be other causes.