Just acquired '05 S430
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Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 262
Likes: 34
From: Houston, TX
'05 S430, '05 S600
Just acquired '05 S430
Hello Folks,
I just recently landed this '05 S430. Brilliant Silver, with Parktronic. Love the car so far. I previously owned a W203 C230 with the M271 engine and that was fun but the car was small. Anyways, technically savvy guy here. Did the soap water check on the front struts while having the vehicle rise function active and no leaks yet but, I do see some cracks on the mastic so will have to address that soon. Car is very clean for having 110k miles. Had the dealer give me all the service records they could find on the car and the PSE pump was replaced at 85k miles, brakes were done then too, before I bought it I had them inspect the car and they ended up replacing the trunk actuator because it was leaking (I suspect this is what may have killed the previous PSE pump but will keep my eyes/ears open for any other signs). I will post some pics below. Quick question, I understand these cars have a very early version of PRE-SAFE and I know what that is but my question is, are the seat belts supposed to pull tight when you first get buckled in as part of the PRE-SAFE architecture? I ask this because my wife's 2014 E-Class does this and it also has PRE-SAFE. It just makes me wonder because if PRE-SAFE had to activate, then how would the "car" know how much to tighten you up if it hasn't "measured" you yet? Do I have broken actuators or did PRE-SAFE not do this in 2005? Thanks guys!
I just recently landed this '05 S430. Brilliant Silver, with Parktronic. Love the car so far. I previously owned a W203 C230 with the M271 engine and that was fun but the car was small. Anyways, technically savvy guy here. Did the soap water check on the front struts while having the vehicle rise function active and no leaks yet but, I do see some cracks on the mastic so will have to address that soon. Car is very clean for having 110k miles. Had the dealer give me all the service records they could find on the car and the PSE pump was replaced at 85k miles, brakes were done then too, before I bought it I had them inspect the car and they ended up replacing the trunk actuator because it was leaking (I suspect this is what may have killed the previous PSE pump but will keep my eyes/ears open for any other signs). I will post some pics below. Quick question, I understand these cars have a very early version of PRE-SAFE and I know what that is but my question is, are the seat belts supposed to pull tight when you first get buckled in as part of the PRE-SAFE architecture? I ask this because my wife's 2014 E-Class does this and it also has PRE-SAFE. It just makes me wonder because if PRE-SAFE had to activate, then how would the "car" know how much to tighten you up if it hasn't "measured" you yet? Do I have broken actuators or did PRE-SAFE not do this in 2005? Thanks guys!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: North Carolina
2003 S500 - Toyota Corolla (in the rain)
Agree with Mike. You can try and adjust your seat belt after a hard application of the brake pedal (such as approaching a traffic light). You will feel the pressure of the seat belt tighten.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
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2016 C300
I've been in a 220 twice when Pre-Safe activates. The last was in my prior 06 S500. I was tooling along and hadn't realized traffic ahead had stopped. I jammed the brake pedal although I was sure I was about to rear end the guy ahead of me. There just didn't seem to be enough room to stop given the 50mph I was travelling.
First, with explosive force, I was pinned back into the seat by the belt tightening. You know how, in an S, everything the car does is polite, muffled, subdued, dampened...forget all that when Pre Safe wakes up. It's a different car entirely when it's trying to protect its occupants. Simultaneously the brake boost activated, and the de-acceleration was so violent, everything in the back seat flew forward and ended up wedged between the windshield and the dashboard. The nose pitched forward so hard I thought the front bumper would scrape the pavement. A full cup of coffee launched itself into the dash, drenching COMAND (which was buggy for about a week after). I'm sure it was doing the other stuff that I didn't notice...moving the seats, closing the sunroof, etc.
The car came to a stop with about a half car length to spare. The seatbelt retractors relaxed and I heard them reset themselves, and the car was back to its normal serene self. If for some reason Pre-Safe is not in a condition to perform, you'll get a red warning on the dash display, but otherwise you'd never know it was there unless you needed it.
First, with explosive force, I was pinned back into the seat by the belt tightening. You know how, in an S, everything the car does is polite, muffled, subdued, dampened...forget all that when Pre Safe wakes up. It's a different car entirely when it's trying to protect its occupants. Simultaneously the brake boost activated, and the de-acceleration was so violent, everything in the back seat flew forward and ended up wedged between the windshield and the dashboard. The nose pitched forward so hard I thought the front bumper would scrape the pavement. A full cup of coffee launched itself into the dash, drenching COMAND (which was buggy for about a week after). I'm sure it was doing the other stuff that I didn't notice...moving the seats, closing the sunroof, etc.
The car came to a stop with about a half car length to spare. The seatbelt retractors relaxed and I heard them reset themselves, and the car was back to its normal serene self. If for some reason Pre-Safe is not in a condition to perform, you'll get a red warning on the dash display, but otherwise you'd never know it was there unless you needed it.
