tchu-

Just wondering if it does any harm to the car if we drive with the "raise" button on for a longer period of time?

Is it a button used for a quick temporary lift of the body so the car can maybe maneuver around something or is it fine for the car to be driven with the raise button on?

Thanks!

mrbobby

I suspect driving "high" would result in a stability issue at speed. It would also look "Dorky". The raising ability is sure helpful in heavy snow conditions or I would suspect in heavy rain conditions.

tchu-

Oh, my car is lowered on lowering links, and so sometimes I want to take a full trip with the car on "raised" mode because it still raises it a little. Just wondering if that would be bad for the car thats all Thx!

bob2011

While I doubt it would be harmful for the car, the look might be a bit off.

Wolfman

Shouldn't be harmful but the car automatically cancels the raised position above a certain speed (check the manual for exact speed) anyway, so if you are going fast it won't work anyway...

WHPH28

I was in NY this weekend and drove on raised mode most of the way there and on areas where I knew there were pot holes or rough roads. It looks about stock height when it's raised.

seiltaenzerin

Hi tchu-,

I don't mean to resurrect an old thread, but hopefully this may shed some light on the raised vehicle level setting in your W221 S-Class.

To answer the question regarding whether or not it will damage the car by prolonged driving in the raised vehicle level setting, the answer is no. In fact, you are more likely to incur damage to the vehicle with a aftermarket-modified lowered suspension.The lower set-up may cause additional stress of the various components of your suspension and steering system, causing them to wear out and failure prematurely.

As for the intended use of the raised vehicle level setting, it is meant for driving on rough roads or with snow chains. It is recommended that you only drive in the raised setting under these driving conditions, otherwise handling may be impaired and/or fuel consumption will be increased. I am sure that using the raised setting to clear a road obstacle is fine, although the vehicle is only raised by approximately 1.0 in (25 mm) compared to normal level.

Let's say you are not deterred by the decreased handling and fuel economy and would like to keep the vehicle in the raised setting. If you do not drive within a certain speed range, the vehicle will lower to normal level automatically, as Wolfman has stated. The vehicle is lowered to the normal level automatically when:

1. The vehicle speed is above 75 mph (120 km/h)

2. The vehicle speed stays between 50 mph (80 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h) for approximately 3 minutes.

The vehicle will take these level adjustment measures to increase vehicle safety and reduce fuel consumption. It is also worth noting the further extents of the vehicle level control: with increasing speed, ride height is reduced by up to approximately 0.8 in (20 mm).

I hope this answers your question and helps anyone who may stumble upon this thread.

Best regards,
Christopher

SouthboroughSM

I drive mostly in the CBD (lower speed than 50). Does the "raised mode" filter more bumps and make the ride smoother? or its just for going over higher obstacles (as you mentioned, rough and snow conditions)?

The Thomas J

Since the struts are at or near their capacity it makes for a stiffer ride.

Arrie

With air springs higher setting means the springs are longer. If it was just about the springs this would make ride softer as the spring constant lowers. But, the smoothness of the ride (or softness) is not about the ride height, it is about the shocks that change stiffness between comfort and sports modes. This is why the shocks have that electric valve mounted the bottom that changes shock stiffness between the ride selections.

Raised suspension serves when driving in very rough road surfaces or thick snow or avoiding the concrete barriers hitting the car front in parking lots. I don't know any other benefit for it. Driving in raised mode does not cause harm to the car either.

Arrie

I don't think the struts are near their capacity. The car in raised mode still has plenty of room to move up and down when hitting bumps on road.

The air pressure in the springs is by the weight of the car meaning regardless of the selected ride height the pressure is the same. The ride height only changes the ride comfort very little. Ride comfort change comes from the different setting at the electronic shock control valve that Airmatic cars have.

mcypert

When this thread got revived, I read it and thought for a while... I recalled, from about 6 years ago, when our new-to-us, sight-unseen, V-12, ABC equipped, S600 arrived by transport from Virginia to Texas. It was set in the raised position; probably b/c the transport driver knew what he was doing.

I barely noticed the 20" AMG wheels didn't look too good and, since it was supposed to the wife's car, it stayed raised for maybe 1000 miles, including a 700 mile, high speed, road trip. At some point, I found the raise/lower button and realized it had never been lowered since we got it. (Except, as describe above, when the ECU took over and lowered it at speed.)

That would be the end of this embarrassing story, but then I recalled the main ABC hydraulic hose burst not too soon after I discovered the car had been raised after a lot of driving in the raised position.

Cause and effect??? I have no idea... I started to write about our shameful ignorance of the raise/lower button as proof that the raised position can do not harm. But, is it? IMHO, there's no engineering reason why it would be harmful but, the inconvenient failure of a $500 (no labor, as it was DIY and, no towing, as it ruptured in the driveway) ABC hose, raised (no pun intended) the question in my mind.

Regards... Mark