Active Seats stop working
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,851
Likes: 799
From: Pacific Northwest
2001 S600 V12 Sold, 2011 Jaguar XFR Sold, 2017 S550 4-Matic, 2018 S63 AMG Sedan
This is your third problem reported in 3 months; auxilliary battery, rear seat outlet, and now the active seats. You might want to consider having your electrical system checked. You're playing whack-a-mole now.
Super Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 975
Likes: 272
From: Fort Worth TX
2020 S560, 2014 SLK55 (Prev. 2016 S65, 2013 SLK350, 2008 CLS63, 2006 E350, 2006 CLS500, 2005 C230K)
Yes pump has likely shutoff due to leak detection, you'll need diagnostics to turn it back on and then work to locate the leak.
You can get a thinkdiag for $100 that'll allow you to work on it yourself if you are so inclined.
You can get a thinkdiag for $100 that'll allow you to work on it yourself if you are so inclined.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 62
Likes: 29
From: Florida
2018 S 450
Mine stopped working sometime last year. Active bolsters, side bolsters, massage and lumbar. In my case it was two leaks caused by ruptures in the seat air bladders and another one in the connecting line. Since these are rubber parts they are considered wear and tear according to MB. Myself and my service adviser tried to get them to cover it but in the end it was a no go. That one came out of my pocket. But it is the only issue my car ever had that was not covered. If yours is electrical it might be either covered (if you have warranty) or at least not as expensive as replacing air bladders.
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Super Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 975
Likes: 272
From: Fort Worth TX
2020 S560, 2014 SLK55 (Prev. 2016 S65, 2013 SLK350, 2008 CLS63, 2006 E350, 2006 CLS500, 2005 C230K)
That sucks they used to be exclusion based and had only the expected stuff there (tires, brakes, suspension struts etc), but from that interaction they are getting as bad as aftermarket. If they are going to argue the seat is wear and tear then what's actually covered? Are they going to say the same for wall scoring? For water intrusion in headlight? I mean everything can be argued as wear and tear...
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Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 2
2005 E55
Do the bolsters or any any bottom or side adjustments work? I thought I had a problem also until I realized my wife put the side bolsters to 10 which is the maximum setting so active seat can’t make them stiffer.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 62
Likes: 29
From: Florida
2018 S 450
The first sign on mine was lumbar. It would stop working once or twice a week. I would set it to, let's say 6, the seat diagram would show it moving to six and as soon as I released the scroll wheel it went back to zero and the lumbar never moved an inch.
When it did stay on the setting I wanted, I could hear the compressor working even after the lumbar was set to whatever value (except 0). So I tested everything else I assumed was done by air bladders. Massage, didn't even start. Side bolsters, didn't move either when manually adjusting them or as part of active side bolster function.
All adjustments of seat position worked fine. Which means that for some, the car would still be perfectly driveable. I know people that would be able to live with the car like this forever or for some time if they wanted to push back addressing the issue. I'm not one of those people. What worried me the most is that if that compressor is working overtime to fill punctured bladder/line, it would be the next thing to go.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 4,242
Likes: 629
From: Chicago burbs
2015 S550
That sucks they used to be exclusion based and had only the expected stuff there (tires, brakes, suspension struts etc), but from that interaction they are getting as bad as aftermarket. If they are going to argue the seat is wear and tear then what's actually covered? Are they going to say the same for wall scoring? For water intrusion in headlight? I mean everything can be argued as wear and tear...
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 3,165
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From: U.S.
Current/Last 5-years:GLS;G70;Alpina B8;X7;Accord. Sold:X7,TeslaS;S560;S550,X5;530e;L.Navigator;LS460
VERY common in W222 and W223 Unfortunetly. The air tubes and bladders are way too brittle in these cars, that the chances there will be a leak at some point during the lifetime of the vehicle is very high. There is an easy way to tell if there is a leak. Turn off the car, let is set for a minute, then turn it on and immediately turn massage function on. If you hear a hissing sound for a short period of time (like about a minute or so) than will then stop, it means that the pump is working but there is a leakage somewhere in the system that forced the pump to stop so it doesn't overheat as it continues to blow air beyond normal limits. U need to do that test in a quite environment (they key is to pinpoint exactly where the leakage is). It can be VERY tough to fix if it's in certain areas around the seat.
I had wrote a thread in the past about the whole process and how to fix it. Good luck.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...-air-leak.html
I had wrote a thread in the past about the whole process and how to fix it. Good luck.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...-air-leak.html
Last edited by S_W222; Sep 9, 2024 at 12:26 PM.
