Good morning fellow SL R231 members, my driver's left side bolster doesn't inflate but the right side does when turning. Has anyone had problems with only one bolster not inflating? I'd like some feedback before I bring her to the dealership.

 

Could be a few things....
Do you hear anything while it tries to inflate the bolster? How do the seat bolsters look? Lot's of wear on that bolster from getting in and out (improperly)
There are some plastic lines running to those bolsters. Many times those can either get dislodged or break. (green, pink and translucent lines in pic below)
Bolster could be punctured too, but rarer.
Doubt it's electrical since one side is working. Sounds more mechanical.


Good Luck

 

Car only has 28K on her. Bolster does have some wear from me getting in and out improperly but not terribly. Is that photo the underneath of the seat? I'll have to try to inflate the bolster manually and see if I hear anything. Thanks for your input.

 

Thats the upper part of the seat (rear view) with the cover removed.

 

Oh, great. Thanks. Was it easy to remove the cover? If so, I'd be able to get to those lines and have a look around. When you say cover, are you referring to the back panel of the seat, the plastic panel with the pocket built into it?

 

double post.......

 

2 bolts on the bottom, and slides it down to the floor to release top clips.






back panel of the seat, see above

 

Thank you for that. I will remove the panel this weekend and have a look around. Seems simple enough.....

 

"wear on that bolster from getting in and out (improperly)": I've looked but not found this referenced – could I ask you to link or explain what is a "proper" way to ingress and egress? Thanks in advance!

 

LOL, that could be akin to having a political discussion...

First, understand the context of that question. Diagnosis over the internet without pictures, so were looking for possible excessive bolster wear. Not knowing size and height of said individual.

As far as proper ingress and egress technique. As I'm sure you're aware, It's always going to vary by car and individual. Some smaller lighter individuals will have no issues, and some cars you have to shoe horn in, no mater what.
Haha, I've owned cars you had to get in thru the window

But we are creatures of habit and sometimes programmed to do certain things by repetition rather than thought. While seat wear is an eventuality, were just trying to minimize excessive damage based on the individual. If I'm seeing excessive wear on a car seat, I always try to observe how the person gets in and out of their cars(or if they have bad knees or injuries).

You'll notice many cars have low to non-existent seat bolsters on the lower portion of the seat (like the SL). Typically those types of seat will benefit from the butt first and rotate legs in technique. They'll wear much less in the longterm and the leather bottoms seem to wear less under rotation than say, cloth seats. They'll still wear, but it will be less damage to the seat than the excessive wear you'll see on the side bolsters. (you also have the air bladders in those side bolsters that can get damaged in extreme cases). The SL has a relatively long door so getting in and out by rotating is relatively easy for most individuals and seat positions. The seats are shaped so you can use your left arm to push up and out or the door sills to lift up with your right arm/hand. It really seems to help those with bad knees too (drivers side) .

Some people who get in and out of their cars using feet first routine also tend to use the steering wheel as leverage to lower or raise themselves. On cars that have a geared tilting mechanisms this can lead to excessive gear wear. One of the common problems in the SL and other Mercedes vehicles is the tilted steering column gets stuck. There's a gear in that steering column that will wear out prematurely if you do that regularly. Especially if you do that while the column is still operating as you're getting out of the car.

All this varies per individual ergonomics. In short, it never hurts to think about another way of getting in and out of your car if you're having issues.

This is a common issue across all brands though, and much discussed in many forums.
google: butt first bolster wear

 

Fantastic! LOL More'n I'd thought of, actually. One point certainly resonates with me: I use the steering wheel as you describe AND have already had the thing stick on me (a short sharp jolt etc. freed it up).

Many thanks!

 

how did your seat repair go ?