Any of you in the northeast or otherwise (with this cold weather) experience a malfunction message on the dash relating to their airmatic? Got one this morning. Car seems level and isn't lower in the rear. So not sure if anyone else has had this issue and if so what they did to rectify.

Thanks

 

Anytime I get a malfunction message i roll to the dealer. As for my E- nothing so far down here in the nice weather world.

 

yes, I'd certainly say off to the dealer with you!
I had some air baffles replaced under warranty on mine
just a couple of months ago.....
good luck

 

I hear ya bro...just a pain to go to the dealer. Gotta got the oil changed out soon so i'll do it together. This'll be the last winter for me...i'll be joining you in the warm weather world this time next year....just on a different coast!

 

Thx...It disappeared after a bit of driving, but I'll have it checked out when i hit the dealer at the end of this month.

 

What about just changing the oil yourself to save the hassle of the trip to the dealer?

 

Without a lift, going to the dealer for an oil change is definitely less of a hassle than heading to the dealer.

 

I've seen more "slammed" E and S classes at the MBZ dealer due to failed airmatics. The system is problematic. Get it fixed under warranty. Keep the car until there is about a year of warranty left, then sell it. Airmatics are crazy expensive to fix out of warranty.

 

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to jack up the car. I actually went by the dealer to ask them and they told me to use the slots medial to the roadside jack up point. Of course, I forgot to take a good look at the lifted up car in the service area. The question is what kind of jack will fit in those slots without damaging the car. That will be my project once the weather gets better around spring. It shouldn't be that difficult, right?! Does any one know?

 

I jacked my car on the plastic rectangle on the front cross member.
Once lifted, I used jack stands on the outer ends of the cross member.

Lifting the rear, I found the front part of the diff to be the only option.
I used a block of wood and stayed clear of the cooling fins.

I could not see a way to lift on the outboard jacking points without some kind of jacking puck to fit in there.

 

I started getting that Airmatic Malfunction warning at start-up.
After hitting OK it goes away and does not return.
The dealer is clueless to the cause and says it's common and people just live with it.
Yes, I am looking for another dealer.

 

Try these for the jacking points http://www.reverselogic.us/ReverseLo...ited/Home.html
These jack pads are a work of art.

 

^^^ Great recommendation! Will definetly be ordering some.

 

I'm currently awaiting my e63 estate, so I'm not too excited reading this. In the past I owned a BMW 540iT M-Sport wagon with factory air and, indeed, on those cold winter mornings I would get a warning message that went away shortly thereafter. I lived with it in that car- in the new car I will not.

 

it showed up that weekend then it went away. I haven't seen it since and we've had a few cold days since. I'll be taking it to the dealer to do maintenance soon and will have them check the codes to see if anything comes up. Keep you posted.

 

Mine happens nearly every other day at 1st start-up.
When dealer looked at it they said they only saw one instance recorded and blamed it on low voltage errors.
However, it occoured at least 6 times before they saw it and at least 8 times since.
The SA is still trying to talk me into living with it, although he will be getting my car back for this and the steering rack noise.
Both of which are unfixed after the 1st 3 day visit.
In fact, not a single 1 of 4 things got fixed on that visit.
Not sure a warranty is worth much with this poor of service.

 

 

I would keep taking the car back to the dealership and if they don't fix it, lemon law the car in the end. It's not acceptable to have to have the malfunction pop-up repeatedly & the dealership never fixing it. Is there another dealer not that far away you can take it to or are you stuck with the one you have taken the car to?

 

There is another independent dealer near by and the car will go there if this MB dealer can't fix it after giving them a 2nd chance.
It seems like they don't want to bother trying to fix things untill I bring the car back with the same complaint multiple times.
It makes a mess of the cars service record, with all the repeat visits.

Get this, my SA stated that me changing my battery must have caused a low voltage error that triggered the Airmatic Malfunction.
Is that a bunch of rubbish or what?
How does that apply to all of the recourring malfunctions, before and after the battery change?
I just hope the techs use better diagnostic logic than the SA.

 

so common!

 

As mentioned Airmatic issues are common only in regards to discussions about MBZ issues as a whole- but Id say moreso on older units than young ones and usually on cars that were dropped. Of course it can happen on any age car and bad news is quickly posted so the "bad news traveling fast" theory plays its role.

Most airmatic issues occurred on cars with all 4 corners having the system. Our cars do not- they only have it in the rear which reduces the risk of failure greatly. If you are under warranty it will also give you piece of mind.

 

Thanks for the link! Exactly what I'm looking for!

 

I had a 2005 E500 W211 with a similar issue. The problem was that the cable to the air pump in the left front corner of the car was too short interfering with the pump operation. The dealer lengthened the cable and fixed the problem. I recall this happened at under 20K miles. The car now has 120K miles on it and the problem never reoccurred. I would think that MB has this problem fixed in the W212 chassis.

 

Airmatic problem appears to be fixed now.
Required persistence with the dealer.
Compressor and relay replaced after they finally verified a fault code.

 

Great news!

I had this message pop up a few times.
Each time the dealer told me: "No fault codes found",
and of course they can't "fix what isn't broke"...
They told me to just ignore this error message untill it goes away...
Seems they can't fix anything that isn't a broken - completely KAPUT.