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W211 Airmatic Issues- One Corner Drops (Sometimes)

suttonmills

New Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2022
Messages
2
Location
Birmingham
Car
2008 E320 CDI Estate
Hey all,

I'm having a bit of a mystery with my Airmatic,

In a nutshell, when you turn the engine off and get out of the car the NSR corner drops fully but only sometimes.
It's started happening more frequently so I'm emotionally prepared to replace the bag but the thing that confuses me is if the bag itself was broken, surely it would drop every time? Particularly considering that when the corner does drop, a hissing noise can be heard coming from the bag that suggests a LOT of air is coming out, almost as if a valve is incorrectly opening at times? Then the next question is, is the valve broken or is the thing that tells the valve to open broken?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated before I break the bank.

Quick edit: The car isn't giving out any error codes so what ever it's doing, it's perfectly happy to be doing it
 
There's no valve at the rear. If there's a hissing coming from the bag, there's a hole in the bag.

You won't get a fault code for that.
 
I recently replaced my rear bags (bladder) in pairs. I had a pin hole to the side walls of the left bladder. It would slowly drop in height over a few nights on the left side, then eventually it would bring down the right side too.

My bags were the 3 pin ones which is AMG adaptive suspension, otherwise they're normally 2 pins for non adaptive suspension.

According to FCP EURO, you should consider replacing the bags every 120k, mine just gone over that so excellent timing. I went with Arnott brand because it's an easy installation as it does not need the resouvoir, so there is no need to drop the subframe making installation very simple. Got my bags from Autodoc, they had a 40% flash sale so snapped up a bargain.

Also the ride comfort is the same as OEM.

20240129_133812.jpg
 
Odd behaviour that appears quickly will (hopefully) just be a rusty suspension link to the height sensor on that wheel. Fairly cheap fix. Dropping over a few days is normal so no need to spend 1000s on that 👍
 
Forgot to mention, I believe there is a valve built-in at the top of the bags, behind the pins, but it's not accessible or serviceable. Do check for leaks at the joints and lines with a spray bottle filled with soapy water. 🧼
 
I recently replaced my rear bags (bladder) in pairs. I had a pin hole to the side walls of the left bladder. It would slowly drop in height over a few nights on the left side, then eventually it would bring down the right side too.

My bags were the 3 pin ones which is AMG adaptive suspension, otherwise they're normally 2 pins for non adaptive suspension.

According to FCP EURO, you should consider replacing the bags every 120k, mine just gone over that so excellent timing. I went with Arnott brand because it's an easy installation as it does not need the resouvoir, so there is no need to drop the subframe making installation very simple. Got my bags from Autodoc, they had a 40% flash sale so snapped up a bargain.

Also the ride comfort is the same as OEM.

View attachment 155008
I recently replaced my rear bags (bladder) in pairs. I had a pin hole to the side walls of the left bladder. It would slowly drop in height over a few nights on the left side, then eventually it would bring down the right side too.

My bags were the 3 pin ones which is AMG adaptive suspension, otherwise they're normally 2 pins for non adaptive suspension.

According to FCP EURO, you should consider replacing the bags every 120k, mine just gone over that so excellent timing. I went with Arnott brand because it's an easy installation as it does not need the resouvoir, so there is no need to drop the subframe making installation very simple. Got my bags from Autodoc, they had a 40% flash sale so snapped up a bargain.

Also the ride comfort is the same as OEM.

View attachment 155008
Hi Badgx and other members, my E63 S211 is coming up to 150k and presently no problems with air suspension, yet, but I am expecting one or both to go any time. Do you or anyone else know the reason S211 AMG’s have a reservoir attached to the rear bags, as there must be a reason, be it safety, stability due to the power delivery when fully loaded in weight, including a roof box.
If I need to replace them I am considering keeping to originals.
Thanks
 
Hi Badgx and other members, my E63 S211 is coming up to 150k and presently no problems with air suspension, yet, but I am expecting one or both to go any time. Do you or anyone else know the reason S211 AMG’s have a reservoir attached to the rear bags, as there must be a reason, be it safety, stability due to the power delivery when fully loaded in weight, including a roof box.
If I need to replace them I am considering keeping to originals.
Thanks

Hi friend, newer Mercedes like my E63 W212 and even W213 don't have these resovours, I believe it adds more volume to soften the spring rate of the bags so they act like larger bags for the same given load and psi. I think of the resovour more like an accumulator, it's does not affect the safety at all, designed more to give a super comfort ride.
 
Only install Arnott to the rear though but OEM Bilstein to the front.

Here video installation process, it's very easy to install. To remove the bags, it needs to be depressurised, I did this by puncturing the bladder by drilling several small holes into it using a 4 or 5mm drill bit. Wear goggles for eye protection 👍

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Only install Arnott to the rear though but OEM Bilstein to the front.

Here video installation process, it's very easy to install. To remove the bags, it needs to be depressurised, I did this by puncturing the bladder by drilling several small holes into it using a 4 or 5mm drill bit. Wear goggles for eye protection 👍

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Thanks for the feedback and video link. 👍
 

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