The most thorough explanation of Mercedes-Benz Airmatic air suspension

Hello in this video I give the most thorough explanation of how to diagnose the air suspension on Mercedes Benz cars and SUV’s

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
5:08 Warnings on dash
11:27 Leaks
31:31 Level Calibration misinformation
35:54 Level Sensors
40:46 Fault codes
50:22 Part Quality
54:32 Level Sensors live data on scanner
56:08 Compressor Diagnosis
1:01:57 Valve block diagnosis
1:05:00 Scanner data
1:13:45 Jacking up air suspension cars
1:15:10 More scanner data
1:19:08 HOW TO PERFORM LEVEL CALIBRATION
1:23:27 Airmatic Control Module
1:25:12 Common Failures

visit workshop
airmatic visit workshop
compressor cooling
stop car too low

In this video I also use the Xtool A30M anyscan which is great for the price. You can find it here at this amazon link

If you have any comments good or bad about the video please let me know. I tried to be as thorough as possible with this.
Thanks for viewing!

Lou Palomino

[MasterTechLou]

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
5:08 Warnings on dash
11:27 Leaks
31:31 Level Calibration misinformation
35:54 Level Sensors
40:46 Fault codes
50:22 Part Quality
54:32 Level Sensors live data on scanner
56:08 Compressor Diagnosis
1:01:57 Valve block diagnosis
1:05:00 Scanner data
1:13:45 Jacking up air suspension cars
1:15:10 More scanner data
1:19:08 HOW TO PERFORM LEVEL CALIBRATION
1:23:27 Airmatic Control Module
1:25:12 Common Failures

I hope this helps!
Lou

[mickeytiger]

Dude, I could just feel the honesty in your voice. I could only wished to have your shop near me. Respect man!

[damirzanne]

I have S550 and you’re the kind of guy I’d leave my car with to work on, and go home knowing it’ll be taken care off 👍

[mcknigb]

One of the best presentations I have seen with regard to fault finding and using common sense (with the assistance of an appropriate scanner) to clear up the mystique around the Mercedes Airmatic Suspension system. Well Done all concerned and thanks for your time and service.

[oliverradulovic]

BRAVO .... THIS MAN don't have to do...but he did Thanks alot Best wishes... from Vienna

[neilphilip]

SO refreshing to NOT have all sorts of gimmicks (I like guitar riffs but there's a time and a place) - this is pure information based on a complete understanding of a complex system. Wonderful!

[BitSpirit]

Mercedes-Benz should ditch their whole Airmatic section in their manual and just print a QR code to this video. Perfect amount of detail and explanation. If you know things, you can explain it in simple words!

[VojtechSplichal]

Hi Lou,
Thank you for the very informative video, keep going.
Just on Friday when driving home I registered a noise coming from the left front wheel of my 2016 E350 212.294 when braking or cornering, so I stopped the car and found that the bladder/bag dust cover was torn, I increased chassis height to prevent dust cover to hit the tire, calmly drove home to dismount wheel and have closer look.
Dust covers on both sides are pretty worn, as it was quite wet, I applied some duct tape :) and called MB support for further assistance as my dealership workshop has some maintenance these days.
Today I got, from the dealership workshop arranged by MB support, a repair estimate for $1200 which is ~$400 more than I pay for regular service but too low for complete air suspension replacement - so I started digging to find out that an original dust cover costs about $50 and requires suspension removal which itself doesn't look like rocket science(1.5h for each wheel?).
The car has 73k miles and I was told that the bags usually last ~85-100k miles, I do not register any leaks, car keeps level maybe even for weeks. Regularly serviced in dealership workshop.
So my questions are:
1) Is it even worth replacing the dust cover with that mileage or should I prepare for suspension replacement? What do you think about that price?
2) As the last service was less than a year ago, it's quite suspicious - no one probably checked those dust covers, or it's common and nobody does that?

[diydan]

You are humble, honest, and smart. This is a great comprehensive overview of how the air suspension system works. I learned a lot. I am using this and translating your knowledge to my Jeep suspension issues, they appear to be very similar. Thanks for taking the time and getting this info out there. Once you understand the fundamentals these systems are a lot less scary to diagnose and work on, Thanks so much.

[nidaldajani]

Back in 2013 I owned a 2007 S320 and that was my first experience with airmatic ride. I've owned several other cars after that and I cannot find a ride quality that matches airmatic. I think it is the perfect suspension system (smooth, responsive, soft yet not wobbly nor it is stiff).

I used the car for daily long trips (100 miles each way) for over 5 years (daily commute) and was the most comfortable ride I ever experienced.

In fact I thought to install airmatic system on one of my later cars (change of jobs stopped me from doing it as my commute became 12 miles).

Your video on airmatic system is superb! Methodical and organised and well put.

Thank you for sharing.

PS: at first I had to replace the front right airbag. New from a dealer was $180, but I installed a refurbished unit for $60 and ran perfect the rest of those 5 years. I sold the car in 2018.

[PatOffical.]

Dude. Words can't explain how you delivered this knowledge! I feel way more confident!

[eiyekeye]

Very best presentation from a Master - Tech U-tuber. I had to tip Master Tech Lou for his effort. Excellent and very articulate explanation. Shows in-depth knowledge. Am an ASE certified technician with more than thirty years of work experience with European and Asian automobiles.However Lou is the first dealer trained technician who truly delivered on this specific topic. I have been in hundreds of training classes and Lou is probably one of the best experience to date. Am now retired, but still do my own tinkering whenever i can. Thank YOU for a job well done.

[JCKICKS]

This is true teaching from real world work. You don’t learn this kinda knowledge in school guys. Pay attention. Thank you sir this is highly appreciated, God bless you ✨🤲

[pctrainers]

You are really a master Tech. Thank you for explaining the system step by step.

[eatont]

Excellent video! This is the best explanation and troubleshooting video of Airmatic suspension I have ever seen! The best part is all this detailed information was free!

[robbieleiper]

Canada appreciates your use of the metric system ;)

[terrence]

I'm no mechanic but you are a good teacher. I bought a 2017 GLC43 w 51640mi from CarMax and after driving it for a couple of weeks I took it to a MB dealer for inspection. I also had a A1 service on the display. A issue with the left side rear suspension was discovered. Sounds like a airmatic issue. I'm waiting on the diagnostic results. Thanks to this video I have some knowledge when I go to CarMax about the problem.

[dgrant]

Excellent video/content. Thank you for taking the time to educate us about the system. Please continue to provide these videos appreciate it.

[michaelmeyer]

Man! I have a 14 CLS 550. Just hit 40, 000 miles. It looks showroom new. The suspension has been dropping while driving intermittently for a year. Dealer installed new compressor. One rear shock. Both front level sensors, And level calibration 2 times all at separate visits and still riding like crap and front will drop. I just bought a scanner. You just taught me how to use it. I'm going to figure it out in my own garage. Thank you! I am mechanically inclined. But I am not a mechanic. I was able to understand everything. I'm giving you a donation. It won't be enough. But I gotta give you something. THANK YOU!

[leskavage]

My 2008 R350's air suspension deflates overnight, every night. This is super helpful, thank you!