Fix a Leaking Side Bolster Air Bladder - S550 Vlog #4

[@dutchdekkers4071]

Excellent video, my friend. I love the relaxedness and clarity.

[@jaywilliams3841]

Your a god. Why can't you of made these 4 years ago. I spent literally 12k on repairs not including 6.7k on replacing the transmission. Amazing car but super expensive. Thanks bro

[@DanielBenzs65AMG]

I just had to buy one seat bolster and 2 seat control modules to get my massage seats up and running in my s65, thanks for the video, looks easy enough but I’m still going to have a pro do it for me

[@prap20]

Thanks for sharing. I have the same problem and will try to fix

[@maciekm9]

I love this video. No ducks were harmed in the making of this video :D

[@sfneurosurgeon]

Good video. Anything operating on air is an Achilles heel on all S-Classes. My first S, a w116 with its pneumatic door locks had air lines that leaked over time. All three airmatic struts on my w221 with 250k miles have now been replaced along with the air compressor. In spite of these issues the w221 is such a great car to daily drive. Even better than the w222 I used to own.

[@mslawny5314]

Great video! How did you manage to detach the top of the felt strip from the frame? I've tried it, but failed as there was soo little room for my fingers that I couldn't grab the felt properly.

[@SamYouTube520]

Great video. The material of the bladder is TPU and uses high frequency welding to weld the seams. I have welding machines and if someone can send me the dimensions of the bladder then I would like to make some replacement bladder available.

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Cool idea! If you're serious, a better resource would be to post this request at MBWorld or Benzworld forums. A lot of dedicated people there would be interested in helping.

[@SamYouTube520]

@@letsdailydriveans5507 I tried the facebook group but nobody seem to be interested sending me the dimensions or actual parts. I’ll try MBWorld or Benzworld. Thanks!

[@serch97]

Hi samuel. I am looking for the bladder. Is there a way for me to contact you??

[@roachwrc1620]

Great job!

[@AveryLevitt]

Hey great video, not much content on the seats.. Got a bit of an opposite problem: One of the lumbar air bladders inflates, but won't deflate (so now there's like a bump in the seat). Is there an easy way to disconnect those hoses so I can at least get the air out to make the seat more comfortable? Any tips? Appreciate any help.

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

It won't deflate? Will other air bags deflate? Are you sure it's not the seat's lumbar settings? The only reason I ask is that I think all the air bladders exhaust through one port in the manifold, I can't think of a reason that a single air bladder would stay inflated, unless it was programmed to. Regardless, if you take the seat back off you'll have decent access to the valve manifold and all the tubes going to the bladders. but double check your seat's lumbar settings to make sure it's not just programmed to be uncomfortable haha

[@jorgemojarro9032]

There’s is a pump and valve that you can disconnect lines from and release air out of system. Pump is in the truck

[@FatihAslan-cf1pz]

Hello sir, I have a question. For me, the shoulder area is completely inflated and I cannot change it with the command. is there a way to release all the pressure and air? the chair is definitely not comfortable.

[@robinbloemberg5894]

If you have a W221 as in the video (facelift model / MOPF / MY2010 onwards) you can pull the 7 colored pneumatic hoses on the control module one by one and see which one releases the air from the shoulder bladder. If you leave that one off, the control module will deactivate the shoulder bladder because it thinks it's leaking. Additionally, you can set the shoulder bladder inflation to 0 in Comand to avoid it from inflating again. Root cause: the piezo-electric valve that controls the shoulder bladder is defective. in the MOPF they are located inside the control module. In the earlier W221 models they were integrated in the mat with the bladders.

[@bhasins]

Hi, Do you know if the air bladders work off of the the same air pump that controls the headrests in the back seat? My front seat lumbar bladders have never worked and recently, I am unable to get the back headrests to go down. I think they are both working from the same air pump. Any help is appreciated.

[@CORZER0]

Thanks for the vid. I'm looking for info on how to remove the plastic side cover under the seat lower without breaking it. Any ideas? I have it pried apart where it curves around and meets the front trim cover (or stow box, if so equipped) but I can't see how to get the cover off at the rear.

[@breathtimebreath4934]

Thank you 🙏!!!!! The lower back lumbar on the drivers side fills up and obviously has a hole and deflates. 🤦‍♂️ - when I try to use the seat settings on the front display it will go back to 0? I purchased my 2011 S550 42k 1 owner a year ago- from a reputable Mercedes Dealership I think I probably got screwed- there’s a slight pull to the right when driving and for some reason the ride is not very comfortable? I would be grateful for any advice you could give me 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Sounds like there's a hole in the lumbar bladder. Unfortunately, I think those bladders are buried in the seat, it's a bit of a pain to get them out. You have to take off the headrest and completely remove the seat leather. Regarding the ride, mine was harsh too when I was on 20" rims. I switched to 18" rims and they're much better.

[@breathtimebreath4934]

@@letsdailydriveans5507 thank you kindly 🙏

[@paulk9541]

Great vlog you have going! But did have a question. Do you think if one seat doesn’t work then the other front seat won’t work either?

[@natef410]

Paul Khim that is correct. The air pump stops working due to no pressure build up

[@garrettdodson6110]

How well has the glue held up over the past year??? Mine just stopped working, well it works just leaks down.

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Still working fine! not single issue

[@illstplaya]

Does anyone know how to remove the plastic base on the seat? I have a big leak from the supply line but I can’t access it without removing the plastic trim

[@dannyd.8753]

Is the glued leak still fixed or did it fail again?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Glue held!

[@danieln7172]

Any way to patch air blatter for front left shock to get home

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Not a chance... pressure is way too high. Try an Arnott replacement strut, they're good value.

[@francanl]

hey please give us link where did you buy spare bladder

[@marekku]

Awesome tutorial. Any reasons why you did not attempt to remove the entire seat cover to get easier access? I am trying to do this in order to address the central bladder which (for some odd reason) is stuck inflated, making the ride SUPER uncomfortable... Is it even doable without removing the entire seat off the car? I would appreciate your opinion. Thanks!

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

I got stuck at the headrests and decided it wasn't worth the effort. In the long run, it probably would have been the easier way to go, but spring clips are annoying ;)

[@marekku]

@@letsdailydriveans5507 I expected these clips to be more "dangerous", but removing them turned out really easy. From there all you need is to disconnect the rail from plastic sockets at the bottom and unplug the sensor (SRS airbag error will show up, but it is not permanent and you don't need to do anything once you plug it back in). But headrest is nothing when you compare it to the metal clips holding the seat cover to the frame (there are two - right in the middle height of the seat), these took me a while to sort out. All in all it's a fairly easy and surprisingly rewarding job. I did all that just to find out that my bladder was cracked at the inlet... no glue could repair this, sadly... I'll need a new one somehow. And the worst part is I don't see an easy way to reconnect/disconnect these damn pipes...

[@mslawny5314]

​@@marekku to remove the seat cover, did you have to remove the side airbag, or is there a way around that? From what I know, the airbag is riveted to the seat frame, so it may be a pain in the a.. to remove it. Thanks

[@marekku]

@@mslawny5314 no, airbags stay attached to the frame. It’s w221 s class. I know cl has slightly different seat architecture, but on S it’s fairly easy to remove the whole top side. Bottom part is more difficult and I didn’t manage to get it removed. But there is a way to access bottom bladders without removing it.

[@mslawny5314]

@@marekku in my w221 the airbag is surrounded by a sleeve made of white fabric (same as here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4qzoq2QgcujkNE ). It seems like you can't remove the whole seat cover without having to cut that fabric or removing the airbag. Am I wrong? I'm trying to do the same rapair as the one on the video, but unfortunately I need to remove the seat cover as otherwise I'm not able to detach the upper part of the felt strip (not enough space to grab it and stretch it far enough to release it from the metal tab) :(

[@gusf8451]

I have the same year S63 my seat stopped working all of the sudden, I'm suspecting it's control module , is it that big box with all the hoses coming out of it in the back ? thanks. I also think I have a bleeding bladder it was kinda acting and maybe it's the reason the module went out.

[@gusf8451]

Now that I'm doing more research I think there should be a seat adjustment unit maybe under the seat ? do you know anything about that ? thanks

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

@@gusf8451 Yeah, there's a control computer for each seat. if nothing works on the seat, but the other seat works fine, then check that out. I'd grab an iCarSoft scanner for $200 and it will be able to scan your seat module for fault codes. The big box in the seat back is just a bunch of valves, I think the module you want is under the seat. But makes sure the other seat works fine first... computers don't tend to die randomly, particularly an interior one.

[@gusf8451]

@@letsdailydriveans5507 the other seat works just fine , in fact I can even control the other seat (passenger) from my door panel , also in the command center everything work on the other seat bolster massage corner turning support etc, nothing works on the driver seat, I do have an appointment wednesday with a local mechanic as couldn't access the bottom part of the seat unlike the S500 which have a stowaway compartment in the bottom mine just has a plastic cover and I couldn't figure out how to remove it to take a look under . :( thanks for the reply anyway

[@fahad52985]

Where is vlog #5 bro

[@brockhu302]

HI,I have a 2006 cl550 and its shoulder air bladders of driver seat are much harder than the passenger seat, then I check the command center which shows that both seats' shoulder air bladders pressure are 0.That really makes me uncomfortable while driving.Could you please teach me how to take out the shoulder air bladders?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

If you remove the seat back and disconnect the air line for the shoulder seat bladder, that should do the trick. I don't know which air line goes to that bladder though, so you'll need to do a bit of trial and error.

[@MiamiNight01]

My seat is not the multicontour version ,just the base version.My lumbar suppport is not working on both sides! Any advice where to start? 08 w221. Thank you

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

Do you hear air escaping? If so, there's a leak. If you don't hear any air, then the bladders are probably fine. Second Q: can you adjust the lumbar from the COMAND display or does the screen keep resetting the lumbar adjustment to 0? Do the seats have any other pneumatic parts? You might want to check out the air pump located in the bottom front of the trunk, it could have died.

[@MiamiNight01]

@@letsdailydriveans5507 Thanks for getting me back!I appreciate it! I don't hear air escaping or any pump motor !I can adjust the lumbar from the command,,if I set to 6 (for example)then It stays at 6! The seats don't have any other pneumatic parts,just the lumbar.I coulnd't find the air pump,mine is a European model s320 cdi.Different location maybe? Should I check any other parts?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

@@MiamiNight01 Hmm, that's a tougher problem to pin down then. Your pump could have died, or the valves in the seat back that route their air could not be working. Or a fuse could be out. Your best bet would probably be scanning the car with a Mercedes specific scanner. iCarSoft makes one for Mercedes for about $120 which is pretty nice, otherwise a MB dealer will charge you $100 to scan the car and they can probably tell you exactly what's wrong. This link may also be helpful: w220.ee/Front_seats#Lumbar_support

[@darbycarpenter3032]

Could you tell me the the steps to inflate and deflate the bladder through the command center. Thank you.

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

I just adjusted the multi contour seat like normal through COMAND. There's nothing special you do.

[@Shreteh1978]

Thank you for the vedio ,but how can I confirm the leak location is it possible to pin point where the leak is?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

If it's a big leak, the car will shut down the air bladder after a few failed attempts to inflate it. You'll notice this when you try to adjust the multicountour controls in COMAND and the values instantly drop to zero whenever you try to change them. Other than that, the only way to pinpoint it (short of diagnostic computers) is to play with the controls and listen for a leak.

[@jamalabdullah2474]

Let's Daily Drive an S550 Hi ,just wanted to update my s550 issue with the massage seats , I purchased a used pump on EBay and installed it massage seats work perfect.

[@jamalabdullah2474]

Air was leaking from vent hose on pump

[@joseduranjr3152]

What year of car did you work on?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

2011

[@saykiss1]

how did you remove the headrest..

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

I didn't, but removing the headrest isn't too difficult if you need to.

[@thelandlord8474]

I have a 2009 s550 my messager don't work

[@FMSFMS-q4z]

Thx thx

[@mikecruz7521]

Can anyone tell me where the pump is located?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

The pump for the seats? It's between the trunk and the rear seats. You'll need to remove the trunk lining and it's all the way at the front of the trunk, below the floor.

[@sourabhsangale3952]

What is the life of the bladder ?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

My repair is still holding up, as of 6 months or so.

[@sourabhsangale3952]

Let's Daily Drive an S550 is this a common failure sir ?

[@letsdailydriveans5507]

@@sourabhsangale3952 it's probably not one of the more common failures. I was surprised it failed at only 30k miles, but the prior owner was a pretty big guy, so maybe that was it. I would expect them to last 150k miles +

[@sourabhsangale3952]

Let's Daily Drive an S550 thanks a lot sir , please post more videos on repairs . I am planning to buy used one so need some knowledge.