Seat sensor Pad replacement 2001 E55
I replaced my sensor pad today and this thread was most helpful. My car has a pneumatic seat and this was not really addressed. I could not easily remove the air tubing and was afraid to force the angled connector from its attachment at the seat. I made a small cut in the tubing and slid it off leaving the connecto in place. The control box for the pneumatic seat is rivetted to the frame. Rather than drill out the rivets, I bent it out enough to access the seat cover attachement, When I elevated the leather, there were more layers of material than shown in this post in order to encase the air bladder in the seat bottom. I wound up unhooking the seat cover from the clips and sliding the old sensor out from between the padding and the cover. It would not fold back all the way as shown in the photos posted here. I was able to slide it in between & re-hook the cover. Re-assembled in reverse order. The next problem was hooking back up the air tube to the angled gray connector. It would not "slide" back on. I tried to heat it with a flame and got it to go baack on partially. It Leaked. I wound up using a hemostat (small surgical clamp) inside the opening of the tube and spread while applying a flame from a lighter. This softened the tubing and allowed it to open enough to immedialtly slide it back over the connector where it contracted and sealed (thank goodness). There may be a better way. If somone knows for sure how to disconnect the tubing it might help the next guy with avoiding the headache and possible leak. I was more afraid of damaging the connector and really being stuck. The SRS light is off and no leaks. I hope this helps some others to avoid the $700 the Stealership wanted.
I replaced my sensor pad today and this thread was most helpful. My car has a pneumatic seat and this was not really addressed. I could not easily remove the air tubing and was afraid to force the angled connector from its attachment at the seat. I made a small cut in the tubing and slid it off leaving the connecto in place. The control box for the pneumatic seat is rivetted to the frame. Rather than drill out the rivets, I bent it out enough to access the seat cover attachement, When I elevated the leather, there were more layers of material than shown in this post in order to encase the air bladder in the seat bottom. I wound up unhooking the seat cover from the clips and sliding the old sensor out from between the padding and the cover. It would not fold back all the way as shown in the photos posted here. I was able to slide it in between & re-hook the cover. Re-assembled in reverse order. The next problem was hooking back up the air tube to the angled gray connector. It would not "slide" back on. I tried to heat it with a flame and got it to go baack on partially. It Leaked. I wound up using a hemostat (small surgical clamp) inside the opening of the tube and spread while applying a flame from a lighter. This softened the tubing and allowed it to open enough to immedialtly slide it back over the connector where it contracted and sealed (thank goodness). There may be a better way. If somone knows for sure how to disconnect the tubing it might help the next guy with avoiding the headache and possible leak. I was more afraid of damaging the connector and really being stuck. The SRS light is off and no leaks. I hope this helps some others to avoid the $700 the Stealership wanted.
