The AFS light started to blink today. Car is completely rust free and was in FL most of its life. I did a quick search on here, ran the icarsoft scanner it came up with code B2416. Went to to the rear height control sensor. Opened it up and it looked pristine. all the coil springs were shiny gold with no evidence of rust at all. I still Cleaned the contacts and put everything back together. Damn light is still blinking. Disconnected the battery waited 30 mins reconnected and its still blinking .

What else could this be? Car has 80K on it and is otherwise perfect.

 

Here are the troubleshooting pages from the repair manual. Hope they are helpful.

 

Thank you. I looked at those and seems a little too complicated for my simple brain. Funny thing is as it got dark just now I went out and drove around a bit. The AFS light is still blinking but the healdlights adjust up and down on startup and adjust on driving just like before. The headlights are not pointed up or down and seem to be at the same level they always were.

I really dont know what to make of the blinking AFS lights. I surely dont want to go fixing what is not broken. I may just watch it for now unless anyone has any other suggestions?

 

There's a AFS sensor at the driver's side front wheel as well.

 

What's so difficult about the info posted by rkw77080 ? It tells you exactly what to test for , all you need is a multimeter. i think access to this kind of information is amazing .

 

I agree its great info. It looks a little intimidating at first glance but I suppose I can take apart both sensors and check the voltage/Ohms across the connectors and the sensor to try and figure out where the problem is. My next step is take apart the front sensor to see if thats not corroded although its unlikely from what Ive read so far. I have seen youtube videos where both sensors looked fine inside however the problem was fixed by replacing them with junkyard finds. Will keep this post updated

 

Update: Weather warmed up and the light stopped blinking on its own!

 

It might not be over. I went thru two of these, once the light starts blinking mine cam back, but it was from rust and the boot breaks.

 

yea Im gonna take a look at the front sensor next. My adventure into the rear sensor left me with a broken lock nut on the rear wheel which I am now dealing with. Sometimes its better to just leave things alone!

 

Yup just as was predicted here the AFS started to flash again.

took apart the front sensor this time only to find that I can not open it. The screws do not seem to hold it closed and the plastic cover encases the sensor body.





anyone know how to open this front sensor?

 

Is this of any help?

 

I am happy to report I fixed my blinking AFS light.

First I took apart the driver rear sensor. opened up the sensor housing to take a look at the springs inside and all three springs were in pristine condition and corrosion free. The brackets were in good shape and nothing seemed to be broken. Although the rear sensor failing is the most common I proceeded to evaluate the front sensor. Unfortunately the front sensor cannot be opened like the rear sensor so I was not able to take a look at the springs inside. I ordered a used RIGHT SIDED front sensor off a 2003 presumably UL LS that has the ride control sensors on all sides. I swapped the sensor from that into my front drivers side but this still did not cure the blinking light. A right side front sensor can easily be placed in the left front sensor bracket.

Frustrated, I was about to just take out the fuse for the whole AFS system however I kind of like the lights going up and down on start up and as I’m going down A hilly road or turning the corner.

In my pursuit for perfection I bit the bullet and ordered the rear sensor from Dubai for $215 brand new. It arrived Looking like this and I just finished installing it. I am happy to report that the AFS light has stopped blinking even though I have a used right front sensor from a UL in the left front sensor housing of my ML!



The moral of the story is. If your AFS is blinking It is most likely your rear sensor. Even though the sensor looks to be in good shape it probably has failed bearings internally. The front sensors seem to be interchangeable left to right between the ML and UL.

The rear sensor costs half as much if you order it from the UAE on ebay: see above pic

Thank you and I hope this helps the next person who is struggling with the blinking AFS light and wants to keep the system operational