How do I get my X5 fixed without paying an arm and a leg?

[Ambrosius]

OK guys I took my car into the dealership because I was getting the self leveling suspension inactive message and because the car was leaning towards the front passenger side.

I told the dealership that I wanted my car fix and I was the lopsidedness to be resolved. They told me that they weren't getting any signal from the the left level sensor so they replaced it. The problem seemed to have been fixed, but a week later and $252.41 later the problem returned. I took it back to the dealership and they kept it for a week. They said that they weren't getting any computer errors and could not duplicate the lopsidedness at the dealership so I figured it fixed itself so I brought it home. I parked it in the garage for the night and the next morning, yup you guessed it, the driver side front was at the lowest setting and the car was leaning.

When I turned the car on, it tried to level itself, but the passenger side was still about 1/2" lower than the driverside.

One interesting fact is that I have one of the X5s that you can manual lower or raise the suspension. Just for the fun of it, I parked the car in the garage, raised the suspension and left it over night. The car never dropped, but when I leave it in the regular driving height, it drops every evening.

I called the dealership back and told them that problem persisted. They said that what they can do now is replace the "module" not sure what they mean by this, but they said that this might fix the problem. I asked them if it does not fix the problem can I get my money back or apply the funds towards the next fix that may actually fix the problem. They said no, that they would have to just keep doing it by trial an error until the problem is fix and in the mean while I am paying to replace components that are not contributing to the problem.

Anything I can do?

Thank you.

[Quicksilver]

Change dealers. Fixing vehicles especially BMW's should not be repaired by trial an error. An estimate should be give, problem fixed.......Done

Originally Posted by Ambrosius

OK guys I took my car into the dealership because I was getting the self leveling suspension inactive message and because the car was leaning towards the front passenger side.

I told the dealership that I wanted my car fix and I was the lopsidedness to be resolved. They told me that they weren't getting any signal from the the left level sensor so they replaced it. The problem seemed to have been fixed, but a week later and $252.41 later the problem returned. I took it back to the dealership and they kept it for a week. They said that they weren't getting any computer errors and could not duplicate the lopsidedness at the dealership so I figured it fixed itself so I brought it home. I parked it in the garage for the night and the next morning, yup you guessed it, the driver side front was at the lowest setting and the car was leaning.

When I turned the car on, it tried to level itself, but the passenger side was still about 1/2" lower than the driverside.

One interesting fact is that I have one of the X5s that you can manual lower or raise the suspension. Just for the fun of it, I parked the car in the garage, raised the suspension and left it over night. The car never dropped, but when I leave it in the regular driving height, it drops every evening.

I called the dealership back and told them that problem persisted. They said that what they can do now is replace the "module" not sure what they mean by this, but they said that this might fix the problem. I asked them if it does not fix the problem can I get my money back or apply the funds towards the next fix that may actually fix the problem. They said no, that they would have to just keep doing it by trial an error until the problem is fix and in the mean while I am paying to replace components that are not contributing to the problem.

Anything I can do?

Thank you.

[swissfrank]

Originally Posted by Ambrosius

Anything I can do?

RUN far, far away from the dealership and fast! I had this expeience with my XJR, took it to Jaguar and they wanted me to spend big money and replace nearly everything. Turned out to be a $0.20 part vs the $14,000+ they wanted me to spend.

Take it to someone that can properly diagnose your vehicle. To me it sounds like it would be more a leaky air shock than the suspension module which seems to be working otherwise...