uneven rear height

[rickyr3857]

I am not aware of the DIY process to check. Have you just started to notice this problem? Has the problem gotten worse? Have you seen the car come back to a more normal height?

Suspension probelms seem to be VERY common.

[hotshark]

and how was the steering wheel when you were driving straight ? turned to the left /right?

[stansman]

I'm guessing it's likely that you have a bad sensor or leveling controller. If it was just a matter of one of the air springs being leaky then it should level out when you are driving the car.

I'm having a similar issue with the fronts on my 4.8is. All over the place. Sometimes fine, sometimes right is way high and left is way low. Took it in to the dealer and they said there was a self leveling error. They cleared the codes, saying that it can sometimes be caused by parking on an irregular surface, but 95% likely it's a bad controller. Drove it more and the problem persists. I'm waiting till the service light comes on then I'll take it in and have them replace the controller at the same time.

I also get the low tire pressure warning. This is because these cars don't actually have TPMS. It uses the self leveling sensors for this functionality. Logic being, if the car isn't level, then a tire must be low, right? Well...apparently not.

[rickyr3857]

I never really accredited any steering issues to the suspension- although that could be entirely possible. In Kansas the potholes that we have resemble landmines and the road ways might as well not even be paved that is what I attributed my steering related pull to..but I think that could have been entirely possible that the two were related. Is this a major pull that your car is experiencing?

The sport package on the 4.4i 2002 gives the rear tires a very odd camber, and that could WILL cause uneven wear on your tires and possible weird pull? I would draw.

How many miles on your x?

[rickyr3857]

Originally Posted by stansman

I'm guessing it's likely that you have a bad sensor or leveling controller. If it was just a matter of one of the air springs being leaky then it should level out when you are driving the car.

I'm having a similar issue with the fronts on my 4.8is. All over the place. Sometimes fine, sometimes right is way high and left is way low. Took it in to the dealer and they said there was a self leveling error. They cleared the codes, saying that it can sometimes be caused by parking on an irregular surface, but 95% likely it's a bad controller. Drove it more and the problem persists. I'm waiting till the service light comes on then I'll take it in and have them replace the controller at the same time.

I also get the low tire pressure warning. This is because these cars don't actually have TPMS. It uses the self leveling sensors for this functionality. Logic being, if the car isn't level, then a tire must be low, right? Well...apparently not.

The car would not level out when being driven if it had a bad air spring, if the air spring does not inflate..it does not inflate. Driving does not have anything to do with that. Also I would like to add that the 2002 4.4i Does not have front Self Leveling, only rear.

[hotshark]

82000 mi

[hotshark]

only rear

[hotshark]

actualy my car doesnt pull to the right or left ,the steering wheel stays slighty turn to the right but i drive straight

[jek889]

Originally Posted by stansman

I'm guessing it's likely that you have a bad sensor or leveling controller. If it was just a matter of one of the air springs being leaky then it should level out when you are driving the car.

I'm having a similar issue with the fronts on my 4.8is. All over the place. Sometimes fine, sometimes right is way high and left is way low. Took it in to the dealer and they said there was a self leveling error. They cleared the codes, saying that it can sometimes be caused by parking on an irregular surface, but 95% likely it's a bad controller. Drove it more and the problem persists. I'm waiting till the service light comes on then I'll take it in and have them replace the controller at the same time.

I also get the low tire pressure warning. This is because these cars don't actually have TPMS. It uses the self leveling sensors for this functionality. Logic being, if the car isn't level, then a tire must be low, right? Well...apparently not.

Had the same problem with my 4.8. Have your front stuts and air springs checked for small leaks (a spray bottle w/soapy water sprayed on the rubber air bag will show the air leak like foamy little bubbles). You can do this test easily yourself in a few minutes. The leaky air spring is a very common problem and caused the front to sometimes be level when it was fully inflated, and then collapse over time as the air slowly leaked out. It ruined the struts and height conrol module too. Also causes the TPM to trip for some reason. In fact after repairing the air springs, the TIS for the job says to reinitiate the TPMS after the air spring is replaced. Who knows how the 2 systems are related, but they apparently work together with the ABS sensors to detect flats. Most 4.8s have 4 corner air suspension, and it was optional on the other x5 models. If you have the ride height adjustment controller on your dash, then you have the full air suspension system. I'm checking my rear air springs next as they probably have leaks too. I was told by me tech that bad height-level sensors usually throw a fault code, and can be read by the diagnostic computer, so if that is the real problem, they should be able to find it.

[sedate_driver]

Originally Posted by jek889

Had the same problem with my 4.8. Have your front stuts and air springs checked for small leaks (a spray bottle w/soapy water sprayed on the rubber air bag will show the air leak like foamy little bubbles). You can do this test easily yourself in a few minutes. The leaky air spring is a very common problem and caused the front to sometimes be level when it was fully inflated, and then collapse over time as the air slowly leaked out. It ruined the struts and height conrol module too. Also causes the TPM to trip for some reason. In fact after repairing the air springs, the TIS for the job says to reinitiate the TPMS after the air spring is replaced. Who knows how the 2 systems are related, but they apparently work together with the ABS sensors to detect flats. Most 4.8s have 4 corner air suspension, and it was optional on the other x5 models. If you have the ride height adjustment controller on your dash, then you have the full air suspension system. I'm checking my rear air springs next as they probably have leaks too. I was told by me tech that bad height-level sensors usually throw a fault code, and can be read by the diagnostic computer, so if that is the real problem, they should be able to find it.

I read somewhere the e38, e39, e46 and e53 all share many common electrical components including the TPMS. I know the e39 counts tire rotation to monitor tire pressure so, over time as the tires wear, you'd need to reset it. I would imagine any suspension related problem could affect this by redistributing loads amongst the wheels. Since the ABS system also senses tire rotation, I would suspect it could also be affected. Maybe when I'm feeling more energetic I'll read the Bentley manual to see if it could shed more light on this.