X5's Right Front Air Suspension Sagging, BMW Asks $1700 to Fix

[minz-x5]

I've had some annoying issues with my X5 over the 9 months, but nothing as costly as this: a quote for $2,200 and I wanted your opinion, especially if you've dealt with air suspension issues (my 4.4i Sport has air bags on all four corners).

Basically, when I park the car, there's about a whole hand distance between the tires and the wheel arches on all four corners. Come back after an hour, and you can barely fit a finger (no pun intended) on the right front side (passenger) and maybe two on the left front side (driver), with the car obviously leaning forward and right. Strangely, there's no fault light on the dash.

I took it to BMW here in Boston and after not finding anything wrong, I asked them to check it again and magically, they discovered two issues:

1) replace shock and perform ride height adjustment (right front air shock bag leaking) cost $1,688 (I hope that includes labor…)

2) Replace both front thrust rod bushings (Found both front thrust arm bushing cracked, leaking, and/or knocking.) at $421

Do you guys have any idea whether the price is fair? I want to ask a second BMW dealer as well as an indie, but I need a rough estimate. Thanks!

[upallnight]

If you do let them perform the service ask for a kiss, because you can tell them that you like to be kissed when you are being fu*ked over.

Go to an Indie or look in Craigslist for mechanics that specialize in BMW.

One bag replacement for 1700 dollars???

[electricalserv x5]

Hey Miniz, first off the dealer is taking You for a ride, You have to find a REALLY GOOD INDY, there should be some up by You.
I have the thing happening on my 4.8is on the left side front, I have 81k on the clock.
I purchase my from arnoff industries for $500 plus shipping but $100 core return. My shop will install on thrusday for 2 hours labor $220.
They are BMW remanufacture OEM.limited life time warranty.

[Ricky Bobby]

Get a pair of Arnott replacement air struts and get an Indy to replace. I had my Indy do my front air struts with arnotts, including parts, labor and a hunter alignment afterwards and I paid 1150.

[Ricky Bobby]

Do them in pairs because the other one isn't far behind

[minz-x5]

Sent a few emails to indies, for the right front bag I'm getting parts and labor estimates from $830 to $1,000, and for the two front thrust arm rod bushings $550 to $700 (that's more than the dealer actually).

Does anyone know if the BMW CCA membership card gets you any discounts on parts and/or labor in this case at participating dealers/indies - I haven't used it yet?

And I still have to replace the front brake pads + rotors, mechatronics sleeve / Steering + Brake Fluids (BMW quote for all three $1,600ish) plus the 60k mile inspection (I have 62k miles and one yellow bar left on the dash). Talk about a headache...

[pnoyako85]

Originally Posted by minz-x5

Sent a few emails to indies, for the right front bag I'm getting parts and labor estimates from $830 to $1,000, and for the two front thrust arm rod bushings $550 to $700 (that's more than the dealer actually).

Does anyone know if the BMW CCA membership card gets you any discounts on parts and/or labor in this case at participating dealers/indies - I haven't used it yet?

And I still have to replace the front brake pads + rotors, mechatronics sleeve / Steering + Brake Fluids (BMW quote for all three $1,600ish) plus the 60k mile inspection (I have 62k miles and one yellow bar left on the dash). Talk about a headache...

i Know 4.8X5 maybe Able to beat that Price....hold on let me tell him to chime in....as he did My Front and Rear Arms,suspension etc.....

[Ricky Bobby]

No offense but if you waste time pussyfooting around you're only going to spend more money in the long run.

The bags are leaking and its overworking the compressor while you are deciding what to do. Either find a dedicated, competent indy who is proficient in BMW repair in your area or be prepared to pay a dealership's labor charges, they will charge you book time and not the actual time for the repair, plus you are paying dealer retail on parts.

Arnott air struts are $370 apiece after core return, and you can get new thrust arms that are Meyle HD for $115 apiece. Then you just have labor to R&R new struts and thrust arms, I'm surprised the dealer won't charge for alignment as I would think an alignment should be performed after the repair. You WILL need DIS or similar BMW software to reset the SLS fault after replacing the struts.

I don't chime in with rough estimates on dealer prices, you are going to get a similar bill from any BMW dealer in the area (maybe a discount on parts with CCA but not labor) because they are all charging the same book time for the job.

My advice is figure it out before you have to repair the compressor or replace it. A new one is $520 from Arnott, and please replace both front air struts or you'll be whining in another few months about how you can't afford all the problems of the X5 and have to replace the other side for another $2k raping at the dealership.

[4.8isX5]

Get the parts and I can do the work for you for less then dealer/indy. Recommended to replace in pairs so you'd need to provide the thrust arms and 2 arnott struts.

I have a few members on here who can vouch for me. Let me know.

[minz-x5]

#Rick Bobby - I'm not pussyfooting around - I detected the problem and took the car to the dealer (it's still there actually) to see what's wrong and not.

I'm trying to get an idea of the costs - and you'll probably agree that, if a BMW dealer charges me $2,200 all-in minus BMW CCA 15% discount on parts (around $200 from what I was told) and an indie wants $1,700 plus tax, then the answer is simple: OFC I'll go to the dealer. If an indie wants $1,300, well, that's another story.

And just to make another point, a third BMW indie gave me an estimate of $2,123 (see attached image below) - that matches the BMW dealer... So, as you can see, it's not all black and white, and doing your homework is necessary.

Plus, sharing these estimates for common problems with other members on this forum, is something I believe is beneficial to all.