2008 X5 rear air suspension / SLS issue

[hbrezzi]

Hello guys,

I urgently need some help here...

My wife's car has the 3rd row seat option with rear self leveling. Driving on the "highway" here in Panama with the car LOADED to the max, we hit a hole and got a "flat tire" warning... Stopped and there was no flat tire but the car was feeling weird... After a few miles got the "Self leveling suspension inactive" message and that was the end of our journey. The rear started jumping very badly. We stopped, unloaded the car and the problem seemed solved...

For the next couple of weeks the car would drop occasionally and then it would level itself again. The SLS warning message would come and go...

Now the pump has become very noisy and it just can't level the car anymore.

One local mecanic says it's the height sensor, another, after removing the pump and allegedly finding water in it says it's the pump. Neither one thinks it's an air bag issue as no perceptible air leak can be heard.

This is what I tried: I raised the rear myself and managed to get the bags full and the vehicle up to regular ride height... Drove it for a couple of miles and parked it. It started slowly dropping again and then by the next day it was flat again (No audible air leak either).

By how it all happened I still think it's a bag.......

If its not a bag, couldn't it be a hose leak?

What other troubleshooting can I do before spending $$$ on parts?

Should I just buy a coil conversion kit and forget rear air suspension????

THANKS! Any help will be greatly appreciated as I will try to get the parts shipped from the U.S.