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.

[ard]

Bunch of WAGs...

Did you ask precisely WHY the one guy said 'height sensor"? I wonder if he found a code that said, essentially, "height sensor error" which is what you might get when the one side is at a different height that the other or different from expected. Id discount this diagnosis on that basis.

Recognize that the system is a pump, hoses, air bladder. It is a SEALED SYSTEM. You could have a pump failure in that the check valve in the pump lets air leak out when the pump turns off. Or a hose issue or a bag issue.

Not sure of access but very soapy water sprayed onto the components should show bubbles if there is an air leak...

What I dont know is is this a 'single channel' system or are both bladders fed independently? If they share the same air source, bit only one side drops, that points to something on that side. If one pump feeds each bladder, then it could still be a probelm at the pump.

HTH, Ive nver worked on one...

A

[hbrezzi]

Hi Ard,

Actually yes, one side dropped lower than the other... maybe an inch lower or so.

I understan it's a "single channel" as there is only one pump and both bags are fed simultaneously.

I like the "check valve" possibility. Could hard hitting the hole have damaged the check valve in the pump by sending extremely high air pressure back to it?

I will do the soap test...

Any advice on the coil spring conversion kit? Cheapest solution yet

BMW x5 x6 E70 E71 E72 Rear Suspension Air Bag to Coil Spring Conversion Kit | eBay

[X5ists]

Originally Posted by 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.

Simple DIY repair and save $$$

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...nt-x5-e70.html