>Selfadjust. Susp. Inactive< How freaked out should I be?
 

Had my 4.8 in for repair left motor mount. Non dealer AAA car care. Had the car about a month. It's been perfect. Airbags worked perfectly (wouldn't have bought it otherwise)... I mean I checked and recheck before buying, have monitered throughout for any sign they weren't working just right. And of course, take it in, I told them "please be mindful of the airsusp." Got my car back seemed ok. Didn't make to the first red light and the warning comes on.

Side note I needed, a hard shift 1st checked before lemon law period expired. Couldn't get an appointment at dealer. Came back motor mount which is what I thought anyway. Figured they did the leg work I'd let them fixit... Now here I'm.

Side note to side note had oil changed here about a week ago. 4.8 was on the left about an hour. Got my keys. Started, could hear aircomp. Run about 8-15sec. First time I'd heard it run at start. No issue then or since til today.

So how bad should I be freaking out right now?

Turn off the car wait 20 secs, restart and see if your reactivated. Sometimes the system sensors go nuts when the suspension hangs while on a repair lift as they are all the way stretched.

Fix it?

I did that but not for twenty sec. I've since left the car back at the shop to get checked in the mourning. Just hearing someone say so makes me feel a little better. Thanks
Fingers crossed that it's just tripped/ coded out and needs reset.

Steve at some point the air suspension system of the X5 4.8is is going to challenge your patience and determination to follow through on repairs. You should not be phased by this. Reset the vehicle and start from there and see what happens.

Thanks, I took about 3yrs to find the right 4.6/4.8 and this is the nicest one I've seen in person. And I'd like to get some hassle free time in before I get annoyed to death. I should have taken the bmw dealer. Was all working perfect as of 7:30a yesterday when I dropped off. Ahhhh!

Update:
So they've been working on my car all day, trying to calibrate the Air-ride. Front left will not "get-right" that's where the work was performed (motor mount). There keeping it over the weekend. So bummed, can't help but feel like all my careful planning and effort in getting a as close to problem-free 4.8 as possible just went out the window w/ one visit to the repair shop. On the "bright side" stopped in today to get my shoes, and the tech working on my car looked focused and through. Didn't look very happy, but he certainly was taking it out on my car. Which is nice I know I'd b pretty fustrated now. Also for the thirty seconds that I did get to drive before the dash lit up, the new motor made a clear differance in response and general feels. I'm stoked on that.

...wasn't...

Couple things

1) Find a german specific independent repair shop, one that specializes in BMW.

2) It is a 10 year old high performance luxury SUV, there will always be little problems here and there to annoy you. I highly suggest you get into doing some repair work yourself if you don't already. This thing will nickel and dime you to death.

3) I don't have air suspension, but it could possibly be a leaky bag. Perhaps when they lifted the car up the full extension was too much for the aged bag. There are viable aftermarket solutions that many members here rave about. I believe https://www.arnottindustries.com/ is the one.

4) If you go to the dealer, be prepared to bend over.

BMW dealer is fine by me. We've got two in my area.
Went with the AAA center because of a time sensitive issue, and "hey it's just a motor mount" :/

I don't mind paying dealer money for repairs. Not interested in DIY repairs, I'd rather just pay.

It's not a leaking bag or aged sensor, this car in general and the air-ride were in excellent shape/good working order. I made sure if that before I purchased, and kept an eye on it since. The is technician error plan and simple. That's the really frustrating part. I knew excatly what I was getting into when buying this car, and I'm fine with the cost/potietial for repairs. Didn't blink an eye at $700 dollars for a motor mount, day 1...

If this goes way south I'll probably delete the air-ride. Its cool but I don't use it and it's not necessary. Hopefully it won't come to that.

I'm fine with taking it the ass at the dealer. Should've went straight there pre-lubed for this motor mount job. I'd probably be out driving my car right now if I had. Like I said I couldn't get an appointment at my dealer and didn't figure a motor mount was a NASA level endeavor. In this case though, it's not me that'll be bending over. When this thing does end up at the dealer.

Thanks for the input/support ??

All this talk about sodomy has me wondering whether this thread has anything to do with recent events in your country's capital?

:) nope but good for them!

So I got the call today, "your bmw is ready to go"

It was not ready... It was sitting up way to high even from the upper susp. setting. Got in started, see that it's in the upper setting(according to the switch anyway). Ok so moment of truth hit the button to adjust down. Car starts dropping, but only the rear. According to the switch it's now in the middle position. But the front still has way to much ride height. So know it's poking like a tug boat. Amazed it hasn't thrown any codes at this point. So I hit the button again to adjust back up. Light starts flashing, comp. is running, but nothing... And still no code/warning msg. So I set out driving, basically waiting for it the code. Pull in a side lot again attempted to adjust back up(even would be better then slanted) nothing and still no codes. WTF! So it's back at the center to be programmed again. But I don't hold out hope for it being right the next time they tell me it's fixed. And the no codes thing I find really disturbing. Unless they some how manage to have it working 100% I'll be taking it to the dealer when I do get it back. Awesome!

Why are you even letting them dick with it? They clearly don't know what they are doing when it comes to this suspension.

I'm tryin' to be as patient and understanding as possible, only because I know they certainly didn't do this on purpose. I've worked side by side w/ other mechanics in the past who were in the same boat. It sucks, and I'm also waiting for them to admit they're in over their heads. Without having to have a total melt-down. It probably unavoidable at this point though.

I understand that. I just don't want to see them screw something up that you'll end up paying to have fixed somewhere else. Been there done that. I've. Learned that sometimes it's just best to cut your loses before you get sucked in any further.

Is your 4.8is a 2004? If so, it probably has the older EHC module which was updated for 2005. The old modules fail and cannot be fixed. The updated part will fix 99% of non-mechanical problems.

Leveling the system is easy with INPA or GT1. If the clowns at the dealership don't know how to do it then you are wasting your time with them. Find someone who knows what they're doing.

Same all! I've been debating on cutting my losses, this whole time.

Shoot on mine the dealer had it for over 2 weeks, then said it was ready but when i picked it up the suspension had the inactive error already illuminated:wow:. So im not convinced anyone really knows what they are doing with these suspensions

Oh and it's a 05 4.8

Okay Dude relax.
1] Your air suspension doses not work the way You are think[check your owners manual
2] the system works like this .............
The high setting is[OFF ROAD] as in if You need to be off road the X5 will maintain this height up to 30 mph and will go back to the normal [middle setting].
the low setting is for unloading or working on the car. it will re-set to the middle setting on it own as You drive up to 30mph.
So the middle setting is the NORMAL setting at any speed .You can not adjust the ride height above 30 mph.

You got to talk to Pat in Philli , it should take 15 minutes to calibrate with the right software, he did mine and I helped , took us 15 minutes..............

Agreed, this really is some aerospace engineering level shit.

Right now I'm walking the fine line between having them make this right at no cost to me and just coming out of pocket myself to get my car right.

Pats member name is 4.8isx5 he is in Allentown PA

4.8iSteve, i sent you a PM.

Ive fixed numerous trucks here in the tri-state area, or lowered them per owners request.

Dons truck who commented above ^, was in a shop for two weeks, and they got no-where with his truck, he found me through a mutual friend and i had his system running perfect for him within the hour.

I'm aware of all this, point being it doesn't work like it should... The front doesn't move at all... And the back will not adjust out of the "normal" setting. All adjustments were attempted while parked.

I'm well aware of what these a supposed to do, I tested mine multiple times before buying and showed some friends what it does after getting it. Not to mention the hundreds air equipped bmw's I've inspected while working for the auction.

Awesome, I was going to ask about a good Indy, for the time comes and it will.

Thanks

Thanks for much needed info.

Steve , all You need is a good guy to program Your X5..................just trying to help bro Pat is a PRO.................it is up to You.....?????

You can bring a 4.8IS to the water but You can't make it drink Pat..............good luck Steve 4.8

Oh don't get me wrong, I contacted pat (or rather he Pm'd me before I could) right away.

I actually heard back from the shop, while texting w/ pat.

And itsounds like they're getting there(still don't know of they be able to execute)

But they said they're gonna order a new LF level sensor. It's currently reading way outside normal range. So we'll see, it still may need pats attention before it a 100% again.

Thanks all for you help input, and I think your right, it's not a matter of broken or bad parts... But the tune(program) of the system itself. But hey if the process of installing a new level sensor and whatever programming goes along with then everybody wins kinda and if not I'll be sure and bring Pat to the attention of the shop so we can get this fixed once and for all.