Air ride issue!!
 

Hi there everyone. I took my X5 in to BMW today because they height in the front was much higher than the rear. There service manager measured the height with the X5 on and he did notice the difference. He mentioned that he is almost 100% sure it is a leaky hose on the air ride in the rear that isn't leveling out. He mentioned that this wasn't covered under CPO warranty. That bummed me out.

Have you guys ever had to fix this? He did say it was pretty easy to find the leak if it were leaking, using a spray bottle with water and soap. He also mentioned that I could pickup those hoses at any hydralic shop. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Anyone have any ideas on this. I am also looking at lowering the X. What would you guys recommend I use: Eibach or H&R?

my experience
 

Since you asked about lowering via HR or Eibach - I am guessing you only have self leveling suspension in the rear.

NOTE - the air tubes are next to the battery cables under the cargo compartment, I wouldn't go spraying any soapy water down there.

Take out the spare tire and listen / feel for air leaks after starting the truck. I would bet the actual leak is the pneumatic spring. I just replaced my spring and it's pretty easy. Search for my write up a few days ago.

RE springs. I used the Eibach springs with Dinan camber plates and can't believe how much better the truck handles.

Good luck Eric in AZ

Thanks for the info. I will look into your write up and see what I can find. Thanks again.

I was curious about the pneumatic spring. Is there one on every corner of the X? I do have the self leveling rear suspension. Thanks again.

self leveling
 

Self leveling = front coil springs and rear air springs.

Air suspension = air springs at all 4 corners. There have been a few posts regarding what was standard on the 3.0 vs 4.4 vs 4.6/8.

FYI - my Eibach kit came with 4 coil springs, so make sure you only order the 2 spring version with rear air suspension. H&R and another member here sell adjustable rear endlinks that will trick the computer into lowering the rear to match new Eibach or HR springs. I paid the dealer 75 bucks to lower mine via DIS computer.

The first pneumatic air spring that went out cost me 800 for the dealer to replace. The second one I did myself for only 300 in parts. My dealer stocks the pneumatic air springs but not any of the air tubes. According to my parts guy this gives you a pretty good idea of what commonly fails according to whats in stock.

The front spring job was much more time intensive and requires a ball joint removal tool because you will also want to replace the front control arm bushings while everything is apart. I spent about 4 hours on mine with air tools. There are several write ups on the front page of this website.

Good luck Eric in AZ

I hear of a lot of people saying that they get their self leveling Xs lowered through DIS. I never asked the previous owner and I can't track him down but I wonder if he had it lowered in the rear and just never did the front.

The other day I brought some wheels in the X home and after I loaded them and turned on the X5 I heard the compressor kick in for a bit. Any idea how I could find out if my X was lowered with DIS or otherwise? I am just trying to rule every scenerio out.

The rear is approximately 1 1/4" lower than the front.