4.8is Air suspension problem... maybe leak? Please help!
 

Hey guys,

For the past 5 days, every morning I have walked to my X5 and the driver's front corner has been much, much lower than the rest of the car. As soon as I open the door, the shock fills up with air (can hear the air compressor working) and it fills up. From then on, it's fine. The air suspension works and easily goes to each of the three levels. Do I have a small leak? I tried searching but it seemed like no one had the same issue....

Thanks in advance:beerchug:

Most likely a small leak.

I bought an Arnott replacement for my right front and the air bag looks to be of a better quality than OEM. The shock itself is a rebuild of OEM.

When I first bought our 4.8is, I thought it was normal because for our S-class, the car would go into "sleep" mode where the car intentionally releases some air on all four corners. I like this algorithm better than X5's where the X5 monitors the ride height on all 4's every six hours.

what did u search? almost everyone with a 4.8is has had issues with the the front airbags. Spray water when they are filled up and u will see a bunch of pin hole leaks. Go with those replacements they are half the price. If i new that when i had mine done I would have saved a pretty penny.

I determined that there was a leak tonight..... I sprayed soapy water and saw some bubbles coming from the front of the strut.

If I get the arnott, will I have to replace both fronts or just the one that is leaking?

Also, is the ride any different?

For my Arnott, we don't feel a difference in ride and I just changed the bad one, not both.

For the price of the replacements u might as well do both.

Right after I pulled out of the dealership, I noticed a rumble. Took her back and they mounted two new Michelins in the front. They must install in pairs: policy. A few days later, I noticed an unloaded rumble. Yup. Back to the dealership. They found the right front air shock was defective. They replaced it. Then the fun began. Every day the height was different especially in the right rear (up by three inches). Back to the dealership. They had two different techs come out. Replaced all the electronics.

Turns out, you must replace both front or rear shocks in pairs. Got a new left front air shock and we've been good for a month now.

I have the same leak in the front left :( Par for the course I guess. Time to get it fixed with the cheaper refurbs I guess....time to start searching for a good shop in central NJ.

That doesn't make sense. They probably did not do ride height calibration after replacing the broken strut.

You can just replace one. Think of any reason why one can NOT just replace the broken strut.