2008 E70 4.8 - Level Control Malfunction
 

Last night when I parked my X5, I thought the left rear tire had a leak - I could hear a slow hissing sound, but couldn't see or feel any leak. So, I left it until morning expecting I would wake up to a low tire pressure warning. Instead, I found the vehicle leaning heavily to the left side and no tire pressure indication. I started the SAV and drove it down the driveway and back, expecting it to level itself. Instead, I received the "Level Control Malfunction" warning.

Here are my questions:

1. I could not hear the compressors running at all - does anyone know if the compressors are disabled when there are malfunctions in the system?
   
2. With the hissing sound I heard, I was thinking I must have a failed air spring, or perhaps a plumbing leak. However, I read elsewhere this situation is often caused by a failed ride height sensor on the low side. Can anyone confirm this?

In short, I'm looking for help to troubleshoot the system to identify the failure. If there is anyone out there with experience with this system, I'd really appreciate some guidance. This system is full of expensive parts - expensive enough I'm not really interested in shotgunning parts at the thing hoping something will result in a fix.

Thanks for any ideas!

Justin

Maybe u got a small leak in one of the airbags

If you heard hissing I would assume a leak as well.

The compressor is pretty quiet. You really have to listen for it, better chance of hearing it outside the vehicle.

If it's quiet you should have no problem hearing the compressor run. The most common cause of what you describe is leaking air bags. You can get lifetime warranty OEM replacements from Arnott and replace both in about an hour and a half. Arnott does price match with Amazon (hint).

Thanks guys! I have ordered the Arnot springs and will see how it goes. I may not get a chance to put them in until next week, but will definitely report back then.

You should've had a shop reset the codes. Once it's reset the car should automatically self level again, you'll hear the compressor run and the bags rise. Then you'd know if it's a bag issue or compressor etc. when the suspension goes down it's a "safety mode" for the air system. Shuts off the compressor so it doesn't get burn out from continually running to fill a leak. Even after you put in the bags you'll need to do a reset.


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Im not sure ive read that before...Ive commonly heard that a leaking airbag- if ignored- may lead to compressor brun out. But you say they have a self protection mode?

I wonder if this 'mode' requires a certain sized leak to be triggered? massive leak=shutdown...minor leak=doesnt trip protection

???

I also had not heard about any self protection mode and in fact "rushed" to get it done to prevent the compressor from burning out.

"Rushed" meaning it was needed, bags were deflating every couple of nights, but still had to drop everything else to address it.

i guess you could always pull the fuse to prevent the compressor from running itself to death if the leak is bad enough to warrant such measure. but you really wouldn't want to drive it in that condition.

Did the new air springs solve your problem?
Does anyone have a diagram of the fuses to locate the Air Compressor?
thx