Air Suspension - Deflating

[ponytuning]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

Thanks for that reply I will go ahead and continue swapping the wheels out the way I usually do jack in that one wheel at a time!

My car has 80,000 miles so it may just be normal wear and tear that they went out at this point!

I’ve also raised the car one wheel at a time when swapping winter tires but I’ll use jackstands the next time for more peace of mind in case my 3 ton arcan floor jack decides to go to lunch. (i’ve been using it for 5 years)

[Russmov]

I'm going to change out the desiccant beads in the air compressor to see if that helps my situation.
Just need to buy myself a jack first. With limited space in my garage I'm thinking about trying this, just not sure if it will work.


Powerbuilt 620471 Unijack - 6000 -Pounds Capacity https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00GJJZ5NI/..._OW9dEb35PK0TV

[agentorange]

Living in the desert is great as far as no salt and corrosion is concerned, but it can be a bitch on air suspension systems.

[Russmov]

Originally Posted by agentorange

Living in the desert is great as far as no salt and corrosion is concerned, but it can be a bitch on air suspension systems.

I just ordered jack stands and a trolley jack and it should be here tomorrow. I'm going to attempt to pull the compressor and replace the air dryer desiccant beads inside. See if that helps at all, if not, I will replace the air springs.

[Russmov]

So I ended up just purchasing the arnott air springs off rockauto. They were on for 156 Canadian each. Think it came to 368 including shipping and customs fees(if any) and 3 days. Definitely reasonable IMO.
I'm going to replace, or attempt to replace them tomorrow.
This is going to be my first time doing anything this technical. I've never even taken a set of wheels off before lol

[MK2018]

Originally Posted by Russmov

So I ended up just purchasing the arnott air springs off rockauto. They were on for 156 Canadian each. Think it came to 368 including shipping and customs fees(if any) and 3 days. Definitely reasonable IMO.
I'm going to replace, or attempt to replace them tomorrow.
This is going to be my first time doing anything this technical. I've never even taken a set of wheels off before lol

There's always first time lol

[Russmov]

Originally Posted by MK2018

There's always first time lol

Lol yup!
I've just never had to do it before because my friend owns a tire shop, and had I ever needed it, my brother in laws family owns a tow truck company.

[Russmov]

So, did my air springs today. The drivers side needed to be replaced, there was cracking starting as others have showed in pictures.
Now, shitty part, it's still dropping. I believe there may be a leak in the line itself. Drivers side continues to go down, and I can hear a faint hiss. I'm going to jack it back up and try spraying the line with soapy water to see if I can find a leak. Fingers crossed this will be the final fix.

[CatalinP]

Check the non return valve.

[Russmov]

I uninstalled the air spring and then reinstalled it and sprayed the line and connection with soapy water. There were no bubbles and no hissing sound. Everything appears to be good now. Within 10 minutes it was down yesterday. It's now holding perfectly *knock on wood* and it's -10C.

[oliver63]

I replaced the air bags, the valve and the air pump in my BMW and when I started the car, the rear suspension was working fine. I did not drive the car and the next day the suspension was down again. I started the car and nothing happened. I checked all fuses and the 40 amp fuse under the glove compartment was burned. I replaced the fuse and when started the car, the fuse burned again.
What am I missing here?

[///MCollection]

Possibly a faulty compressor or a sticking relay, they are usually green

[kmac77]

For me I think the relay went bad.. and I believe that helped burnout my compressor. So I bought relay and cheap compressor from online since I felt it’s a place where cheap didn’t really matter, and I haven’t had a problem since. It’s possible my compressor was slightly louder when I tested I thought, but with bottom cover back on I never hear it on! New Compressor was about $300.

[epenbecks]

Happened to me few weeks ago at passenger side after i had Uhaul installed the trailer hitch. First time i noticed on their parking lot, i was so worry if they did something wrong to my car. then i turn on the car and see it goes back to normal height.
But it happened again few days ago at home. I didn't drive the car everyday since i wfh.
I think i need to start asking around to replace the bag . Mine is sDrive with 64k miles.

[Russmov]

Originally Posted by epenbecks

Happened to me few weeks ago at passenger side after i had Uhaul installed the trailer hitch. First time i noticed on their parking lot, i was so worry if they did something wrong to my car. then i turn on the car and see it goes back to normal height.
But it happened again few days ago at home. I didn't drive the car everyday since i wfh.
I think i need to start asking around to replace the bag . Mine is sDrive with 64k miles.

You should replace them in pairs if you need to change one. It's just a matter of time before the other one goes.

[wesbos]

Happened to mine too - the Arnott springs were much cheaper and quick to pop in.

Where did you get that aftermarket compressor? Having some more suspension issues...

[Swati01]

This is mostly the airbag which leaks overtime. Happened to my 7 series as well 2009 730Ld. It use to re-inflate after starting it up.

[alemap]

I am not getting any error codes or warning, just intermittent deflated rear suspension. 2015 F15 x5 the 7 seater with M sports options and air suspension at rear....

As I am in Australia, I have been reading around on this and found some parts available in Germany (they seem experienced with the issue and some of their parts are a fraction of OEM, but usefully, they also explain what to check when installing...).

why bother looking for after-market parts?

BMW in Australia quotes $3000 ish for the compressor and $5000 for the whole system to be done, to be sure (bags, compressor, actuators or control units etc, as one damaged unit damages others or causes premature wear). they told me they sell 3-5 compressors a month in Sydney. So its a common issue....


ALSO, the website selling the after market parts mention that is you have the deflation issue, the bags arent the only thing to replace, there can be damage to relays, valves and the compressor (specifically start stop cycles will damage the relays, so the contacts will stick together, so the compressor might be always "on" and will burn out).

they also mention the importance of checking for leaks in the system, never lowering the car with deflated bags, and check the whole thing by measuring the heights after leaving overnight.

a Cautious approach, or ...GERMAN PRECISION you might say, but it saves you doing tit all over again. on the other hand, if your caught the issue early and if its just the bags, you may well be bloody lucky and its all you need.

Anyone have the issue come back?

here is a convincing looking parts provider from Germany - scroll down for their explanation
http://www.air-suspension-shop.com/B...on-37206875177

[RED_Y_]

Originally Posted by alemap

I am not getting any error codes or warning, just intermittent deflated rear suspension. 2015 F15 x5 the 7 seater with M sports options and air suspension at rear....

As I am in Australia, I have been reading around on this and found some parts available in Germany (they seem experienced with the issue and some of their parts are a fraction of OEM, but usefully, they also explain what to check when installing...).

why bother looking for after-market parts?

BMW in Australia quotes $3000 ish for the compressor and $5000 for the whole system to be done, to be sure (bags, compressor, actuators or control units etc, as one damaged unit damages others or causes premature wear). they told me they sell 3-5 compressors a month in Sydney. So its a common issue....


ALSO, the website selling the after market parts mention that is you have the deflation issue, the bags arent the only thing to replace, there can be damage to relays, valves and the compressor (specifically start stop cycles will damage the relays, so the contacts will stick together, so the compressor might be always "on" and will burn out).

they also mention the importance of checking for leaks in the system, never lowering the car with deflated bags, and check the whole thing by measuring the heights after leaving overnight.

a Cautious approach, or ...GERMAN PRECISION you might say, but it saves you doing tit all over again. on the other hand, if your caught the issue early and if its just the bags, you may well be bloody lucky and its all you need.

Anyone have the issue come back?

here is a convincing looking parts provider from Germany - scroll down for their explanation
http://www.air-suspension-shop.com/B...on-37206875177

Start with replacing your airbags with new once from Arnott
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1511949

If it doesn't fix your problem you can just get a used compressor off e-bay
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1641660

I mean, if you want to get rid of truck load of money-sure, go for it, but there are tested cheaper options available.

[E30toF30]

Thought i'd share my horror stories with the air suspension. I have a 2014 X5 35d that currently has around 102,000km (just over 60,000 miles).

The first time it started sagging in the back was in December, right before Christmas. I was at around 97,000km at that time (so just under 60,000 miles). However, it was very intermittent. It would go up and down, up and down, up and down, for anywhere from part of a day, to a full day, 2 days or a week at a time. It was really inconsistent. During these inconsistent times, one thing that I usually noticed was that anytime I unlocekd the door, I would hear the compressor working away. Sometimes it is successful at pumping it back up as I'm getting the kids/myself into the car, while other times, it was unsuccessful at pumping up the air springs.

Anyway, about a week after the issues started I made an appointment at the dealer to look into it as the car was under 3rd party extended warranty. The day I dropped it off, the car of course was working fine lol. Unfortunately at the end of the day, the dealer called me and told me that they can not do anything for me because the car was NOT sagging at that point in time. And the extended warranty guys will not bother approving repairs if they can not see the issues when they come to the dealer to check it out visually (is this BS??)

Anyway, because the issues were so intermittent, for the next 6 weeks, I literally took daily journal of exactly how the suspension as acting with time stamps, where I was driving to, how long far I was driving and how long the issue persisted, if it fixed itself mid drive/mid day, etc... I even took pictures almost daily because I wanted to have very detailed proof of my issues.

Finally in February, the suspension issues got worse, but getting worse was good because now it was permanently down. I was now able to bring it to the dealer again, and they could now diagnose the problem.

Turns out the culprits were two leaking airbags. Fortunately, the extended warranty approved the repairs and they took care of the $2000 USD repair with me only being out around $150 for the deductible.

Fast forward 8 months, the sagging suspension returned early October, so just earlier this month. This time, it was just permanently down. The one major difference was that this time, there was NO compressor noise whatsoever. Based on that, I had a feeling it was the compressor that was donezo.

I made an appointment at the dealer to get it diagnosed just in case it was the airbags again. Because if it was the airbags again, the warranty work from last time was under another 2 years of warranty.

In their diagnosis, they checked the fuse, and saw it was blown. So they swapped a new fuse in, and within a few seconds of the pump starting up, the fuse blew and the pump stopped. Based on this diag, they concluded that the compressor was donezo. They quoted me approximately $2200 for parts and labour for the new compressor. I was like, Fuuuuuuuuuuk no....and decided I would deal with the repair myself.

I started researching different compressors to buy, comparing pricing for OEM, a few different aftermarket branded units (Wabco/Airsus/etc...) as well as some no name generic units on amazon/ebay. I was struggling to decide which one to get so I started searching these forums and google for recommendations on which compressor to go with.

Thats when I came across some DIY's that discussed the issues with the desiccant beats inside the compressor. After seeing these posts about changing the desiccant beads, I decided I might as well give that a shot first since the cost was minimal.

So I bought a 1 quart bag of desiccant beads on Amazon with Prime next day shipping.
I the morning, I also went and bought some replacement 40A fuses.

I followed the DIY remove the compressor and replace the desiccant beads and installed everything back. Plugged the battery and new fuse back in, locked/unlocked the car, started the car up and dayam...you should have seen my face as I saw the rear start to raise slowly!!!!

Anyway, the desiccant beads did the trick for me. Saved me from having to buy a new compressor, and more importantly, saved me from the damn stealership wanting over $2200 USD for the repair.

Ultimately all it cost me was $30 for the desiccant beads (I still have enough desiccant beads to do this job 6 or 7 more times), $1 for the fuse, and 90 minutes of my time.

I'm F'in STOKED!!

[RED_Y_]

Congrats on getting it fixed!

[epenbecks]

Just wondering, is that ok to just replacing the air sus with regular spring at the rear?