Level control system failure - help

[Sam786]

Hi I'm new to the forum. I urgently need some advice. My bmw x5 e70 2007 shows Level Control System Failure message on the I drive and on board computer. I also noticed the car looks dropped from the rear and whilst reversing, the car makes a clicking sound and it just does not feel right when in reverse.
Is this a major issue? Is it dangerous as it's my wife's car and we have 3 children. I don't want to ask BMW as I know it will probably go into the thousands.
Any decent advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[luketoms]

This is exactly what has just happened to me.  "Level Control System Failure" error message and the near side rear suspension looks like it has gone.  I have booked it in with BMW, no doubt it will cost loads.  Did you sort yor problem?

[X5_twin]

Just wondered if you guys got this sorted. The same message has come up on my iDrive today.

My near side rear makes a hissing noise like something is "leaking".

How did you both get on? Any advice or help much appreciated. Thanks.

[X5-D-Sport]

Guys,
Take a peek on the E53 general forum, this is not an unusual topic.

Spurious failure messages will occur if your battery voltage is low... some times just for the hell of it..

If you have a corner sunk on the vehicle.... then it needs GENTLE nurturing to a garage unless you are a competent mechanic your self...

If you can hear it hissing, then you can track and locate the leak easily....
It will either be a pipe connector failed or the bag has failed...
The bag can be bought from E-bay - ensure you get the right one tho... and the joints are easy to find.

The leak is possibly easiest fount with a spray bottle - ie Mr Muscle type sprayer with washing-up liquid in water to produce bubbles where the leak is..
The other way is to make a little tube stethoscope from a bit of plastic tube & you will track the hiss easily from that.
The BMW fix it will be in excess of £400 for the Bag alone, suggest you find a confident Independent-Garage that won't screw you.
Off the top of my head, I'd hope to fix this for about £160 if I was going to fix it myself - see what bits

The up side is... the pump is working hence the hissing.... you just gotta find the leak.
There will be MANY postings on this issue.

This air suspension is actually very good, but when failed many people go for a spring conversion and dump all the sensors & electronics...
However, springs can still break, and they will not compensate for a heavy load to keep the vehicle height the same regardless of load.

The air suspension is actually a simple set up...
Under the spare wheel is a dome that houses the pump and some electronic junk, some pipes go to the air bag suspension units, and a sensor on each rear lower arm.... Oh, and some times a small module in the boot some place... that's about it !

Occasionally the spare can wear thru the pipes or electrics feeding the pump on the boot floor, a joint / pipe may fail under the vehicle, or the air bag may fail & leak... either way, it's all easy to fix.

Re Driving the vehicle with a saggy corner - BE VERY CAREFUL, AND GO SLOWLY, and ONLY go to the garage - forget commuting in this condition..

[X5_twin]

Wow, thanks very much X5-D-Sport Salisbury. That's all very useful information.

I'll get mine to my local independent specialist tomorrow. Hopefully just a replacement air spring. Here's a video of my problem with the hissing noise:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/113 ... G_9500.MOV

Done a bit hunting around. Do you know anything about these guys and Arnott?:

http://p38spares.co.uk/commerce/product ... 13_x1.html

Also do you have to replace both rear springs if one has gone, or can you replace just one ?

Thanks in advance.

[99ron]

That's where I got mine. Do the pair.

[X5_twin]

[quote="99ron"]
That's where I got mine. Do the pair.
[/quote]

Thanks. But why would you do the pair if the other side is working ok. Surely its not like tyres where each side needs to be replaced at the same time? If it's not leaking it doesn't need replacing, right?

[99ron]

If you are going Arnott (and I would) then do both as you don't want 1 Arnott and 1 BMW in the car do you? Also if one spring has gone how long before the other one goes? May as well get the pair done than pay another labour charge later to get it done when it eventually fails never mind all the hassles of having the car off the road again. But it's your choice.

[X5_twin]

[quote="99ron"]
If you are going Arnott (and I would) then do both as you don't want 1 Arnott and 1 BMW in the car do you? Also if one spring has gone how long before the other one goes? May as well get the pair done than pay another labour charge later to get it done when it eventually fails never mind all the hassles of having the car off the road again. But it's your choice.
[/quote]

Agreed. That all makes sense re 2nd one potentially going. Also noted re having both the same make. Was hoping I could just do the one as I assumed this was going to be very expensive.

Do you know how many labour hours I should expect to be charged for by a good BMW independent garage to do both?

Thanks again

[99ron]

The job is fairly straight forward once on ramps. When i searched most people were saying 1 to 2 hrs. Theres a guide on youtube of how to do it. I got charged 1 hour for fitting the  pair.

[X5_twin]

Terrific, thanks. Much less than I hought. I was thinking a lot longer than a couple of hours. Certainly worth doing both for a couple of hours labour. Thanks again for all your help. Much appreciated.

[X5_twin]

Just had a call from the garage saying circa £520 inc VAT to change one. The part is £280 (rear left bellow) plus two hours labour to install one (not both). Seems huge money. What do you think? 

[99ron]

Sounds like they are quoting for a single BMW part (about right as I was quoted around £600 for a pair - just parts!).

You can get those Arnott items at that site you previously quoted as a pair for £365 so that's what i did. A part of job is I believe plugging in the diagnostic kit and disabling/draining the air shocks so I doubt changing two is much more of a hassle than changing one. The "official" time for the job maybe two hours... I don't know.. but it shouldn't be 4 hours for a pair! All I can say is my very excellent Indie charged me for 1 hour labour for doing both which is likely based on how long it actually took him.

Where did you get your quote from? Based on the labour quote I am guessing main dealer?
Find a good Indie local to you and get a quote for fitting the pair of Arnotts! You should be able to get a pair bought and fitted for somewhere in the range of £420-500 depending on the labour charge. That's got to be better than paying £520 for one and then maybe £520 again in a few months when the other one fails?

[X5_twin]

All done. Yes it was a BMW part at that price. They have charged me 2 hours labour (1/2 diagnostics plus 1.5 hours to change the part - BMW quote 1.5 hours for the job too). They also said the other side is fine so stuck with OEM parts and changed the one instead of both. The job came to circa £560 inc VAT. London labour rates are circa £95 + VAT per hour and most independants now!

Overall fairly happy as when I first saw the error message in the iDrive screen my initial thought was a few grand if the suspension was knackered ! All done now and by a good garage I trust who have always done a terrific job in the past or me.

Thanks for your help and advice all. 

[Buz007]

Just to say thanks to everyone on this thread, really useful. I am changing mine tomorrow as I've had the same message.

Cheers all