4.8is air suspension

[tc7411]

hi all new to forum so forgive me ,
i am sure this as been mention on here some where , but rather than trawl through the site , sure someone can point me in the right direction
  going home other night thought had a flat to get out and see rear n/s jacked right up to get back in and see the dreaded inactive air sus got home did all the obvious fuses relays compressor  level arms all ok .
so decided to take in to get diagnostics , they tell me need air sus module  part , though at 700 quid thought take time and go through it stage by stage my self the read out on diag said distortion plausability on first sheet only to see a second sheet saying heat temp got home only to find t?Xts have burnt out my compressor by jumping it , lucky enough think found a replacement cheap enough , so my question is what is the fix on distortion plauseability as that as surely that could be surely it could mean anything ?? or am i away with the fairies hoping something simple and not a module .
any information would be appreciated and sorry the air suspension words as sure this bringing lots bad memories for lots of x5 owners ....

[CondorX5]

Nothng simple about the 4.8is air suspension woes, probably the most troublesome feature of the car!  Many have changed to coilovers for that reason, so unless you have very very deep pockets or a good warranty maybe something to consider.

My 4.8is had muttering suspension woes for about 18 months - its on extended warranty luckily - but was in and out of the main dealers.  They finally changed every part of the suspension in that time and its ok touch wood.......but at dealer prices that was well over 3K in total for parts and labour over that time!!!!    Compressor, sensors, ECU, plus a load of other stuff inbetween those bits were all replaced in their "fault finding process."    Cost me very little - paid for a cracked height sensor which failed due to water ingress not covered by warranty, that was all - warranty and BMW goodwill contributions paid the rest.    The suspension was copied directly from the P38 Range Rover when BMW owned Land Rover for a while, it was always a nightmare in both cars. 

Best get rid and change to springs / coilovers unless you like nightmares and have loads of money to spend !!! 

[tc7411]

Thanks for reply yes i have thought about coil overs and even then no change from about a 1k , though i had it six years now and its done 150k miles not really cost me a great deal in maint just oil services , tyres , discs pads and a mortage for the fuel , though love it best work van i ever had throw wife and kids in at weekend and all my work stuff in the week , yes i have just put range rover compressor in after idiots burnt it out , though till i decide which route to to go i have disconected all electrics and pumped it all up by a decent size compressor as heard about 5 bar in there ,though it all lit up like a christmas tree on the dashboard . does any one know if there is device to plug in and by pass the the electrics stuff if coilovers are fitted to clear all warning lights etc as if air not fitted ??

[Horizon]

BMW scanner 1.4.0 has the ability to turn of the dash warnings for the air suspension , now going for as little as £10 from EBay ( China )

[tc7411]

yes been looking at scanners dont like this chinese cheap crap on ebay want something a little better
something for dummies  dont like all this computer stuff ,i like the old mechanical days but guess its the way these days !! any ideas what to look for ????

[Horizon]

Normal scanners won't have the coding ability to turn off the dash check / warning for the suspension inactive.
It's not like clearing an error code.
So your options are limited .