Newbie "SUSPENSION INACT" Issues

[redzed]

Hi,

Apologies for the newbie Q, but I have come across from the Z4 forum, having just picked up my first 4X4.  Its a 2002 E53 X5 4.4 Sport with rear air suspension.

Before I picked it up, the previous owner had it into BMW as he had the "Suspension Inactive" light come up.  They diagnosed a faulty O/S Rear Sensor.  Replaced it and cleared the fault codes.

It was running fine, then after going over a speed bump, the warning light has come back on.  The car still drove fine, straight and even.

Returned to it two days later and I just drove it down the road with NO warning lights on and car driving level.  Happy days. 

Stopped at the garage, filled up, walked back to the car, and the O/Side rear was pumped up over 7” into the air above the tyre height (N/Side was 3” above tyre).  Got in, drove off and the “SUSPENSION INACT” light came back on.  As I was driving back the suspension leveled back out, but the light stayed on?? 

I got home, parked up, got out and heard the compressor going.  Once again, it started pumping the O/Side rear into the air with the engine off, key out and doors locked??  O/Side rear is now jacked up again.

I'm hoping to get the fault codes scanned tomorrow, but does anyone have any ideas that I can go armed with, just in case they come back with "no fault found"    ?

[Horizon]

Sounds like a sensor fault, or a sensor cable connection, I wouldn't want to guess, I would wait until the codes are read first, maybe the sensor has come away from its mounting or something obvious.
If I ever get a suspension inact message I intend on replacing my air springs with coil springs and recoding to turn off the sensors with my scanner.
The kits can be had off eBay for £200, and easy enough to fit, flog your compressor to recupe some of the cost

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E53-X5-Re ... 3f22a172b7 :xmaswink:

[redzed]

Thanks for the response. Worth a thought.
Again, sorry if this sounds like a stupid Q but....

1. Why did BM do a rear only air suspension option on the X5? I can understand the rationale behind the 4X option and the conventional spring/shock option, but why mix them on certain models.

2. What are the pro/cons of keeping the rears with the air suspension set up?

3. What are the pros/cons of changing the rears to springs?


I don't know whether it may have any bearing on the answers, but my main reason for buying the car is that I will be using it for towing and launching/recovering ski and wakeboard boats (when it stops snowing)  :'(

[X5Sport]

Full air was available as an option.

The 'base model' was springs all round, the 'Sport' had read self levelling rear air for better handling and the 'IS' came with all round as standard.

Keeping air rears will give you a self-levelling capability but obviously you have complexity in terms of parts and costs if it goes wrong.

Springs all round (coilovers) will let you choose how the car rides, ride height and handling in terms of stiffness etc.  Once fitted and the 'air' coded out again then you only need to change chaper parts should anything break.

Richard

[Raj]

I've gone down the route of removing the air suspension from my IS model due to the constant issues. I've gone down the KW coilover route and never been happier. I've fitted the same for another forum member also.

The reason for just rear air suspension is more for loading up and towing purposes where on conventional springs the rear will drop down to the load being put just on the rear axle. The air suspension will compensate for this load and put more air to level the X out.

It's a great idea and as Richard mentioned above, the IS came with air all round. I did like it to an extent but its just too costly and problematic for my liking.

Going to springs removes the headache of constant error messages.

[redzed]

Thanks for the info guys.

Currently sat at an Indie garage with Autologic  scanner.

There are NO fault codes stored, even though the warning light was on?

They are going to try a "level reset" to calibrate it back to position and see what happens
:'(

[CondorX5]

My stupid all round suspension is just giving constant grief, may also end up with coilovers in the end.  Car due back to BMW in the next week or two. Under warranty but the air bags won 't be.........i suppose thats next on the list!

[Raj]

[quote="CondorX5"]
My stupid all round suspension is just giving constant grief, may also end up with coilovers in the end.  Car due back to BMW in the next week or two. Under warranty but the air bags won 't be.........i suppose thats next on the list!
[/quote]

More problems.... Let me know if I can help in any way.

[CondorX5]

I will Raj thanks. Will wait for the snow to leave first before having it in the dealers for a few days, it needs an Insp 2 as well very soon .

[Raj]

[quote="CondorX5"]
I will Raj thanks. Will wait for the snow to leave first before having it in the dealers for a few days, it needs an Insp 2 as well very soon .
[/quote]

No worries.

If its the frnot airbags, they're over £500 each... :'(

[CondorX5]

Great.......  (((

[CondorX5]

Its rather intermittent this fault....... The tyre pressure light comes on and it faults immediately with susp inactive messages for days on end, then suddenly all works normally for a week or two before it starts the fault again....... Hope its a sensor or the compressor. Anything but wear and tear parts .......

[Raj]

[quote="CondorX5"]
Its rather intermittent this fault....... The tyre pressure light comes on and it faults immediately with susp inactive messages for days on end, then suddenly all works normally for a week or two before it starts the fault again....... Hope its a sensor or the compressor. Anything but wear and tear parts .......
[/quote]

I think you'll be ok then as doesn't sound like an airbag issue etc if the ride is same and height also.

Sounds like the abs sensor for one the corners might be breaking down as I believe the data feeds into the control module hence also bringing up the self level error.

[gobiman]

Don't want to depress you but I had similar issues. Front kept dropping periodically when left unused until finally it dropped while I was driving it and didn't go back up. Then went back up on next start-up.
The garage spent 2 days (and £300) looking for leaks but couldn't find any.Everything appeared to work.
No fault codes or ability to diagnose the problem was the real issue and the only solution appeared to be keep replacing parts (at ever increasing cost) and hope for the best. This may or may not work under warranty but I didn't have one although have "accumulated" 3 years of the £1,500 it would have cost into a notional sinking fund.
My view was -
1. All the parts for the air suspension are very expensive new.
2. The air bags are, in any event, perishable and the rest can go wrong - mine were 9 years old and 70k.
3. Didn't fancy the continual worry of further issues even if "fixed". Use the car twice a year for skiing in the Alps.
4. Want to keep the car for another 5 years/50k - like it and everything else seems pretty reliable.
5. Felt coilovers offered a cost effective and permanent solution for about the cost of a new control unit which was the item suggested that I should replace.
Raj sorted it for me and delighted with the result.
Typically as I was driving to Raj's, the suspension seemed to fix itself - shows how unpredictable it can sometimes be.
Good luck.
PS if you need any cheap air suspension replacements, all my kit is currently on ebay!

[CondorX5]

I was thinking along those lines too, although most of the parts would be warranty repairs, not the air bags though.  But it may be simpler for now.  The fault s associated with a very slow leak in the front drivers side tyre. As pressure reduces so the tyre pressure monitor light and air suspension fault occurs. Must have the tyre valve changed, usually check pressures weekly but with this weather missed a tyre check.  Hope its as easy as that.  Otherwise its coilovers I think should pricey repairs be on the cards if not covered by warranty.