E70 X5 Self leveling suspension sag

[ccaarmerciill]

My 2008 X5 (3.0) with sport package, and 3rd row seats (self leveling suspension) had a recent issue that's been popping up. After parking the car for a considerable amount of time, I'd come into the garage to find the rear end sagging. Starting the car, the rear end would raise back up before I'd drive away. It started being very intermittent, only doing it once every few weeks... now it's almost every time. Although it's not every time, which points me in the direction that it's not the air springs since they would be consistent, and unlikely both would go at exact same times. I plan on checking the system for leaks when I get home using the soapy water tecnique, but if I do not find any bubbles I'm left with 4 options of replacement:

Air compressor
Air compressor vent pipe with filter
Control unit for self leveling suspension
Air springs (these I will inspect but really don't anticipate being the culprit)

Any ideas, or other people that have had the exact same symptoms that had a fix? I have no error messages, unless you try to drive away with the suspension sagging (I always wait for them to level back out before driving so I don't damage the bags)

[james5tvx]

Did you ever figure a solution. My 08' X5 3.0SI with 3rd row is doing the same. No leaning to one side, both sides equally sagging when they do.

[BMWtechATL]

Hole in the airspring(s), happens quite often.

[wakwam30]

Did u find out what was the issue? Mine is showing the same symptom now.
Need help.

[B8SHX]

Had the same type of problem on my 2008 4.8i SE Dynamic,left side rear would drop down after parking it up.
Gave it to BMW Sytner and it was the rear suspension air bag which had a leak in it.
Supplied and fitted it cost me £470
But soon after the air pump started to play up as well! Due to the leak I had in the airbag it had to work in overdrive.
That cost me £1021.00 supplied and fitted by BMW.

[Navy550i]

airbags took a shit and its a lot of money to repair common on these trucks

[mjk1]

I've got exactly the same problem as the OP with my 2008 X5 3.0SD. When left overnight about 30% of the time the rear end fully drops down. It happens evenly on both sides. As soon as I open the door I can hear the compressor start and the back end rises to normal height. There are no dash warnings. Does anyone know what causes this intermittent fault? Are both sides independent or linked? If independent it would seem to rule out the air bags as would the intermittent nature of the fault.

I took the car to Sytner Nottingham last week for the MOT and asked them to have a look at it. They could find absolutely nothing wrong with it. It then sagged the very next night! Any advice would be appreciated.

[ratherX5]

My 2007 X5 4.8i with Sport Package was sagging only on the driver's side very intermittently. The first time it happened I almost thought it was a fluke as it didn't happen again for at least another week. The next two weeks it happened about every 3 days.

I took it to my indy who replaced the driver side airbag for $390, apparently there was a small leak. He said it was a good thing I brought it in early as the air compressor tends go out as it is overworked trying to keep a leaking airbag inflated.

I have no idea how a leak can be intermittent but I haven't had any more issues. Hopefully this well help a few of you. Good luck.

[RacerX5]

Probably airbags.....you can trace all the air hoses from the compressor to the bags and spay with soapy water, and confirm it's not a leak elsewhere, but usually in the 7-10 year old timeframe the airbags start to fail. You often can not see the bad part of the bag until it's out in your hand though, you'll typically see cracks in the folds. Don't let this job go, as you do not want to put an undo burden on the quite expensive compressor.

Actually, it's pretty easy for a DIYer to do this job. There should be plenty of DIY guides on the net to help you. Check Arnott for high quality direct replacements:

https://www.arnottindustries.com/

[mjk1]

I can't see how mine can be airbags. As ratherX5 says when his driver side airbag developed a leak it was only the drivers side that sagged. When mine sags it is perfect even on both sides. I'll be taking the compressor/valve block assembly off next week to see if I can work out where the intermittent leak is coming from.

[mjk1]

Removed the compressor/valve assembly from my X5 but still can't see what can be causing an even sagging on both sides. The two sides are totally independent. Each side has its own valve in the valve block. The valve block is supplied with compressed air from a single pipe but this feeds the two independent valves which allow air into or out of the respective air lines to the air bags. What could cause both sides to slowly loose air in a totally synchronized manner? I'm beginning to think it must be the control system. I just can't see where a leak could be coming from that would affect both sides simultaneously. Next experiment is to disconnect all the electrical contacts and see if it still sags.

[green racer]

It is a self leveling system, if one side goes down so should the other ( if the sensors are working correctly ). I've had to replace the right side air bag on the wife's 07 3.0 twice. Both times it was a pin sized hole in the seam of the bag, and both sides of the vehicle sagged equally.

[RacerX5]

It is a self leveling system, if one side goes down so should the other ( if the sensors are working correctly ). I've had to replace the right side air bag on the wife's 07 3.0 twice. Both times it was a pin sized hole in the seam of the bag, and both sides of the vehicle sagged equally.

No self-leveling is happening when the vehicle is shut off. If the car sags equally after being shut off for a while, either both airbags are shot, or there is one or more leaks in the system.

If one end sags when the vehicle is running, that's another story. If the rear sags on a rear-air-only car it could be a bad compressor. Could also be the little sensors that attach to the control arms, (which are pretty fragile), or a module fault.

[mjk1]

For anyone that's interested, I've found the reason for the intermittent sagging on both sides when the car is left over night.

As suspected it was nothing to do with airbags. As RacerX5 said, the sides are independent and no self levelling function takes place when the car is shut down.

The problem was a leaking valve block. I removed the valve block from the car whilst leaving only the blue and red air tubes connected. The suspension was up when the block was removed and initially remained up. I immersed the valve block in water and left it over night. By the morning the car had dropped evenly and there were air bubbles coming from the valve block. This isolated the valve block as the problem.

I found a broken compressor assembly locally on eBay which I got for £10. The valve block was included on the bracket so I gambled that it would be ok. I fitted it last night and the car hasn't sagged since. A great result as BMW don't sell the valve separately so you have to buy the compressor as well for about £950.

Pity Sytners couldn't diagnose the problem from my detailed description of the symptoms. Anyone with a detailed understanding of the system should have seen this answer immediately. Cost me £50 for them to tell me there was nothing wrong with it and was I sure it was sagging!

[Ron97M3]

Both airbags on rear of my 2007 X5 leaked at about 70k and 75k miles a few years ago.

I read of the airbags getting a very small pin hole.

Someday when they go bad again (at 140 to 150k?) I plan to research the idea of patching them, wonder if there is a rubber patch/glue
one could inject or something. Always fun to try and figure out how to fix it for next to nothing, if it is a good fix that will last

I wonder could one spray them with some rubber conditioner to keep them from wearing out so soon?
a good time.

One thing I need to figure out is the day your air bag starts leaking then the air compressor that fills them is working overtime to keep them up
of course the compressor will fail soon in this state and I suppose the battery can be used up too. So seems when this happens one needs to disable the compressor
(pull the fuse) and fix it ASAP?

[Ron97M3]

You are the man ... Fyi I also like your custom wood wheel stands ... what.is your method for raising the x5? You were fortunate to find the parts on ebay .... the fact that bmw doesn't sell the pieces is a crime. Yep sure saved a lot .... I also like the fact.that you know your system wasn't harmed in some.other way by a mechanic. Stick around and we shall improve the diy posts here

[Khalilur]

Hi, I have a X5, 4.6 iS, E53 with the Self Leveling inactive fault.
The rear suspension is low and the ride is very bumpy. I have checked fuse, relay and pump and they all seem to be OK.
I have replaced the Control Box, but problem still persist.
The pump is silent and when I manually activate the pump by powering the relay, the pump works but the suspension is still low.
Need help. Does anyone have a schematic on the system ?

[phitor68]

I am with mjk1 on this! exact part seemed to be the issue, not the bags! thanks!

so after some investigation, (water and soap everywhere for days) into this common problem, i agreed that it more than likely was not the bags issue because it was both sides at the same time. i traced the airlines back to the solenoid and compressor, disconnected supply from compressor and then disconnected both lines to the bags.
(10 mil wrench, disconnect solenoid electrical plug, bleed air out slowly)

then i took apart the solenoid(4 small screws) and slid the pistons out and checked the orings.
(2 orange orings on each piston and one black square one that seals where the block separates)
everything looked fine so i lubed orings and reinstalled everything . since then i have had no issues with leaking air. either the lines were not tight enough, orings were not sealing properly, or the block oring(which is my guess) was not airtight. anyway, it was not the airbags in my case and it saved me 400$ to "take it apart and put it back together"!

[slowlanemcvane]

I'm having the same problem as you guys. The car sags if parked for longer than a couple of days, drops evenly (or at least is at the bottom simultaneously) but the compressor starts pumping as soon as the door is opened, and the car remains leveled while driving.

I saw the writeup that mjk1 created, plus yours phitor68. This "solenoid" that you are referencing, is it the black part that mjk1 has sitting in his soapy water bath? What did you use to lubricate the o-rings on the pistons?

I looked at realoem and couldn't find a further breakdown of anything on the air ride suspension system either, so any input on this would be amazing. Thanks!

[philrobj]

I am with mjk1 on this! exact part seemed to be the issue, not the bags! thanks!

so after some investigation, (water and soap everywhere for days) into this common problem, i agreed that it more than likely was not the bags issue because it was both sides at the same time. i traced the airlines back to the solenoid and compressor, disconnected supply from compressor and then disconnected both lines to the bags.
(10 mil wrench, disconnect solenoid electrical plug, bleed air out slowly)

then i took apart the solenoid(4 small screws) and slid the pistons out and checked the orings.
(2 orange orings on each piston and one black square one that seals where the block separates)
everything looked fine so i lubed orings and reinstalled everything . since then i have had no issues with leaking air. either the lines were not tight enough, orings were not sealing properly, or the block oring(which is my guess) was not airtight. anyway, it was not the airbags in my case and it saved me 400$ to "take it apart and put it back together"!

Phitor68 and/or mjk1: has the repairs you guys made to correct the intermittent, even, rear-sagging held? I'm having the exact same issues and don't feel like it is the bags. I did find a seller on eBay that sells just the valve block for about $182 but I am thinking of pulling the valve block and taking a look at it. I would re-lube the o-rings with Vaseline and put everything back together and see if it corrects the problem before spending cash on a new valve block if I don't have to. Just curious if you guys had any thoughts since making the repairs you made. I was all ready to replace the bags but it just didn't sound logical that both would deflate evenly every time if the bags were the culprit. I guess I have nothing to lose by pulling the block and taking a look at it. Think it would be possible to pull the bags, inspect them and then put them back in if there were no issues found? Anyway, thanks for any input you can provide especially since this thread is fairly old at this point.

[fast4d]

Our rear right side is sagging but not every time.

Last night I heard hissing from the area around the spring. if there is a hole why wont it sag every night?

could it be the hose to bag fitting?

we are trading in the X5 in the next couple weeks so I am trying not to spend two hundred dollars. I can replace the bag myself but I rather not

however if the pump burns out it would look obvious to the dealer.

[philrobj]

Phitor68 and/or mjk1: has the repairs you guys made to correct the intermittent, even, rear-sagging held? I'm having the exact same issues and don't feel like it is the bags. I did find a seller on eBay that sells just the valve block for about $182 but I am thinking of pulling the valve block and taking a look at it. I would re-lube the o-rings with Vaseline and put everything back together and see if it corrects the problem before spending cash on a new valve block if I don't have to. Just curious if you guys had any thoughts since making the repairs you made. I was all ready to replace the bags but it just didn't sound logical that both would deflate evenly every time if the bags were the culprit. I guess I have nothing to lose by pulling the block and taking a look at it. Think it would be possible to pull the bags, inspect them and then put them back in if there were no issues found? Anyway, thanks for any input you can provide especially since this thread is fairly old at this point.

I ordered replacement bags from Arnott (actually through Amazon for $174 each, received in 1 day!). My intention was to put my car up on the lift, look at the valve block and see if I could find any issues, inspect the tubing, and then remove the bags and take a look at them to see if there was anything obvious. If I did find a defect, I would have the bags available to replace. If not I could return them. Well I couldn't find anything wrong with the tubing or valve block and I didn't want to take the valve block apart just for fun so I pulled the bags and inspected them. I could find no issues in the bags. Originally I had hoped to inflate the bags and place them in water to see if I could find a leak but the tube fittings on top of the bags are non-standard and none of the fittings I had would allow me to connect a pump to the bags. So in a leap of faith I just replaced the bags with the new ones. It seems to have worked. The vehicle doesn't sag anymore at the ass end at all. I changed them last Sunday and on Friday, it hasn't sagged once. Prior to the change it would sag almost every night (it was getting to that point anyway) or if I left it parked for a couple of hours even. That was the problem, it wasn't every night or every time. It defied logic that a leak in the bag would be inconsistent and would cause even sag on both sides of the vehicle but there it is. Seems to be fixed. The installation was a piece of cake. The only difficult part was getting the top end seated and even that wasn't too bad. I just got down and looked at the holes, then felt with my hands and was able to pop it in and turn counterclockwise to lock them in. You can confirm correct lock by looking in the floor of the rear compartment where they come through the floor. I also pulled the bags down a little to lock them into the bottom mounts. The one thing I did notice was that the bottom locking tabs on the Arnott bags at least were not that strong so I manually spread them a little with a screwdriver once the bags were mounted to ensure positive lock in.

[Snowshower]

I had an issue where the rear suspension would gradually drop after parked for a while, and it would not raise when started. I have a Snap-on scan tool that allows me to read the DTC. That scan tool also allowed me to pump up, adjust, and calibrate the ride height. The reader was telling me that I had a bad relay. I swapped the relay out, no joy. Then I pulled everything out of the trunk and I got to the battery case. The Air Suspension Control module is located off that. The module casing had a crack in it. I grabbed a used control module off ebay, popped it in, and voila...worked like a charm. Sometimes a complex system can be repaired by a very simple thing. If that had not worked, I was seriously considering conversion to coil springs. I am glad i did not have to...for now!

[dnuglc]

Hello, does anyone know how to test the Air Suspnsion Control Unit?

2008 BMW X5. Due sagging I've already replaced the rear air suspension bags, compressor, valve block and relay. Car still does not raise. Looking at the Air Suspension Control Unit as possible culpret but don't konw how to test it. Code is "level control malfunction"

Any ideas or should I be looking at something else. Thanks!

[rangechange]

hi all. iv'e had an issue with my rear suspension for some time,the right rear would sometimes deflate and then it would stay up for weeks.The left side air bag was replaced under warranty so when it was replaced i asked the garage if they could have a look at the rest of the system,the mechanic did but couldn't find any faults so i lived with it until the problem got worse and the compressor started to get louder!
I bought a new compressor from ebay (£259) and a new valve block (£58) and fitted them myself and to be honest it was a very easy job to do but that didn't cure the problem because with the valve block leaking air on the right side of the car it had worn out the air spring so i bought a new air spring from ebay (£50) and fitted it which again was a very easy job to do (took me an hour....honest!)
the car is now sorted and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg to do it,by the way the car is a 2007 e70 3.0d

forgot to mention when i got the compressor it came with a relay which you have to fit so you don't void the warranty,it's easy to find it's in the fusebox under the glove box