jetb

Hi all,

I have a 2004 E61 530D which I am enjoying very much. Well the wife gets to enjoy it a lot more than me and I am often left enjoying our old focus diesel estate!!

I have been getting level control failures for a couple months very intermittently and so I began to research the subject.

I have jacked the car up and inspected the notorious hose and mine is the old style unbraided hose. I ran out of light and was unable to inspect the compressor end but it had very slight beginnings of degradation at the filter end where the hose is clipped, nothing that looks like it would let in dirty air.

I have also managed to get the error using INPA and there were 2 errors relating to the amount of time taken to adjust the suspension. This mainly happens under load. I have concluded that the pump is Kaput! as it was amusingly described in one malaysian post on the subject.

I now have a few options.

I saw one post where the guy, who seemed experienced replaced with generic hose and a squirt of silicon spray to help the seals in the pump and has been going ok. So one option is to replace the hose with a new generic hose and continue to run until it goes fully Kaput! The problem here is it could go Kaput at an inappropriate time and end up causing damage to the air springs.

I have read posts and TIS and the DIY change of the pump seems straightforward, however BMW specialist here in wimbledon told me that the compressor needs coding or calibrating. I didn't see this in TIS. I have seen the full unit with Valves and hoses for around 480 EUR. I have seen the process described in TIS but have not seen it anywhere as a good old written up DIY. I am especially unsure of the system reactivation after the change has been made, how do I then reinflate the suspension. I am sure I read somewhere this is done with INPA or DIS. Haven't really got a fully functioning INPA yet. Tried a couple but have not had any work fully and I have not seen an option to reinitiate the system. DIS I haven't had running at all yet.

Third option is to stump up to BMW specialist who will be around a grand GBP. Job done well (I hope) and about a day saved for me is the upside of this one.

I am not a particularly experienced DIYer but I am also not a complete muppet.

Does anyone have any experience with this? was it easy? Does the system need recoding or recalibrating? Or should I just pay for the convenience of having it done? Is option one even worth considering could the system fail in an ugly way?

Many thanks

Should I do this DIY or just leave it to

karman1977

just replace to new one. i dont think there is such programming or coding necessary.

mmitev

The dealer did it for me in 1/2 hour. Thus, I don't think its hard or complicated. Certainly no coding is needed.

You just replace, start the car and see - if it pumps up and stays level, you're good to go. If not, it needs further fixing. There is no risk of anything expensive getting busted.

I think your best, easiest and cheapest option is to source a compressor yourself at a good price, and then let an independent shop (that has done it before) replace it.

ads500

I had the dreaded "level control fault" not so long ago. I took my car to an indy, all they could tell me is that the faults were reading as time outs inflating both bellows.

They suggested i take it to bmw and have them diagnose the fault, as you may have an air leak, though it is likely you would hear the air hissing out from the bellows or the air lines. BMW diagnosed the fault (new compressor required) and charged me 3/4 of an hours labour £100 for the pleasure, i then new the source of the problem for sure. Any of the major components that are in the system are expensive i.e. the compressor and the two bellows so i wanted to know for sure before i spent out and had the problem solved.

I actually had my indi do the job, which he said was easy and took about an hour with no coding required. The cost was £790 of which i think £650 was a bmw oem compressor. I have a third party warranty, as i have not actually had the car very long, and they forked for the seven large which i was very pleased about.

If the warranty company would not have covered the job and the parts, i had done some digging around for a replacement part. The below link i believe is the actual distributer to bmw for the oem part. The guys name is oliver and the parts are shipped from germany. There is a three month part warranty cover but you have to purchase a new relay to go along with the pump. BMW OEM kit came with a new relay as well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E61-Co...t_13236wt_1263

As suggested above i would get an independent indi to fit it as the rear suspension will collapse completely, the system would have no air inside it. Meaning you need the whole of the rear axle of the ground. You may want to think about a replacement intake pipe also, i had a new one fitted as well i think the part was £35 again oem.

I have an 04 e61 525i.

Good luck.

ahjclassic

I had this issue on my 2005 530d and resolved for about £20 against a dealer quoted parts price for the motor/compressor/dryer assembly of £520!!

I had problems initially with the unit running more frequent than normal, then after a few weeks it would run and time out after a min or so with the yellow warning on the I drive, then after a month or so it would not pump up at all.

I changed out the inlet pipe for a petrol pipe ( much more heavy duty ) early on in this process.

I removed the motor/comp/dryer unit complete in it's cradle, you have to undo the high pressure 4mm lines, black on the output from the compressor, and red and blue to each air spring. The whole job takes about 20 mins max.

I then inspected the black high pressure line and found it chaffed against the cradle. So off I went to the dealer to get a new line, that's when they said we don't sell that on it's own you'll need to purchase the complete unit!! I went along to the local hydraulics shop and purchased a mitre of the 4mm plastic high pressure line for 50 pence and some high strength thread seal( for replacing the high press. connectors ) for £8 ish and some quick fit connectors.

Installed the new line sleeved in some petrol piping to prevent any further chaffing and reinstalled back onto the vehicle. Turned on the ignition and the unit started to pump until it timed out after a min or so. I let the unit rest for 5 mins and turned the ignition on again, the unit started its pump cycle, this time the rear end started to lift and after 30-40 secs it stopped. I checked the ride height on both sides to ensure they were equal, all was OK.

Job done, that was back in July some 3K miles or so, with at least 1K of that towing a large caravan.

Hope this helps.

SteveD518

I started getting the "suspension level malfunction" message last winter and it's been popping up intermittently especially on cold days. According to the code the compressor was running too long but no sag in the rear. I bought a new compressor from E Bay $361 shipping included and had it installed with a new relay for $65.
Steve