Has anyone experience this issue? The car rides very rough when the rear raises up (I assume the air bags are inflating to maximum). I can't figure out what is triggering this to occur. Sometimes the car settles back to level fine and the error message disappears other times it stays lifted for days.

 

I had a problem with my system last Fall. At times I had the opposite, with the car telling me it was too low and to avoid sporty driving and quick turns. Apparently my pump was going back (at 100k miles). It couldn't compress enough air before the system timed it out. It was an intermittent problem. A new compressor from Arnott (and definitely NOT the dealer) fixed the problem.

A diagnostic scan should indicate roughly where the problems is. A rough ride might also be a lack of inflation and the car is sitting on the bump stops or close to them.

 

I am getting the same error message about being low but when I look at the car there's about 6 inches between the underside of the rear fender and top of the tire. I can hear the compressor running for about 1 min or so when I first start driving but nothing changes as far as height.

How much was the Arnott compressor?

 

This just happened to me this afternoon on I-80 on my way home from San Francisco. I knew exactly what it was because I had read your post a few days ago, so thanks for keeping me from getting killed on the highway, because the ride got rough and VERY unstable. It was probably made even worse by the stiff damping on my coilovers.

When it happened, I could tell the ride was awful almost instantly, and a few moments later, the error appeared on the HUD. Turning the car off and on did not help, and I forgot my OBD-USB cable for INPA at home (), so I just disconnected the battery and drove around the gas station where I stopped to try to get things reset. It worked, and I made it a couple hundred miles back home, but now I'm very cusious to know what exactly failed.

I'll read codes if the snow stops tomorrow and report back.

 

I just realized, I took some photos for reference...



and

 

I'm taking my car into the shop this week. My car is stuck just like your car is shown in the pictures. I really hate these rear air springs. So damn complicated for a feature I don't need or like.

 

Well, I read the codes tonight, and the EHC showed the following:

5F92
5F9A

Based on a quick google search, I found the following:

5F92 - EHC: Supply, ride-level sensor, rear left
5F9A - Control-time fault, lifting

If this happens again, I'll check the sensor and signal wiring in more detail. I was worried about the adjustable links I installed with the KW V3's, but everything looked OK based on a quick visual inspection when I pulled over, so this may be more difficult to troubleshoot since it appears to be intermittent. I am interested to hear what codes and resolution your shop finds.

 

Any answer from the dealer on your issue?

This happened again to me this weekend, so I lowered the axle manually in INPA until it was at the desired height. I have continued to get the "Level Control Malfunction" error message on my HUD, but the ride height is no longer affected.

 

I suspect one of the sensors for the EHC system in the rear is on its way out. I had similar behavior until 1 day it stopped recovering.

Here is what the shop put in regards to the issue:

Replace left rear height sensor
Part number 37-14-6-784-696 cost was $110 and 1 hour of labor to put in in was $98

It's all fixed now.

 

That's what I expected. Based on the codes, I already ordered a brand new genuine BMW sensor off ebay for $40. I'll put it in and reset things with INPA, and it should fix this issue. I just need to figure out how to reset the EHC with INPA.