tom_il

Ah thx , Wonder if it was there from the start or the previous owner had it fixed.
Don't have the service history of the car yet.

kErb

Hi All
I'm getting the "Suspension Failure" messages once or twice a week now - not good :thumbsdown: .
I thought it may be worthwhile to change the rubber pipe to see if that helps, it may not but will need doing anyway even if I do have to replace the pump later.
Can anyone advise the dimensions of the pipe I would need, would a 1m long x 3.5m bore reinforced petrol pipe be sufficient?
Also I've read on one forum that a squirt of silicone spray into the pump may help rejuvinate the seals etc - any thoughts on that?

Thanks.

SteveD518

I have an '06 530 xi which was getting the "self leveling suspension malfunction" message with no change in suspension height. I replaced the compressor and still get the same message with no change in rear suspension height. This happens mostly in colder temps, below 25 degrees F. I believe my air supply control unit may be bad which may be causing the compressor to run unnecessarily. Has anyone replaced this unit?
Steve

Namaki

So after gradually getting the error, without noticing any difference in comfort or height, the system decided to fail completely this morning (coldest morning this winter).

Weird thing is that the car doesn't sit low, it's like a jeep in the back. Is this normal?

Oh and just for your info, i have the new braided hose :/

mmitev

Definitely not normal. First time I hear about it sitting higher.
There must be a problem with the sensors or the electronic control unit. Or the release valves. But not the compressor, as it obviously works as intended.

Tiago

My rear suspension got crazy. It seems that solenoid valve (the device that splits the air from the compressor line to each shock line) got stuck while open, leaving the shock without any air and reaching the bottom. Then, the air compressor stopped working, even after several on/off ignition, and only started again after a long period of time (+3 hours). Then it raised the suspension like crazy, way above the normal height. Can this be a failure from the self-levelling sensors?

When finally it reached the normal height, i unplugged the wire from the solenoid valve and it is like this for 2 weeks without any height change, like a normal spring/shock suspension. The only cons of having it disconnected is that it throws the suspension error. But i will leave it like this till i figure out the problem.

1Animal1

Hiya chaps - After reading all 15 pages of this thread....

I am getting a the weird groaning noise and a 'psssst' after about 30 seconds of hearing it. It doesn't always come on, i've heard it roughly a dozen times since working in the boot (replacing the loom) this last week. Warning signs on the dash are intermitant, although my idrive is down so im not taking all of the warnings 'in' until that is resolved.

My first aim is to replace the pipe with a high pressure silicone boost pipe which should be less susceptible to corrosion and will be more than adequate for the pressure. If this doesn't resolve then i was going to remove the compressor and try to clean it up internally. Has anyone done this succesfully? A garage talked me through the solonoid removal too, just incase these were at fault.

My plan was to jack up the back corner and remove - am i right in saying the car won't bottom out if i only jack the corner up, if removing the compressor?



I'm aware of the chap who took the compressor unit apart on this thread.... did that work upon putting it back together?

Thanks for all the great info so far - this forum has helped me massively on my recently aquired project (which seems to have the top 5 E61 problems associated with it)

Tim

mmitev

My car always bottoms out when jacking up, even without compressor removal.

I think cleaning can not fix a damaged compressor, as the metal valve inside is damaged and leaks air. Mechanics have told me its almost impossible to repair it as its a quite precise piece of machinery. But you can still try and let us know.. My advice is to buy one from a facelift car from someone like http://www.fabdirect.com/. Much cheaper than dealer prices, and improved vs. the pre-facelift version.

1Animal1

thanks MM... I've bought the piping today ready for the weekend, and also noticed its higher on one side! solonoid?

1Animal1

Well, after hitting the swirls at the weekend I thought i'd remove the panel to the compressor - The pipe was broken in two places!! So i replaced this with fuel pipe which was much thicker - I'll upgrade to the OEM pipe once I have isolated the issue.

I still have the pump working for 30 secs every now and again, one side is maybe MM higher than the other, nothing huge... and the fault sign is still on the DIS - investigation phase 2!!