juliann

I'm frequently towing a trailer with the 535d and find that the self levelling system keeps lifting the trailer nose to put the loading back onto its rear axle wheels. The load on the trailer is a car, but it doesn't seem to matter how far forward / back (within reason) I position the car, the self levelling still does it's best to reduce / eliminate any nose weight.

Any ideas as to how to bypass / rectify ?


Thanks

garehaan

Personally i think that this car is not a tow car in the first place (yet)
The auto levelling feature works great when loading heavy stuff in the boot, and i can imagine what it does to a trailer: no good!
There's no way I know of to fool the system.
Good question though. I guess a majority of E60 owners never heard of this feature we have on the E61.

new-kid

Surely the self levveling is working perfectly - it rebalances the level of the rear suspension, avoiding the trailer noseweight sinking the car down.

Your problem is an incompatibility regarding the towball height and the trailer hitch height. In the days of old style towbars we could put a drop plate on the towball, but this is not an option with the (very expensive) standard BMW removable towball. Perhaps you need a welder to adjust the trailer ?

In my experience the Tourer is a good towcar (albeit I tow a lighter singel wheel boat trailer). The biggest issue is the awful runflat tyres, which give a rough ride which could upset the trailer contents, so I ditched them and put some conventional wheels and tyres on (plus spare wheel kit)

RW535d

Really have no problems towing 1700kg caravan with my E61 535d. As has been said, it'll be a problem with trailer hitch height. Run flats haven't caused any problems either.

Used to tow with a Range Rover Vogue (4.6ltr) and must say the BM is better in every aspect except one- getting off wet fields. Even traction control fails to cope with the trailer weight.

However, even then, the BM wins!

vdu7x

I tow my trailer with it's Caterham with a 530d touring - same prob - front wheels of the trailer are not doing much. This leads to a rearward weight distribution which makes it a bit prone to sway. The problem is ultimately with the trailer and I suspect that a few spacers to lift the towing point on the triler is the solution.

juliann

What trailer are you using (a B James Clubman ?), do you have factory fit tow bar or aftermarket ?

vdu7x

Brian James Sprint Shuttle. I remember somebody at BJ saying they could put plates between the A-frame on the trailer and the towing hitch to lift that. I'm using the BMW removable tow bar.

juliann

I understood that the OEM BMW trailer module disabled the self levelling if it sensed a trailer hitched up - I'd assumed that the problem was therefore limited to aftermarket units as I have fitted. Probably worth checking with BMW.

Rather than mess with the trailer, I was going to try to get a shorter (= lower) detatchable hitch as mine has a long neck and high ball.

vdu7x

I can definitely hear the self leveling pump up as I lower the trailer onto the tow ball. No sign of it being disabled.

endeavour_uk

Hi Juliann

I was wondering if you found a solution to this problem. I am thinking of getting a 535d partly because I would like something to tow my trackday car. My first instinct was to go for the Touring to hold all the junk you end up taking with you (fuel, wheels, picnic chairs, tools, bored kids etc ). Does this problem make the saloon a safer option?