Next instalment of the endless self levelling suspension saga

[CondorX5]

So many self levelling suspension problems on E53s, and of course the 4.8is has  self levelling suspension all round so even more to go wrong. Thank heavens this instalment cost me nothing but it would have been a pricey affair if I had to pay - last year the ECU was replaced under warranty as were two airbags, valves and other connections tested and deemed to be fine as was valve block. I paid for sensor replacement that warranty didn't cover, but as it was the cheapest part of the air suspension at about £70 a sensor, at the time, it wasn't too bad.

Within a few weeks of getting the X back from the dealer, the message flashed up again ........ This was a few months ago and as the ride height was behaving perfectly normally and the car driving well, I waited till MOT and service due time and booked it in to Sytner Sutton Coldfield as I have done for the past few years now.  Fault cleared and I was told nothing was wrong but within a few hours, it reappeared so back it went.

Next day I had the bad news that a valve needed replacing which warranty would cover (around £300 plus labour) but that the valve block needed replacing and would not be covered by warranty as it was deemed "wear and tear" and the bill was going to end up around £2000. 

After a quick word with the Service Manager,  he went off to BMW UK who responded by covering the costs of a new valve block.  The extended warranty is covering the faulty valve replacement and the dealership are providing the labour on a goodwill basis.  Apparently the full main dealer service and repair record made it easier to get a positive response from BMW UK, plus the fact I had kept the extended BMW warranty in place all this time.

I am guessing that "corroded  / leaky valve blocks" can be repaired or replaced a lot cheaper than the crazy main dealer prices, but as I have not had to pay for it, its ok! 

Dealers loaned me a 335i M-Sport tourer first, then a 15-reg 325i M-Sport which is drawing far too much unwelcome boyracer attention, so I will be pleased to get my 10 year old 4.8is back next week! 

Lets see if we can actually get through a year without self levelling suspension issues! 

[X5Sport]

Methinks I'll be keeping my extended warranty going too......

[CondorX5]

Hmm, well 20 miles later and only an hour in, back it came...........car booked back in to BMW.  Glad I didn't have to pay for it, but I think I am going to give up at some stage, warranty or not, and go coilover.    BMW may as well replace the entire system though, so I have bits to sell to finance the coilovers lol watch this space!

[X5Sport]

So they're playing the 'dunno what's really wrong with it, so we'll change this part and hope' game again eh?  No wonder owners get annoyed with garages.  Especially if - unlike you - they then get the bill!

[chrisn7]

I'm a bit suspicious now when they tell you an ECU or module needs replacing. I had this story with daughters Yaris, and a female colleague the same with a Corsa. With the Yaris, I took it to another dealer to verify the ecu story, and they diagnosed the clutch- there never was anything wrong with the ECU for which the first garage wanted £1100+. The Corsa was traced to a wiring problem, not a module, by a second garage.

The average owner has no way of confirming what the garage tells you with ecus, and you have to trust that they actually do replace the module....Makes you wonder

[Turks]

Condor - glad to hear you haven't had to foot the bill for this... I, like you, have also kept my Warranty going and every year it seems to pay for itself. This next week or so, I am having the Sat Nav system (incl. Screen) replaced. They weren't going to accept it at first but then because my full Service and Repair history was with them, they agreed. Worthwhile.

Hope they do a proper Diagnosis this time and do some real investigation rather than just plugging in to a laptop.


Turks/

[CondorX5]

They do seem somewhat hapless at accurate diagnosis. Am still driving around in a new 3 series (third loaner in a month! ) told them to ensure its fixed this time! They did seem embarrassed about it having to return yet again. Warranty are footing the bill again.  Turks - my satnav unit replaced under warranty last year cost them over £2k! And thats without the screen!    Hope these fixes work this time!

[CondorX5]

Well, the beast is back (again) -collected this morning after further endless diagnosis, repair and testing, or should that read "replace parts and if that doesn't work replace more parts!"
List of work done this time and parts replaced reads a bit like an inventory, so glad I didn't have to pay for this..........

-accumulator valve replaced, pressure sensor replaced, compressor relay replaced, compressor replaced............

Last year an airbag and the height sensors were replaced, again under warranty except for one of the sensors which had cracked and for some inexplicable reason the warranty refused to pay for -luckily it was "only" £80 , cheapest part of this troublesome air suspension system, so I didn't argue the toss.  Especially as the Mk4 satnav unit had also packed up at the time and was replaced by them at a crazy cost of over £2k...........

So. Watch this space........

[sleepyfolk]

For gods sake, does no garage have anyone in it with a diagnostic brain any more?! I had this fiasco last year when our lump was delivered back to the dealer with an obvious injector issue, but oh no sir, we can only do what the computer says, that resulted  in a four week delay (them, knackering another injector) before finally diagnosing a faulty injector.
I should have asked for a job!

[ayat]

I replaced the rear of my x5 this week to springs and the ride is so much better.
I had eibach springs on the front
But the rear was never level and one side sat a bit higher
I purchased rear springs from eibach to match the front
And the conversion kit ( minus the standard springs ) for £50.
Just need the code out the error message on the dash.

[AW8]

I think the obstacle to sorting here is the BMW warranty.

Even if a tried and tested indy was used , their intervention will likely invalidate the warranty.

.........and I am not convinced that an indy bill would be lesser than cost of the warranty.

I do agree coil conversion may be way forward if outside of dealer warranty.

It has been said before but a  3.0i manual on coil conversion probably the wwy forward for greater reliability.

[Greydog]

I believe the problem is two fold (1st) A slavish belief in the diagnostics, often the code/description seen can be the symptom not the cause. Leading to parts being changed unnecessarily (classic is lambda codes which can be thrown by air leaks or air mass issues even a clogged fuel filter) Parts removed are not tested, checked or repaired?
(2nd) Is the insurance industry, earlier this year the rear diff failed on my X the BMW specialist I use could buy a complete repair kit and rebuild the diff total cost just under £800. My warranty company said new diff? Cost just under £2k for just the part plus the inconvenience and wait for the new parts.
My X5 is a nice car but it is 12 years old

[X5Sport]

Well put.  Modern 'Technicians' simply don't know how to diagnose, and warranty companies only allocate minimum time to finding the issue, hence the chop and change parts approach.

[CondorX5]

So far, for this problem on this occasion, the car was with the dealer for a month in all......ok, I had three new loaners from them, no issue, lots of apologies, but on each occasion there just seemed to be a load of part swopping after initial "diagnosis" failed.........each occasion being an increasingly expensive part, ending up with the actual compressor itself, the ECU having been replaced (last year -under warranty).  Plus the added nuisance of having to return 3 times after just a few miles as the error message had returned. 

Much as I love this car, there is just no way this kind of work would have been a viable proposition without the warranty.  I suppose for about £1500 or so, it could have been changed over to coilovers all round, but I really did want the all round air suspension to be in good working order the way it was intended to be. 

Hopefully there will be some respite from the trips to the dealer - although there is a worrying clunk in the mechanism of the drivers side window, so wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a casualty at some stage. For now I am just enjoying not seeing the self levelling error message.........

[Greydog]

Fingers crossed that you get to drive and enjoy your X for some time to come now.

Computer technology is I fear one of our greatest benefits and hindrances in one. It allows almost infinite control of mechanical devices making them so much more efficient and responsive. Downside it becomes unnecessary to understand how it works as we can "communicate" with it !!
It is also happening to generations who now have not got a clue where they are if they don't have a Sat Nav signal I have Children and Grandchildren who have never owned a map, without Google or Garmin they cant find the gate??
Modern Life Hey Ho