My 2003 Allroad has what seems like a common problem. The rear air suspension lowers down after the car is turned off, only in level 1 and 2. It stays up in level 3. Does any one have any pointers for troubleshooting this issue?

Thanks

 

I went through troubleshooting the air suspension and it looks like both rear air springs are leaking. How tough are those to replace? Anyone have experience with this work?

 

Well, since no one else seems to have an answer I guess I'll answer. Seems like a pretty easy job. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to get the car up in the air, both rear air struts removed, disassembled and ready for installation of new air springs. I've ordered a set of Arnot air springs and i'll let the forum know how it goes.

 

So how did the installation of the air springs go and how do you like them? How long did the entire process take?

I'm looking at buying the same car and currently it is riding REAL low and the suspension doesn't inflate at all. The owner says it was a gradual leak and he's not mechanically inclined to troubleshoot it so I have no idea what might really be wrong - and the car is about 2 hours (with horrible traffic) away, so it's not an easy thing to go check it out.

The car will need towed and I'm worried about getting it up on the trailer or on a flatbed. I was wondering if I could disconnect the air hoses from the springs and then put on temporary hose(s) (with a valve to close the hose) on each spring, and inflate each one individually with my own compressor. IDK how many PSI these things are rated for, if they are your average 30-120psi compressor or are more like 200-500psi. Eitherway, I have a compressor that can do either but IDK if this process would work.

The inflation would be temporary just for putting it on the trailer or flatbed, and taking it off. I am a little worried about the cost of replacing these if they are all bad and have found a number of aftermarket air springs from $240 for all 4! I also found that for $24 - $30 I can get an additional 1 year warranty in addition to the manufacturer's warranty, which doesn't seem too bad.

$240 for all 4 (2 year warranty!??)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-Front-...QAAOSw3nNdiJPy

$184 for front set - 1yr warranty
https://www.ebay.com/itm/C5-Front-Ai...torefresh=true

$304 for rear set - 1 yr warranty
https://www.ebay.com/itm/C5-Rear-Air...EAAOSwhMNahEgM

Lastly I found that Arnott seems to offer some springs as well but they are much more expensive and about $800 for all 4 springs. IDK much about suspension, and maybe those aren't bad prices as I've never had a car that has needed suspension work, but when looking at an old car that has a $200-300 scrap value, putting $800 into the suspension seems a bit steep.

 

Sorry I didn't get to you Drowe34 before you had to pull the trigger on the repair. A628Q, there is a test that can help determine which if any air springs are leaking. Bring the car up to either level one or two. Then hold down both up and down buttons to put it in jack mode. This will stop the system from self leveling and isolate each wheel so if there's a leak in one spring it will show as low in that corner. If more than one corner is low in the morning you know there are multiple leaks. I've used a tape measure incase the leaks are slow and not completely down when you check. You may need to test more than once at different levels because depending on the leak area, different levels may crease the bag and seal off the leak temporarily.

 

I just read the rest of your post and didn't realize that you couldn't inflate the bags at all. I've had compressor problems with mine and did bypass with a portable compressor but I went underneath and removed the compressor which made it easy to have just one hose connect to the compressor outlet. The likely scenario is the springs have been leaky for some time and weakened the compressor to the point that it's not outputting enough air to lift the car. At this stage you should be prepared to replace all of them including the compressor. You may still be able to get a compressor rebuild kit for under $100 It gave my compressor a couple more years of service. With my latest Allroad which already had coilovers installed I had piece of mind not worrying about it but really missed the abilities of the air springs. All that said I'd trade your problems in a heartbeat for the transmission problems I have now. I hope you get your allroad and get it on the road. By the way I bought Arnot springs with lifetime warrantee. Just make sure that all the documentation is correct. A friend bought one, it failed but it turned out they made a mistake in the model number on the paperwork and didn't honor the warranty.