Just purchased a 2004 A8L With 28k miles on her. Was on vacation for the holidays and came back to find it sitting very low in the rear. Is this normal or is it possible the air suspension has a problem. (possibly a slow leak). After I started the car, everything pumped up to normal. The car had sat unused for Ten days.

 

Sounds like a leak somewhere.

Could be worse, we had one a few weeks ago that was stuck in jack mode. I called it the Audi Caprice...all it was missing was a set of 24" spinners. At least it pumps back up or you would be driving the Audi DeVille.

Get her patched up though, logic dictates it will only get progressively worse.

 

Agreed, there is something wrong with the system. Either a leak in an airbag. A bad diverter block, or a bad level sensor. Most likely in that order.

 

If it goes back to normal when u start up, it's because when u turn off the car, it goes into "loading mode". That's one of the cool feature of the car, NOT a LEAK. It makes entering and exiting easier(not like it's hard in the first place) If u turn off the car and get out quickly, u can hear the suspension releasing air and see it lower itself. Very cool, at least I think so. So, don't worry, be happy, and brag about it!

 

Thanks for the leads. I have been watching it and it sits fine overnight and through the day. I am going to measure it just to find out how slow of a leak it is....I might be able to locate it with some soapy water. It goes way down beyond any kind of loading mode and only in the rear. The fender lip was even with the top of the rims. I will keep you all posted.

 

As far as i know only the q7 have the loading mode. Which lowers the rear end to make loading easier. I cant see why that would be a problem with a car thou.

 

I agree with dankhound, my wife and I never had any prob getting in and out of it(except when u just don't wanna leave the car ). I have the sport package with lowered suspension. So while parked, it sits so low almost like a street racer. But it's there regardless, and the sales person was really passionate about it when we were purchasing the car.