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raleighallroad, thanks for the feedback! BTW, since I replaced my air suspension as pair, I have the almost new (~1 yr) OEM front airspring left over. Nothing wrong with it! I am hoping that it can safe someone some $$ while taking off some of the cost of replacing mine as pair. That way, everybody can benefit. If interested then contact me at j_steinborn at yahoo dot com.
Anyone have experience converting a air bag suspension system to a traditional shock system?
Thinking of doing it after I recieved another $1,000 estimate to fix my 2001 Allroad suspension controller unit.
The car is below level 1 and won't fill the bags. The pump was replaced 12,000 miles ago. I don't believe it's the bags because none of them inflate even to the lowest level.
Also let me know if anyone out there is interested in a pump woth only 12,000 miles on it.
I did it. Got the latest Arnott coilovers and am perfectly happy. Had to reinstall 1 entire bad set, but Arnott covered the cost and upgraded the shocks from KYB to Bilsteins in their manufacturer. my email is tdksa90@gmail.com and am in San Francisco bay area, California
Hi Mark - Since they sent me new back shocks the car has been fine. From the sound of the last post I should complain more and get the billstein shocks, but if anything happens I will (they are supposed to have a lifetime guarantee after all). Generally the ride is good, somewhere between 1 and 2 in height. Much softer ride than the original, but not too bad and high speed cornering doesnt cause too much roll. Actually, I've done nearly 25K on them and had no problems at all (since the new backs) and if I hadnt replaced them I'd probably would have sold the car by now as it would have needed 4 air prints, a new computer (that was the first thing to go according to audi, but it was actually the front right airbag) and probably a new compressor as well. All those parts (even using arnotts) plus labor would = seriously broke Don. Also, I don't miss raising and lowering the car at all (its still higher than most and clears speed bumps and pot holes OK) and in the recent snow it was as sure footed as ever (although annoying you cant disable the ABS).
Anyway, YES, I would definitely recommended it - especially if you can get the better billstein ones. Best of luck!
I own a 2005 Allroad that I purchased new in "07. I was having problems with my front right bags loosing air and the compressor was running all the time to keep the suspension up 32,000 km. My car used to be continually levelling itself right from the beginning and kept hearing a howling noise coming from the rear which ended up being the compressor running all the time. I took it in under warranty to also find out what the noise was as the compressor was running all the time. I was advised that it was the pressure release valve and not to worry about it as this is a common soubnd to hear. Now that it just went off warranty the sound, I am being told is now the compressor running all the time and now no one knows anything about a pressure release valve or what it is supposed to do.
Inevitably, I started loosing air in the front right and now that the car is off warranty the Audi dealership advised that it will cost $7,000 to repair the entire suspension. The dealership also downplayed my concerns for the howling noise that ended up being the compressor running all the time. I found this Forum and decided to take the advice of many by ordering the Arnott shocks from Florida and changing them over and removing the expensive headache once and for all.. I ordered the shocks and just had the changeover done last week Jan 7/11. My greatest concern was how it might affect the ride. I am happy to say that the ride is just as good if not better and so far I am completely happy with the changeover. My mechanic did However, mention that the Yellow dash light may still come on but he said that if it did he would simply remove or disconnect the bulb.
In addition, the height of the vehicle is at level 2 which I find to be a perfect height. I am now back in love with my Allroad and wouldn't trade it off for an A6 Avante as what seems to be the advised which is ridiculous. The sporty look of the vehicle is why most of us like it and would have bought an A6 Avante in the first place if that was what we wanted. I’m sure non of us, realizing the future problems this vehicle would have purchased it knowing the problems that would go along with it. The vehicle was bought it for its dependability and beauty. I am now back to owning a very dependable and roadworthy vehicle which was what I thought I had originally purchased.
I have researched everywhere and came up with read nothing but problems with Audi's Air suspension system. There are those who appear to be happy fixing and repairing their suspension systems on their Allroads endlessly, and if the ride isn’t compromised than I feel no reason to be a purist by maintaining a product that is no better than a headache.
One thing I will be doing is a letter writing campaign to my local Audi dealership, Audi Canada, Head office Europe and U.S and the better business bureaus in every major city in Canada describing this endless problems with their air suspension in their Allroad. I can see maybe why they quite designing it. The suspension problems that plague this vehicle are unbelievable and am surprised that Audi hasn't taken a better proactive approach when dealing with what appears to be the weakest part of their vehicle.
Thank you for the vote of confidence on the Arnott shocks. Mine are on the way. Just wanted to write and say that I had a similar experience with my dealership here in San Jose, CA.. I have a 2003 Allroad and at about 30,000 miles I complained about the constant whirring sound coming from near the back of the vehicle. I also was told not to worry about it. Predictably, the air springs needed repairs after the warranty expired and they "had no record" of my previous complaints. Audi has really failed with this situation and I wish there were a way to publicize it. I've spent thousands on repairs for the air suspension.
After reading about endless other Air suspension horror stories I decided to take a leap of faith, and go ahead and order the new suspension. The new shocks $1199.00, install $725. I live in northern Canada. Lately, we have had more snow than we have had in 60 years. Unbelievable. The streets that haven't been graded and cleared are in terrible shape. However, the real test was driving down rough and incredibley bumpy side streets. The Allroad passed with flying colours. I am so impressed and happy with the choice I made. One tip I would like to add though. My mechanic advised that while test driving there was a audible clunking noise going over bumps that I have heard about in other posts as well from other owners. He took the car to have a wheel alignment and the clunking sound has diassapeared. Make sure you have a wheel alignment done at the same time as the change-over it seemed to work. Back to my original email. I will be sending a letter of complete explanation of my entire experiance and encourage all others to do the same. I will persue my issures until I get a reasonable response. My dealership advised me that when your air system goes it happins all at once and doesn't happin gradually. I guess I must have had stupid stamped all over my forehead that day. What a crock!
Well, it's been one year since I replaced the air suspension system with the Arnott Bilstein shocks. Absolutely the best decision I have made regarding this automobile - no problems with the new suspension. Yes, the suspension warning light comes (yellow car profile) comeson after a minute or so and stays on - who cares? I would say the new system is not quite as good as the original - softer, and bottoms out once in a while on a rough road - but it is adequate AND COMPLETELY RELIABLE!
This was a major design flaw that AUDI never owned up to. I will never buy another Audi for that reason, but I will keep driving this one as long as it makes sense.
After I had the Arnott shocks installed last year I drove 12 miles home with 4-5 inches of snow on the road and it was all I could do to keep the car on my side of the road; it was very dangerous. I had the wheels aligned the next day and the problem was gone; you definitely need a wheel alignment after the change.
I was wondering if someone has seen this where if I leave the car at level 3 overnight it is fine the next morning, however on Friday I had it set to level 2 and overnight it had dropped right down. When I started the car up the warning lights were flashing, but it raised the suspension to normal. So I left it at level 2 and it happened again within a few hours. I have not tried level 1.
Could this be the "bags" as it is not happening on all levels? I use the car every day so I don't have time to leave it on level 3 for a while to see if it happens at that setting.
You have to replace your front bags. What happens is that at each level a different portion of the bag is bent (look at the suspension and you will understand what I am saying). So at level 3 the hole you have in the bags is higher up on a flat surface and so less air escapes, sometimes none. At level 2 the hole is closer to the bent of the bag and more air escapes. Another thing you should be noticing is that your compressor should be turning on a lot while you drive, a lot more than needed by a car with perfect bags. You can still drive for a while like that, but you are putting strain on your compressor and might find out that the bill for waiting too long is that you might lose the compressor also.
I really like the car and had it from new, but they can be troublesome. I have spend £4,000 in the last 6 months on a car that has only done 34,000 in 5 years.
There are a lot of tech articles out there on this matter...it takes a couple of hours for one side. And maybe one hour for the other side(since you will know what to expect). The general rule is that you have to replace both sides(in the front) but if it's too expensive just do the side that's got the problem. Here's a link: http://www.audiction.com/audi-maintenance/audi-allroad-front-air-spring-replacem- ent/
Wow that is insane. Either trade it or do the conversion if you want to keep it. You could always use Arrnott replacement parts instead which would save money if you want to keep the air suspension. Audi suck, I doubt they have really checked - I didnt even realise there was a shock absorber?
I am in the process of contacting Arnott shocks, to date I have replaced the front air shocks and the compressor, now the rear air shocks are going. Last year I replaced one of the two turbos at a cost o $5k. Audy's are nice to drive however when it come to reliability and repair cost they are way out of line. European cars in general should not be kept beyond their warranty period.
Sorry to hear about your problem. I have a 2002 Allroad purchased with 4,000 miles on it in 2002. It now has over 130,000 on it and is still a great driving. The car has been been serviced at recommended intervals and other than routine maintenance, replacement of wear parts such as brake pads and wiper blades and the replacement of the front air shocks about 12 months ago the car has been trouble free. Annual maintenance costs are substantially lower than the annually depreciation cost of a new car.
Air suspension systems appear to be prone to failure. The Allroad is not unique in that regard. If the shocks are not replaced promptly when they begin to leak the compressor will fail from over use.
I have put 100,000 on my S4 with no problems. And we have a '96 A6 with 190,000 that has gotten two kids through college without an problems. I use it as an extra winter car. Finally, my wife's 5000 CS Quattro Wagon had 260,000 when she sold it.
I'd say Audi's aren't bad - I'm looking for an S5.
Hi. I bought a 2000 Allroad 2.5 TDI last December and the suspension was checked and seemed fine. However there was a problem with water coming in due to leaves blocking the overflow and the computer on the floor became wet, and then things happened like the remote locking wouldn't work and the suspension started to misbehave, letting itself down at odd times. The dealer I bought it from sorted it out and all seemed ok, but the suspension still seems temperamental. I leave it on automatic setting which is supposed to stay up at level 3 when parked, but it lets itself down sometimes in a few minutes, sometimes it stays up overnight. When it goes down I start the car and it seems to right itself OK and stays as it should while I'm driving. But I think the problem may be electronic rather than pneumatic. Any verification of this out there? Also is there a photo somewhere to show where the suspension bags are? I can't see them! The car has only done 64,000 miles and has full service history, and I do enjoy driving it - however as I have already spent a lot of money having the broken cam shaft fixed (yes really!) I'm beginning to wonder if I should get rid of it.
The problem is a leak in one of your front air springs. Apply soapy water all over the air springs, one at a time and, using a mirror and a strong light, watch for bubbles. That will tell you which one needs replacing. I have used a couple of replacement air springs by Audi and was not satisfied. For the most recent change-out, I used the Arnott air spring and found it to be most satisfactory and its price far more appealing. I installed the Arnott myself and found it to be a really easy job. It would have been nice had Audi informed the owners of their allroads that the life span of their air bags is between 30k-50k miles. That way it becomes a maintenance item and not a surprise when they leak.
Hi dlaustin, Interested to here that you replaced the air spings with Arnotts and did the job yourself.
Did you have any instructions to follow and how did you manage about hieght adjustments, head light line-up etc, etc as Audi in their workshop manual make a real song and dance about this topic and use all sorts of fancy gear to do it including computer aided.
You don't need any sophisticated equipment to install Arnott airsprings. There are several write ups on this instalation procedure. One is on audiworld tech articles. The major problem is removing the pinch bolt. You can avoid it by removing the two bolts at the upper mount that hold the upper control arms. I did this about 6 times already. It takes me about 40 min from start to finish on one side. First time it took over 2 hours because I was fighting the pinch bolt.
Turned out the job was quite simple. I did use the instructions both furnished by Arnott and by several persons who did the same job and posted details on the net. For me, I only replaced the air spring. Nothing else was disturbed and nothing else needed to be done. I'm still pleased with the result. BTW, I do have the VAG-COM software, but had no reason to use it on this job.
One of the posts talks about the difficulty of removing the pinch bolt. No problem for me. There were two problems I confronted, but once I figured out what to do, they ceased to be problems. First, removing the control arms after removing the pinch bolt. Hammering on the control arms did not work. Much better to insert a pry bar into the crack and spread the crack slightly and just lift out the control arm. Then repeat with the second control arm. Grease to reinsert using the pry bar again. Real easy and safe! Second, how to tighten the nut holding the air bag to the strut. Nothing worked. So when in doubt go to the net. Lo and behold, someone said that some BMW mechanic said to use an air impact wrench and hit the nut a few times with the air impact wrench. This was the perfect solution. Just grip the very smooth strut shaft with an appropriate clamping arrangement - I used rubber around the shaft with a locking wrench gripping the rubber and shaft quite firmly - and apply the impact wrench in bursts. Real easy and quite secure. One other thing, when reinserting the lower strut bolt, alignment may be a pain. I used a small hydraulic jack to un-weight whatever in order to allow for very easy alignment and installation of the bolt. Good luck!
i get that the air shocks suck... i have a 2001 allroad, and the front has bottomed-out. in all my reading about the problem, everyone says to check, air up and spray with soapy-water. Mine wont even air up. the compressor is running(sounds like a cheap tire pump), the rear adjusts but the front wont move. any chance there is a leak elsewhere or hose disconnected? i ran across a thread about the junction hub for the air suspension? where is it located?
also, if you do the spring/strut conversion, where does it ride? high, low medium ???
Hi bcoxy, I have read your post with great interest. I have a late 2004 Allroad 2.5tdi that I bought new, and has still only covered 51k. About 4 years ago, when the car was out of warranty I noticed one day that there was a large quantity of water in the spare wheel well - and I mean 2 or 3 inches !! I removed the water using a sponge and bucket and carefully dried it out using a hair drier. I assumed that maybe the pipe supplying the rear screen wash was leaking water into the well and asked the dealer to check it out at the next service - they reported no problem found. Since then, I periodically check the spare wheel well and 9 times out of 10 it does have a large quantity of water in it.
About a year ago, I started having problems with the suspension and a few other random issues. I read all the usual forums and my symptoms didn't seem to match most of the reported 'leaking bag' problems. Sometimes, putting the car into reverse seems to make the suspension play up after days of being fine - also sometimes the rear parking sensor plays up at the same time giving a permanent warning tone. I too am convinced that the problem is electrical rather than pneumatic. Often the car will pump up on command quickly and easily, leading me to believe the pump and bags are fine. However sometimes, if I ask the car to raise up, the pump doesn't even seem to run (after the cycle times out and the dash warning light come on) I switch off the engine and restart and then it will usually work. My local dealer has checked the car and VAGCOM shows no fault codes for the suspension or the parking sensor. They have also checked the suspension bags and say they are all fine. They have offered to change the pump as a 'possible fix' but their quote was prohibitive.
When you said that "the computer on the floor became wet" was it the same issue that I have (water in the spare wheel well) ? And if so, did you track down the source of the water or find out if this was connected to your suspension and other electrical issues ?
From reading these posts and reading about the arnott coil spring conversion kit, my understanding is the car will sit at level 2. I have a 2005 allroad with 55K miles and the air suspension is coming out tomorrow. The bags have been leaking for a couple of months - the dealer estimated $3500 to fix. The conversion kit was a bit less than a grand, and I'll pay for the labor and not have to worry further on down the line. I love the allroad but this is a serious flaw.
i got the bags to replace and i am in the middle of it now. pretty easy task if you have the right power to get the pinch bolt loose. the spring conversion is the same process, you should do it yourself and save the money.
This is a new problem that I've encountered as far as the net is concerned. The rear suspension is refusing to air up, and the level indication light is sitting at level one, and flashing. When you go to engage the air suspension, the system will run for roughly 3-5 minutes then disengage. While it's running the compressor right at the spare wheel well is producing a rattling sound. I removed the gaurd and observed the rattle, to be an internal rattle. It's running, but not airing up the suspension at all. Any ideas on where I should look next, or have I located my issue? If so, how much/hard is it to replace a continental air compressor?
that is what the front of mine was doing. try this: jack the rear up a bit, not off the ground, and not in "jack mode". turn the key on so the compressor runs. and set to level 2 or 3. this will allow the bags to get air without the weight of the car on it. next get a bottle of soapy water and soak the bags. let the jack down slowly and look for leaks in the bags. most likely a bag has sprung a leak, and wont air up while in the bottomed-out position. i havent had mine very long, so i cant speak to the compressor, but mine is loud like that all the time and still gets the job done. if it was bad, the fronts would be on the ground as well.
if it airs up to level 3 for you and you dont see any leaks, let it down to level 2 and check again. if nothing then go to level 1. mine would not leak in level 3, but when i hit the highway and it dropped to level 2, it would leak down to bottom out.
Alright. Strange thing about this problem is that it's a recurring problem. It happened once before, and fixed itself before I could get to fixing it. Now its back. Its why I ruled out an airbag leak. But I'll give it a shot. Thank you.
I to own an '05 allroad...and just received the dreaded call from the dealership that both front suspension air bags need to be replaced. Can you send me the info (part #'s, what have you) on the change over you did?
mine did the same thing. i think that it depends on where the leak and how big it is. if i had mine in level 3, no leak, if it was in 2, slow leak, if it was at 1, fast leak.
I did the arnott switch and replaced the air suspension with a coil suspension last week. Now I get a headlight range control defective message in the driver info display. Any advice here? The shop that made the switch claims they worked for hours on the problem and could not get the warning light off.
I am faced with a decision: My front left suspension airbag is bad, and I am either going to:
a. Have it replaced with an Audi factory airbag replacement (about $1G), or
b. Replace both front airbags with Arnott Gen II Performance Air Springs (about $1500).
(I do not want to change whole car over to conventional spring/struts, nor am I in a position to do the job myself.)
Does anyone out there have experience with the Arnott replacment air springs? Do they ride/perform better than the Audi parts, as advertized? Any long term problems with them leaking, etc.? I know Arnott gives a lifetime warranty on them, but I don't want to pay for the labor again to replace them if they go bad? Are there any other resources out there that review Arnott Gen II Air Springs for the Allroad, or are they too new on the market to evaluate long term?
Also, has anyone installed a performance chip in their engine. I've heard there's a chip that will increase my 250hp 2.7L Biturbo to 300hp. But, I've also heard that increasing the boost on the turbos will shorten the life of the bearings.
I love driving this car, which we've only had a short time (bought it this year with 80K miles on it), but the maintenance forecast is daunting! Looking forward to quattro power when the snow flies up here in Madison.
Thanks, and happy driving! (Sadly, I'm NOT driving my Allroad right now because of this airbag issue
the Arnott parts are great, i did the fronts with no complaints. but do yourself a favor and convert to springs. these bags are just trouble. my rears are now sagging and causing the compressor to overwork. it will probably fail sometime soon, and then i am looking at replacing the rear and the compressor....
Audi should have stated in their literature or manual that their front airbags have an expected life of 50,000 to 80,000 miles, at which time replacement is in order. Then there would be no surprises when they fail.
I love having the air suspension on my allroad. It has allowed me to drive on many fairly nasty Colorado dirt and rock strewn roads without incident. Being able to raise the car on very snowy days has been helpful.
Now to answer your question. I had once changed out the front airbags using the Audi airbags. One failed after about 30,000-miles and I decided to try Arnott's version to replace only the failed airbag. This time I did the work myself because I was interested in determining if it were a big deal or not. For me, the change-out was simple, maybe a 2-hour job and very straightforward. It was just a matter of establishing the technique for removing and tightening a couple of bolts, as well as aligning the lower strut yoke.
The Arnott has been installed for well over 6-months. I have noticed no difference in the ride with only one Arnott vs. two Audi's. Would I use Arnott again? You bet! Would I replace only the defective airbag? You bet! And I would make the purchase through Amazon because of the reduced cost.
A good shop should only charge for an hour's labor, or maybe one and a half hours, to do the job because their tools are handy and cleanup is nil.
Hello Allroaders and phira, my 2004 Allroad 2.7T just recently started letting the front drivers side sag within about 10 minutes of turning off the car. This only happens if it's set to level 1 prior to shutdown, level 2 holds overnight and longer. I have been to two dealers that suggested replacement of the two front air springs, or the compressor, or the controller unit. I am going to get local specialty shops opinion prior to purchasing anything. Everyone seems to agree on the Arnott air springs and the price on Ebay cuts the price considerably. Please update on the performance of the new air springs as that might be the fix to mine as well. Also, on the chipping. I had APR do our re-flash for the Audi while stationed in Germany for the past three years. That was at about 60K miles and we are know at 112K miles. The car is amazing with the new power, supposed to be 318 HP and 347 lbs/tq. It is a lot quicker up to speed and great even past 4k RPM. It was as fast from 80-100 MPH as 100-120 MPH. Max speed seen was 156 by GPS on A6 in Germany. One issue, it caused a hose to come off one of the turbos right after install but the dealer fixed it for 100 Euro. No issues since and mileage seen ranges about 19-24 City/HWY now, on non-ethanol fuel. It cost about $500 and was definitely worth it. The suspension is now the issue and trying to save the wonderful car since we have all the memories of European travel in it. Thanks again
yup, you probably have a leak, in position one, try hosing it with soapy water, you will be able to tell pretty quick. if not try position two then three, if you cant find anything, check the junction block next to the compressor with the same soapy water. you should see something. then just replace the bags. not cheap but easy-ish... i did the Arnott bags. the ride is o.k., but i was a little skeptical of the quality. there was just more plastic on them than shown in any of the pictures. ??? we'll see how long they last...
Well, I just got done checking the suspension on a lift and found that there was a definite rush of air coming from between the space in the bladder of the front left air spring. I have looked at the Arnott springs, which there are two generations of. Which one did you go with? The second gen are red and copper colored and seem to have a metal sleve around the outside versus the first gen goodyear rubber surrounded version. There is only a $200 difference between them for the pair. I found the local Audi dealer would install them at the rate of 2 hours per side equaling $460 total. How did you go about it?
I recently purchased a 2003 Audi Allroad with 110,000 miles. everything was running perfectly fine until a few days ago.
We were on a trip with the family, two adults in the front, two adults and a baby in the back seat.
The suspension was working fine throughout the day. by about mid day we return to the car and I notice it's sitting lower.
We start it up and the suspension light is on the dash and the car is sitting in position 1. I hit the up button for level 2, and the level 2 light starts to blink.
after about 3-4 minutes nothing happens and the car stays at level 1 and the suspension light is on.
Now, here is the kicker:
When I shut off the car, and then start it again, the suspension indication light on the dash is off and the car is sitting at level 1.
here are a few off my questions:
A. Is it bad or potentially dangerous to continue driving the car or can I continue on at position 1?
B. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is wrong with the suspension and can suggest a way to fix it without swapping out the entire system?
C. Are there any additional suggestions to fix my issue in the most cost effective manner?
do you hear the compressor running for the 3-4 mins? or is it silent. if you cannot hear it then it is most likely a bad compressor, or a relay. if it is visibly still sitting in level one, most likely it still has air in the shocks. if you have a leak in a shock that is too big for the compressor to keep up with, it wont raise the car, but also will look lower than position one, and ride really rough. if this is the case, dont drive it, you will wreck the other suspension stuff. if it is legitimately in position one, it should be fine to drive until you figure out what the problem is. but, the light will indicate 1st position if is lower or "bottomed out"
I do hear the compressor running at various times while driving and when trying to lift it to position 2 which, I believe is the recommended driving position.
I have been doing some reading and a few suggestions (one from an audi dealer) was the block valve might be stuck and not letting air from the compressor to the bags. The fix suggestion was to purchase compressor oil and spray the block valve to open it up.
Let me know what your thoughts are on this...
Could it be possible that I have a leak in once of my bags? I feel this would not be the case since there was an issue lifting the car in the first place. I would assume, in the event of a leak, the compressor would raise the car, and then in time (ie driving or overnight) the car would lower again.
The only thing that I can think of is that we had the car at position 2 when we parked it and then when we came back, it was at position 1.
I am at work right now, not sure if you have a few minutes to discuss this over the phone, but I would appreciate any assistance you can provide to the manner 312-705-8188. Its a Chicago number.
I ran my 2001 all road through an automatic car was the other day on my way home at the end of the day....I don't do it often, but winter is starting and wanted to start off clean...and the next morning I went to leave and it was sitting on the tires and would not raise up. I could press the manual life, but it would only flash and not actually raise at all, not even to level one. The warning light is on, and am hoping it is just a hose issue from the car wash and not something more....and thoughts... Ps, it has 130,000 miles on it and I love it!!!!!
Just had my 04 allroad in shop to replace brakes, front controller arm etc. Mechanic did not deactivate air ride system. Now the front end sits very low and there are no lights in the up & down & ESP buttons also has solid air ride warning on dash. Took to dealer they said that the control module ? needs replacement. $975 for part only. seems to me that this would be a common problem that could occur.
You may be able to get a used module from a salvage yard. I get one from Shokan (see: http://www.shokan.com/) a couple of years ago, had a mechanic install it and it has worked fine since.
Comments
Thinking of doing it after I recieved another $1,000 estimate to fix my 2001 Allroad suspension controller unit.
The car is below level 1 and won't fill the bags. The pump was replaced 12,000 miles ago. I don't believe it's the bags because none of them inflate even to the lowest level.
Also let me know if anyone out there is interested in a pump woth only 12,000 miles on it.
Anyway, YES, I would definitely recommended it - especially if you can get the better billstein ones. Best of luck!
Inevitably, I started loosing air in the front right and now that the car is off warranty the Audi dealership advised that it will cost $7,000 to repair the entire suspension. The dealership also downplayed my concerns for the howling noise that ended up being the compressor running all the time.
I found this Forum and decided to take the advice of many by ordering the Arnott shocks from Florida and changing them over and removing the expensive headache once and for all..
I ordered the shocks and just had the changeover done last week Jan 7/11. My greatest concern was how it might affect the ride. I am happy to say that the ride is just as good if not better and so far I am completely happy with the changeover. My mechanic did However, mention that the Yellow dash light may still come on but he said that if it did he would simply remove or disconnect the bulb.
In addition, the height of the vehicle is at level 2 which I find to be a perfect height. I am now back in love with my Allroad and wouldn't trade it off for an A6 Avante as what seems to be the advised which is ridiculous. The sporty look of the vehicle is why most of us like it and would have bought an A6 Avante in the first place if that was what we wanted. I’m sure non of us, realizing the future problems this vehicle would have purchased it knowing the problems that would go along with it. The vehicle was bought it for its dependability and beauty. I am now back to owning a very dependable and roadworthy vehicle which was what I thought I had originally purchased.
I have researched everywhere and came up with read nothing but problems with Audi's Air suspension system. There are those who appear to be happy fixing and repairing their suspension systems on their Allroads endlessly, and if the ride isn’t compromised than I feel no reason to be a purist by maintaining a product that is no better than a headache.
One thing I will be doing is a letter writing campaign to my local Audi dealership, Audi Canada, Head office Europe and U.S and the better business bureaus in every major city in Canada describing this endless problems with their air suspension in their Allroad. I can see maybe why they quite designing it.
The suspension problems that plague this vehicle are unbelievable and am surprised that Audi hasn't taken a better proactive approach when dealing with what appears to be the weakest part of their vehicle.
Thanks to all for the good information
I live in northern Canada. Lately, we have had more snow than we have had in 60 years. Unbelievable. The streets that haven't been graded and cleared are in terrible shape. However, the real test was driving down rough and incredibley bumpy side streets. The Allroad passed with flying colours. I am so impressed and happy with the choice I made.
One tip I would like to add though. My mechanic advised that while test driving there was a audible clunking noise going over bumps that I have heard about in other posts as well from other owners. He took the car to have a wheel alignment and the clunking sound has diassapeared. Make sure you have a wheel alignment done at the same time as the change-over it seemed to work.
Back to my original email. I will be sending a letter of complete explanation of my entire experiance and encourage all others to do the same. I will persue my issures until I get a reasonable response. My dealership advised me that when your air system goes it happins all at once and doesn't happin gradually. I guess I must have had stupid stamped all over my forehead that day. What a crock!
Driving reassured again,
This was a major design flaw that AUDI never owned up to. I will never buy another Audi for that reason, but I will keep driving this one as long as it makes sense.
I was wondering if someone has seen this where if I leave the car at level 3 overnight it is fine the next morning, however on Friday I had it set to level 2 and overnight it had dropped right down.
When I started the car up the warning lights were flashing, but it raised the suspension to normal. So I left it at level 2 and it happened again within a few hours. I have not tried level 1.
Could this be the "bags" as it is not happening on all levels? I use the car every day so I don't have time to leave it on level 3 for a while to see if it happens at that setting.
Any advice would be helpful.
regards
paul
You have to replace your front bags. What happens is that at each level a different portion of the bag is bent (look at the suspension and you will understand what I am saying). So at level 3 the hole you have in the bags is higher up on a flat surface and so less air escapes, sometimes none. At level 2 the hole is closer to the bent of the bag and more air escapes. Another thing you should be noticing is that your compressor should be turning on a lot while you drive, a lot more than needed by a car with perfect bags.
You can still drive for a while like that, but you are putting strain on your compressor and might find out that the bill for waiting too long is that you might lose the compressor also.
Best regards,
I really like the car and had it from new, but they can be troublesome. I have spend £4,000 in the last 6 months on a car that has only done 34,000 in 5 years.
Thanks once again.
Here's a link: http://www.audiction.com/audi-maintenance/audi-allroad-front-air-spring-replacem- ent/
I have just been to the Audi garage to get it checked and both bags a leaking and the shock absorbers also needs replacing.
This comes to £1,500 for the both. £950 in parts and £550 labour.
Just surprised on a car with 34,000 miles on.
Gerry
Air suspension systems appear to be prone to failure. The Allroad is not unique in that regard. If the shocks are not replaced promptly when they begin to leak the compressor will fail from over use.
I have put 100,000 on my S4 with no problems. And we have a '96 A6 with 190,000 that has gotten two kids through college without an problems. I use it as an extra winter car. Finally, my wife's 5000 CS Quattro Wagon had 260,000 when she sold it.
I'd say Audi's aren't bad - I'm looking for an S5.
thanks,
john
The car has only done 64,000 miles and has full service history, and I do enjoy driving it - however as I have already spent a lot of money having the broken cam shaft fixed (yes really!) I'm beginning to wonder if I should get rid of it.
The problem is a leak in one of your front air springs. Apply soapy water all over the air springs, one at a time and, using a mirror and a strong light, watch for bubbles. That will tell you which one needs replacing. I have used a couple of replacement air springs by Audi and was not satisfied. For the most recent change-out, I used the Arnott air spring and found it to be most satisfactory and its price far more appealing. I installed the Arnott myself and found it to be a really easy job. It would have been nice had Audi informed the owners of their allroads that the life span of their air bags is between 30k-50k miles. That way it becomes a maintenance item and not a surprise when they leak.
Interested to here that you replaced the air spings with Arnotts and did the job yourself.
Did you have any instructions to follow and how did you manage about hieght adjustments, head light line-up etc, etc as Audi in their workshop manual make a real song and dance about this topic and use all sorts of fancy gear to do it including computer aided.
Turned out the job was quite simple. I did use the instructions both furnished by Arnott and by several persons who did the same job and posted details on the net. For me, I only replaced the air spring. Nothing else was disturbed and nothing else needed to be done. I'm still pleased with the result. BTW, I do have the VAG-COM software, but had no reason to use it on this job.
One of the posts talks about the difficulty of removing the pinch bolt. No problem for me. There were two problems I confronted, but once I figured out what to do, they ceased to be problems. First, removing the control arms after removing the pinch bolt. Hammering on the control arms did not work. Much better to insert a pry bar into the crack and spread the crack slightly and just lift out the control arm. Then repeat with the second control arm. Grease to reinsert using the pry bar again. Real easy and safe! Second, how to tighten the nut holding the air bag to the strut. Nothing worked. So when in doubt go to the net. Lo and behold, someone said that some BMW mechanic said to use an air impact wrench and hit the nut a few times with the air impact wrench. This was the perfect solution. Just grip the very smooth strut shaft with an appropriate clamping arrangement - I used rubber around the shaft with a locking wrench gripping the rubber and shaft quite firmly - and apply the impact wrench in bursts. Real easy and quite secure. One other thing, when reinserting the lower strut bolt, alignment may be a pain. I used a small hydraulic jack to un-weight whatever in order to allow for very easy alignment and installation of the bolt. Good luck!
also, if you do the spring/strut conversion, where does it ride? high, low medium ???
I have read your post with great interest. I have a late 2004 Allroad 2.5tdi that I bought new, and has still only covered 51k. About 4 years ago, when the car was out of warranty I noticed one day that there was a large quantity of water in the spare wheel well - and I mean 2 or 3 inches !! I removed the water using a sponge and bucket and carefully dried it out using a hair drier. I assumed that maybe the pipe supplying the rear screen wash was leaking water into the well and asked the dealer to check it out at the next service - they reported no problem found. Since then, I periodically check the spare wheel well and 9 times out of 10 it does have a large quantity of water in it.
About a year ago, I started having problems with the suspension and a few other random issues. I read all the usual forums and my symptoms didn't seem to match most of the reported 'leaking bag' problems. Sometimes, putting the car into reverse seems to make the suspension play up after days of being fine - also sometimes the rear parking sensor plays up at the same time giving a permanent warning tone. I too am convinced that the problem is electrical rather than pneumatic. Often the car will pump up on command quickly and easily, leading me to believe the pump and bags are fine. However sometimes, if I ask the car to raise up, the pump doesn't even seem to run (after the cycle times out and the dash warning light come on) I switch off the engine and restart and then it will usually work. My local dealer has checked the car and VAGCOM shows no fault codes for the suspension or the parking sensor. They have also checked the suspension bags and say they are all fine. They have offered to change the pump as a 'possible fix' but their quote was prohibitive.
When you said that "the computer on the floor became wet" was it the same issue that I have (water in the spare wheel well) ? And if so, did you track down the source of the water or find out if this was connected to your suspension and other electrical issues ?
Many thanks.
if it airs up to level 3 for you and you dont see any leaks, let it down to level 2 and check again. if nothing then go to level 1. mine would not leak in level 3, but when i hit the highway and it dropped to level 2, it would leak down to bottom out.
hope it helps
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_AUDI_Air_Suspension_Parts_yid17_pid124.html-
pretty easy change. if you have a little automotive background.
e-mail with questions. radams@greenling.com
I am faced with a decision: My front left suspension airbag is bad, and I am either going to:
a. Have it replaced with an Audi factory airbag replacement (about $1G), or
b. Replace both front airbags with Arnott Gen II Performance Air Springs (about $1500).
(I do not want to change whole car over to conventional spring/struts, nor am I in a position to do the job myself.)
Does anyone out there have experience with the Arnott replacment air springs? Do they ride/perform better than the Audi parts, as advertized? Any long term problems with them leaking, etc.? I know Arnott gives a lifetime warranty on them, but I don't want to pay for the labor again to replace them if they go bad? Are there any other resources out there that review Arnott Gen II Air Springs for the Allroad, or are they too new on the market to evaluate long term?
Also, has anyone installed a performance chip in their engine. I've heard there's a chip that will increase my 250hp 2.7L Biturbo to 300hp. But, I've also heard that increasing the boost on the turbos will shorten the life of the bearings.
I love driving this car, which we've only had a short time (bought it this year with 80K miles on it), but the maintenance forecast is daunting! Looking forward to quattro power when the snow flies up here in Madison.
Thanks, and happy driving! (Sadly, I'm NOT driving my Allroad right now because of this airbag issue
Phira
I love having the air suspension on my allroad. It has allowed me to drive on many fairly nasty Colorado dirt and rock strewn roads without incident. Being able to raise the car on very snowy days has been helpful.
Now to answer your question. I had once changed out the front airbags using the Audi airbags. One failed after about 30,000-miles and I decided to try Arnott's version to replace only the failed airbag. This time I did the work myself because I was interested in determining if it were a big deal or not. For me, the change-out was simple, maybe a 2-hour job and very straightforward. It was just a matter of establishing the technique for removing and tightening a couple of bolts, as well as aligning the lower strut yoke.
The Arnott has been installed for well over 6-months. I have noticed no difference in the ride with only one Arnott vs. two Audi's. Would I use Arnott again? You bet! Would I replace only the defective airbag? You bet!
And I would make the purchase through Amazon because of the reduced cost.
A good shop should only charge for an hour's labor, or maybe one and a half hours, to do the job because their tools are handy and cleanup is nil.
Hope this helps.
Now, I'm looking at flashing the computer to boost horsepower over 300! Any thoughts?
Also, on the chipping. I had APR do our re-flash for the Audi while stationed in Germany for the past three years. That was at about 60K miles and we are know at 112K miles. The car is amazing with the new power, supposed to be 318 HP and 347 lbs/tq. It is a lot quicker up to speed and great even past 4k RPM. It was as fast from 80-100 MPH as 100-120 MPH. Max speed seen was 156 by GPS on A6 in Germany. One issue, it caused a hose to come off one of the turbos right after install but the dealer fixed it for 100 Euro. No issues since and mileage seen ranges about 19-24 City/HWY now, on non-ethanol fuel. It cost about $500 and was definitely worth it. The suspension is now the issue and trying to save the wonderful car since we have all the memories of European travel in it. Thanks again
email with questions :
radams@greenling.com
Thanks
I recently purchased a 2003 Audi Allroad with 110,000 miles. everything was running perfectly fine until a few days ago.
We were on a trip with the family, two adults in the front, two adults and a baby in the back seat.
The suspension was working fine throughout the day. by about mid day we return to the car and I notice it's sitting lower.
We start it up and the suspension light is on the dash and the car is sitting in position 1. I hit the up button for level 2, and the level 2 light starts to blink.
after about 3-4 minutes nothing happens and the car stays at level 1 and the suspension light is on.
Now, here is the kicker:
When I shut off the car, and then start it again, the suspension indication light on the dash is off and the car is sitting at level 1.
here are a few off my questions:
A. Is it bad or potentially dangerous to continue driving the car or can I continue on at position 1?
B. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is wrong with the suspension and can suggest a way to fix it without swapping out the entire system?
C. Are there any additional suggestions to fix my issue in the most cost effective manner?
Thank you!!
Eden
I have been doing some reading and a few suggestions (one from an audi dealer) was the block valve might be stuck and not letting air from the compressor to the bags.
The fix suggestion was to purchase compressor oil and spray the block valve to open it up.
Let me know what your thoughts are on this...
Could it be possible that I have a leak in once of my bags? I feel this would not be the case since there was an issue lifting the car in the first place. I would assume, in the event of a leak, the compressor would raise the car, and then in time (ie driving or overnight) the car would lower again.
The only thing that I can think of is that we had the car at position 2 when we parked it and then when we came back, it was at position 1.
I am at work right now, not sure if you have a few minutes to discuss this over the phone, but I would appreciate any assistance you can provide to the manner 312-705-8188. Its a Chicago number.
thanks,
Eden
Ps, it has 130,000 miles on it and I love it!!!!!