All,

I'm hoping (praying) this is just an air-ride problem and not something more structural, but i haven't seen anyone with a similar symptom here, and it seems pretty severe to me to just be that...

I'll start this by saying that I'm not at home right now, my g/f was in charge of the car for the weekend... anyway, here's the story and a picture...

My girlfriend had the car parked in the garage as usual and it was sitting normal... she said she unlocked the door (that's it) via key in the door (not via fob)... and as soon as she did that the car made a loud hissing sound and the front end "collapsed"... she said she did not notice any warning lights or anything like that... though she proceeded to back it out of the garage after this happened

I'm guessing the hissing was the air-ride giving up the ghost... though i had not had any problems with it (or codes/warnings) to date... Below is a picture though, the car appears to be sitting right on the wheels...

I'm having it towed to a place in the morning, but am curious what to expect. Attached is a picture...

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

So a little more searching and i'm reasonably certain it's the air-ride... also g/f confirmed that the "red light" saying "vehicle low" is on...

Now my question becomes, this happend to BOTH fronts, but not the rear...

is this plausible? i would have thought it was all one system and if the compressor had broken it would have affected all 4...

If it were the struts themselves i would not have expected BOTH fronts to collapse, just the broken one...

where is my misunderstanding in this?

Thanks

 

wonder if bagpipingandy can shed any light on this?

 

Yes it is plausible the two front struts are on a common air line.

As long as the body is not touching the wheels you could try driving it around

the block and it may raise itself-I just did this myself after two days on axle

stands.

If the problem continuous blame the g/f!!

Could be air line leak or strut leak.

 

Half right, I think. They are on separate air lines; the valve block underneath the air reservoir in the boot (trunk) has five air lines; one to each air spring and one to the compressor. Each line has its own valve.

The valves to the front air springs are either operated in tandem, or separately but so that the two springs have the same pressure (it's not clear in the manual I have, it just says "The front air springs are operated as a pair, ").

The rear springs are operated independently.

So a leak on one front spring, or its line, shouldn't affect the other (I think).

I'm just wondering if the fault isn't due to a bad earth somewhere giving the control system an erroneous excessive height signal from the front height sensor; or if it's one of these 'funnies' that seem to pop up (so I have read) when the battery is getting past it.

 

The way I read the operation at the front, a single height sensor controls both springs, so if one drops, the system will try to keep things level by exhausting air out of the good air spring to match the bad one, so the whole front end drops, not just one side. I could be wrong though.

 

2007 is definitely single front sensor; maybe the sensor has gone bonkers, or died, or become detached, and is sending a permanent 'high' signal, so it just keeps letting the air out of both front units.

It really needs the computer control thingy to be interrogated for the fault codes.

 

I would 1st check the front sensor to see if it is still attached correctly, if giving a wrong signal it will dump air out both to level, this would be my 1st thinking as to why it would loose air from both fronts at the same time,

regards

Andy

 

So I got home today, and did my full diagnosis...

In fact, one of the two front shocks the airbag had blown a hole basically such that it was completely deflated.

Based on the other responses above, I am assuming that the car was trying to level the ride and therefore let the air out of the other side completely.

Thanks to your above diagnostics this makes sense.

My fix... replace both of the front strut/shocks (since the other one was looking a bit dry rotted too)... total cost plus labor ~$3500 (a little high, but at $1500+ for each of the struts I guess that's what I should expect).

 

More like it was trying to inflate the front front and raise it and it exhausted all the air from the reservoir (and the leak was way beyond what the compressor could deliver).

Is it Jag dealership, or an independent ? If the latter then Arnott's do various options much cheaper. No idea how good they are, 'though.

 

it's an independent, but they are using mfg parts...

Any reviews on the Arnott's?

 

Your air spring price was top-dollar, so would seem to be Jaguar-sourced. There are Bilstein units available on the internet from a UK supplier for much less but still not cheap, of course.

Air Spring - C2C41347 | Jaguar XJ - X350 - XJR | Jaguar | British Parts UK

On this site it converts to a US price of £820, then there is shipping, obviously.

British Parts UK Jaguar | Land Rover parts export | British Parts UK

BTW, I am not connected to this firm in any way, there are others around like: -
Jaguar X350 Parts | Jaguar X350 Shock Absorbers & Springs - JustJagsUK.com

Air springs price is higher, though.

 

wow thats expensive, Ive used arnotts for the audi and they are good quality, I cannot comment on the arnott jaguar units though, but im sure someone here will have used them,
just a comment, before spending that money, just to confirm, have you actually seen the hole/leak in the airbladder? as you mentioned your GF parked the car, locked it and then it sank? if this were the case it would ring potential electrical issue to me and it would be very unlucky for the bag to burst/leak after you closed and locked the car, it would more likely give in when driving under pressure. if you have seen the hole then thats ok and it needs replaced, as it is possible it was burst/leaking when arriving home and the compressor was keeping it up, but then ignition off and it will sink. just check before spending $3k+ of your good money. I would like to see air leaking bubbles or gaping hole before commiting!!

regards
Andy

 

Sounds really pricey. I can refer you to a great independent in Scottsdale who always uses the Arnott units if you are interested.

 

KarmaPolice, I'm very interested in how this gets solved as I'm in the midst of much the same thing as I write. My '04 has been giving me air suspension fault messages very intermittently for several months without any other symptoms to be found. Suddenly this past Wednesday as my wife was returning from her office the vehicle too low message popped up with the red light and the front looked like a low rider.

I had ordered a kit from Andy and asked him a couple of questions which he graciously answered along with some suggestions as to what I might check. As of this moment I haven't nailed down a cause and can't believe that both front shocks let go at the same time. The rear shocks have maintained their correct height with no problem and the compressor sounds O.K. without any undue rattling or stress sounds but it can't manage any kind of lifting action at the front. I can't see or feel any movement at all from the front.

At Andy's suggestion I checked the pressure fittings at the top of both front struts in the engine compartment for leaks with a very soapy solution but saw no evidence of any leaks there. I will soon be taking the front wheels off to get a good look at the bags and other components that are hidden down there. From Dec. of 2003 onward Jaguar had gone to using just one pressure sensor that averaged the two front shocks and then pumped air accordingly so it's possible that the pressure sensor is bad or one of the height sensors is bad.

Come to think of it how would a bad height sensor by itself cause both bags to deflate? Wouldn't the pressure sensor keep bag pressure within specified limits regardless, if it was capable of course? I have read in the service manuals that we should check for water intrusion into the height sensors and since we have been getting daily thunderstorms and heavy rains almost every day for the past two weeks perhaps that's the baseline culprit.

In any case I really would like to hear what your final solution/diagnoses is as we seem to both be suffering from a similar malady.

 

My money would be on (1) air compressor, and (2) front height detector error. Of course, it could be a slow leak in one shock which will cause the ASM to try to keep the front level, so it will gradually sink, (level !)

 

Having read no updates from Karma on his suspension problem I'll forge ahead by myself.

After several months of intermittent and seemingly random "air suspension faults" with no adverse suspension failures my wife experienced a "level too low" message and red light with no prior warning and no loud pop or sudden front-end drop.

I've so far checked for air leaks at all of the pressure fittings at the air reservoir in the trunk as well as the pressure fittings at the top of both front struts with a heavy soap and water mix and found no leaks despite repeated attempts and watching carefully for even the slightest hint of a bubble trail.

The compressor is cycling on for the appropriate time but appears to be incapable of raising the front-end even 1 mm. Incidentally, the rear-end has so far been unaffected by all this which has me really scratching my head as I would think that since both front and back draw from the same reservoir tank that if the front can't hold pressure why does the rear maintain it's correct height. Does the controlling solenoid work in such a way as to shut off the supply of air to any corner that doesn't need any based on height sensor and pressure sensor readings?

Anyway, I have also removed both front wheels and done the best I can at checking the struts for air leaks and have yet to see any evidence of leaks. There must be one since the front struts are both fully deflated. Is it possible, or even probable, that the front height sensors (my '04 is an early one and has one at both front corners) have gone bad and are giving a false too high reading that leads to a venting of the air as quickly as the compressor can supply it?

Since I have two front height sensors wouldn't they both have to be bad for both struts to be fully deflated or does something else control the two sides as if they are one?

The air bags themselves seem to be totally contained within some sort of light metal shield with just a very small amount at the top and bottom visible enough to be able to detect any leaks yet I've read on this forum before that there can also be leaks from the lower pleated shroud that protects the lower portion of the sliding portion of the struts. I ask because one of those shrouds (right front) has slipped down at the bottom as a result of a too loose circular band at it's base. This allowed it to work loose and slide down the lower strut enough to create a wide enough gap around it's edge to allow all air to evacuate if there is any there. I wouldn't think those rubber gaiters (as they are called on motorcycles) would be designed to be capable of being pressurized since it appears their only job is to protect the lower portion of the strut which is a sealed hydraulic unit.

Am I wrong about the above?

I'm waiting for the delivery of a compressor re-seal kit from Andy Fulton so if I'm very lucky it will turn out to be a problem isolated to a poorly performing compressor. In the meantime I'm going to detach a pressure line to one of the front air bags to check for air flow from the tank to it and if necessary I'll also detach the feed from the compressor as well since the problem could be a faulty reservoir solenoid or the compressor output.

By the way, I also disconnected both front height sensors to check for any corrosion or water damage, used a good electrical contact cleaner on them, and then resealed them with a good coating of dielectric grease to insure that moisture doesn't get in them in the future. It's possible that just that will fix my problem but I won't know until I remount the wheels and lower the car off the jack stands that are currently holding it off the ground. Interestingly enough since I've had it jacked up and on stands it has not displayed any suspension errors of any type while I've had the engine running to test the air pressure at the various fittings. I guess I could put a jack under each suspension so as to raise the suspension all the way and see if the height sensor will trigger the too low warning.

This has been a long description but I think the more information I can give someone the greater the possibility of getting a useful answer without re-doing the obvious. I have ready access to both the electronic version of the JTIS as well as the printed version (which I think is much easier to use) as well as just about everything else from the sticky collection of X350 material so if you have a page number or numbers that you think might help send them along.

 

Well, it just happened to me. Literally 15 minutes ago.

Driving along. Loud pop - thought someone threw a rock at my car or I ran over something. Loud squeaks, like a tweeting bird whenever I go over the slightest bump. I pull into a parking lot - the squeak/tweeting sound starts to die down. I was terribly afraid that I was going to find a dying bird in my front grille (which was my first thought about the pop/tweet sound!).

Nothing seems wrong. Drive home... squeaking returns when going over bumps. Roll the windows down... it's coming from the right front. Then, the 'air suspension fault' light comes on.

Now sitting in the driveway with a low front end. I guess the high-pitched squeak is air leaking out the hole. Can these things be patched or is replacement the only solution?

 

Arnott Industries offers a wide range of replacement suspension pieces from re manufactured factory units @$399 each to full blown in-house designed and engineered new replacements for a lot less then the factory pieces. They also make a complete replacement kit to switch to coil-overs to eliminate the air bags totally. There is no home fix for a blown bag.

That said there are other possibilities to explore first like a blown pressure fitting at the top of the shock located under the hood at the very top of the shock tower and the possibility of a height sensor having gone bad and the system suddenly venting itself due to an over pressure or a misread signal as to system height.

There's a vast quantity of data on the site, especially in the sticky section at the top of the X350 section so check it out.

 

Thanks. One question - is it unsafe is it to drive until I can get it to the mechanic? It's low, but not sitting so low that the tire is rubbing the wheel arch or anything.