Hello , Below zero weather always causes air suspension to fail in my jag sedans (2000.2004 and now my 2006 VDP)
always in past , warmer weather allowed car to start & refill air pressure and car sits and drives fine.
This winter , my first for my new 2006 , air leaked out when temps dipped to single digits , but when I start , I hear pumps running , car rises but wont stay up , and when I shut off engine the car slowly sinks.
Also a small puddle of fluid appears under front end. Code on dash is intermittent , but says "danger air ride fault , do not drive " or in so many words.....

I was involved in a chain collision this past summer , my front end banged in pretty good but was drivable. Had repaired and used car all summer , fall and early winter till the sub-zero temps killed the suspension. Maybe my auto body guys missed something when putting front end back together ?

To make matters worse , my excellent European/Jaguar repair guy retired , and I have no one to replace his honesty and expertise.... Our 2 Pittsburgh area dealers are Highway Robbers , would never go to them with this issue...... Any ideas ??

 

Well, you really do need to find a shop with the code reader that will read all the Jaguar codes, as nobody on here can analyse your car on this forum. Having said that, of the three car years you mention, the 2000 would have had steel coil suspension, the air suspension only coming in with your 2004 car, (2003 here in the UK). I'm now on my second and have had few problems with the air suspension over the years since 2010 when I bought my first X350-series car. Really cold weather as you can get in the US can make small air leaks leak a bit more, but the air compressor normally handles this. The car may drop down overnight but will come up again when the engine is started. The auir suspension module attempts to keep the car level, so when the car is standing and locked, the ASM will wake up every so often to check the ride height and try to keep the car level, but it won't start the compressor. So if there is a slight leak somewhere the car will drop down level and when you start the car you'll get a fault message. The fault codes are stored and can be read using the right software.

Could you tell us what miles are on the car, please.

You mentioning an accident makes me very suspicious because the air pump is behind the front bumper ! So the car really does need to have a detailed inspection of the rear of the bumper and checks for pipe leaks. In addition to this the vehicle height transmitter needs checking out too, as well as the tops of each front air spring. The air spring diaphragms can leak, but normally fail catastrophically with a big bang announcing it has happened, and, of course the car rapidly drops.

So if you're not in a place where you can find a decent mechanic who knows the air suspension system, maybe ask yourself if this car is for you. Investigating air suspension faults on these cars needs people who know what they are doing. Routine servicing is, of course, quite easy. The alternative is to take the car to a main agent and get them to carry out an inspection. Yes, it'll cost a bit more, but these guys have the kit.