swamper8

Good Afternoon,
I've been thinking about buying a Allroad. Several cars I've looked at have 'minor' air suspension
problems, i.e. one corner or one end of the car may sink over night or over a couple days. I'm sure
it's just a small leak in a line or bag, that's not my real concern. I wondered what would happen if a
car got such a big leak that the pump couldn't keep the corner inflated. Would the car just ride along on
its bump-stop (a rough ride but moving non-the-less) or would the car have to be towed? I honestly
don't like the idea of being 5 or 6 hours from home and having to have my car towed because of a
issue like this.
Thank you

thejulex

Bump stops ride would be your way of locomotion. It would be harsh but you'd be moving.

msvphoto

The short answer is yes. The stranding scenario would be ignore the warning signs of a leak (warning signs being a corner down overnight, suspension light blinking on level two when you first start driving, etc.) and the compressor goes bad from working too hard to keep up with the leak. Normally you'll get ample warning before this so if the car has the tell tale symptoms, don't drive 4 - 5 hours from home. Catastrophic failure of the bag is a possibility too (happened to us on a ~155k old front bag that I slimed ~2k miles earlier), but more rare than compressor failure (the most likely cause of stranding you).

You can still drive the car on the bumpstops, but not very fast. Freeway speeds? Forget it. That would require a lot of back roads to get home, but not impossible. When the bag let go on ours suddenly my wife was driving, called me, and then went on to finish her errands (all around town, no freeway). No tow.

There is no such thing as a "minor" air suspension problem. Either it it is working correctly and sealed, or not. The bags develop leaks. Negotiate this in the price and just plan to do the fronts with Arnotts upon purchase. DIY bag replacement is a pretty easy job. If it is sinking on a corner overnight then the compressor is almost certainly having to work too hard (and you'll likely hear it running pretty much all the time). They can go a while like this, but after learning more than I wanted to know about allroad air suspension I wouldn't drive 4 - 5 hours from home with one that sinks overnight. At very least get the new AAA Premier so you can get a 200 mile flatbed tow home.

Deano K.

I went through this on my 04 2.7 several years ago. If you allow the compressor to "prop up" a failing bag for any length of time you are asking to replace it as well. $$$$$. I had the 2 fronts and the compressor go out under warranty. The service rep said that "these only last 4 years because the turbos cook a hole in the side of the front bags" Swell - wonderful design BTW! I recently bought (quite cheaply - $60 for 18" x 80") a large piece of carbon fiber heat block matting. I'm planning to put some between the front bags and the offending turbo units.