alrightroad

For father's day I bought a floor jack and showed my son how it works. Without thinking (read... "I forgot about jack mode"), I showed my 3 1/2 year old how Dad could lift the car with a few pumps on the jack.

After lowering the jack from the passenger rear jack point, that corner of the car remained a little higher than the rest of the car. I started the car and drove around the block a few times to see if self leveling would straighten it out. No such luck.

So, I then measure all my wheels from center to fender well and noticed that all 4 wheels were unequal. Made sense to me as I was 402 15mm front and 12mm rear prior to the jacking incident. But, they were not equally off. All 4 wheels had different heights. After measuring all 4 wheels precisely a few more times I go to VAG code all 4 channels to the original 402mm factory specs. As soon as I hit "up" to channel 01 for the front left wheel to begin coding, the car automatically drops to level 1 and then immediately raises itself to level 2. I didn't remember the car doing that when I 402'd the car so I waited until it was finished before I started entering codes for channel 01, 02, etc. When I hit "05" and save, the car took the settings and, in the blink of an eye, adjusted the car to the settings I had provided (I could hear the adjustment).

Then, I turn off ignition, turn back on, lower car to level 1 and then back up to level 2. I Get out of car and re-measure all 4 wheels. They were still all 4 off and by varying amounts. So, I go back to code after measuring... 3 more attempts.

After the 4th try I jump out of car and measure everything and it's still not 402mm but between 3-7mm off on each wheel. Some were below 402mm and some were above. Still not perfect so I said I would wait until tomorrow. Turned off laptop and went inside for dinner. Came back out an hour later and the driver front air bag looks like it's completely deflated (now I know what allroad2001's mean machine looks like in person).

I have never had any issue with the bags possibly leaking and having to air pump come on from time to time to add air, etc. I have never had the indicator light in the DIS either. The suspension has been working like a charm. Auto-leveling works as well (not too often and only in very slight amounts as it should).

Any thoughts on why I can't get it level back to 402mm in Level 2? And why the driver front bag is deflated? Am I losing 2-3 bags all at once?! If the air pump or lines were going bad I would have seen it before this. What have you guys paid for replacement labor and parts on the bag repairs?

I just installed my MTM-chipped ECU this afternoon and only one test drive for a few miles. The MTM cat-back was supposed to go on tonight.... but, ugh!

At least my son was able to see that great new floor jack.

girlroad

two that were replaced before I got the car and NONE of this posted any warnings or through any codes noticable without VAG (i.e. to the console).
Whether that would cause you to be "out" on the other corners I can't say as I have no experience with the 402, but thought this info might help.

You can read a great deal about replacing these yourself by searching but as ex-P said they have gone up in price and depending on your local support can be hard to get (my indy had trouble the last time getting one in a week
Good luck and I definitely feel your pain.
Also if you have an extended warranty it is worth it to try to get them covered...I did by claiming (I have a policy that says it covers any "failed" part except for a couple of exclusions) that this is not a shock but an airspring (what it is called in Bentley) and that it is an integral part of the car not something you go to Sears for a quick/cheap fix for...also it keeps the car from being driveable unlike a traditional shock. Just fyi

alrightroad

Thanks for the note. I am not under warranty so trying my best to find out 'real' problem.

alrightroad

I have recoded the control module nearly 20 times. Finally, I reached within a few mm of 402 on each channel. In fact the driver side was 401mm in front and back and the passenger side was 399mm front and back. So, when I go to make the last code, the controller stops responding. I reboot my laptop and turn off ignition.

After booting back up and turning back on ignition, the control respsponds again. BUT, this time, after the self leveling preperation to level 2 when hitting the channel "01", all readings are off again.

Perhaps my controller is going bad. I have had a few fault codes during the non-responsive times ("controller lost memory"). I am able to clear the fault code and then code all 4 channels again. Only, to find out that I basically must start over each time to attempt to balance all 4 channels.

I think I'll call the dealership tomorrow. Anybody have any good ideas? I'm out of warranty.<ul><li><a href="http://ross-tech.com/vag-com/download/label-files/4Z7-907-553.lbl">Detailed controller info...</a></li></ul>