QuestionQUESTION: Hello Dennis.....
I have a 2003 Range Rover HSE with 65000 miles on it. I noticed when I would get in it in the morning it would have to lift itself up after sitting over night thought that maybe thats normal being the air compresses in the cold. After a while of doing that, One day while during driving I stopped at a light and noticed the front end raising which wasnt out of the norm the only difference was it came up slower than normal. Then during that same drive I noticed the front driver side corner was down and when it would come to stop at a light it would lift back up quickly. It did this the entire ride until it went down and wouldnt come back up any more and I got the dreaded Air Suspension Inactive msg.
I took it to the dealer and they said that both front bags were bad. Although I was only having problems with one. They reset the codes and when I went to get it the system was fine no problems. I drove for a whole day back and forth to work. Until I stupidly decided to put it in access mode and try to put it back in normal ride height. It went down and then quickly came back up but that side started leaning again and it tried several times come up to no avail and I received the fault again. My question is would a leaking bag be intermittent like that? Or could it be a sticky pressure release switch of some sort in the valve block? I don't like to take the word of the dealer because sometimes they don't do enough diagnosis and simply replace the most expensive part that will most likely fix the problem. But for the 3000 they were trying to charge me to do both bags most likely isn't good enough. Sorry for the length but I was trying to give what I thought was relevant info.
ANSWER: The bags can leak intermittently, it's very frustrating to diagnose. The airbags are likely leaking, the failure rate on the '03 and '04 model year is alarming. Unfortunately the airbag is integrated with the strutt and is extremely expensive to replace. If not covered under warranty you can replace them for about $950 each.
There was a recall on the early compressors, verify that the recall was performed on your RR and look at the front bags yourself, if you see any cracks it's time for replacements.
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QUESTION: I took the wheel and wheel well shroud off and the bag looked fine besides for dust and I didn't see any cracks.
ANSWER: was it at normal ride height? If low (or high) the cracks can be self sealing. It's also possibe that there are leaks elsewhere in the system and the dealer just wants to sell you the most expensive part first.
put it at normal ride height and spray soapy water on the bags to help detect smaller leaks.
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QUESTION: It was exactly what you said when I put it in access height a small pin hole opened up. I also noticed a small leak at the reservoir tank line that goes to the valve block. The bag was only opening up during driving when pressure is put on it. I am wondering if these are temporarily fixable until I can replace it? i.e. small tire patch or sealant THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP
AnswerI've not tried the tire patch but I have heard from others that it works for temporary measure, also some tire-dressing on the rubber will help keep it supple. the leak at the airline can be fixed with new orings or temporarily with a dab of grease, pull the line out, grease it and re-insert.
