How OEM Volkswagen & Audi Air Ride Fails | In the Shop
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2020
- Today at the shop we have an Audi A8L with sagging air suspension. This car came to us with a broken air line that came from another shop. After installing the air line we found this car would pump up but fall back down after a short time. We show you the diagnostic steps taken to figure out how to check your air ride system.
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Your boy made a good point...as the CAR gets cheaper, the parts do NOT.
but they do....because aftermarket takes over 150$ air bag is basically the same as a steel spring
@@Veikra those are not original parts or even the same suspension.
@@coache1nine I have a car that disagree with you. I put aftermarket air spring and the fit is perfect and car retains it's active suspension and air ride. Aftermarket dampers are junk though, they delete the active valve and put normal valving in it, neutering the whole car. Audi wont sell you a airspring so aftermarket takes over and at150$ for the airspring it's same price as a steel price on a volkswagen beetle turbo, for example.
@@Veikra yeah they're pretty cheap
@@dragospahontu Yep.!
"parts of a 100k car doesn't Get cheap as the car gets cheap". Can't summarize it better than that.
although wrong since air spring are under 200 dollars now whereas they used to only come with the always good dampers at 3300$ dealer
@@Veikra sure, refurb, off brand, their party, or from the wrecker. Dealer prices stay the same.
@@ahu747 Only go to dealer for warranty work or buying bolts and nicknacks.
You can replace the bags for 200$ lol
@@dragospahontu Not original dude :))
“As you can see...I can fit my entire fist in here”
That's what she said
Paul fists an elderly German...
In my estimation coil conversions made sense back when the only option for replacement parts was dealer OEM.
Nowadays, you can get rebuilt air struts, and compressors for a fraction of the OEM costs for new suspension parts.
Rebuilt air suspension parts cost about the same as converting the suspension to coilovers and apparently will last about as long before needing replacement
Costs being roughly equivalent Audi's magnificent air ride is unmatched by any coil system.
Before they spend $1700 on air shocks, they should spend $17 to restore their headlights - yuck.
Burn 😄
I’ve never really noticed that on my cars till I just looked. Even if it was free I wouldn’t do it just because I don’t see the point
Joshua Vaughn you will instantly notice the difference when you turn on your headlights at night. Huge difference in clarity and illumination.
air spring are under 200$. The springs are sold separately now, and the damper are always good. Ive got 337 000 miles on mines.
Lol
Receipts given when I purchased my A8L showed both front struts replaced with Arnotts, but they leaked anyway. After some leak testing 6-months ago, I took off the brass manifold where the air line attaches to strut, and the o-ring was hard as a rock. I replaced the o-ring and while I had it open I used a syringe to add 4-oz of tire Slime per strut. No leaks, no negative effect on ride quality. If you study the design of the air bag the rubber is fully surrounded by metal on all sides with no sliding friction. The very bottom of the bladder takes all of the abuse and gravity keeps the Slime down low. It worked for me, but let the flames begin...sigh.
Yup. In my experience, it's usually the o-ring that rots out on the "newer" models (2008 and newer), not the strut itself (like on the earlier models).
The fitting that goes into the strut is a replacement part with new o-ring included, and is not expensive at all.
I've only once experienced that the brass fitting had corroded so much that it broke during disassembly, but I still managed to fix it without replacing the entire strut.
I deal with those car issues on my channel, you have nothing to worry when the air springs are now advailble separately for 150$
Arnott deletes the active dampers, you're losing most of what makes this suspension impressive
@@Veikra Hi, could you show me some places where I can get or web "link" for that? Will it be Chinese ones? Those do not last more than 6 months.
Thanks for the solution you got.. where can I study and understand better about the struts and airbags? Any chance for you to share the part number of the o-ring (so I can visualize the schematic)? Thank you again!
Excellent information, thank you. I recently bought a used A6 C7 3.0T and wished I had the air suspension, but after watching your video, I'm relieved that I don't have to worry about an expensive repair of the air shocks.
I had a 2006 A8L. Nice car. $85K new. Struggled to sell it for $3K with 200+K miles and broken AC condenser. Luckily enough the previous owner fixed the air ride and the air control module, but failed to reprogram that module, so when I got it, none of the active suspension stuff worked....not even an option in the menu and the ride height was high. A 15 minute coding fixed it.
I love my A8 D3. Put a starter in it today myself. Dealer wanted $1400, I did it for $400. It took my 2 days tho working only on jack stands, dropping the subframe, jacking the engine from the bottom, pulling a motor mount, and wrestling with the aft starter bolt for 3 hours wedged between the header and front diff. Not a fun time lol
Great videos always educational. Would love to see a followup video on mk7 mk7.5 reliability / known problems seeing it's been a couple years. Cheers!
Thank you so much for your amazing advices sir
Good job again 👍🏻👍🏻
I owned the prefacelift version of this D3 A8 (with a nice 3.7L V8). I revised the Wabco pump myself with a new $30 piston ring and that never failed again. For replacement struts of course I did not buy original but ended up with Arnott aftermarket for about $800 each which had exactly the same ride quality.
I replace only the air bags for even cheaper :)
Hello I'm looking at one in particular with similar specs to the one you had. Would you recommend getting a car like this? (it has high miles though , but if it's a good vehicle I'm willing to pay to get it maintained)
Nice video! Subscribed.
Great video with tons of information and around 5 minutes long damn!!!!!!
There's a few things you could check before replacing the entire shock assembly thing. The residual pressure valves are a weak point, as are probably o-rings in the strut/shock.
Just drive it in permanent stance mode😂
Facts I just bought my second a8 I love them so much but if you buy stay on top of it and know that most issues you will have is electrical
Yes.... Once damaged...this air shocks are hard to replace... The issues with them becomes a problem (especially since they're pricey spare parts)... It's not reparable 100% it seems...
I would recommend to Audi that a steel suspension option (or a legal Audi modification) be made available in thier official Audi Reference Manuals... This is to extend the usability of Audi Cars by eliminating this "expensive glitch"... For older models with a 100,000 kilometers or more a steel suspension system can make the Audi "Street Perfect" still. I like my Audi to be a good "military car" ..... full of strength and stability in drives all the way to the countryside. I hope Audi engineers read this because the independent steel suspension ( outside the audi computer's control) is still better for me.
“The camber gang” 🤣🤣🤣
Great video and very informative with wise information
But I feel like you left me hanging what happened did you fix it or did it get converted would have loveed to see the outcome.
Educational as always paul thanks for the education. Interesting stuff. I'm Surprised some vdubber hasn't found a way to pump his vape smoke through that smoke tester lol
Curious if the car went in to the previous shop with this issue or not (only saw the broken line as possibly the issue?). If this issue arose after leaving for DAP I'd be pretty miffed. Great video. Had an allroad with the air suspension and loved it.
Thanks for this video ! I thought there was not coilovers availbale for the D3? Well at least nothing from the trusted brands...
Aftermarket air springs are only a couple hundred bucks and work great. I use Aerosus
so better replace with air spring its cheaper at 150$....and retains factory awesomeness.
Definitely air shocks, in my A8 I decided to replace all of them, because first front was leaking, after that I decided also to replace back, as it improved car handling in huge way. I don't recommend to convert it into classical springs, as it will totally ruined that car, these cars are designed for it and are counting with it (systems are interconnected, as car is using CCD shocks). You needs to approach to it like, for price of new A4 you will have keep running and servicing old A8. :-D
You got right!
I only buy those car when suspension is broken. Scare tactic means people think it cost 7000$ to fix the car but it only cost 500$. FREE CAR FOR ME SUCKERS!
Thank you so much for enlightening me about not putting Springs in this car
Very nice
Great video 👍. 1 question.. repair my air suspention and i have a problem.. the scree show yelow light and in a couple min, show the red light. Do you have idea whats the problem? If the problem is a relay. Thx 👍
I have a 2009 Jetta wagon and it was on airbags aftermarket and it was the worst. I went back to stock shocks and struts but now I am having an issue with the back end not being able to allow people to sit in the backseat. So speaking of coilovers what is a good set you would suggest?
Just wondering if you have an opinion on the dv spacers everyone’s using on the 2.0t, surely it can only be a bad thing apart from the sound. Thanks
I remember having one at my old Audi Dealership. Customer was not happy with the time spent on the car fault finding it when it was a simple air bags had shit themselves 🤦♂️. This video brings back good memories!!
Stayed for a good two weeks.
Would like to see you calibrate the air suspension using OBDEleven. Well on a car that had working air ride.
I want to replace my 2016 A7 TDI's OEM suspensions with coilovers. I would like your expert advice on selecting the correct, good (if not the best) and reliable ones. I want to lower it at least an inch because sometimes three passengers do sit in the back.
My two front airlift bags have a slow leak after 3 years. Idk if this is a sign I should go back to coilovers
My daily driver is a 1.4tsi Jetta 6 2012. We didn't get the 1.8 and 2.0 litre in South Africa for some strange reason. My car is heading towards 400k on the clock, would you advise swapping the 1.4 out for a 2.0 with dsg? I've noticed the power isn't as potent as it was when I bought the car. It's very sluggish, for example at 140kph it feel like it's going 120kph. What's the best way to fix this.
I’m having this issue with my A8 it’s very low in the front. I need to come to you guys
There is not very much that is cheap to replace on A8L. You get and keep this car because you are addicted to the great road drive and ride quality. We routinely make a 900 mile trip, and when the Audi is functioning up to spec when we arrive at the destination, we feel somewhat refined, refreshed - not exhausted, and beat up. If you’re buying a used one be prepared to sink $400 and brake parts, $700 and timing belt parts and have the patience to tear and entire front end off the car to do it, When you get tired of hearing scary timing chain noises on the D3 models, then you try to change the cam chain tensioners and that is like doing the timing belt on steroids. I chose to change the shoes out early and reinstall the units because I was not happy with the aftermarket Quality. Then prepared to drop about $400-$600 on all the aluminum control arms for control arms on each wheel plus tie rod ends. And then when the air suspension fails between 70,000 and 100,000 miles it will be between $300-$1000 per wheel for an air strut that’s electronically controlled and if you happen to hit potholes then the aluminum rims are about $200 each to refurbish And about $300 to buy one completely refinished for an OEM quality wheel what you might as well do the $200 valve transponder kits when you get the new tires that are about $250 each. But like I said, the road quality in this car is the most calming and stable in excess of 100 miles an hour of about any car I’ve been in.. and having the Cuatro😊 all wheel drive system with good tread on the tires, you can maintain speed driving through a super cell or with other traffic. All pulled over. I am currently working on the AC system. Those parts are surprisingly pretty cheap in the gray market. Actually, all of the park prices on mentioning are the higher end of Green market. If you go with Audi stamp parts multiply those prices by three.
a question out of this video, are VWR sport spring made by eibach? Are VWR spring the same that VW racing line?
Part of the camber gang 😂🤣
Well said it
What would you recommend for my Audi a6 C7 suspension? I want something super comfortable
"It's either this this or air shocks"
Me: prob air shocks no doubt
"So we ruled out this so it's either this or air shocks"
Me: yea it's definitely gonna be the most expensive thing
"In this case it's air shocks which are $1700 a pop"
And I still spat out my food after hearing that
I was expecting like 500-700, are they sure the 1 in front of the 700 isnt a typo? 😂
Lol you can buy used replacement for fraction of cost from a car that recently got them replaced , since it’s common it’s also common repair so you can go junkyard or EBay. Or you can get arnott they are pretty good
Ask DAP: My mk7 hood latch broke. Pulling plastic handle hood release does nothing and does not feel attached to anything anymore. How can I get my hood open? Guides ive seen online advise breaking front grill. Any better ways?
I like that, all facts; “The parts of a 100k car doesn’t gets cheap over time, just the car.. remember that 😉!
sorry sir which one oil good for audi a4 tfsi 2013 1.8 from weather iraq 5w30 or 5w40 ? thanks
Great video. Audi 2009 S8. Air suspension light at 60 mph. Intermittent. R side half inch lower.
Considering changing to coil over shocks.
Parts $ 1500.00
Labor $ 1200.00.
Any other suggestions 😢
So what does that conversion kit cost? parts and installation?
I bought a 2012 VW Beetle, ecu light came on after a month of driving and brake light is on, and it kills when I put it in reverse
That plate of ketchup packets looks amazing
Jk good stuff as always Paul
We stick em under the tires of parked forklifts at work.
Bubble wrap is even more funner to use 🙄😜😆😆
The guy just needs a bilstein shock kit and some love on those headlights. I can imagine the air ride would be extremely comfortable for a daily and its not like the owner is paying for this repair (or i hope he isn't)
$670 on amazon for an Arnott professionally rebuilt air spring with a lifetime warranty.
it doesn't work, Arnott is not using CCD shocks, just normal shocks with resistor to trick out ECU, so you will lose damping control functionality completely (Automatic, Comfort, Dynamic).
@@petertorda5487 False. Arnott takes the original Audi air spring and rebuilds it. They also make their own version for a bit less ($630) and it is also a real air spring and also has a lifetime warranty. I've installed several of these in Allroads.
@@silveravnt yeah, but in A8 shock damper has electro-magnetic control and is part of that air spring, and I doubt, if they can rebuild it. So either they leave old there, or they are replacing it with fully mechanical one. At least it was like that, when I was checking it 3 years ago. Therefore I decided to go into brand new original one.
@@petertorda5487 It's not the electro-magnetic part that wears out though, it's the air bladder. I doubt they do anything the shock
@@silveravnt I agree with you, in my case, also damper part was pretty bad, and did't hold car in corners, so therefore I decided to go into OEM.
How much $$ is to do the conversion to regular shocks ? Front and Rear .
hello ' i have 2006 audi A8 ' but on mine MMI drive i don't have options for air suspension the are gone ! how i can get back that option on MMi drive ? thank you
I have 2007 and my back stay up but dent go down like in video
Air ride is interesting. Not sure how old invention it is but it's kinda neat
But i rather have normal suspension parts in my cars
@Newblood That's old.
Air ride has been around forever, nothing new here.
Where I can find schematics of VW or Audio similar as you have the Air system. I own a VW Jetta MK4 2003
What will it be if sometimes the air goes out and sometimes it will not for days
Frequently the vents on the shock itself do leak. They can be changed with afertmarket parts quite cheap.
What do you mean by this, what vents, do you have video to recommend or an article about that
More S4 videos plz..
Never really cared for air suspension, whether OEM or aftermarket. A lot of people seem to like it, but I vastly prefer the reliability of strut/shock suspension.
Static for life! 😂
Coil springs fail at a similar rate, a lot don’t get noticed as it could just be the pig tail or end coil so little ride height difference to give the game away. Air ride has its place on off-road for adjustability and smooth ride on the road.
Fair enough!
I've never had a suspension failure on a car (except for old bushings rotting out, or something age related).
Everyone I've known who had some sort of air suspension has had problems with it, which is why I'd prefer to stay away...
That said, I do get the perks of it!
@@jamest5149 LOL the only failed suspension parts I've had in 30 years and 20 cars are air springs, stabilizer bar end links and tie rod ends. The latter two costing under $50 ea.
Air springs are wear items like tires.
So I'm guessing customer said thanks for fixing the line, and left it at that? Does the system not pump back up while driving? It is only an issue while parked?
No, the system adjusts itself based on weight. The system activates as it senses doors open then closed.
Quick question, the only coilover suspension I've seen for my 2007 a8l is from godspeed. Is this a decent coil spring system?
Just look up replacement shocks, you can find them for 250-300 a pop, so 1200 for the full set, and they are not hard to replace.
My 06 Touareg still has the original air shocks with 180K miles and they don't leak even after sitting for several days. The only thing is they have NO damping left so it rides like shit lol. Now i have a 13 TDI so i dont care about the bad ride enough to replace them.
Born to be stanced lol
what about arnot air springs?
Do you sell 2010 VOLKSWAGEN CC SPORT 2.0T TPMS sensors.Thank you in advance.
You can find parts a lot cheaper online that happened to my A8 found two front air suspensions for like 400 they worked perfectly
2 years on my ebay airbags from suncoast.
Can you tune these cars to be faster? I'm looking at one to buy right now
@@joseph_the_human yea
@@joseph_the_human they have chips you program as well
@A. WAL I wonder if the tuning chip and an upgraded exhaust could make this car do over 400 horsepower
Aftermarket air struts are way cheaper.
I have a 2008 Audi A8L, do you have any recommendations on which coil overs would work for to swap out my car's suspension.
I disagree with your cost assesment. The air spring are under 200$ and the pump is serviceable for under 70$. Basically, 1500$ parts and labor If I was to do it on that car. 2 new springs, no leaks and a rebuilt pump. I have a 2007 S8 and a 2004 A8L with 544 000km. No need for dampers, they last forever , just replace the air springs. Just because people dont know a knowledgeable air suspension tech like me doesnt means those systems are expensive to fix. The most expensive thing with these cars are shoddy mecanic who breaks parts or misdiagnose. No need for dampers, they last forever , just replace the air springs. Steel springs which broke twice in 90 000km on my friends bmw X3 cost more than those on my a8l which failed once in 543 000.....
exactly
Can you please guide me to some videos or article's of how to service and fix air compressor and air springs, or if they can't be fixed, where do you buy new ones, I am from Europe mind you?!
On my A8 D3 when I use it daily everything is OK but if it sits for 2-3 days air suspension deflates completely and then when I start the car it doesn't want to inflate again, then I have to use car diagnostic to start air compressor to pump it up and cycle repeats. Do you think it is air compressor issue or air struts/shocks?
Thanks
This bags can't be refurbished?
Well, in my shithole of a country we don't swap air ride shocks. We recycle/repair them. An aftermarket aig bag costs about 120-150EUR. A repair kit for the shocks (mostly o-rings, seals and oil) runs for about 150-200EUR (total for all four). The valves for the air suspension are also not expensive and the compressor can be repaired for about 250-300EUR. Only the electronic control module can get expensive, but you can buy used parts when it comes to anything non-mechanical.
On the other hand the infrastructure in my country is horrible and such suspension will break all the time. On most Audis we even swap all the load-bearing parts with steel instead of aluminium because of the potholes, let alone having an air suspension... 1 year regular driving around here takes about the same toll on the car as a full championship in rally racing. That's Eastern Europe for you...
This whats happening to mine then it rises it up then it goes back down
You can get a airlift kit for 4500 i got a 3/8th lines dual compressor management and custom designed trunk set up for the kit and amps for 7k if your gotta go air then use airlift the oem stuff will fail at some point
Yeesh that's some $ ,and I'm complaining about getting a 3P kit for my Jetta Ute build for 2800-3k, I wanna hide it all under the floor so it's gonna be a small tank and 1 compressor.
All I really want it for is so I can level the back out , they get a wicked rake and I don't wanna just lower it and lose travel.
I wanna use it.
Nobody's putting em up on special😣
When covid first hit I saw em at 2800, I shoulda jumped on it then.
I just bought my car with air ride two compressors tank, v2 management... Why spend that much when you can buy a car with already installed...
@@PeterFeltersnatch852 I do car shows plus that was with the cost of 2 amps and a 2nd battery wiring etc i didn't just have wood cut and the stuff mounted to it every is under a floor and the tank is mounted half way down the amps and management hard lines are visible via glass with lighting just waiting to have a sub box built to fit with all the other stuff I have one of the sickest dd imo I can still use my hatch for things unlike other cars 🚗
@@seedless0420 I took my car to one show was h day in 2018 I placed second place. I was just into looks until I bought my b8 Audi a4 turbo and got into the tuning side of things.... Now the Honda sadly does not get as much love. But still whenever I drive her everyone has to talk to me about the car. Mugen kit custom jewel tlx headlights that sand color you're starting to see all the time now on Toyota trucks, and even seen it on newer Rams. But my Civic SI has been painted that color since 2016 when it was released on the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. And the engine bay is pretty much all carbon fiber Password JDM, copper powder coated valve cover, carbon fiber well penis cold air intake. Hondata ecu, SOON to be turboed. Never had air ride until the Honda si and so many talk shit on the handling but actually I think it might be the best handling car I ever had. I mean there is trailing arms on it camber kit on the rear and sway bars in the front and back but handles like a dream. Oh carbon fiber hood also
Been waiting for a decent sale for a 3P air ride setup in my mk4.
With the economy being such a pile you'd think you'd be able to score some deals 😓
Get deflation instead...
Why not switch the old system for new after market bags like air lift. I think these bags would be more reliable.
Still better than Mercedes hydraulic suspension!
the real question is when do these go bad? I know with Mercedes airmatic they are unpredictable and can go early on, but with Audi i never heard of the air suspensions failing early, usually i see it on older generation, high mileage cars.
my 2016 audi allroad got 200k kilometers and start now having some issue.
Just as MB, there is no set mileage. They go when they go
My 2009 A8 just failed with 122.000km!
So you buy a Top of the line Audi (al do it’s old) but you won’t pay for that??.
What? Even Touaregs, but they're so awesome and reliable.
so are a8. The air suspension being unreliable is a myth. If you live in humid climate you need to service the pump dryer and when dont do it thats when life is shortened. Air spings are cheap and last a long time. I have the highest mileage a8l and I just put air springs in the front at 337 000 miles 544 000 km and 17 years old. The only other time was under warranty failure of driver side when it was almost new and got road hazard. Replaced under goodwill
4:21 Yeah.. it brakes sometime (had mine over 200k, no problems) so don't buy it. Better not buy any car then, maybe the gearbox brakes?
I had this exact conversation with a guy about an S500. The bags were about $700ea., which he thought was outrageous. I explained that new, it was a $100k car, his response was he didn't pay $100k for it. I told him I don't care what he paid for it, it's a TOTL Benz, the parts are not cheap. He asked what I should do. My response, " Sell it."
LOL... Only the Car gets chip. Sad but True
Normal suspension is fine...
....Camber Gang, hahahaha
I would only lease cars like these and give them back before their warranties expire! It’s amazing how worthless these high end luxury cars end up, it’s actually really sad.
It is not surprising these vehicles depreciate so fast because as you saw in this video they are so complex with so many gizmos that likely to have faults and hence high maintenance and repair costs.
@@johntheaccountant5594 that's the reason people buy them in the first place, all the toys and gizmos. If you don't want $100k car problems, don't buy $100k cars
Fantastic car just put the coil overs on and tear out all that heavy worthless air ride crap which is probably what most would do
Coilovers defeat the purpose of an A8L. If you can't afford to replace air stuts, don't buy an A8L haha. It's so sad to see these cars end up in the hands of owners who wanna modify them. Get an S4 if you wanna mod something.
agreed, once they go on steel suspension, they start riding like a crown vic taxi.
@@bcatz454 Nice comparison, lol.
Well said!
Agree completely
Dip the car in water .. You can easily find the air leak 😋😛
Audi are very nice cars, but very costly
But where is the Touareg??
More on that coming soon
Air Suspension? More complicated crap to go wrong with costly repair bills.
It is not surprising that these cars depreciate because nobody wants the hassle of them.
This is why I wouldn't buy a exotic even if I was rich . The only reliable Supercar is the R8 V10 / Huracan , everything else is guaranteed to fail and cost to much to fix . VW is the only European car I would buy .
It’s a shame you didn’t even mention the possibility of having them remanufactured. There’s a place in Florida called RMT that rebuilds them for not too much money.
Stay very far away😂😂
always fisting cars haha
It’s just the car that gets cheap.
This is why I do not like Air for suspension, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
All I want to know is who pays for it?
Are you joking, this A8 have very good pneumatic system.
We in europe always joking when see some A8 from usa which have springs, pneumatic disabled.
These air struts have 10-14year work time.
New air strut itself costs about 120-700eur.
You can easy replace if you want. Leave old shock and put new air strut.
Other solution very popular is to buy used air shock.
In 3 years I had once the problem with front.
Used bought for 65$. Now 1.5year after no problems.
400 000kilometers on odometer.
No one except americans, disabling audi D3 pneumatic system