Good day to all!
This add-on will be entirely devoted to the topic "Air Suspension".
And on this forum and on specialized forums there is often a debate whether it is needed or not. Let me tell you my opinion, definitely yes! Moreover, it was pneuma that became one of the main reasons why I again chose Tuareg. If I'm not mistaken, today the Tuareg is the most affordable off-road vehicle (well, or a crossover) with a full-fledged air suspension. Those, adding to the base cost (1.9 million) another 100 tyr, you get a car that can-
1. Adjust the ground clearance from 160 mm (loading mode) to 285 mm (strong off-road mode
2. Maintain a constant clearance regardless of the load.
3. Change the stiffness of the suspension (3 modes - sport, comfort, normal). By the way, the Tuareg on springs is close in stiffness to the Tuareg with pneumatic in the "sport" mode. And its clearance is about 210 mm.
You will be able to move over such curbs and gully (I do not advise you to abuse it!), which most crossovers never dreamed of, and on the highway you will get the controllability of a business sedan. Well, doesn’t it cost 100 thousand rubles or 5% of the cost of the car ???. By the way, I advise those who buy a new Tuareg to buy it not just with pneumatic, but choose the Technic package for 136 thousand. Then, in addition, get a tire pressure monitoring system, a control system high beam and monitoring of blind spots, electrically heated windshield, rear view camera and something else on the little things.
And by choosing a car on springs, you get a hole on the center console instead of a regulator as a “bonus” ground clearance. It perfectly fits a medium-sized mobile phone (smartphones do not), but it looks asymmetrical with other controls, and you can put the phone and a cup holder.
And now the sore subject is the reliability of pneuma. I once read an interesting survey on the Tuaregovodov forum - who had a problem with pneumonia on a car after 2010. So, only about 10% of the owners had any problems with the suspension and most of them were eliminated during the warranty period, or they simply drove the car to the sink (it was in winter) and everything went by itself. As I understand it, ice was frozen on the bottom of the car and did not allow the air suspension to work normally.
From personal experience-y My second Tour (2012) had a problem during the warranty period. The car sank into the back right side after long parking V very coldy. The malfunction was eliminated by replacing the air bellow (free of charge) - I didn’t have any more problems (the second owner), not the first owner of the car. On a car that I haven’t noticed any problems now. My relatives have owned the Tuareg for 4 years (mileage 60 t. Km), my colleague had a 3.5 year car (mileage 75 t. km) - there were no problems with pneuma.
Of course, pneuma doesn’t make a cool rogue out of the Tuareg, I wouldn’t climb into heavy off-road on it, it has a too vulnerable bottom and a lot of electronics. There are other machines for this.
That's all for now. The next addition is a comparison of diesel and gasoline (there will be a lot of numbers). Thanks for reading to the end. Plus a few photos.
Includes the replacement of standard elastic suspension parts such as springs, leaf springs, with pneumatic cylinders, in which the main role is played by compressed air, which is injected from the pneumatic system.
Why is this needed?
Advantages of air suspension:
- Adaptability. The air suspension makes it possible to adjust the stiffness, clearance, and also allows you to load the car in excess of the permitted weight by the manufacturer. Replacing native springs with others requires careful selection in order to get the desired result. Pneumatic cylinders, in turn, provide flexible settings, unlike springs.
- Controllability. Pneumatic cylinders have their own peculiarity - the more they are compressed, the higher the rigidity. Thus, the flexible characteristics of the air suspension and the ability to adjust the pressure in them from the passenger compartment gives a wide range of performance characteristics. Pneumatic parts can also be easily combined on a car with sports shock absorbers and anti-roll bars.
Rice. 1 Vehicle with basic suspension.
3. Customizability. Each driver has his own vision of what the suspension should be, hard or soft, with low ground clearance or vice versa. With air suspension, every driver can fulfill their desires without making changes to the suspension design itself. Adjusting the pressure of the air suspension can either make the car stiffer or more comfortable.
4. Individuality. This is the most effective function of the pneumatic suspension, because it will not be difficult to make the car low or higher - you just need to use the control panel located in the car. Initially, it was erroneously believed that the pneumatic suspension was developed only for lowriders, but this is not so. Lowriders make up only a small part of those who buy and install air suspension on their car.
With air suspension, you can easily overcome any obstacles by changing the vehicle’s ground clearance, whether it’s a speed bump or bad road to the cottage Having overcome the obstacle, you can easily continue moving by returning the original settings of the air suspension.
5. Practicality. The carrying capacity of a car with air suspension increases significantly, while you will not lose the comfort and safety of the car. Owners of minibuses and trucks often resort to installing air suspension. The air suspension will also help to attach a heavy trailer or car-dacha from behind.
As you can see, the air suspension has a number of advantages compared to the standard air suspension - greater comfort and improved handling, the ability to overcome obstacles and lower the clearance improves appearance car.
In addition, compressed air, in the air suspension system, can be used to: pump the wheels, and set the air signal, and even to install the lambo door.
Types of pneumatic cylinders.
Fig.3 Types of air suspension
- Double-convoluted - designed to increase the vehicle's carrying capacity. It is recommended to install on the front axle of the car.
- Tapered-sleeve and rolling-sleeve bellows - more greater stroke than Double-convoluted and therefore have a lower load capacity. It is recommended to install on rear axle car.
Compressors
The main role of compressors is to “inflate” air springs. How more car loaded, the lower its clearance becomes, as a result of which the car “squats”. Therefore, in order to avoid “squats”, it is necessary to pump air into the air springs. For these purposes, there is an onboard pneumatic system.
The presence of pneumatic elastic elements in the suspension of SUVs no longer surprises anyone. As for concerns about reliability, they are refuted by statistics. But the question arises: can omniscient science be wrong?
It's no secret that the amount of ground clearance and body height above the road to a large extent determine the behavior of the car in various conditions movement. At the same time, the requirements for high-speed cars and all-terrain vehicles are diametrically opposed. No, of course, in the history of the automotive industry, there have been more than once attempts to instill in a venerable SUV the “genes” of a thoroughbred sports car and vice versa. But in most cases, the creators of these "interspecific" hybrids achieved only a more or less successful compromise of working qualities. That is, like any universal tool, such machines have always lost to highly specialized ones: one on asphalt, and the other off-road. The only successful example of this kind were cars with adjustable ride height. The complex design of their suspension made it possible to lower the center of gravity as much as possible on the highway and increase ground clearance when crossing the shoulder.
The rubber sleeve of the pneumatic element in the VW Touareg suspension is covered with a solid corrugated plastic casing. It not only protects the vulnerable rubber fold from dirt, snow and foreign objects, but also increases the resistance of the pillow to punctures.
A hard and durable plastic pan at the bottom of the Mercedes-Benz ML rear air bellow protects it from sharp branches, but when driving in a rut, it picks up a lot of dirt or snow inside
Constructors Land Rover protected the air bags with very strong steel casings. But only at the top. As a result, quite a lot of dirt is packed under them. Especially if it's sticky. But, surprisingly, according to the observations of repairmen, with exactly the same scheme, much less foreign inclusions get into the "sleeves" of Discovery 3 than into the same parts range rover
How does air work?
Nowadays, the most common and simple way to adjust the clearance is based on the replacement of four traditional “suspension players” (springs, springs, torsion bars and polymer-rubber elastic elements) with a fifth - “pillows” filled with air under pressure of several atmospheres. As you understand, the adjustment of the ride height itself is possible only if there is a fully independent suspension. Moreover, this happens due to a decrease in the rebound stroke ( top position) or compression stroke (down position). In the case of solid beams of bridges (as, for example, in the first and second Generations Range Rover) pneumatics can only adjust the height of the body above the road and change the rigidity of the chassis, while the clearance "varies" only with the outer diameter of the tires.
Initially, balloon-type pneumatic elements became widespread in the automotive industry (as on the LiAZ-677 city bus), but later they were completely replaced by “sleeve” elements from the passenger segment. The latter in their structure resemble a diagonal tire - the power frame here is formed by two layers of cord threads laid at a precisely calculated angle relative to each other. The principle of operation of the hose element is that when the pressure in the system changes and the suspension stroke changes, the cylinder changes its height, and its part, as it were, “rolls” onto the guide. At the same time, one part of the “sleeve” always remains “turned up”, the other - “turned out”, and another part turns out to be either outside or inside the bend. And one more thing: in the process of "rolling" the diameter of the rubber-cord sleeve changes due to the rotation of the cord layers relative to each other. As you can see, everything is quite difficult. But it is precisely these features of the work that make it possible to obtain (due to the shape of the guide) the desired degree of progressiveness of the elastic characteristic of the pneumatic element in various zones of the suspension travel. Which, in turn, is necessary to ensure high smoothness. That is, it is desirable to have a minimal increase in stiffness in the middle part of the stroke, and high progressiveness in the extreme ones (especially in compression). This is exactly how the elastic elements of air suspensions work on all modern passenger SUVs.
Such a track in soft and fluffy snow at first glance is not dangerous for a car. But with a long movement, the snow clogs into the folds of the pneumatic elements, compacts and turns into ice ...
Embrace the immensity
But, as you know, disadvantages are a direct continuation of advantages. The thinner the design of the rubber cord element, the better it is from the point of view of its operation, since the difference in the working diameters of the outer and inner layers of the cord is smaller. But at the same time, the intermediate elastic layer of rubber decreases, due to which the rotation of the cord layers relative to each other is ensured. This means that stresses are growing, requirements for materials are increasing, including the stability of their characteristics in different conditions. In particular, when extreme temperatures. This is where all the problems are rooted, which are then amplified (or weakened) by the specific design of the pneumatic element and the features of its installation on the car.
Theoretically, it is not difficult to create an elastic element that retains its properties in the temperature range from -80 to + 80 ° C (and more on this planet is not needed). There are materials (for example, based on organosilicon compounds) that can withstand such a range. But they are mainly used in space development. And not because they are secret, but because they are very expensive. Expensive even for buyers of Range Rover, Hummer or Mercedes-Benz. And now back to the statistics mentioned at the very beginning. It is known for certain that the vast majority of SUVs equipped with air suspension ... will not fly into space. Why is there extraterrestrial space, these luxurious "all-terrain vehicles" are unlikely to ever go to conquer antarctic ice or explore the vents of freshly erupting volcanoes. On the contrary, the bulk four-wheel drive vehicles with increased clearance will exist in the relatively greenhouse conditions of modern megacities. Well, why, one wonders, in this case, not paying attention to costs, build an "interplanetary ship"? After all, no one has canceled the principle of economic expediency (and unification). For example, on the same Mercedes-Benz ML, ATE pneumatic elements are installed, which neither structurally nor technologically differ from those that are widely used in truck cab suspensions and tractor seat suspension systems. That is, parts that have proven their reliability over many years of operation.
On the straightened pneumatic element, it can be seen that the hole was rubbed in the most loaded section of the shell - in the place of its narrowing (during the vertical movement of the wheel, it fell either on the outer or on inner part folds)
Traces of dirt on working surface show ... Firstly, how much the rubber elastic element “folds” during operation, and secondly, that the abrasive quite easily enters the zone of rubbing surfaces and part of it lingers there for some time
Under extreme sub-zero temperatures, and simply speaking, below forty, the rubber-cord sheath loses its elasticity. To prolong its life, it is better to switch the suspension to a sport mode and thereby reduce its travel.
Plumes of sand and small stones flying from under the wheels are also very dangerous for pneumatics. Over time, they can wipe even protected pneumatic elements. And that is why, with active and frequent off-road driving, it is important to regularly monitor their condition.
cold test
But back from space to earth. In average conditions it is enough temperature range“plus - minus 40″. And within these limits, widely available, inexpensive and at the same time high-quality materials are enough. As for the trip to Tiksi, here we left the “comfortable” (for materials of pneumatic elements) temperature range a little. It is no coincidence that the first problems with balloons began after spending the night in the forest-tundra at -47°C. In this case, only the rear pneumatic elements were destroyed, which were subjected to greater cooling in comparison with the front ones. The fact is that the front cushions, located in the niches of the mudguards, were heated at night by the heat of a running engine, and even during the day they were in best conditions due to the fact that the shock absorber body served as a guide for them. Which, firstly, ensured the alignment of the element in all phases of the suspension travel, and secondly, it did not allow freezing (the body heated up a little during operation). But the back cushions were really hard. They did not have any external heating, and plastic guides when moving along snow rut instantly covered with a crust of ice. Because of this, the bending radius of the pneumatic element decreased, significantly increasing the stress in it. working area(especially in the raised position of the body). Additionally, the situation was worsened by some structural misalignment of the installation of the pneumatic element, which caused distortion during the suspension stroke. However, as experience and statistics show, under normal operating conditions, these features do not cause any fatal consequences. And the pillows that we installed instead of those that failed and did not fall into such severe frosts still work properly to this day.
Scheme of operation of a hose pneumatic elastic element shows how ice freezing on the surface of the guide, in addition to everything else (in the solid state, water is an excellent cutting material) also reduces the bending radius of the rubber-cord sheath
Other hazards
I must say that low temperatures are not the only scourge of air suspensions. Overheating is no less destructive for them. By the way, in this case, you can collect even more statistics. Indeed, in hot countries, cars with an “inflatable” suspension are much more common than in the polar regions of Yakutia. So, according to these data, the front cushions on the desert roads of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, Australia and other similar regions, on the contrary, are destroyed more often than the rear ones. And regardless of the car model. In the same regions, another weakness rubber sleeves. More precisely, the place is the same - the fold, but the reason is different. Off-road, grains of sand, dirt and small stones fall under the fold, rubbing the outer protective layer pillows, and high temperature it's not connected in any way (this happens from time to time during off-road expeditions in various places on the planet). Probably for this reason, for their round-the-world project Touareg Expedition 360, Volkswagen chose cars with springs. And this despite the fact that they have obviously the worst one-time geometric cross in comparison with the "pneumatic"!
Modern air suspensions have another weak point, namely sensors and "brains", which can also begin to act up. So, with a long movement in deep snow often frosted over the front body level sensors. The suspension electronics perceives this as a malfunction and goes into protective mode, ceasing to respond to commands to raise or lower the body. Participants of the winter expedition around Lake Baikal (Land Rover Discovery 3). However, this problem is just from the category of easily eliminated - in order for everything to work again as it should, it is enough to clear the sensor of ice and start the engine again.
Subject to human psychology
Thus, we are forced to state that the problem with the reliability of the air suspension in extreme conditions still exists. But at the same time, none of the automakers, whose range includes models with air suspension, does not give any official restrictions on the regions and the conditions for their use. There are only general recommendations: during off-road expeditions and in other difficult conditions operation, regularly inspect the condition of the suspension, and immediately after returning to visit service station for preventive diagnosis. This approach is completely understandable and justified (at least for today). After all, changing the "pillow" under the guarantee for several adventurers in the end is cheaper than sowing distrust in their own products among the broad consumer masses. Just in this case the peculiarities of human psychology are taken into account, according to which the thought appears in the minds of a significant number of buyers of all-wheel drive vehicles from time to time: “What if I also someday go to the ends of the world?” So why give cause for doubt? Moreover, under average statistical conditions, there are no prerequisites for the occurrence of "pneumatic" problems.
Rear pneumatic Mercedes-Benz suspension ML is very maintainable. To replace the pillow, it is enough to remove the wheel, unscrew the pneumatic hose and remove the element from the latches. On the ice of the Laptev Sea it was a big plus. Other brands of systems would take much longer to fiddle with.
If in winter, after overcoming snowdrifts or ruts, the suspension height control suddenly stopped working, then the reason most likely lies in the frozen body level sensor
Material from the site http://autopilot.kommersant.ru
› Air suspension! Who is the most reliable? Reliability rating of vehicles with air suspension.This article is not of any promotional nature, it is only our experience and our thoughts. We really hope that this article will help someone with the choice of a car in the future. Agree that reliability various systems our cars with you, often plays a decisive role when choosing a new car!
I also want to draw your attention to the fact that everything is relative and, of course, the quality of the roadway, climate, driving style, etc., directly affect reliability air suspension and, accordingly, for the service life of certain parts of this system.
1. The most reliable cars in this matter in our rating are several models at once. This is easily explained, since all are based on the same platform and have exactly the same air struts, compressors and receivers, the differences lie only in the settings. We are talking about Audi Q7, VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne.
If we talk about the most vulnerable places in the air suspension system of these cars, then here you should pay close attention to the pressure valve coming out of the air cylinder. It is he who begins to release air from the air spring, and, as follows from our experience, the owners replace the entire air rack entirely! Next, the compressor, which could “die” due to the discharge valve, because constant pumping was required. Pneumatic cylinders themselves are quite "survivable" due to the fact that they are protected from the external environment by a metal cup. And the durability of shock absorbers directly depends on the quality of the roadway, the attentiveness of the driver and the engine size under the hood. There were times when the shock absorbers on the VW Touareg attracted attention only after 200,000-230,000 kilometers!
2. In general concern VAG quite seriously approached the issue of air suspension reliability and following cars Audi A8, VW Phaeton appear in our rating. As in the previous case design differences there are very few of these cars in the pneumatic racks and they come down only to the settings.
The number of appeals from the owners of such cars with air suspension problems is also quite small, but the second or even the third owner of these wonderful cars has to invest. Racks are changed only as an assembly, although you can use the services of air spring repair shops, but, as a rule, no one gives a guarantee of how long the repaired rack will last. It follows that it is necessary to change the racks only in pairs. The service life of the pneumatic struts is quite large, 120,000-160,000 kilometers. And again, let me make a reservation and remind you that the reliability of the air struts and their service life directly depend on the driving style and the quality of the roads on which the car moves.
3. Followed by Japanese manufacturer luxury LEXUS cars LS460/430. To be honest, the number of damaged air cylinders is much less than the number of failed shock absorbers! Most often, shock absorbers fail first, this happens approximately at a run of 120,000-140,000 kilometers, and if the owner does not replace the entire air strut in time, then, after a couple of thousand kilometers, an air spring may explode and this can happen in the most unexpected places. But in general, the air suspension system on Lexus cars is quite durable.
4. mercedes benz S class w220/w221 and Mercedes Benz E class w211/CLS class w219. Pneumatic racks and cylinders of the above cars have approximately the same reliability and are closed racks and air cylinders with "deaf" protection from environmental influences. The average service life of the front air struts is in the region of 100,000 kilometers, while the rear ones run a little more, in the region of 120,000 km, but it should be remembered that the larger and correspondingly heavier the motor, the shorter the service life of the front air struts. Although, there were cases when the owner of the E klass w211 station wagon, thought about replacing the air struts only to 300,000 km. run, but these are isolated cases.
Mercedes S class w221
I also draw your attention to the fact that, for example, the rear W211 / W219 cylinders are recommended to be changed only in pairs, since the work of replacing these parts is laborious and quite expensive, so you should not save on this. As for the S klasse, the weak points are the valve blocks on the more advanced, hydropneumatic ABC suspension. If we talk about the Airmatic suspension, then it is better to take it as a rule, once every 80,000-100,000 km. update all racks in a circle, regardless of their condition!
5. Go ahead. Land Rover Range Rover Vogue/Sport. In principle, the pneumatic struts on these vehicles are also quite reliable, but due to the fact that pneumatic cylinders, for example, on the Range Rover III, are not protected by anything, they are most exposed to factors environment. We also refer to the sores the Range Rover computer, the air suspension control unit. For example, there were cases, in a big minus on the thermometer, the air suspension simply refused to rise, i.e. did not receive a signal from a frozen control unit. Most of the problems are electrical in nature. If the situation described above has happened to you, then you should try to do the following: “Warm up the car in normal mode, then turn on the drive and drive to some free straight line, making sure that the traffic is safe, sharply press the accelerator reaching 60-79 km / h ., the suspension should rise. This real advice received on personal experience in real situations, which we hope will help you too!
6. In sixth place is a car Audi Allroad 1st generation. Due to the fact that these cars were produced only on a pneumatic drive, and the demand for them is still quite large, we hear about failures of the pneumatic system in these cars quite often. Most often, it is the air springs that fail. They are not protected by anything, and the age of such cars, as a rule, is already more than 10 years old. By the way, many owners of these cars successfully replace the air suspension with a conventional, spring one. Fortunately, kit kits from such manufacturers as: Airbagit, Arnott Inc., are widely represented in our country and on our website.
7. At the end of our list is Mercedes Benz with their ML/GL W164! Yes, yes, it is they who drink the most blood from their owners. There is only one big plus when purchasing such cars with air suspension, all parts are collapsible and easily repaired, and the number of substitutes original parts wide enough, so the cost is very pleasant. For example, you can independently in the garage, separately from the shock absorber, replace the front pneumatic cylinder, it rests on one nut. Replacing the rear air spring is even easier, the same goes for the rear shock absorber.
Pneumatic cylinders deserve the most attention. As it was written in our previous articles, there is no need to be shy about periodic maintenance. Cylinders open type and easily take on any dirt, while moving they begin to fray. Almost every ML / GL owner at least once heard an explosion of an air spring. It is also worth carefully approaching the issue of washing in winter time, the poor location of the air suspension compressor, can one day put you in an awkward position. It “hangs” under the left front headlight behind the bumper, so water gets on it at the sink and, accordingly, it freezes when you go outside. Warm box or garage to help you!
I remind you that any air suspension parts, kits for replacing air suspension with springs, you will find on our website: pnevmousa.ru
Sincerely, Pnevmousa.ru
1 year
Take a look at the backyard of any large firm or a wealthy commercial bank with a luxurious fleet of vehicles - you will certainly see a couple of cars "squatting on one knee" at the fence. Summing up air suspension, which fail much earlier than you might think. It happens that during the night a car equipped with "pneuma" lies on all four wheels.
Dealer service stations, when they turn there for a guarantee, sing a famous song - and “find” a malfunction of the air springs not immediately, but after several visits, when the guarantee is no longer valid and the owners are forced to repair the cars at their own expense. One of these cars passed through our hands - this is a 2012 Audi A7 Sportback equipped with rear air suspension. Having worked less than three years in a sparing mode, "pneuma" expired. Why?
The first complaints about the stern sagging after overnight parking came from the owner during the warranty period. The dealer carried out diagnostics, including computer diagnostics, but did not find any malfunctions in the air suspension. The car was even left overnight, but the feed did not sag. Outside the service, the car lay down more willingly, but after starting the engine, the compressor inflated the air springs for a couple of minutes to normal position body - and the suspension worked flawlessly.
Gradually, the problem progressed. After another overnight stay under the roof of the dealer technical center, the car body finally lay on the wheels. Since the system did not issue error codes and all elements were successfully tested using a computer, the servicemen sentenced the air springs to be replaced due to their leakage. At that time, the car was in operation for two and a half years - the guarantee was no longer valid; the owner had to change the nodes at his own expense, having laid out 80,000 rubles (at the prices of a year ago), although the car ran only 45,000 km.
We submitted these air struts for examination to US. Experts issued a terrible verdict: normal wear and tear cylinder shells; There are no cuts or other accidental damage. Fantastic! Mileage is not that great! Moreover, already considerable experience in the operation of such machines suggests that air springs are ... consumables. Crazy expensive. They need to be changed periodically - as they change, for example, shock absorbers. And the worse dirtier roads, the faster the "pneuma" dies. Keep this in mind when buying a car on " air cushions”- and either budget a tidy sum for repairs, or sell it after the first cases of significant suspension sag.
WORD TO THE EXPERT
Oleg Belikov, autotechnical expert of FSUE "NAMI"
Pneumoballoons of the so-called sleeve type are used not only by Audi, but also by other manufacturers - in particular, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover. The mechanism for the formation of holes in their shells is identical and has a natural operational character, because it rubber product. Despite the presence of an anther casing, sand, consisting of particles of crystalline silicon, inevitably appears on the working surface of the cylinder. It falls on the friction pair of the cylinder shell - the support cup of the rack and forms needle holes on it. The speed of air flow through them is extremely low, within an hour and a half the pressure in the cylinder, according to the pressure gauge, practically does not drop, so it is very difficult to detect these holes. Only later do they turn into a visible gap.
Cylinders with wear, like on your Audi, can still be used, so do not rush to replace them if the car is no longer under warranty. When the stern sags after overnight parking, the compressor will pump up the racks in a couple of minutes after starting the engine and the car can be safely operated. This does not affect the resource of other elements in any way. If, with the engine running, the operation of the suspension does not cause complaints and dashboard the fault indicator does not light up, there is no reason to worry.
The average life of air springs of a sleeve type for Russian roads- about 70,000 km. In Europe - 100,000 km. With us they go less because of more low temperatures, dust and dirt on the roads, as well as the abundant use of reagents that accelerate the wear of the strut shell. The age of the car does not play a role - it is the mileage that is important, or rather, the number of working cycles of compression and decompression of the racks.
A slight suspension sag after overnight parking is normal. After all allowable speed air leakage is not specified anywhere, and the elements of such a suspension cannot be made absolutely tight. And the dealer, of course, will not seek to change air springs during the warranty period. Usually, servicemen are intractable and take the car to work only if the body completely falls on the wheels overnight.
QUIETER WATER, LOWER GRASS
Vehicles with factory air suspension are equipped with a horizon control system. Based on data from body height sensors installed on the side of each wheel, the control unit maintains a constant ground clearance. The system works even when the engine is off. If one of the air bellows is deflated, the unit bleeds air from all the others. Since it is structurally impossible to make such a suspension airtight, even if it is in full working order, the “horizon” control system significantly accelerates the effect of the car sinking after a night stop.
Previously, the body level control system worked differently when the engine was turned off. She, on the contrary, pumped air, including the compressor. Overnight, this decently planted the battery. And the compressor itself in this mode heated up significantly and inevitably wore out. Therefore, manufacturers preferred the control of the "horizon" with air bleeding, which spares the nodes more and less - the nerves of the owners.
A WORD TO THE CAR MANUFACTURER
In this particular case, the dealer's actions are correct. At the first calls to the service with complaints about the operation of the air suspension, the diagnostics did not reveal any malfunctions in the system, so there were no grounds for repair. Leakage of air bellows manifested itself only during the subsequent treatment - already in the post-warranty period.
Pneumatic racks have been upgraded. When replacing, dealers install modified racks. Analysis and modernization of parts and assemblies is a normal process that every automaker carries out.
Warranty for Audi cars is two years with no mileage limit, and the company does not plan to revise these conditions. The manufacturer does not provide for the free performance of such work in the post-warranty period. Dealership in this case, decides on the provision of special conditions independently, as an independent entity. This is a sign of goodwill on his part.
Thank you for your help in preparing the material of NI CTE FSUE "NAMI".
