Airsuspension stuck on rear axle with no error message

[SwissW12]

Hello everyone,

my Phaeton got its winter tires. When i got the car back i noticed that the front is lower then the rear. If i swapp it to "high" in the menu, the front lifts up and the car looks ok. When i press "normal" the front goes down but the rear doesnt move. If i change the hardness of the suspension, it works perfectly too. Any ideas?

Thank you

[Gabs08PHTN]

Hi,
When you had your winter tires fitted, did you turn the suspension into the "change tire/jack mode" mode? It is very easily accomplished by pushing at the same time the suspension lift and suspension hardness button for a few secs. Then a warning message appears on the dashboard control panel and voila, done.
To switch this mode off, you just have to push both buttons at the same time again and the warning message disappears.
I guess that what it might have happened to your Phaeton was that if you did not turn the jack mode on, the suspension extended fully and when it went back to the ground it lost the rear height settings. So try to turn on the jack mode, wait for a little while, turn it off and see how it reacts.
I hope it helps and keep us updated anyway!

Gabriel

[SwissW12]

Thank you for your reply Gabriel!

I dont know if they put the car in jack mode or not, however i just did go into that mode and out of it again. Attached is a picture of how it looks. There is no error, the car drives perfectly fine and all adjustments work. Is there a way to reset the controlers so that they return to their default height settings? Is it me, or does it really sit lower?

Cheers

[seawind3000]

Hi, the "Jack Mode" will also turn off if you drive the car above 10 mph, so if you drove home, it would disengage after the first few seconds.

Mike

[SwissW12]

Would a recalibration of the air struts solve the problem? Or is there a way to completely empty the system, force the suspension to lower completely. Then once the engine starts and powers the compressor, the car would return to its programmed hight?

[EnglishPhaeton]

Would a recalibration of the air struts solve the problem? Or is there a way to completely empty the system, force the suspension to lower completely. Then once the engine starts and powers the compressor, the car would return to its programmed hight?

Hi,

have you let VCDS perform the suspension adaptation procedure? It raises and lowers each corner of the car. Might work........

Stu

[PanEuropean]

It is possible that I might be in Zurich next week, if this is the case then you can buy me a coffee and I will adapt your suspension system for you.

I will find out my travel schedule on Monday - just got back from Australia today.

Michael

[invisiblewave]

What type of jack did they use to lift the car to change the tyres? Is it possible they pinched one of the air suspension lines? There's a thread about this somewhere, since reading it I'm always insistent that the tyre shop uses only individual trolley jacks at the jacking points rather than the long pad things they usually use.

[SwissW12]

Thank you all very much for your input. The back axle is still higher than the front. Interestingly, all air struts seem to work fine. The system responds just like i expect it to be.

Dear Michael please let me know when you are in the area, i would really like to meet you. I have an axle aligment appointment on tuesday and will have them do the suspension as well. So, we can go for a coffee or lunch. Ill send you my swiss mobile via PM.

Cheers

PS: I am away during the weekend tough.

[SwissW12]

I got it fixed. I had an appointment for a axle alignment and they recalibrated the Suspension. The car works like new now.

[Gabs08PHTN]

Good to hear that you had it fixed

Gabriel

[SwissW12]

Thanks Gabriel,

just for comparison i have added the image of how the car is balanced now. The difference is very obvious.

[PanEuropean]

Looks great, and I love the colour - is that Papillon Silver Heliochrome?

Michael

PS: I will not be travelling to CH this month.

[SwissW12]

Hello Michael,

thank you very much. The color is called "Bolero Beige Metallic" and the car has the extended wood package with Sunny Beige Interior and Chestnut wood :-)

PS: Next time you are around, let me know and ill buy you dinner for all the great help

[PanEuropean]

The color is called "Bolero Beige Metallic"...

Ah, OK, that colour is very close to the Papillion Silver. Bolero Beige is a very rare colour, I don't think it was even offered in North America. There are more pictures of Bolero Beige at this post: Bolero Beige (K6) Paint Colour.

I'll let you know next time I travel to CH. I usually come to either Zürich or Altenrhein about 4 times a year.

Michael