Air suspension fault

[Germanwhip]

Hi all, new to the Audi club and starting on a bit of a disappointment bought an a6 c7 allroad and after owning the car since September last year have now got my first major issue, rear drivers side has dropped, trawled the internet to try and diagnose the issue seems to be the strut, i have spoken to a local Audi specialist and they want £90 per hour for three hours just to try and find the leak waste of time and money, can anybody tell me that if they have had the same issue and is there any calibration equipment needed when changing the struts?

Peace out

[Magnet]

Hello Michael,

Thanks for being in touch with the forum, and sorry to hear of your issue. 
Usually the first component to give problems is the compressor (normally repairable), but since your issue is restricted to just one corner, then it’s logical to believe that the problem rests with that strut, it’s sensor, or a leak in the air feed to it.
I appreciate that £90/hr may seem high, but in reality is probably slightly on the lower side of average, and is probably  plus VAT. 
The reality is that you either have to locate any air leak yourself - if indeed there is a leak - or pay someone to investigate for you. 
Have you tried an independent? These can be cheaper, but sometimes not that cheaper. 
Perhaps you could let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Germanwhip]

Thanks for your prompt reply and i will let you know the outcome, i have spoken to an independent garage and the mechanic has experience of changing struts on other makes of vehicle and asked if the audis need some sort of calibration equipment when you change the audi struts is this something that you are aware of?

What type of strut is recommended? do you have more knowledge of changing struts yourself?

Kind regards

[Magnet]

You are welcome. 
My concern would be that if you have talked with an Audi independent and he isn’t sure about changing units on Audis, then personally, I would be looking for another Audi independent. 
Apologies, but I don’t have any personal experience of working on Audi air suspension - only a non-Audi. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Envy]

A friends A7's air suspension went out of calibration after having a tow bar fitted. Path of least resistance is to check for audible leak around corner in question when raising or lowering car, any indication of movement, sensor connection (I would expect a sensor fail on air suspension to show up on fault scan)  calibration next then consider looking at air distribution / control module / strut replacement. If you have air on 3 corners compressor should be ok so it is down to control onwards. 

[Germanwhip]

Thanks guys for your responses, i have had the air suspension rear bags changed by a local garage, bought struts off eBay at £148 and £180 labour, car has now stopped dropping, i've had my suspicions it was the air struts since day one, my local Audi specialists wanted over a £1000 for parts and labour, granted chinese parts are hit or miss but the ones i've bought the seller asked me if the parts arrived ok and how did the fitment go, also they come with 2 year warranty, even if they only last 3 years i could change them again and i would of still saved money compared to Audi specialists or main dealers, original struts seem to last around 7 years.

 

[Renato Rea]

Hi there. My problem is that sometimes my rear suspension drops then when it's restored to correct height will stay  up for days at a time. 

Anyone got any ideas what's wrong. 

Thanks Renato 

[Stevey Y]

1 hour ago, Renato Rea said:

Hi there. My problem is that sometimes my rear suspension drops then when it's restored to correct height will stay  up for days at a time. 

Anyone got any ideas what's wrong. 

Thanks Renato 

Hi the rear struts could be loosing pressure as was the case for the poster depending on the milage of your car it might be worth investing in some new units.

[Renato Rea]

Thanks for the reply mate.