Hi all,
First of all any help or light you can shed on my weekend of woe will be great fully received.
I have a 2003 ff vogue td6 and a large Twin axel caravan which I was moving this weekend to a different site only 15 miles away.
On the way to collect the van which is 60 miles away my suspension inactive warning came on. The car still drove ok but obviously the suspension was now frozen in its middle setting so I continued on. I hitch up the van and as its a twin axel and supports its own weight didn't foresee any problems. All seemed fine even though I have never used the towbar or the electrics before. I tried to pull away which on soft ground it eventually did but then tried to come to a stop and the brakes were spongy straight away. This got worse over the 15 mile journey til I reached my destination but still had a very hard pedal albeit very very low. After leaving for home the brake fluid warning and HDC warning came on so stopped at the nearest garage for brake fluid after checking the reservoir which was empty. I topped it up which made no difference to the pedal but did resolve the two warning light issues. Also forgot to mention my headlights are way way way up in the air even though the car doesn't seem that low at the back.
Can anybody shed any light on what I have done to my car and where I go from here.

Thanks again for any help

Re the brake fluid, it sounds as though you have a leak somewhere, burst hose, faulty caliper etc. If I were you I wouldn't drive it again until you find that problem and get it fixed. If you look around the vehicle underneath you should be able to spot the fluid leak.

In terms of the suspension, you probably need to read the codes unless it is obviously deflated on one corner.

Thanks for the fast reply.
It's going nowhere now as I appreciate the seriousness of the problem but the van had to get moved this weekend and at no point did I feel I didn't have the ability to stop if needed to. I will check for leaks in the morning but it seems such a coincidence it happened the minute I tried to tow.
The car is not sagging anymore than normal which does appear to be a bit low at the back but has been like that for some time now. I have also felt the bags on each corner and none feel in the least bit soft

As soon as you start towing you put additional strain on it and any weakness will show up, whatever seal or pipe has failed was very close to doing it and the additional weight of the van tipped it over the edge..

You have a split system so you will always have some brakes working but the pedal will be soft as you found out...

Get the suspension sorted and the lights will be OK...

If you are going to tow a big heavy twin axle van then get the whole vehicle checked over... it, like mine, is getting a bit long in the tooth now and preventative maintenance is best...  Pete

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2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
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