I have serious problems with the suspension on my 2006 TD6 and would appreciate if I could pick the knowledgeable brains of the members on this website to try and find a solution.

These problems have been going on for over 8 months but unfortunately neither the garage where I purchased the car or the main dealer in the area have been able to fix them.

These issues only occur at speed on the motorway or on long distance driving and the car is driveable on short trips around town.

From early this year the car would show the "Suspension Fault" warning on one or two occasion over a 50-200 mile motorway trip. This fault warning would then disappear from the dash after a few minutes and there would be no obvious problems with the car which would continue to drive fine.

Then over the course of another month or so on long motorway trips the "Suspension Fault" warning would shortly be followed by "Suspension Fault - Max Speed 30mph". However the second warning would also clear after a short while and the car was still driving fine.

Move on a few more weeks or so and the problems really began. The "Suspension Fault - Max Speed 30mph" would then be followed by the rear or front suspension, or both totally deflating. By pulling in to the side of the motorway on a few occasions and turning the car off for a while I managed to re-inflate the suspension and continue the journey.

Once the problems started with the suspension deflating as outlined above the garage checked for leaks in the airbags but found none.

A while later with the issue persisting they decided the compressor required replacement. However following replacement of the compressor the "Suspension Fault - Max Speed 30mph" re-occurred on a long trip and the suspension deflated as before.

The car was then brought back to the garage where the following fault codes showed up:
C1A36-01 Exhaust Valve
C1A07-62 Cross articulation
C1A73-1C Front right height sensor mechanism
C1A04-1C Front right height sensor

On foot of the above the garage suggested the fix was to recalibrate the suspension which they did.

After this the car was noticeably smoother driving around town, and particularly more comfortable on bumpy roads.

However, low and behold on the next long motorway trip the problems begin again. The "Suspension Fault" warning comes on again and I then lower the speed to around 55-60 mph to try and make sure I get there. The 500 mile round trip was completed successfully if a bit slowly by keeping the speed down as a precaution.

But then a week later after about 150 miles of another long trip the "Suspension Fault - Max Speed 30mph" reoccurs and the suspension completely deflates. Despite pulling in to the side of the road and waiting a while the suspension will not re-inflate and "Suspension Lifting Slowly" and "Suspension Will Lift After System Cools" appears on the dash. An hour and a half later I manage to limp to my destination on the "bumps".

Then the next morning I take the cover off the compressor and it is still a bit hot! Having let it cool down I get the suspension to lift after a few hours and I then made the return trip home with the cover off and driving steady at about 50mph. With the cover off I was able to hear the compressor kicking in 7 or 8 times over the course of the 175 mile odd trip on the motorway.

My next step is back to the garage which I haven't got around to yet. The car is noticeably a bit wobbly or harsh over the bumps on short trips around town. I haven't gone on any further motorway trips for fear of the inevitable reoccurrence of the same suspension deflation problem.

Having measured the heights on each corner they are all a bit off the recommended standard height levels. Some days the front right corner is noticeably higher than it should be. I have measured it a few times where it has actually been over 20mm above the recommended standard height level.

My totally amateur guess of the basis of the problem is that there is a faulty piece of equipment in the suspension system which is telling the compressor that it needs to pump the system when in fact it does not. The compressor is then working far too often and is over heating and then turning itself off completely, and the suspension is then totally deflating.

That or there is a leak in the system. But the garage say they previously used the fairy liquid method to try and find leaks but found none.

Also since I started looking into the problem myself in the last few weeks I have noticed the front passenger side height sensor is kept in place with a cable tie. I presume that is not a good sign?!

Sorry for the very long winded detail but am hoping someone on here has had similar problems and may be able to help me.

Last edited by PaddyR on 13th Sep 2013 3:00pm. Edited 2 times in total

sounds like you have a split/hole in one or more airbags and the compressor is working overtime to keep it inflated..

stick the range into off road mode and listen to any hissing noises or/and get some fairy liquid in a spray bottle and spray the bags and look for bubbles.. ... - .- -.




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I have put it in off road mode and lifted each corner but can't hear any hissing. The garage say they did the fairy liquid check but I'll do it again myself at the weekend to double check. Thanks for the advice.

Are the height sensors all ok ? Present :2008 TDV8 HSE
Gone Audi A5 2.7TDI
Gone Discovery 3 HSE
Gone Mercedes CLK
Gone Range Rover 2.5 DSE

Check the hoses as well, they sometimes split or the connectors break/come of etc.

If the compressor is hot, it indicates running too long, which would indicate a leak, either externally or internally.

When you park the car at "normal" height and you use it hours/days later, does it need to "come up" ??

Have you considered removing the compressor and disassembling it (using the Wiki as a guide) and look for "issues" ?? It may be the compressor not supplying sufficient air (leaking/worn piston ring or leaking valves). Does it take a "long time" to go from access to normal to off road ??

I remember seeing something about internal leaks in the valve body, hence my query.

Why don't you PM Meerbusch. He has quite a bit of experience with the suspension system, compressor and he sells refurb kits. Maybe he can give you some pointers. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I will check the hoses and connectors thanks.

The car doesn't noticeably rise after being parked overnight at normal height. However I can hear the compressor running most mornings when reversing out on to the road. But it would run for maybe 30 seconds maximum. Is this unusual?

As the compressor is brand new (about two months old) I have sort of discounted that as the problem. It raises to off road height very quickly, say within 10 - 15 seconds. Are there associated parts in the compressor housing that could be faulty also even though the compressor has been replaced?

I had a disco that randomly kept going down, eventually traced the problem with a scope by checking the wiring from the ride height sensors to the main engine loom plug. The signal wire to the sensors should be at 5v. When operating the sensors by hand with a scope or good meter you should not see any drop out (i.e. disconnecting them & operating them by hand). A continuity check will show a broken wire however in my case it was being caused by corrosion in the wiring, in this case the high resistance through the corroded wiring caused an occasional spike which dropped the signal on its way back to the ECU.

Also the plugs on the ride height sensors are also a common problem, you can buy a repair plug for them. The system is very simple & very little that can not be checked.
Hope this helps Mike

the wiring loom of front sensors are genuinely cable tied to frame an Td6

i would be surprised if sensor is cable tied to frame

All your problems seems to be caused by wrong articulation

as faults you had before could not be fixed by calibration

In my opinion replacing the front right sensor will cure your intermittent EAS problem



( Off topic - Used to have garage in Waterford not long ago - cheers )

Level sensors are only about £25-£30 each, worth changing all 4 at the same time then have a re-calibration done as this is essential after changing sensors.

My question is does HDS INACTIVE ever show up on the dashboard?

I agree with the others, having a good look at all the height sensor related issues is a good way to go. And replacing some or all of them is probably a good thing as well. Considering the age of the car and the environment the sensors are living in, you could expect this by now. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

47p2 wrote:

My question is does HDS INACTIVE ever show up on the dashboard?

Hi I no this post was a while ago but I've this problem now and wondered if you ever got to the bottom of it?

I did get it fixed eventually thank you.

Even though it was still under warranty I finally gave up on the garage I bought it from + the main dealer who they were sending the vehicle to in order to try and source the fault. Was costing me huge amounts of time and causing endless hassle as never knew when the suspension would start acting up and leave me stranded far from home.

Went to an independent Land Rover specialist who within an hour had identified the possible causes, which were:
1. Software may not have updated when the suspension compressor pump was replaced thus causing the pump exhaust valve to stay open and deflate the system. Apparently it is common for those installing new pumps to forget or not know this is required. So they updated the software and that solved problem number one.
2. Compressor pump was still running unnecessarily, thus overheating, and cutting out altogether. This was shown to be caused by a faulty front right side height sensor. The garage replaced both front height sensors and that was problem solved thank God.

All I can say from my experience here in Ireland is that you need to find yourself a garage who has the knowledge to find and fix the faults in these vehicles.

In hindsight I can't believe how clueless the mechanics at the main dealer were.

Hi Paddy my 06 doing same on long journey and suspension a tad stiff.
Where is that lad in Ireland who knows the score on these yokes?
Ta

I had faults similar to the OP. I cleaned out my compressor exhaust filter (sintered bronze filter) with air, then acid, then gasoline (over three different episodes). And each one helped. But I then changed the dyer dessicant in the compressor assembly and I haven't had the problem yet after my 2 hour trip. I hope that solved it.

I got the dessicant kit for the dryer from 4x4 air seals website. About $40.

Good luck.