Another Suspension Saga

[SpeedyC]

Hi guys. 2011 Equus. 100K miles (140000km for my CDN friends).
Bought 2 years ago. When I went to purchase, the car had been sitting and wouldn't come up at all. It got towed to the dealer. They changed the fuse, and kaboom. Car raised up. That was my first clue of the suspension hassles.
It gets very very cold where I live, and the car would often settle low in cold weather after a day or so. Not usually in warm weather. And most times, it would always come back up upon start up. Sometimes I had to turn car off and on again to get it to inflate.
Now I am on Day 4 of driving carefully, slammed all the way down. It went through all the symptoms you have all mentioned in previous posts with ECS light sporadically on. I left it in my heated garage for 8 hours one day, and it raised back up on start up. But then it slammed again.
I replaced the fuse. No change. The ECS light isn't even coming on now. And the raise button won't light up. The Sport button will light and stay lit, but no change to anything.
Next step, I am going to jack up one-side of the car, and then try to start it up, or try the aux / turn the wheel trick.
When it was working, and everything fills up (last time was 4 days ago) so I don't think it is a leak, it sits properly and high everywhere, and holds the air while the car is running). My thought is the cold weather freezes the condensation inthe compressor or lines, and then it malfunctions and gives up cause it isn't able to push any air through. That is why warming it up for a day or 2 seems to fix things. Any advice would be welcome.
THanks all.

 

[SpeedyC]

Got it into the Hyundai dealer today. They said it would be $70 to $140 for a diagnostic. I said no problem. 6 hours later, they call and tell me it was the 40amp fuse. They said it might be the compressor that caused the fuse to fail. Compressor and labour would be $2600. I said ok, no thanks for now, but maybe another time. I said what's the damage for the fuse, he said $280. I said "for changing a fuse"? He said oh no no no, they had to diagnose soo much stuff. And they didn't even diagnose the 2 other issues I asked them to look at - I told him the parking sensor up front is always indicating something there (for the past month). And the 2 front aux (cigarette lighter) plugs were not working. He said they didn't check the parking sensors, but it was probably because the car was sitting so low. So why didn't they check it when the car came up - for a $280 diagnostic fee? Not sure. And magically, the 2 aux plugs are now working - so he speculated it could have been related to the 40AMP fuse.....which could mean a new electronic panel or something costing thousands. Anyhow, it reaffirmed my skepticism of dealerships. Last time this happened was the day I bought the car, and the dealership in another city replaced the fuse (and looked for other susp issues) for $50 total, and had it done within the hour it was brought in. Oh well. Wish I had tried replacing the 40AMP compressor fuse, and not just the 10AMP ECS fuse - my bad. Looks like it's time to start sourcing the conversion kit, or listing the car for sale. 87,000 miles - maybe time to move on.

 

[SpeedyC]

So, the daily routine now is to see if the car will raise. Unlikely when it is below -5 celsius. I have a bunch of backup fuses for the ECS, and put new ones in as required. I am pretty sure the compressor is on it's last legs, likely ready to seize up. That is why it blows the fuse from the resistance. Also, must have a leak in at least one airbag. Passenger side rear is usually the first to drop. But sometimes it is both fronts. Sometimes all 4 corners. I don't think I am going to chase the air suspension problem (compressor, solenoid, leaky bags, etc.). Talked to Strutmaster today about getting a full kit shipped here to Canada. Are there any EQUUS owners in Canada who have bought their kit? Any advice on this?

 

[princelybug]

Not from Canada and have not experienced suspension issues. But I've heard good things about the Strutmasters parts.

Or, if you want to keep the air suspension, this is another option that has gotten good reviews: Rebuild Master Tech Air Suspension, Engine Parts & More...

Hope you get the issue sorted out. Report back with what you went with. I'm sure all of us Equus owners want to know.