How long does the air suspension need to be replaced? Is air suspension a system that loves to break down and is it worth buying a vehicle with air suspension?
Actually, if you drive on normal paved roads, not on particularly bad roads or have a modified air suspension, then you don’t have to worry about the air suspension not lasting long. I have also consulted some owners who drive cars with air suspension, and from the information referenced on the owners’ forums, the service life of air suspension is generally not less than 8 years or 150,000 kilometres. So you can use it with confidence.
So next, let’s talk about what air suspension does, what fails when there is a problem with the air suspension system, and what parts can go wrong:
Role of Air Suspension
The height of the vehicle is changed by using compressed air formed by an air compressor and sent to the air chambers of the springs and shock absorbers. When the vehicle is travelling at high speeds, the suspension can be stiffened to improve body stability; and when travelling for long periods of time on uneven surfaces at low speeds, the control unit will soften the suspension to improve ride comfort.
What are some of the things that fail when there is a problem with the air suspension system:
The vehicle’s air suspension collapsed and the vehicle and wheelbase were next to each other.
The vehicle will be high on one side and low on the other.
The air suspension system fault light illuminates.
What parts of the air suspension system can go wrong:
1,Air leakage from air suspension connection line
2,Damaged sensor for body height sensor acceleration.
3,Air suspension damper damage leaks air.
4,Air suspension system, faulty air compressor.
5,Air suspension system control unit, wiring or distribution valve faulty.
What are the pros and cons?
1、Advantages: first of all, the quality of the ride has been improved, equipped with air suspension of the car over a section of the bumpy road feels like it is sliding over the same, but also soft and hard adjustable, just like you choose to imagine like air cushion through the bumpy road, but also like sitting in a sports car like the road feeling drama experience driving and fun;
2、Another advantage is that it can help SUVs or pickup trucks improve their towing capabilities, and when equipped it allows drivers to tow heavy loads by increasing the stiffness of the suspension, but of course SUVs or pickup trucks equipped with traditional steel springs will lower their bodies when pushed by heavy loads, and compression of the shock springs increases the stiffness of the car’s shocks as well;
3、Cons: Although air suspension is tempting, there are two disadvantages, one is the high cost of purchasing the option, most cars, even luxury cars, air suspension is only an optional feature, only on individual ultra-luxury sports cars or SUVs do they have air suspension as standard;
4、The second disadvantage is that it is particularly expensive to maintain, when the air suspension is in good condition it is perfect, but if it ever fails, it will cost a lot of money to fix or even to replace;
Of course, if you have money, none of these disadvantages will be a problem;
Does it have to be replaced?
The air suspension adjusts the stiffness of the springs based on the car’s speed. At high speeds, the suspension becomes stiffer, providing support and stability. At low speeds, the suspension becomes softer, enhancing driver comfort.
Just some people wondered, if the air suspension is not broken does it need to be replaced, if it is broken do you need to replace all four together? Let’s find out today!
Air suspension must be replaced when its service life comes to an end, because the system requires the use of airbags or air struts, short-term use of airbags, struts is not enough to cause too great an impact, but the use of a long period of time, the moisture in the air is easy to attach to the rubber layer and the impact of the rubber layer cracking, which will affect the entire air suspension system will be ineffective, and in addition to driving when the spattering of small debris to break through the airbags, which may affect the entire system will also be ineffective.
The average life of an air suspension is about five years of normal use, but if it is often parked and not used, the life of the air suspension will instead drop to about three years. If the driving environment in poor conditions, then the life of the air suspension will be greatly reduced, and in the actual use of the life of the difficult to ensure that the problem will not occur.
Do you need to replace all 4 together?
You don’t need to replace all 4 air suspension systems together, just the bad one. In addition, the air suspension can still be driven for some distance after it is broken, but it is not recommended to continue to drive, because at this time the car’s tyres will be biased wear, and the uneven force on the wheels, the suspension is not balanced, and it is easy to cause damage to other parts, and it is also easy to lead to the other air suspension that is not broken to break down together, so it is not recommended to drive it under non-extreme circumstances, and it is recommended to tow the car.
Speaking of replacement, car owners should pay attention to the replacement of air suspension system must choose the quality of the brand-name products with guaranteed quality. Because if you choose some poor quality products, the car in the process of driving may appear driving offset, bumps and shaking, turning tail, tyre eating, driving noise and other phenomena. Therefore, for the sake of driving safety, you must choose the air suspension system with guaranteed quality.
In addition, the air suspension system usually needs to pay attention to routine maintenance, the following is the knowledge of air suspension system routine maintenance:
Vehicles equipped with air suspension, the owner should pay attention to avoid long-time parking of the vehicle, driving a few kilometres every once in a while, the air suspension to inflate / deflate the operation, can extend the service life.
Regularly rinse the surface of the airbag with water to clean the airbag and the plastic base of foreign objects (do not use other chemical agents to clean).
Regularly check whether the airbag is aging and decaying or leaking, if so, replace it; if the plastic base of the airbag is seriously deformed or cracked, if it is serious, you need to check whether the value of FH of the levelling valve is normal or not, and at the same time, replace the damaged parts.
