So before I start I know there are tons of threads with the Conti GT suspension failures however I just happen to be lucky with this one cause I couldn’t find anything similar to my situation 😤

ok guys, so I come back to my car from dinner and notice the front suspension in the driver side is completely down. I start the car and it airs back up and height is back to normal. I make my drive back to the house and I go over a jump in the road and the same air strut completely bottoms out while driving. The passenger side is holding up 1 inch higher so it’s pretty low as well. I call it a night since it was late already so I just park it over night. I come to diag in the am. I have the 01400 code on VAG (Susp. Lvl control) I start the car and the front does not come up at all. None. Not even the slightest movement and yes the compressor is working. The back is suspended fine and normal however. Passenger side is still 1inch taller than the bottomed out driver side.

is it possible I blew out my 2 year old arnott front struts already? Or a line? And if so does anyone have a diagram for the air lines? I tried the soap water spray and couldn’t find any leaks on front struts but it just stayed on the ground.

 

Take a look under the front end. On each side connected through a lower control arm is the suspension level sensor. The arms on these (I think) are plastic and can become physically broken. If that happens the car can't get a level setting and the suspension goes flooey.

It's a pretty cheap fix if that's the issue.....

 

totally overlooked this. Just checked and they seem fine and locked on still. I have the steel ones that are adjustable for lowering. Thank you for the tip

 

01400 is a classic plausibility error. The air compressor is shutting down BC it is overheating trying to reach the expected filled level.

It is likely caused by a leak that is slow, but enough to keep the compressor running overtime trying to keep the lines filled...until the motor overheats. That's the 01400 failure.

I'd be looking for a line leak or an air spring leak starting with the corner that is down, AND you could have also toasted the air compressor. Or will if you cannot find the leak.

 

Just had mines “fixed” a few months ago as dealer said they were bent. Dealer called and asked me if I had 22’s on there and I haven’t. He said that when people put the bigger rims on there they bend the sensors to compensate. Don’t know how true that is but after I changed my front suspension, everything except for the sway bar, I couldn’t get my car to level. Hope that’s all that’s wrong with yours.

 

BTW, one more point, once the compressor overheats, it is hard shut down and the 01400 is set. You want to let the system cool back down as the air compressor won't run until then. So, it is difficult to test for line leaks when the cannot be filled with the compressor.

AND, what TJ just said about wheel sizes. Good point too.

 

whats even more weird is that all this happened yesterday. I could have my car parked for 2 weeks and never would it drop low or anything from how I parked it. I take it out last night and all this happens. My compressor is still working I squirted the lines with soapy water and heard/saw it pumping while I did that but didn’t find no leaks on it. And there is no air in the front struts so I can’t find any leaks when I hit it with the soap water.

 

To TJs point, it is a good first question - do you have mods on the car like aftermarket wheels, etc? BC one of the mods for bigger wheels is to bend the sensors to accommodate. Then if you go back to stock wheels, the sensors have to be redone. The aftermarket also sells sensor extensions so the ride level can be modified. hopefully you don't have those.

If all the above is no, I'm thinking a leak. Possible look for a leak at the distribution block. You could have a line feed leak to the fronts. The lower front corner could have a slow bladder leak that doesn't really leak until the air spring is moving under load.

 

How ironic lol she’s on 22’s but has been fine for 2 years.
i don’t hit pot holes or curbs or anything of that nature to bend or mess up components. It has the steel aftermarket sensor level arms. I re did the entire front suspension with new arms and sway bar links in the beginning of the year. It drives solid like a champ.

if I take off the lines on the front struts to see if they are getting air would that hurt anything?

 

One last thing, and I hate to sound like a hammer salesman here, the air compressor could just be old and too tired to do the job anymore, and this happens a lot. The compressor runs and runs, but can no longer produce enough air to hold up the car anymore. The misdiagnosis is you hear the compressor running and assume that's not the problem.

So, you might not have a leak at all, just not enough compressor to reach the front of the car.

See here. I just posted this:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...s-try-diy.html

 

I have 22”s and basically a whole new front suspension (arms, bushings, sway bar links all OEM) My arnott frotn struts were replaced in late 2016. i have aftermarket lowering links (picture below) that were installed with the wheels 2 years ago

 

thanks a bunch for the guidance man. Really appreciate it.

 

Yes, I know those links. Nothing wrong with them. If you've done everything in post #11 BUT the compressor, that's probably it. Just too old and tired...like me...LOL

Let's put it this way, if you took the car to a Bentley dealer and they pulled a 01400, they'd replace the air compressor.

 

Lol something tells me the crooked Bentley dealer here in Houston would want to replace the entire air suspension rather than just the problem 😂 I will take your advice friend. I see them on eBay for about $250. Seems really reasonable !

 

Air suspension advice needed - 6SpeedOnline - Porsche Forum and Luxury Car Resource https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ce-needed.html


Read JohnnyHotspurs explanation in the attached post.