I got up to a cold, 25 below, morning... Went out to find 2 Phaetons that had to be left out overnight, SLAMMED!
They were both low ridas. I started them up easily, but no inflation of the suspension. Too Low Warning light on both dashes.
I have a 2005 VW Phaeton 4.2L with 101,000 miles on the clock. I purchased it from a dealer in Phoenix Arizona two months ago. Now, I am no stranger to flagship cars. I have a Mercedes S500, S600, CL55, E320... etc. I am also no stranger to air suspension.
Now, this car... while I LOVE it, it feels like I am driving a go-cart at boomers. My 1992 Jeep Cherokee is more luxurious than the ride on my Phaeton.
I just had major work done at a very reputable VW/Audi only shop called Pacific German in Laguna, CA. The dealer just told me that my stabilizer link bushings needed replacing and everything would be good to go (what a waste of a $400 diagnostic fee). At Pacific German, I spent $6,500 and had every last upper and lower arms replaced as well as the timing service (thermostat, water pump, etc), valve cover gaskets, tire pressure service.
The owner told me there were no codes for the suspension at all on any of his scanners (including VAG-Com). As far as the car's computer was concerned, the suspension is perfect. Only codes are for the batteries, which are new but are not VW batteries... and for the center cluster backlight (because that middle screen is not lighting up). I can control the suspension settings from comfort to firm via the knob, but that doesn't affect the ride quality. The car goes up and down just fine with the raise function and the car doesn't seem to have a leak when parked for a long time. It stays level. Tire Pressure System is not functioning properly, but the pressures are correct.
What in the world could be going on? I heard of replacing a fuse in the trunk, but which one? I do not want to give up this car, but driving it is starting to give me migraines. It feels like someone has replaced my air struts with 2x4's from Home Depot.
I have an 04, one air spiring is leaking. Covered by real driver warranty. VW no longer makes the part so they have to replace the entire system, it costs about $10,000. Great car but if you are buying one, get the real driver warranty.
View 3 RepliesToday when I went to start the car I noticed front suspension (Shocks) were low but when I started the car it went up by itself. Then I got the warning message while I was driving the car. I am posting 2 pictures that were displayed in the console. After that every time I switch off the car, the front suspension (shocks) goes down by itself and goes up when I start up the car. I am not sure about this behavior. Could this be the famous Air shocks failure or just simple fix.
View 24 RepliesI have a Phaeton 3.2 V6,and it has a problem with air suspension.
the problem is that it vents air,air suspension code is 3D0616039L.
I want to know if you can substitute with another,if the last letter change. for example (L) to be (T) or (M) or something else.
I just want to 1st say that this is a awesome forum where I learn alot & get tons of good information, so affiliated w/ Prius Chat & I hope I can make some contributions to pay it forward . With that being said, has noticed that the left side of their prius is slightly lower than the right or is it just me(my prius)? My theory is that since there's more weight on the left side, it has sagged a little over to that side.
View 16 Repliesi went to open my moonroof the other day and i noticed it slammed down shaking the whole headliner then rolling backwards like normal. only thing i've done to it recently was put a thin layer of grease on the rubber seal so it would stop making so much noise from the body flex; it tilts with no problem and my radar detector is very loud.
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I have an occasional thump in the front suspension that seems related to road irregularities and I presumed there might be a bushing or tie rod end or ball joint causing it. It's not metal to metal and is not a cornering thing, just going straight down the road it can happen.
My mechanic looked over the front end and nothing was obviously bad, and he concluded that it was the shock mount at the top of one of the shocks and that sounded right to me. So we looked into it and were surprised to find that there was no shock mount. The air shock seems to be an all-in-one design that just bolts to the top of the wheel well.
So, this thunk, if it is coming from the shock can only be fixed by the replacement of the shock, is that the case? Better yet, could it be something else?
I'm at a body shop now to pick up my 2004 V8 after fixing some scrapes from getting gently rear ended. When they pulled the car around, the front of the car was almost on the ground while the back looked very high. I'm concerned that the air ride is damaged. It's possible, if not likely, that they lifted the car without using jack mode. Can that be the cause of suspension damage?
View 7 RepliesWhile I was having my tires rotated yesterday, the last floorjack was being lowered just in front of my driver's side rear tire when there was a noticeable hissing sound. The outer lip of the plate on the floorjack caught on the line going to my front suspension and the front of the car went down.
I'm borrowing a picture that Michael posted earlier and hopefully I've labelled the correct items in the picture. His previous red arrows were for pointing out the oval holes in the bottom of the car that can get damaged in towing.
The owner of the shop that did it drove my car slowly to the VW dealer that was within a couple miles. I've allowed them to do a repair to the line that meets VW specs. Some type of male/female brass connection that will save several hundred dollars on the repair that the tire shop will be paying for.
I'm surprised that VW placed the air lines so close to one of the lift points.
Is it possible to cause damage to the air shocks when they are lowered all the way down like that? I'm hoping not. I figured it probably was better to drive the car to the dealership instead of risking any damage that could have been caused by putting it on a flatbed.
I got the dreaded "stop, too low" warning this morning on my 04. It went up when I started the car, so I figured it must be a leak and not the compressor. Well I just tried starting it again and now it won't go up at all.
I recall seeing a Phaeton for sale online where the owner replaced the air suspension with coilovers. I've been searching online for any info on such a conversion, but I haven't found anything.
Is there a recommended suspension setting when towing a trailer or caravan or is it automatic?, I seem to recall that the A8 has automatic settings when a trailer is attached! If not what are the advantages between the settings as far as comfort and wear and tear are concerned.:
View 1 RepliesDuring swap over of winter to summer tires I noticed some holes in the drivers side (left) rear suspension boot (cover). I assume that it is the result of rubbing against the body during suspension compression.
Considering either outright replacement of the boot or a band aid (patch) solution, along with some relieving of the suspected contact area on the body.
Suspension is functioning well otherwise. Car has 170K kilometres.
Last night I was sitting in my living room when I heard what I thought was a tire blowing out in my driveway - loud pop/hiss. Went outside but didn't see any flat tires, so I went to bed. This morning I got in the car and started backing out of the driveway but got the alert "Vehicle Too Low" - got out and saw that my front tires were almost touching the inside of the wheel wells. Trying to change the ride height via the suspension button has no effect at all.
I'm super bummed - I've always said that because of the cost to repair, a strut failure in the amazing air suspension would probably be what did this car in. But I didn't expect it to happen so soon - I'm "only" at 129k miles. It happened in my driveway and not 60 minutes earlier while I was doing 75 MPH on the highway.
Pic here: [URL] ....
Just recently I've been hearing a slight creeking sound coming from the front end when going over bumps. I don't have a lot of suspension knowledge so I'm not sure where to start looking and wanted to see if others had the problem, and what the outcome was? The car is at 60k miles.
View 20 RepliesI just bought my Phaeton on tuesday. It is a 2004 V8 and the suspension is normal in the back, but the front is way too high. I know the batteries need replaced and that is being dealt with right now, but is this the batteries or something else? Is there a way to put it down that doesn't involve a VAG COM
View 2 RepliesMy 2005 4.2L w/ 139,000mi , giving the above warning. Thinking it was a gremlin, I raised the vehicle height and all seemed well until I got onto the 101 fwy here in SoCal and hit the threshold speed to lower the height.
That's when the engine rev'd to 7k RPM's. Initially it quieted in neutral and I drifted to the shoulder with one shift back into D and 7k RPMs for a bit of power. After that, any start and it revs immediately to 7K upon start.
Flat bedded to Santa Monica VW and await Ivan, their Phaeton mechanic to return tomorrow. Service writer Jeff wondered about front suspension but connection to acceleration is a mystery.
My 2004 Jeep Liberty with 177,000 miles is a four cylinder, 5 speed model. Lately, when traveling in a straight line at 45 mph or higher, and I let off of the gas, the front end sways to the right. When I reapply gas, it sways to the left. What causes this? Worn shocks, sway bars, etc.?
View 3 RepliesI slammed my door shut and now it wont open from inside or outside, I pulled the door panel off the top and took as many card bolts out as I could and pried the card to check things out, seems like everything is working the same as the passenger door which I could get completely apart for comparison. Cables are attached and both handles move the mechanism, the lock and unlock seem to be working, the handles move free and easily but don't seem to catch anything. How can I get this door open to take the mechanism out?!?
View 2 RepliesI have been noticing that after a trip my phaeton's suspension makes a short loud whoosh sound after i lock it , it usually makes a quiet sound like "sssssssssssss" which lasts about 3 seconds and lowers the suspension , but sometimes , about once 3-4 monts or so makes this loud woosh and lowers rapidly . Is it normal that sometimes the car should release the pressure that fast?
View 1 Repliesmy P has recently developed a knocking noise coming from the front right when I go over a pothole. My first guess was a worn anti-roll bar drop link, but I've just taken the drop link off and it looks absolutely perfect. (I noticed that they have updated this part since my last 2008 P which had aluminium inserts in the rubber bush and easily distorted - now they have a stainless steel insert.)
It sounds like the "clunk" comes from high up on the front right suspension. I have looked at all the bushes on the arms and they look fine. If this was a "traditional" car I would have guessed that the top suspension mount bearing had failed, but am I right in thinking that the P doesn't have one of these bearing mounts ?