Well , I have gotten a ride height not available in my 16 Pan GTS . First time last sunday , got in started up and yellow horror in the cluster ! So tried to scan with my buddy and his launch wouldn't connect to the car ? Then I went home and began to review fuses and such . Low and behold I discovered a blown 40 ampher for the air compressor . I replaced the fuse , all systems go !

Fast forward to today , start up to run a couple errands and BANG threw the same ride height code again !!!! Haven't driven car since last sunday . So I decide to change out the fuse again and to my surprise the fuse looks ok ? I put the spare in anyway and took off to see the dreaded code reappear . I continue on my run to the post office , park ,shut down and she runs in to drop some mail . I restart take off and no code ? This I don't like because I cannot identify the issue .

This time I backed into the garage to confuse the suspension during stan by , my garage has pretty good slope so the car does adjust to level each time . I will follow up with results .

 

First step before anything else: Read ciaka's air suspension sticky at the top of this forum.


Do you have access to a code reader? A code reader that can read Porsche PIDs (not just generic OBD2) can tell you why that warning is displayed.

It could be a leak (will present as "system air volume too low"), it could be compressor over temp, or over time, many things.

I'm going to guess because you said nothing about the car being low when you approached it after sitting, that you do not have a leak (that seems to be the most common failure).

That is not uncommon for the error to come and go, depending on the root cause. Some codes will reset themselves with drive cycles, some will not.

 

I dont have a PIWIS . I almost think the fuse lost continuity at some point ? First episode the car was high in the rear , think Starsky and Hutch look . Once the fuse went in all codes cleared .

 

Fuses rarely blow for no reason. And you said that you had the warning reappear after fuse replacement.

The warning may have gone away, but the codes are still stored in the PASM module.

Reading them will likely save you a lot of diagnostic time, I would recommend finding a friend with a PIWIS or Launch, or paying a shop $75 for a half hour of diag time.

 

Thank You for the input sacO2 , I will do some code research . I am not opposed to dealer review . Its just a PITA to get it in and back . May Have the rattle /clunk evaluated while there , or trade it !

 

I may have an intermittent compressor problem ? Lost a fuse but heard a very odd clunking coming from compressor , a heavy thumping before fuse loss ? Replaced fuse and everything seems normal ? Car doesnt leak down while standing by ? Thinking Imay get the reman unit oem rebuilt with a fresh relay .

 

There is a known problem with the compressor relay. Porsche changed it after it was failing in many cars. I would check the relay

 

I did some checking around and found a crushed pipe near the jacking block on the drivers side , I know how that happened ! New line on the way , may have saved the compressor ?

 

Up date : damaged area of air line replaced with 6mm tubing and the push connecters . About a 10 " length next to the rear jacking block on the drivers side . Line was crushed when jack stand misalignment occurred . Seems good now . fair amount of effort dropping mid pan and rocker skirt . Got a chance to clean every thing while there .
Previous owner used the car more regular than I will , so stuff does get crappy behind pans . Line wasn't leaking , just restricting and likely causing temporary over pressure to trip the compressor fuse . Hope I don't need to look at that area again for a while !

 

Just a word of caution: if the nitrogen leaked out, you may want to consider having it refilled. There's a fair bit of debate on whether it's necessary or not. I can only speak to my experience. I have had the front struts and compressor replaced due to air leaks which burned out my compressor and did not have the nitrogen replaced with any of that. That apparently resulted in moisture getting into my lines and messing up the sensors which caused the system to think my front suspension was low and jacked it all the way up and wouldn't drop. Had the lines dried out and refilled with Nitrogen and no issues since.

 

I will look into the nitrogen replacement . It was a consideration , I first needed to know that things were back to normal .

 

I have a 2014 Panamera Turbo and the front strut got a severe leak at the top and the front end of the car went all the way down to the ground. I had to pay hundred of dollars just to get it towed to the dealer, only to find out they want 16-23k for the repair (depending on some parts that may have been damaged due to the car being so low). I am not mechanically inclined and I've heard that there are some after-market replacement kits to convert the air suspension to a standard spring suspension, anyone have any information on the success rate of such a project? Strutmasters has a kit for probably around 2-3k and even if an independent mechanic charges 5k in labor I'm so much better off.. not to mention never having to deal with an air suspension issue again (and I want to keep the car at least 3 more years)..

Would love to hear any of your opinions on this!

 

Arnett Industries in Florida, is the savior of cars with air shocks. They rebuild shocks as well as sell their own manufactured air shocks which are better than the ones the car company makes. What is important is they provide a lifetime warranty on their replacement.
if their shock fails you remove the failed shocks- call them and they will send you a replacement- you put your broken shock in the box and drop it off to get mailed back to them. I had air shocks on my Mercedes S550 and they replaced four shocks under their warranty. They even pay the shipping of the new shock and the shock they gets sent back to their plant.

they also make a spring based replacement unit if your getting tired of the air shock problems.

but you can get new rebuilt shocks in any
color your lifetime and only pay.