So I’ve almost always parked my car on my driveway which has a slight slope to it so never paid too much attention to how the car was sat…

But the other day I spotted it was a little wonky on the road. “Oh great, I have a suspension leak!!!” I think… except there’s no compressor running when I start the car, and there’s no movement. She goes up and down as normal so for some reason the height settings are wrong between the corners!

I did a quick tape measure test (centre of the hub to the top of the wheel arch) but the center was by eye rather than exact so measurements may be slightly off…
Front Left - 500
Front Right - 470
Rear Left - 475
Rear Right - 465

Why would they be different? Does it suggest a problematic height sensor? A damaged “something” under that wheel arch?
Or another one of those “they all do that sir” comments we hear too often with our cars…

And to fix, is it just a recalibration needed? Or is there something else I need to consider?

I am planning to make a start replacing my rear bushes this weekend so will do that and get a full alignments done… and I guess this recalibration (or whatever is needed) too… Currently driving: 2012 L322 SE Overfinch 4.4 tdv8

Past rides:
2014 Audi Q7 3.0d (good riddance)
2010 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged
2011 L320 HSE 3.0 sdv6
2014 Jaguar XF-RS 5.0 supercharged
2007 BMW 535D
2005 Mini Cooper S

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59478.html

Was it sitting on a flat surface when you measured the heights? If you measured them on your sloping drive then the measurements are meaningless. If on the flat then you need to recalibrate the suspension. Pretty easy to do if you have an iid tool.

You are right, Sandman77, the car was not on a level surface when I took these measurements so they can be taken with a massive pinch of salt. It was however visibly wonky when I noticed the other day…

And today I took the car to get a slow puncture fixed (another bloody cracked alloy!!!) and noticed that the rear is higher at the left than the right. This was definitely a flat surface… but didn’t have a tape measure to hand to retake those measurements.

My question still stands as to why the car is not level. Specifically I’d like to know if its “they all do this” and I’ll get it corrected, or if I need to look at something under the car that may be bent, damaged or in need of replacement.

Any thoughts? Currently driving: 2012 L322 SE Overfinch 4.4 tdv8

Past rides:
2014 Audi Q7 3.0d (good riddance)
2010 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged
2011 L320 HSE 3.0 sdv6
2014 Jaguar XF-RS 5.0 supercharged
2007 BMW 535D
2005 Mini Cooper S

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59478.html

Your best bet is to recalibrate and see if it does it again. If it does, then you start the fault finding. 2016 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate
<gone>2009 FF Vogue TDV8 Buckingham Blue</gone>
<gone>2015 BMW 520D SE (not my favourite car)</gone>
<gone>2009 D3 HSE Galway Green</gone>

Cheers MikeO

I’m battling with bushes at the moment, but when done I have the recalibration planned. I’ve been quoted £50 for that task…
I don’t have £400 at the moment for the IIDTool as it’s birthday season for my family.  Currently driving: 2012 L322 SE Overfinch 4.4 tdv8

Past rides:
2014 Audi Q7 3.0d (good riddance)
2010 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged
2011 L320 HSE 3.0 sdv6
2014 Jaguar XF-RS 5.0 supercharged
2007 BMW 535D
2005 Mini Cooper S

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59478.html

You could take a look at the Autel AP200? Check your model is supported and that it does suspension calibration. I *think* it does. It will cost you about as much as you've been quoted just for the calibration.

I've seen it discussed on here and there's a long thread on the D3/D4 forum. 2016 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate
<gone>2009 FF Vogue TDV8 Buckingham Blue</gone>
<gone>2015 BMW 520D SE (not my favourite car)</gone>
<gone>2009 D3 HSE Galway Green</gone>

Just a quick update on this one…

I eventually forked out for an IIDTool as I knew I’d need to calibrate my suspension a few times, plus I will need to program a new key soon.

So with that, I’ve reset the 4 corners of the car to the correct height and it has made a big difference! Not only does the car sit level now, but the ride is no longer both harsh and bouncy at the same time from having both a low ride height AND a high ride height on different wheels!!!

I still have more bounce than I should have on the rear left corner, and believe that to be the strut which is now on the “sooner rather than later” list  Currently driving: 2012 L322 SE Overfinch 4.4 tdv8

Past rides:
2014 Audi Q7 3.0d (good riddance)
2010 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged
2011 L320 HSE 3.0 sdv6
2014 Jaguar XF-RS 5.0 supercharged
2007 BMW 535D
2005 Mini Cooper S

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59478.html

MikeO wrote:

You could take a look at the Autel AP200? Check your model is supported and that it does suspension calibration. I *think* it does. It will cost you about as much as you've been quoted just for the calibration.

I've seen it discussed on here and there's a long thread on the D3/D4 forum.

Sorry MikeO, I didn’t see this reply. Thanks for the suggestion, but wanted the IIDTool purely because of its reputation on these forums. The Autel may have done the job (I never looked), but we all know and love the IIDTool  Currently driving: 2012 L322 SE Overfinch 4.4 tdv8

Past rides:
2014 Audi Q7 3.0d (good riddance)
2010 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged
2011 L320 HSE 3.0 sdv6
2014 Jaguar XF-RS 5.0 supercharged
2007 BMW 535D
2005 Mini Cooper S

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic59478.html