hi everyone

ok, ive now had my P38 Range Rover for 2 weeks and I love her to pieces !!

one thing i am slightly worried about though however is this, sometimes if i park and sink the car down to access mode, when i come back, it can take upto 30secs - 1minute to raise back up to standard profile (this evening after quite a few stop-start journeys it took around 5 mins to raise itself but was then fine again for the rest of the evening) when driving. it doesnt always do this and will sometimes raise up straight away. the times it does this have been after relatively short journeys, could it just be that i am draining the air tank or is it something more sinister?? i need to use access mode quite often as i have problems with my hip and leg so this helps when getting in and out of the vehicle.

i have tried leaving it up in standard profile overnight and when i return to it in the mornings, i will start the engine and the car will raise itself back to standard profile indicating to me i may have leaky airbags or leaky valves?? i cant hear any hissing from the airbags and the Range Rover specialist who i am using to look after the vehicle thinks the suspension is fine saying that reguarly changing the height will drain the tank and it may sometimes take a few minutes to get back up to the correct height. i guess i am just after a second opinion so once again, any help is appreciated

thanks
-Wills

Sounds like your compressor seal is worn,even a good compressor can take 5 mins to fill an empty tank so if yours is worn it will take longer.Get your garage to whip the unit off and show you the seal,takes 2mins with an 8mm socket and a 12mm o/e spanner.If it is shot at least you know it really is !

It is normal for the car to have to raise itself after being left overnight. I've just had all 4 air bags changed and it still does this - although not always! I read somewhere that it has something to do with the change in air temperature in the air bags i.e. when it is cold overnight the air contracts and the vehicle lowers. Seems to make sense, but not sure if it is accurate or not.

The other thing that happens is that every 6 hours or so when the vehicle is left standing the systems tries to self-level. It does this by lowering to the lowest corner, so if you are not parked on a level surface, it could be that the system is self-levelling to a lower position. It is not a very intelligent system, and can get confused into lowering itself onto the bump stops! Sometimes I come back to mine and it is still at the same level, and othertimes it is really low! The other day I stepped out of the car, closed the door and watched as it sank down for no apparent reason! However, mine usually comes back to the correct position within 10-15 seconds of starting, but then I very rarely use access mode.

I don't think the system is particularly intelligent, and it can occasionally take several minutes to sort itself out and get to the right height. When I changed my front air bags it took me ages to get the system to pump them up before I dropped it off the jacks.

I read a "buyers guide" that suggested it was normal for the suspension to take up to 2 minutes to lift itself to the correct height. This seemed rather odd to me as mine is usually in the correct position within seconds of starting the car, but it seems to suggest that sort of time is not unusual.

If I pump the suspension up and down a few times, it will eventually take ages to pump itself up to the correct position as the compressor fills the tank, so if you are using access mode a lot, I can understand that. Your compressor is probably worn to some extent, so doing as eight suggests may be worthwhile, but from my own experience, I wouldn't say that you had a particular problem, more that it is just how the system operates!

Matt