[alpinef10]

I would like to get an opinion from all those that had their vehicles configured with the adaptive drive and ARS w/damper control to see how the handling is and the way it has aged. If the suspension on the vehicle has retained its premium feel and ride comfort. I am having some major issues, the comfort mode no longer feels plush and smooth. The suspension along with the steering has become very stiff regardless of what suspension mode I set it to. The suspension just feels all wrong, extremely rough and the steering is very heavy even when set to comfort mode. All those that have the options listed above, please chime in, I would really like to find out if any one else out there feels that the quality of the suspension deteriorates over time faster then one would expect. Thanks !

[1HOT BMR]

I have a 2011 550i M Sport and a 2012 X5 35d and they both have Adaptive Drive (both shocks and sway bars electronically controlled). The 550 has 17K mi and the X5 25K mi and they both feel the same today as they felt when they were new. No issues, great handling and same super comfy ride.

It sounds like you have a problem - so let The Force be with you if you decide to take it in to the dealer and allow the "techs" to start messing with your car.

[45ACP]

How many miles do you have on your 550, and have you driven it on mostly bad roads?

[alpinef10]

About 28k miles and have hit a fair share of potholes I guess.. mostly drive on smooth roads but its possibly that driving it over enough potholes can mess up the magnetic ride because it is probably more sensitive that regular suspension. I also think that maybe one of the electronic control units maybe malfunctioning even though the BMW techs claim there r no faults..

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by savion19

About 28k miles and have hit a fair share of potholes I guess.. mostly drive on smooth roads but its possibly that driving it over enough potholes can mess up the magnetic ride because it is probably more sensitive that regular suspension. I also think that maybe one of the electronic control units maybe malfunctioning even though the BMW techs claim there r no faults..

Not sure what you mean by the magnetic ride? We simply have proportional valves controlling damper oil flows.

I'd agree there is something faulty, but it shouldn't be premature wear due to variable damping, as all dampers (shocks) take a pounding and are as vulnerable. I'd be looking at sensor(s), as it sounds as it if it has defaulted to firm, non active settings.

HighlandPete

[alpinef10]

Any others that may want to provide some input, I would really appreciate it, I am actually considering getting rid of the car because the problem is persistent and has gotten worse.

[45ACP]

Ask the service adviser if you could do a ride-along with the tech so that you can point out the exact problem.

[1HOT BMR]

Originally Posted by savion19

Any others that may want to provide some input, I would really appreciate it, I am actually considering getting rid of the car because the problem is persistent and has gotten worse.

Has the dealer made attempts to repair your car already or is your SA not acknowledging that a problem exists? If no one has worked on it yet, I would say try to find a dealer that agrees that a problem exists and give them a chance to fix it first. If you have had the car in for repairs more than once and the dealer is still trying to guess what's wrong with it - then, make sure you document everything and use the lemon law in your state to recoup your money. If you just get rid of the car while the problem is still unsolved you are just passing it on to some unsuspecting soul - obviously, not a nice thing to do.

[alpinef10]

Originally Posted by 45ACP

Ask the service adviser if you could do a ride-along with the tech so that you can point out the exact problem.

Have done multiple road tests with the tech and they do not notice anything wrong, the issue is intermittent, thats makes it very difficult.. I am thinking that there maybe a problem with one of the grounds in the car, because when the vehicle is acting up.. it has a slight vibration coming from the entire vehicle upon acceleration and the suspension and steering is stiff so to sum it up the whole vehicle feels stiff. No faults whatsoever have been found during multiple visits to service but I am thinking that if the vehicle is not grounding properly it could cause these sort of issues..

[alpinef10]

Originally Posted by 1HOT BMR

Has the dealer made attempts to repair your car already or is your SA not acknowledging that a problem exists? If no one has worked on it yet, I would say try to find a dealer that agrees that a problem exists and give them a chance to fix it first. If you have had the car in for repairs more than once and the dealer is still trying to guess what's wrong with it - then, make sure you document everything and use the lemon law in your state to recoup your money. If you just get rid of the car while the problem is still unsolved you are just passing it on to some unsuspecting soul - obviously, not a nice thing to do.

I am not sure if Lemon Law would be an option available to me since service has not acknowledged any issues. Don't they need to acknowledge the issue and then make several unsuccessful attempts at resolving it..

[HighlandPete]

I was reading and understanding the car had become different, 'stiff', rather than now reading it is an intermittent fault which the garage can't identify. If it had defaulted to a firm setting, any decent tech' would recognise than on a first drive.

So does the car still work correctly sometimes? In other words, it still has active suspension and a proper comfort mode at times?

Is so, there has to be a fault, even if not yet identified, rather than it wearing due to use.

HighlandPete

[alpinef10]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I was reading and understanding the car had become different, 'stiff', rather than now reading it is an intermittent fault which the garage can't identify. If it had defaulted to a firm setting, any decent tech' would recognise than on a first drive.

So does the car still work correctly sometimes? In other words, it still has active suspension and a proper comfort mode at times?

Is so, there has to be a fault, even if not yet identified, rather than it wearing due to use.

HighlandPete

No faults come up.. have brought it in many times. The vehicle put itself into transport mode at one point which the techs confirmed and corrected. The way the car drives feel when the problem with the stiffness is present is very similar to when it was in transport mode. My other theory is that there may be a problem with one of the grounds in the car. That can throw the entire car out of wack.

[BMWrules7]

Well, listen to highland Pete.

There are two things going on here: 1. The capability to soften/harden (dampen) the suspension dynamically; and 2. Various sensors trigger the stiffening mode.

So, we need to ascertain what's broken: the physical capability to dampen is faulty or the one or more of the sensors that tell the suspension to stiffen is faulty.

Somewhere, there should be a counter of actuations. This value should remain in the normal range.

The problem is that we are dealing with something that could be faulty and you may have trouble conveying the fault.

Now, the lemon law doesn't require any acknowledgment, but it helps.

Get your car to in Indy shop and have them write you an evaluation on the operation of this system. If you can get them to say its broke, bmw may have to pay for the report. Document every trip to the dealer and get that Indy report.

That should light a fire on the dealers ass to fix it. If they don't. You might have the ammo you need for a lemon claim. BMW won't let it get that far. So, document, document, and document.

Keep us posted!