First I would like to introduce myself and say "Hi". My name is Jeff and I bought a 2011 Panamera 4S about a month and a half ago. I had a Cayenne for several years that met an early death.

I did do a search and could not find the info I needed.

I went to the airport yesterday (San Diego) and the roads suck and are bumpy and potholed. On the way back after getting on the freeway about 10 minutes later the Chassis System Failure notice comes on and the ride is definitely different. You can feel every bump. Up until this point I have had no problem with the air suspension. Obviously with the error none of the suspension settings could be used.

|I got back to m condo, pulled over and turned off the car. Opened and closed the door to let the car think I exited. Did it again for entry. Started the car and was able to raise the suspension to get into the underground garage. Parked and set the car to Sport and Sport+. You can see the car adjust but not settle low like it should. I try the buttons several times and I do get responses in height but never settles like it should. I shut it off and get out. You can obviously see the front is way to high and low in the back.

I threw the Durametric on it today and cleared everything. Tested and did not get an error right away but the car still did not sit right even though I could feel and see the front and back adjust. Drove it a short distance and the System failure came back. Durametric showed me a code of 12656778/c1208a Check PASM control unit fault memory content
warning indicator off
Test not completed this monitoring cycle
Test failed since last clear
Test not completed since last clear
Pending DTC
Test failed this operation cycle
Fault Active
I don't think it would be the compressor as the car does seem to adjust somewhat. With the above message I would suspect the control unit. And I do not see where in the Durametric I can check the fault memory content.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much info as I could. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Dealer trip. Not really a DIY repair. Could be valves, compressor etc etc etc.
Those darn things are basically a serviceable item as there are lots of posts on this. Try a search if you didn t already.

 

Take it to the dealer. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

 

Thanks for the advice. I hate not being able to work on it myself but this definitely sounds like a dealer item.

 

Does just one wheel sit lower, or does a whole side/end sit off? Does it get better after the car is driven for a while (i.e. the compressor fills the bag back up) and you cycle the car/walk away?

Not sure if the Durametic does it, but a lot of shops (including third party) can test the operation of a number of the components to help narrow it down. You'll see there is still some trial and error to it, even as you browse the forums. But if you can narrow it down to a shock/strut bag you can replace it.

I've got a leak is one of mine, so I'm going to be doing something similar soon myself. Fair warning the parts are $$, and I've heard a few reports that aftermarket pieces are hit or miss.

 

Thanks for the reply. The front end seems to be up all the way and the back is down. Left side a little lower than the right. I think the compressor is good. The Durametric does not seem to do more extensive testing. I live in a condo with an underground garage so I can' do extensive testing or troubleshooting at this time. It goes in for the recall Friday so I have them looking at it and will go from there.

 

Any updates to your thread?

 

I am taking it ton the dealer today for the recall and will be having them look at the suspension issue. I will hopefully know next week and will post an update.

 

My PTT is in for the AH08 recall today - they just called and said they broke a brittle vacuum hose (they warned me of brittle pieces that might break) and when I asked they said the repair would cost ~$4k if I came in and paid for it.

My suspension acted up during this winter's first cold spell and I ended up needing to replace my original (installed in 2009) compressor - but I didn't take it to the dealer. There is a good option for you in Denver w/ Berg Performance (63rd/Federal) and they have a certified Porsche mechanic. I've read on here that my repair should have cost $3,800+ and he charged me less than $2k. Get an estimate from the dealer for your air suspension work, but know you have options w/ a good indy. Best of luck!

 

I had a similar like problem on my car and it ended up just being the sensor. For my car, i got all the errors and stops and the side that had the bad sensor was super high. It seemed like the was 2-3 inches higher that i would have every thought it would go. The back and the drive side was normal height.

I made sure i turned off the height adjustment by holding the ride height adjustment button for about 10 secs. I then took a flash light into the side that propped up and on the top control bar, you will see the sensor with the arm.

In my case, the sensor that was attached to the upper control arm some how came loose. All I had to do was remount it and turn on the car and turn back on the height adjustment and everything worked like a charm.

I hope yours is something simple like that as well. If you need a bit more detail, feel free to send me a message.

 

I had the chasis failure for my 2010 Panamera 2. I had to replace the front air suspension and the compressor. Compressor was covered by after market warranty but had to pay big our of pocket to replace air suspension. Hope you have better luck.

 

Sorry for the delay in updating. The trouble turned out to be the left front ride height senor. $815 later it was all fixed.

 

Thanks for letting us know. Mine turned out to be a leaky airbag. I'm noticing a trend, though not exactly science.

One corner sitting up low/high + chassis failure almost immediate = sensor
One corner sags over time (longer or shorter) + chassis failure = air leak
All front/All rear sag together + chassis failure = compressor or center block

From anyone else with the problem, seem to jive with your experience? As these get older, it seems like troubleshooting should get a little easier.

Paul

 

Hi Guys! New to the Forum. I just recently bought a 10' Panamera "S" It currently always throws the "Electric Parking Brake" fault code. Has anyone figured out exactly what this problem is.?

Also, If I let it sit for longer than a day it always sits lower in the front and says "vehicle extremely Low" and sometime I get the "Chassis Failure" code. Usually I let the car warm up for about ten minutes and turn it off and on repeatedly to get it to raise up. Compressor
does seem to be turning on.

Any help on both situations will be greatly appreciated?
Thank in advance.

 

Nobody likes to hear it but the sinking/sagging over a period of time (usually a day) that raises once the car warms up is almost always a leaking strut. The car is functional when raised, but over time it will get worse and wear out the compressor. There are rarely things it could also be (valve block, level sensor) but from postings/research I've seen this is less common. I've got a new phrase - "If the strut drops in a day, throw it away".

Service can be done by a good garage mechanic or third party shop. Rebuild parts are hit or miss, there seems to be a high failure rate. A worldpac rebuild or new part from Porsche is $1500-2500 for parts, install time is 4-8 hours depending on shop. I did see Arnott just started carrying Panamera rebuilds and they have a good history with the Mercedes air suspension crowd.