35i Adaptive suspension - front shocks

E

eng622

Member
Took the car in for MOT and it failed on a serious leak from the NS front shock absorber. This is a big shock!! to me as well considering the car has done less than 27K miles. The car has the adaptive suspension, I think that is what it is called. You select driving mode and in sport and sport + it is supposed to stiffen the suspension, i.e shocks.
Not wanting to take the car to a BMW garage as the MOT place I trust but there is a problem getting a new part as out of stock from the factor they use. Advice sought.
 
You have two options, replace all shocks with aftermarket or the shock that is broken back to oem.

There are other posts on here with same, seems to be a quality or wear issue with adaptive.
 
Last person here bit the bullet - they're not cheap especially with labour. Don't think you can get them anywhere else except BMW, unless you want to go aftermarket and lose the adaptive.
 
Afraid you are looking at a fairly big bill. I had both my front ones done cost over £1600 to get BMW to fix. At the time I struggled to find much info on aftermarket kits that had the bypass option there are a couple of options available. Some info in the post I put up when I had the problem a few weeks ago.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=88270&start=30

My local indie and local garages would not touch it I found one in Derby that would do the work but the price difference was only about £150 so ultimately I went with BMW. You may need to have a full wheel alignment as well afterwards so add that to the cost as well.
 
if your not under warranty , I would go aftermarket but keep the shockers in case you want to return to oem

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131307672124?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bilstein-B12-Full-Kit-Car-Shock-Absorbers-Gas-Pressure-Dampers-46-181275-/331490380185?fits=Model%3AZ4%7CPlat_Gen%3AE89&hash=item4d2e5dc999:g:vQcAAOSwTZ1Xl04s

You may need to get the EDC modules coded out , or fit these

http://www.kwsuspensions.co.uk/kw-cancellation-kit-for-electronic-damping-37219.html?typ=20932
 
There was a 2 week wait for mine. Not a single one in stock at a UK dealership, had to manage without a car until it arrived since the MOT had expired!

It's nice having an uncommon car but I can see part availability being a huge issue in the future.
 
Thanks for links. The car is not under warranty but has done less than 27K despite being a 2009
So do you think best way forward is to replace the defective shock with an adaptive one (assuming one can be purchased) and take a chance on the others not leaking.
As indicated good go the coilover route.
Is there a third alternative of just replacing the fronts with standard shocks
With any non adaptive what happens if you do not get the EDC modules coded out, is it just a cases of fault codes being generated or does it affect the driving or sports modes.
 
Im glad I stuck with the adaptive setup now its fully working and ditching the run flats my cars handling feels so much better.
 
eng622 said:
Thanks for links. The car is not under warranty but has done less than 27K despite being a 2009
So do you think best way forward is to replace the defective shock with an adaptive one (assuming one can be purchased) and take a chance on the others not leaking.
As indicated good go the coilover route.
Is there a third alternative of just replacing the fronts with standard shocks
With any non adaptive what happens if you do not get the EDC modules coded out, is it just a cases of fault codes being generated or does it affect the driving or sports modes.
Click to expand...

I believe when coded out the stiffer steering and throttle response changes remain unchanged , the car still thinks it has adaptive dampers
 
Further shock!! pricewise. Note Philip27 on here had both front done at BMW for over £1600 and read on here the shock alone is £450.
However I have been quoted £658 + vat making a total of £789 just for the shock.
Are there parts suppliers giving different prices, any advice on where to try.
 
BMW parts appear to vary in price. Tried Rybrook (0nline-parts) told cheaper by phone and they price the strut at £645 inc VAT so a lot less than the £789. However still way off £450 noted on forum
 
How do you know if you have an adaptive suspension on the 35i ?

Reason I am asking is that I just bought a 35i and previous MOT indicates in the advisory section that the off side shock absorber has mist of oilon it !
 
Mine was misting a year ago MOT advisory and now is leaking MOT fail, the difference is the adaptive has a wired plug.
 
eng622 said:
Further shock!! pricewise. Note Philip27 on here had both front done at BMW for over £1600 and read on here the shock alone is £450.
However I have been quoted £658 + vat making a total of £789 just for the shock.
Are there parts suppliers giving different prices, any advice on where to try.
Click to expand...

Yeah but Philip27 had this issue the first two weeks in June. Now what could have happened since then that could cause the price of parts for a German car which come from Germany, need to be ordered and are priced in Euros and then converted to Pounds to suddenly increase in price??? :roll:
 
Well I'd been told when the dealer fitted my new battery a few months back that they'd noted what could be a leak or oil on the front dampers. It's just flown through its MOT however so they're either fine or the issue wasn't seen. I can't see anything on the struts when I take a look.
 
I had a ford dealer tell me all about shock absorbers when I complained about a visible leak on a strut - the service manager told me that the residue of oil was evidence of proper lubrication - I told him that the opposite strut was not being properly lubricated as it was bone dry.

They allow these people to breed ?
 
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