I occasionally tow 4500lbs with my '03 4.4 X5. My self-leveling suspension is now acting up where one of the front wheels is pushed down 20mm or so. Is at the local dealer the 2nd time in a month for this. The first time they "recalibrated" the suspension. This time they are not sure what the problem is, but they want to blame my Prodigy brake controller, which is rediculous. But how can I convince them that blaming the brake controller is absurd?

It's worth noting that I've not towed since they "recalibrated" the suspension. So whatever was the immediate cause of this reoccurance of the problem, it wasn't towing.

The Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller is the recommended brake controller by most experienced X5 tow-ers. And BMW makes no specific recommendation for brake controller, at least as far as I've ever found. All the darn thing does is connect to a brake light wire or something. I talked to the Tekonsha folks about it and they about burst out laughing at the idea.

So, how do I address this with the dealer?

The only way to really convince them will be to remove the controller. I'm pretty sure they're going to need to replace the front strut to fix the problem.

And does a 3500 lb trailer really need a brake controller anyway? (I know you said your trailer is 4500 lbs, but the max listed is 3500, which could be part of why they're giving you a hard time about the controller) You shouldn't be towing anything larger or heavier than a ski boat, and usually, they don't have trailer brakes on those types of trailers.

I'm pretty sure that the X5 4.4 with self leveling suspension is tow rated at 6000lbs.

yea that weight isnt an issue
usually with suspension issues such as this is the module or strut...does the car leak down overnight or it just stays 20mm low? if it stays there it could be wiring or ride height sensor related-though since your from the south its less likely a wiring issue due to road conditions...

yea that weight isnt an issue
usually with suspension issues such as this is the module or strut...does the car leak down overnight or it just stays 20mm low? if it stays there it could be wiring or ride height sensor related-though since your from the south its less likely a wiring issue due to road conditions...

It behaves like an electical problem. The dealer "calibrates" something and the problem is fixed for a couple weeks. Then it happens again. There's no "leak down" behavior or similar symptom. My primary concern at this point is to discourage the dealer from washing their hands of it by blaming the controller.

It just occured to me that I might have created confusion in my use of the word "low". The wheel pushes down 20mm such that it ends up taking far too much of the truck's weight. It's not behaving in such a way as to reduce the weight that the wheel is supporting.

It behaves like an electical problem. The dealer "calibrates" something and the problem is fixed for a couple weeks. Then it happens again. There's no "leak down" behavior or similar symptom. My primary concern at this point is to discourage the dealer from washing their hands of it by blaming the controller.

It just occured to me that I might have created confusion in my use of the word "low". The wheel pushes down 20mm such that it ends up taking far too much of the truck's weight. It's not behaving in such a way as to reduce the weight that the wheel is supporting.

Well that didn't clarify anything...

Are you saying that one of the front struts extends or compresses?



And you're right, either engine'd X5 can tow 6000 lbs. I grabbed my "Fast Facts" book for SAVs, but I was looking in the X3 section. Mah bad.

Well that didn't clarify anything...

Are you saying that one of the front struts extends or compresses?

And you're right, either engine'd X5 can tow 6000 lbs. I grabbed my "Fast Facts" book for SAVs, but I was looking in the X3 section. Mah bad.

That's a good way to put it. Extends. The strut is extending ~20mm for no reason and then staying that way.

Does it have the button that lets you change the ride height on the fly? For off-roading?

I'd double check the controller installation, too. It may be a simple install, but it's possible to screw up simple stuff. Trust me.

Does it have the button that lets you change the ride height on the fly? For off-roading?

I'd double check the controller installation, too. It may be a simple install, but it's possible to screw up simple stuff. Trust me.

It does have the button for changing ride-height. I think that it's only operatonal at very low speed. I've never used it.

The controller install is really easy. It just taps into the brake light wire. This problem didn't start until 18mos after the controller install. Of course nothing is impossible, but it's hard to go from tapping a brake light wire to a strut extending for no reason.

The only reason they are orienting on the controller is that "it is there". That strikes me as a pretty weak rational.

Update. The dealer has washed his hands of the truck. They had the "North American Engineer", whoever that is, spend some time with it. The conclusion is that it must be my brake controller or it's wiring. Ya right. All the brake controller does is sense the brake lights going on. It couldn't be, say, and intermittant sensor fault could it guys? Sheeze.

So yank it out. It's easy to do, right? Take it out and then show them that "hey, it's still screwed up and the controller isn't even there".