2004 Cadillac CTS AIR leveling system failing

EHAA9488

MEMBER
2004 CADILLAC CTS
5.7L
V8
RWD
AUTOMATIC
82,000 MILES

My compressor which inflates the air bags comes on every 3 to 7 minutes and lasts 3 to 5 seconds when driving the car in town. Sears sprayed the bags and lines and found no leak. Cadillac Service says the bags are seeping and the bags need to be replaced - a $2000 repair. The car is only work $4-6k fixed. Prior to this I have had 2 major repairs in the last 2 years. I would like to drive this car. If I have them remove the fuse to turn off the system will the car operate reasonably? If not, some folks have tried after market springs. My Cadi Dealer rep tried this in his 2003 ATS and saved money but has had to deal with constant diagnostic light issues. I am trying to make a decision on whether to repair this car. I told the dealer they have to demonstrate the air leak issue before I repair it and commit to only the air bag replacement as a fix so I am not subject to replacing other parts of the system if the problems is not fixed. Any advice you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Sunday, January 12th, 2014 AT 8:11 PM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

This is a real big problem with Ford products because they do a very poor job of making repair parts available after a few years. As a result, there are a lot of aftermarket parts suppliers making retrofit kits with regular coil springs.

Even if your air bags are not leaking yet, they will eventually. Big repair bills on GM products are common and must be expected, but to avoid another one, I'd visit an independent tire and alignment shop to see what they have available with coil springs. I've driven a number of car models that were available with both systems, and I never felt a difference in ride quality. What you WILL lose is the automatic height adjustment, and as a suspension and alignment specialist, that is real important to me. Coil springs sag with age, and that will adversely affect tire wear, even when the alignment is set correctly, but they are pretty inexpensive to replace.

As for that warning light, just remove the fuses for that system. There may be two of them. In case a fuse blows for a safety system, a second fused circuit is needed to run the warning light.

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Sunday, January 12th, 2014 AT 8:28 PM