Rear suspension system failed. Rear end is sitting on the tires. Took it to Putnam Cadillac Burlingame and was told that I need over $2700 in parts and maintenance to replace the entire system.Looking online, this seems to be a regular issue with this vehicle.
Have you posted this on an XTS forum? What exactly failed?
The air ride systems in these vehicles have had a history of problems.
Tester
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I didn’t realize they had so many vehicles covered with their conversion kits. I remember the Crown Vic/Town Cars being frequent conversion candidates.
That’s what I’d do.
We had another similar story last week involving brakes on an Audi.
I’ll say it again: buy an expensive car, expect expensive repairs.
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Per the general public, every complaint on every car ever made is a common issue when warranty is not applicable.
The missing info is WHY the rear end is squatting. Road debris breaking a line or cutting a suspension bag is hardly a factory defect. Same goes if a bag fails due to road salt corrosion.
What happens with all rubber when it ages? Dry rots. Same as tires, drive belts, seals, vacuum pods, etc.
Five or six years is a bit young for dry rot but it’s feasible depending upon environmental conditions.
The air rides in my Lincolns have all failed at some point. Bad design? Not for a second. Age/dry rotted bags and one case of road debris slashing an air bag and tire.
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Repaired first time. Second time converted to coil springs but that was after a late evening airbag/tire gash from a hunk of farm machinery. Personally, I prefer the air ride. The air bag leak problem (front or rear) has always been in the folds of the air bag where it meets the strut. Dirt, moisture, rust, etc seems to collect there.
I also wonder how many air ride compressor and other issues would occur if the driers were changed out now and then. It’s similar to the drier in an A/C system but the A/C drier (unless opened for a while or someone does a poor job of evacuation) is generally not exposed to that much moisture.
The air ride compressors are exposed constantly to what is generally high moisture levels in this area whereas out in the western Panhandle it’s usually bone dry.
It’s why shop compressors should be drained daily as moisture can ruin or degrade the compressor and air tools it powers.
No reason to think that high humidity won’t do in air ride electrics.
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Exactly. If you want a car which costs as little to maintain as a Ford Escort, Chevrolet Cavalier, etc, then buy a basic economy car. Don’t buy a fully-depreciated luxury car, and expect that the repair and maintenance costs will be similar–even though the car itself might cost roughly the same to buy.
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