That's pretty cheap for a major suspension component that will last the remainder of the lifetime of the vehicle. My four new Michelins cost me over $1300. They only last around 40-50K miles.

 

Yes it is...but he said "each." Does that mean 4X $2000(all 4 corners), or 2X $2000(per side of vehicle)?

I don't think he meant all together at all.

 

Use your common sense...... They are trying to sell you what they have in inventory!

 

I bought our '04 V8 with air suspension in Dec. 2006 with 22,308 miles on it. Currently I have 44,420 miles. I use the air suspension probably every other time I get in the car. Either I'm setting it to loading level, so an 82-year old family friend can easily get in my car when I take her to the doctors appointment; or I lower the car and set the shock setting to Sport so I can give those little pocket rockets a run for their money; or just to see how low I am compared to that Tahoe next to me (you know, if you lower your window you can see your reflection in the side of their door, we're that much lower and smaller than they are). Overall I am very glad I have the air suspension. It's a great ride and just plain fun.

So with all that air suspension playing around these 2.5 years, nothing has gone wrong. Now I would suggest you get an extended warranty (VW Real Driver Platinum or equivalent) so in case something happens outside of warranty you're covered. But don't fret the small stuff. And don't be concerned about sales people not knowing the Touareg product as well as you or any other Touareg-lover like everyone here at ClubTouareg. We're generally more excited and informed than they are. And it sure is fun to see them turn white when you go on an 'exhuberant' test drive!

In addition to Ebay you might want to check AutoTrader.com also. They often have a big selection also. Now get that air suspension and enjoy a great ride!

 

I bought our '04 V8 with air suspension in Dec. 2006 with 22,308 miles on it. Currently I have 44,420 miles. I use the air suspension probably every other time I get in the car......
.....So with all that air suspension playing around these 2.5 years, nothing has gone wrong. Now I would suggest you get an extended warranty (VW Real Driver Platinum or equivalent) so in case something happens outside of warranty you're covered. But don't fret the small stuff. And don't be concerned about sales people not knowing the Touareg product as well as you or any other Touareg-lover like everyone here at ClubTouareg. We're generally more excited and informed than they are. And it sure is fun to see them turn white when you go on an 'exhuberant' test drive!

In addition to Ebay you might want to check AutoTrader.com also. They often have a big selection also. Now get that air suspension and enjoy a great ride!

Good to know! This is what I also need to read. If it's reliable/durable or not, in your case being durable so far.

 

I found the same thing in Australia, when shopping for a new Touareg.
Lots of comments like, air suspension model wont hold it's value like a steel sprung vehicle. Also that the ride could induce motion sickness (which I think came from TopGear). I put most of these comments down to the fact they didn't have an air suspension model to sell me.

Because could not find a vehicle with air suspension to try before I bought, so I went the conservative approach and bought a car like I'd test driven. I do sometimes think wistfully about the extra clearance I could have had, but even without the air, the car handles beautifully on the road, and I've been able to negotiate every obsticle off road.

 

I have a 110k on my air suspension, barfing away after every hump I take.puke. On a serious not I think it will last the life of the vehicle. It should anyway.
Mine is still smoothing away that is on the road, keeping it level with a trailer hooked up etc. Go for air and live with thepuke. just don'y forget to roll down your window before you do

Motion sickness???? Who came up with that idea

 

Motion sickness???? Who came up with that idea

Jeremy Clarkson's review on top gear...look it up on you tube you can get his take on it. He was very critical of the A/S on the Treg.

 

I can't comment on the life expectancy of the Touareg's air suspension, but the air suspension on my Allroad was failing after only 60000km and it was very expensive to replace. I sold the car before dealing with it.

 

But no one here knows what the costs are, should these ever need repairing/replacing?

 

All I know is a local Phaeton owner had his air suspension replaced (4 corners) at a cost of 10K CDN.

I'd imagine pricing for the Treg would be similar. likely $2K each shock + replacement labor...i remember seeing a single shock on ebay for $750 bucks, so $2k new at the dealer sounds realistic.

 

I am betting that they will be like everything else on the car, expensive.

 

I have a strong feeling that VW provided Clarkson with a early demo model. I know they worked on fixing a lot of glitches in the 2003-2004 models so I've always felt his review while always entertaining was useless. His later review of the Cayenne is much better. He still disliked the Pepper but that seemed more related to its looks and the fact that it wasn't a Land Rover. Actually, back to the Touareg review, Clarkson hates diesels so much it was amazing he had such kind words for the v10tdi engine.

 

It will be interesting to see over time where the failure modes on the air suspension occurs. Per my trusted independent shop here in Houston; the air spring/damper units on the Egg'N-Pepper combo are very tough and they rarely see failed units come through their service bays. The same cannot be said for the BMW and Range Rover units.

Looking at the documentation available to us end-user people - I would tend to think that the wear-component will be the oil-seals around the damping rod and the damping valves more so than the airbag itself. The devil in the details will be the subjective "I think the damper is worn/weak" discussion with the warranty people who are going to interpret the issue as the airbag is toast.

The air spring itself should help prevent situations where the damper rod hits its maximum travel extensions which in steel-spring applications is the heavily-loaded profile. Hitting external/internal damper bump-stops at velocity is a fast way to damper failure. Another leading cause is damper-rod contamination which eats up the seals - again the air spring should provide a significant degree of protection to the damper rod.

I think I just realized I've spent too much time in life dealing with damper/shocks...

 

It will be interesting to see over time where the failure modes on the air suspension occurs. Per my trusted independent shop here in Houston; the air spring/damper units on the Egg'N-Pepper combo are very tough and they rarely see failed units come through their service bays. The same cannot be said for the BMW and Range Rover units.

Looking at the documentation available to us end-user people - I would tend to think that the wear-component will be the oil-seals around the damping rod and the damping valves more so than the airbag itself. The devil in the details will be the subjective "I think the damper is worn/weak" discussion with the warranty people who are going to interpret the issue as the airbag is toast.

The air spring itself should help prevent situations where the damper rod hits its maximum travel extensions which in steel-spring applications is the heavily-loaded profile. Hitting external/internal damper bump-stops at velocity is a fast way to damper failure. Another leading cause is damper-rod contamination which eats up the seals - again the air spring should provide a significant degree of protection to the damper rod.

I think I just realized I've spent too much time in life dealing with damper/shocks...

I've had air suspension on 3 of the 4 Touaregs (V6, V8, V10) I've owned and will not buy another steel suspended T-reg. In July 2003 when I bought my first T-reg, I asked a lot of questions and did research on this air suspension. Its been around quite a long time, like 20 years or so and has been improved over these years. I know 2 folks with over 100k miles on their T-reg and the air suspension works as good as it did when new. Its been one of the more durable systems on this vehicle.

 

One doesn't watch TopGear for fair & unbiased factual coverage. Instead we are glued to TopGear episodes for the entertainment value and frankly the opinions (good & bad) of the presenters. I love how completely irreverent they are with ALL manufacturers; granted they are slighly misty-eyed and foregiving of any current British product. But you know what - I wish we could rekindle that nationalistic pride in our innovation and products.

My favorite TopGear of last season has to be the ZR-1/CTS-V/Challenger trip to the Salt-Flats. The way it was edited they really got the point across about how they pretty much intended to bash the vehicles quality and design - but were thoroughly won over at the conclusion.

Comparatively watching Autoweek is to paraphrase Clarkson "like sitting in a bucket of wallpaper paste". Boring, clinical, uninspiring and completely useless in my opinion. It's a shame that most USA automotive shows have become the 'Pimp my Ride' variety to try and find an audience. Every show has to push bling, or aftermarket crap to try and get us to watch. TopGear does effectively rediculous things on a certainly higher production budget and has created a global brand name out of it.

I am fearfull if the USA version of TopGear ever makes it to the airwaves. According to the current Wikipedia documentation it's been thankfully canned... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(U.S._TV_series)
I shudder to think of an Adam Corrola trying to out-Clarkson, Clarkson...

 

One doesn't watch TopGear for fair & unbiased factual coverage. Instead we are glued to TopGear episodes for the entertainment value and frankly the opinions (good & bad) of the presenters. I love how completely irreverent they are with ALL manufacturers; granted they are slighly misty-eyed and foregiving of any current British product. But you know what - I wish we could rekindle that nationalistic pride in our innovation and products.

I fully support them being behind anything British (except TVRs)...wish we were more like that sometimes.

I am fearfull if the USA version of TopGear ever makes it to the airwaves.

It would be run by people from California who would spend the bulk of their time talking about how amazing Toyotas are...I'd rather watch a British buffon smash through "caravans" any day of the week.

 

UK Top Gear is the best show on tv (anywhere) because of the presenters and that classic British wit. While I disagree often with their conclusions I dearly love the show. The only possible replacements for the "Boys" would be their Moms; I nearly passed out from laughter when James' Mom noted the effect of low profile tires. Also how James' "Capt. Slow" persona is a direct result of trauma from his Mom's driving as a child. I also wish the Touareg had a air suspension knob instead of three options (Auto, Sport, Comfort). I find Auto to be the best for day to day and Sport to be perfect when I miss my Audi, I really don't use Comfort too much.

 

Yes, the "lets try and kill a Hilux" series is a Top Gear classic. They even had the truck break away and drift into the English Channel, come back with the tide and after clearing out tons of sand it started! One more thing about the Hilux they tortured... it was a diesel.

 

Just to add a note, it may be near $2000G per corner, but if something fails with the air suspension, your not necisarrily replacing all 4 corners at one time... Just the failed part, either the air bag, or perhaps, the air compressor... It's very unlikely that all 4 corners will fail, and need to be replaced all at the same time. Just my 2 cents.

 

This answer is the one that I really wanted to hear!

 

My friend had to put it to me that way too... I was worried about all the air components, but seriously, their all components to make the whole system... If something fails, you just fix what's broken...

 

Friends drive my Touareg and can't believe how smooth it is for an SUV. The car literally floats over the bumps. The tires in combination make a big difference. The stock contis and the Nokians absorb the bumps much better than the Pirellis that I now have.

In my opinion the air is the best feature of this car. Fingers crossed it doesn't break.

 

Air Suspension... the good and the ugly

Ok, so I was in your position just one year ago. I was looking for a pre-owned Touareg V8 with air suspension, parking sensors, navigation, and preferably keyless access. I found an '04 w/ 64k miles that fit the criteria, minus keyless -not a big deal. Major plus was it was black on teak, a very rare interior color w/ very rare options. I was ecstatic.

I've now owned the car for a year, and what a freaking nightmare! First of all I thought I was getting it for a steal at $14,800. HOWEVER, the maintenance costs more than the car is worth. I have replaced my xenon headlights multiple times in the last year, the car ROARS through them. Luckily I learned how to replace them myself -which is pretty easy to do- so it only costs me a whopping $86 every time... at the dealer this would cost well over $200 PER LIGHT!

Additionally, I get a lot of dead batteries, so I took the liberty of replacing the battery myself -which is located under the DRIVERS SEAT!- This only cost me $150 for the battery and the required tools, but took weeks of research and lots of courage... worse yet, it still hasn't fixed my issue. Now I'm thinking it may be a bad alternator cable or battery ground cable. Talk about a nightmare! Additionally, I had to replace my front brakes for $300 (a bargain considering that the stealership will charge you $800), but now I need rears, AND my air suspension light just came on, indicating that there is either a leak in the wiring harness, a faulty sensor, or my biggest fear, a leaky/broken air bag or suspension component. That and the gas light being on -another expensive aspect in this car- and I'm rocking three warning lights (suspension, brakes, gas).

Also, you should know that the V8 ROARS though gas and brakes with a lead foot driver such as myself. All in all, I would say the air suspension was worth my search, as it greatly helps the drive quality and capability of the car, as well as the handling and overall sporty aspect -especially with the powerful V8- however, overall this was the wrong car for a college student living in Colorado. It is extremely costly to own. You can't afford this car if you live on a budget, especially if you plan on getting work done at the stealership. They'll rape you.

Though I do feel that it is important to note that the car equipped with studded snow tires is UNSTOPPABLE in the snow... I mean UNSTOPPABLE!! Cruising on the world's deadliest highway (I70) in a ridiculous blizzard at night on a snow packed freeway passing by car accident after car accident/pileup at 80MPH felt as though there is nothing going on outside. You may call me crazy for doing such a thing, but it felt like I was cruising down the highway on a normal sunny day. This car is something else capability-wise, but it is heavy, inefficient, and very very VERY VERY VERY EXPENSIVE!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!! There is more hate than love, but the love is concrete. *Sigh*

Best of luck to you on your search. Also, I should note that all of the problems that I am experiencing are common, so don't try to brush it off as "oh, he must have gotten the bad VIN out of the batch" that is NOT the case after much research and contact with other frustrated VW owners... car is an expensive POS, but a beautiful, nicely handling, extremely capable one at that. Volkswagen does not stand behind their vehicles. They try to make their customers cum money as much as possible. I've had many arguments over the phone and at the dealer w/ no progress.

 

v8 + air = true love

 

Seeing how this thread was brought back from the dead, it would only be fitting that I document my update.

I have NO REGRETS on the air, thanks guys!!!! \\/

 

Have had no problems with air suspension on my 04 which has also been used for towing.

No issue with the hid headlights, they are original.

Boulder, your battery drain is likely a bad Kessy module. Low voltage will trigger all sorts of warning lights.

Were you really surprised by poor mpg on a heavy, 4wd, v8 suv? It is about the same as my v8 xjr, not much worse than the v6 minivan.