VB air ride failure - what replacement?

[lovro]

Hi ,
I mounted 3 years ago the VB air suspension, front and rear . Since then the VB dealer replaced 3 times the front suspensions because of a failure . The last time they've been replaced lasted until today when the front left started again to leak air . I decided to take it off and replace it with a non air suspension . Can you give me any advice?
I was thinking about Koni Special Activ .
I need a soft ride as during the summer I drive 3 times a day on a dirt road ( 8-10 km a day) . No load most of the time .
Thank you in advance

 

[Skyliner33]

Hi ,
I mounted 3 years ago the VB air suspension, front and rear . Since then the VB dealer replaced 3 times the front suspensions because of a failure . The last time they've been replaced lasted until today when the front left started again to leak air . I decided to take it off and replace it with a non air suspension . Can you give me any advice?
I was thinking about Koni Special Activ .
I need a soft ride as during the summer I drive 3 times a day on a dirt road ( 8-10 km a day) . No load most of the time .
Thank you in advance

Maybe contact @CRS Performance for advice.

 

[CRS Performance]

Hi ,
I mounted 3 years ago the VB air suspension, front and rear . Since then the VB dealer replaced 3 times the front suspensions because of a failure . The last time they've been replaced lasted until today when the front left started again to leak air . I decided to take it off and replace it with a non air suspension . Can you give me any advice?
I was thinking about Koni Special Activ .
I need a soft ride as during the summer I drive 3 times a day on a dirt road ( 8-10 km a day) . No load most of the time .
Thank you in advance

These kits are really proving to be troublesome and i almost went for the dealership , so glad i didnt. we have removed 3 VB air systems now and we have special tubes engineered to repair the rear chassis
A days work to sort it out sadly

 

[lovro]

A friend of mine had the same VB setup and exactly the same issues. He does not drive even a half than me on the dirt roads but his front suspension collapsed anyway 2 times in 2 years. I’m wondering why nobody mention those problems wit the VB suspensions .

 

[Shaun Witts]

I have done about 30k miles on my VB without issues so far, but only on tarmac (with the odd rough car park). When I was researching VB before ordering I came across a few story’s of people fitting the off road versions for long trips to Iceland or other far-away destinations and all reports regarding them seemed good. It is a bit concerning to hear of a failures…

 

[lovro]

I have done about 30k miles on my VB without issues so far, but only on tarmac (with the odd rough car park). When I was researching VB before ordering I came across a few story’s of people fitting the off road versions for long trips to Iceland or other far-away destinations and all reports regarding them seemed good. It is a bit concerning to hear of a failures…

I never red about failures with the VB . We both have the same issues , always one of the front suspension started to leak air on the upper plate. They replaced my 3 times in warranty , but any time I had to travel 200km to the authorised dealer and wait the replacement to arrive

 

[t0mb0]

I have done about 30k miles on my VB without issues so far, but only on tarmac (with the odd rough car park). When I was researching VB before ordering I came across a few story’s of people fitting the off road versions for long trips to Iceland or other far-away destinations and all reports regarding them seemed good. It is a bit concerning to hear of a failures…

We’ve done similar mileage on ours with no issues. I wonder what the actual failure rate is?

The general technology of air suspension must be extremely reliable given virtually every HGV out there runs on it but it’s very hard to tell how reliable VB’s implementation is - all the data is basically anecdotal.

 

[Shaun Witts]

We’ve done similar mileage on ours with no issues. I wonder what the actual failure rate is?

The general technology of air suspension must be extremely reliable given virtually every HGV out there runs on it but it’s very hard to tell how reliable VB’s implementation is - all the data is basically anecdotal.

I was a bit concerned before purchase, because I knew of Disco/RR owners who had suffered from failed air suspension, plus a few Citroen owners. For a while, I always cleaned off any crud from the bags whenever I washed it, but I’ve just realised that I’ve stopped doing that without it being a conscious decision!
The biggest concern is someone like #CRS Performance reporting issues - presumably ones we’ve not heard about through this Forum.
But as you say, plenty of big, high mileage vehicles use air suspension, that it certainly has the potential to be reliable.
Oh, I also read somewhere that many ambulances use VB Air…?

 

[CRS Performance]

I was a bit concerned before purchase, because I knew of Disco/RR owners who had suffered from failed air suspension, plus a few Citroen owners. For a while, I always cleaned off any crud from the bags whenever I washed it, but I’ve just realised that I’ve stopped doing that without it being a conscious decision!
The biggest concern is someone like #CRS Performance reporting issues - presumably ones we’ve not heard about through this Forum.
But as you say, plenty of big, high mileage vehicles use air suspension, that it certainly has the potential to be reliable.
Oh, I also read somewhere that many ambulances use VB Air…?

VB Air is a primary supplier to special vehicle manufacturers like ambulances etc . I fear that adding air to a vehicle that wasn't designed for air could be the cause of issues , Heavy commercial are designed to have Air . Personally I don't think they use good enough dampers ( to try and keep cost down ) and this doesn't help the reliability either .

 

[Richard f]

I never red about failures with the VB . We both have the same issues , always one of the front suspension started to leak air on the upper plate. They replaced my 3 times in warranty , but any time I had to travel 200km to the authorised dealer and wait the replacement to arrive

hi I brought this up last year about the price to replace the front shocks when out of warranty

 

[tomd89]

Hi, are those with VB Air happy with the ride? Just trying to figure out if mine is 'normal'. I had it fitted a few months ago in the hope of improving the standard T32 suspension, but I'm pretty disappointed with the ride. It feels really crashy and wallowy and is possibly worse than when it was standard. If I hit a bump or dip in the road, there's any obvious bounce (maybe two or three times) before it settles down. On bumpy roads or travelling at speed it feels pretty unstable. I also get a load of feedback through the steering wheel and the odd jolt/twitch of the steering wheel if I hit bumps at a particular angle. I've had an alignment done and the rest of the suspension/steering checked by an independent garage - all fine apparently.

 

[CRS Performance]

Hi, are those with VB Air happy with the ride? Just trying to figure out if mine is 'normal'. I had it fitted a few months ago in the hope of improving the standard T32 suspension, but I'm pretty disappointed with the ride. It feels really crashy and wallowy and is possibly worse than when it was standard. If I hit a bump or dip in the road, there's any obvious bounce (maybe two or three times) before it settles down. On bumpy roads or travelling at speed it feels pretty unstable. I also get a load of feedback through the steering wheel and the odd jolt/twitch of the steering wheel if I hit bumps at a particular angle. I've had an alignment done and the rest of the suspension/steering checked by an independent garage - all fine apparently.

The problem here is that you have purchased a very expensive self levelling system , Most air systems including VB air dont have very good shocks fitted in the kit , Air bags dont increase comfort that is a shock function any way , Poor shocks , poor ride , end of story , we have removed 3 x VB air systems recently , poor reliability seems to be a bug bare . Its not simple to remove either .

I went as far as enrolling as a VB air installer , but when i realised what they used for shocks i bailed out

 

[Texxaco]

I have the ABP air system and after 30K I have not had a bad go but I did have a sensor fail on the actuator which set me back £800 as they are not replaceable unless you sent the actuator to the US. Which was a none starter.

My dampers are Bistein and to date they have been solid.

Most of the components are fairly easy self installs to replace, he says having swapped out two compressors and said actuator.

What needs to be remembered here is the kit isn’t cheap, hence replacements are never going to be cheap.

 

[Shaun Witts]

The problem here is that you have purchased a very expensive self levelling system , Most air systems including VB air dont have very good shocks fitted in the kit , Air bags dont increase comfort that is a shock function any way , Poor shocks , poor ride , end of story , we have removed 3 x VB air systems recently , poor reliability seems to be a bug bare . Its not simple to remove either .

I went as far as enrolling as a VB air installer , but when i realised what they used for shocks i bailed out

Can anything be done to improve the shocks then (as I’m sure everyone with VB reading this is thinking)?
Presumably the rear ones are easy enough, but what about the front?
Or is that why you have removed 3 complete systems?

I’ve not had any problems with mine (30k miles) and thought that the ride was about what I could expect for a van, though if it could be improved then I would consider it. However, I appreciate the self levelling when camping, and when utilising the Cate carrier on the rear carrying my 230kg motorbike.

 

[t0mb0]

Hi, are those with VB Air happy with the ride? Just trying to figure out if mine is 'normal'. I had it fitted a few months ago in the hope of improving the standard T32 suspension, but I'm pretty disappointed with the ride. It feels really crashy and wallowy and is possibly worse than when it was standard. If I hit a bump or dip in the road, there's any obvious bounce (maybe two or three times) before it settles down. On bumpy roads or travelling at speed it feels pretty unstable. I also get a load of feedback through the steering wheel and the odd jolt/twitch of the steering wheel if I hit bumps at a particular angle. I've had an alignment done and the rest of the suspension/steering checked by an independent garage - all fine apparently.

I’m not sure yours is ‘normal’ from that description. I would describe ours as slightly under-damped in general, but not crashy/unstable and I’ve never felt strange feedback through the wheel. It’s been a while, but I definitely felt it was an improvement over stock when it was fitted to our T30. You don’t buy it for the ride though, a dedicated, well-specified coilover setup is likely better/cheaper in this regard, you buy it for the levelling features, both on the move but especially when in camping mode in a camper.

 

[Shaun Witts]

I’m not sure yours is ‘normal’ from that description. I would describe ours as slightly under-damped in general, but not crashy/unstable and I’ve never felt strange feedback through the wheel. It’s been a while, but I definitely felt it was an improvement over stock when it was fitted to our T30. You don’t buy it for the ride though, a dedicated, well-specified coilover setup is likely better/cheaper in this regard, you buy it for the levelling features, both on the move but especially when in camping mode in a camper.

I remember being disappointed that there wasn’t a bigger improvement over my standard T32, but it is better.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Yes me the same, wasnt overly impressed with the difference from my standard T32 suspension but have had no problems with it, just a bit noisy sometimes when parking up. I like it for getting me under car park barriers as have gained height from a pop top roof and the self levelling when camping.
If CRS Pereforms could improve it then I would be interested also if possible.

 

[Richard f]

Yes me the same, wasnt overly impressed with the difference from my standard T32 suspension but have had no problems with it, just a bit noisy sometimes when parking up. I like it for getting me under car park barriers as have gained height from a pop top roof and the self levelling when camping.
If CRS Pereforms could improve it then I would be interested also if possible.

when I took my van to crs performance i changed to kw v3 but left the air bags on the rear which keeps the ride height I want no matter what I load it up with

 

[BarneyP]

Update to this thread.
I too fitted VB air - in 2018 - to my LWB 4motion T32.
Since then, I've had 3 failures!
The second failure involved BOTH front bags.
The third one last m month came with a projected 8-10 WEEK wait for the parts!
Anyway, I decided to end the nonsense - this system is clearly not fit for purpose on these vans.
I'm not heavy on it either - I'm careful...though London roads perhaps less forgiving than most.
VB is very good on larger vehicles - which are designed to have air - but clearly not meant to go on the transporter.
Other indicators being that VW stopped offering VB as an order option years ago (used to be in the catalogue)
and the fact that they have to butcher the rear chassis to fit the bags. Re-instatement work has to be done to the stop tubes upon removal and replacement.
How do I know all this....?
Steve at CRS Performance is how!!
I feel incredibly lucky to have found him on this forum.
Within 5 day of me contacting him, the damn thing was gone and my van is now completely transformed on the setup he recommended and fitted with his team:
40mm Evotech kit featuring Koni Active Sports shocks (the shorter version I think)
I had no idea the ride could be improved to this degree.
Wallowing and rocking and swaying defined everything about the ride previously.
Braking at speed, high speed cornering, undulations, even lane changes used to feel like the thing was a boat:
NOT ANY MORE.
Secure and subtle movement is all I have now - in fact braking is so night and day different that it feels like I've had them seriously upgraded.
All this for a fraction of what I paid for the VB air setup.
in summary:
A huge tale of warning to anyone considering VB on their transporter
and an even bigger tale of thanks to Steve and his team at CRS.
This box of spanners headed for VB HQ!
and the van looks better now IMHO

 

[Martinf]

We had VB Air fitted in summer 2018. After five years of great benefit from it, the front right airbag would not hold its air. We finally identified this as the cause of the poor ride (rather than rough roads) last month when in Ireland on Europe’s most westerly campsite, 500 miles from home.

In short, with advice from Rosmia who installed our suspension, we successfully drove home and onwards to Rosmia who efficiently refitted the front suspension. Whilst obviously disappointed at the failure our experience still leaves us very satisfied with our VB Air and with Rosmia as a supplier.