i think what you are talking about is supposed to be there. the spring helps keep the big butt in the air. i think your struts are bad or the compressor or lines are bad. i put the air line kit with a valve Monroe ak29 on because when my struts went they started leaking and took out the compressor too. and they are expensive.with new struts and lines i only put air in it when the seasons change. do you hear the compressor? try taking the sensor arm off the pass rear a arm and push it up the compressor should turn on. if not there is a fuse in the maxi fuse center under hood, go from there i guess. if you need struts i like the kyb excel g. i would rather not have the floaty feel of a buick.

The rear suspension on your car did not have air bags. It has springs and air shocks. When the air shocks are pumped full of air, they raise the rear suspension. You car uses an ELC (electronic level control) sensor behind the rear driver'* wheel to detect ride height, that sends a signal to the on-board compressor when the rear is low, which then pumps air into the shocks. If the back end of your car is riding low, and it bounces like a school bus, either the ELS/compressor is not functioning or you need new shocks.

Do you hear the air compressor running when your mother-in-law sits in the back seat? Follow Justin'* suggestion on moving the ELC arm (I think its on the driver side Justin) to see if the compressor comes on or not.

Look at the rear shocks. Are there plastic air lines going to each one? If not, the previous owner removed the air shocks and installed standard ones.

My guess is the original air shocks started to leak, which caused the ELC to run the compressor constantly, which caused the compressor to fail. To get back to original you would have to repair/replace the air compressor, and replace the shocks for air shocks. Or, as Justin suggests, install air shocks with lines that go to a Schraeder valve in the trunk. You can manually adust ride height by releasing air through the valve (just like a tire air valve) or pumping air into it using a compressor (gas station). You would lose the automatic level control, but save a lot of the expense.

mine is on the pass side, maybe they changed for 2k+? i took pics of all that and the ak29 kit when i did my rear struts but photobucket is fighting me for some reason today

That'* possible. On my 2001 the ELC is on the driver side, and the air compressor is on the passenger side.

ak29-

pic of the old strut air leaks around the rubber part the compressor cant keep up and took them both out. the elc arm in question is behind the tape on the sway-bar.