Common issues & diagnosis
Trailing arms can be damaged by rough terrain, direct under-car impacts and collisions.
What is the part's function?
We broadly refer to all suspension arms connecting the rear axle carrier (subframe) to the wheel carrier as ‘trailing arms’. Technically, each of these arms perform a different function, but generally speaking they are responsible for providing stability and alignment to the rear wheels.
It is important to understand that BMW utilises multiple different rear suspension configurations across their vehicles:
- Most BMWs (E90 through to G20, and many more) use a seperate coil spring and shock absorber configuration, which utilises five arms, including one banjo arm pressing up against the coil spring.
- E70/E71 and F10/F11 use three arms, including one large H-shaped arm, in combination with a wheel carrier that presses up against a coil or pneumatic spring.
- F25/F26, G01/G02 and G05/G06/G07 use rear coil struts in combination with five arms.
- G05/G06/G07 and G11/G12 (and more) with air suspension packages use air struts in combination with five arms.
- F48 and F39 use three arms, one of which is actually the wheel carrier.
How to determine fitment compatibility
The fitment compatibility of trailing arm components should be matched using the BMW part numbers from the catalogue—as there can be different configurations within a model generation.
Provide us with your vehicle’s 17-digit VIN and we’ll check our stock for a compatible match.
Interchangeability between models
The smaller models—particularly 1, 2, 3 and 4 Series vehicles—will often share rear suspension components, but as you move to the larger vehicle trailing arms will become more unique to a given model.
