Firestone Coil-Rite Air Helper Springs - Rear Axle

I have a 2003 Acura MDX with 197k miles on it. I have used it for towing a 6x12 trailer for 3 quads. I have also towed many loads of dirt, mulch you name it. The rear sags allot and I just bought a 19' boat. I found this kit on etrailer and ordered it. The box came and it said it was for a Honda Odyssey. I double checked online with various sites and confirmed that all Acura MDX, Honda Pilot, Honda Odyssey, & Honda Ridgeline all have the same coil spring suspension with bumper stops inside the coil. I found a great forum which included pics of someone else that installed similar kit. I used those as references to install mine. Here are the steps to install which took about 2 hours: 1) Jackup car, and suppored with good jack stands 2) Removed tires 3) Using a 7/8" hole saw and made a hole in the middle of the lower control arm. 4) Filed the burrs 5) Installed a 7/8" grommet (not included in kit, I got this a local ACE hardware store) 6) Removed bolt from lower control arm knuckle to lower the arm. 7) The bolt for the bumper stop is not accessible, so I used a hand saw and cut about 2" of the rubber stop out. 8) Compressed the air bag and installed the plug (supplied) to keep it compressed, inserted the airbag thru the coil. 9) I deviated from the instructions which says to use the included plate at the top of the airbag which requires removing the bumperstop. Instead I placed this at the bottom of the airbag, which nicely has a grove in the middle which allows the connection for the airtube to sit in and keep it protected. 10) I routed the airline thru the factory openings in the lower control arm & rear end and up thru the trailer harness opening into the rear compartment in the trunk where the head rests go for the third row. 11) Reattached the lower control arm 12) Install tires 13) Lowered car 14) Inflated the bags to 15 psi which returned the truck to just a little above the stock height. I must say this is exactly what I was looking for. I towed the boat this weekend and didn't sag at all, the ride was much smoother then ever. Even with nothing attached to the truck, the ride is much better. My opinion is that this should be installed for anyone that uses the third row seat, or tows anything at all Acura MDX, Honda Pilot, Honda Odyssey, & Honda Ridgeline as it eliminates the typical rear sag! 146221

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by: S.luke02/02/2020

Easy installation, has worked as advertised on my Kia Sedona van. I carry heavy equipment and inventory for my mobile embroidery business and it definitely helps with leveling and stabilizing the load. 746587

by: Martin B07/06/2019

The instruction video showed exactly how to install these. Just disconnected rear lower suspension arms and drilled holes for the air lines. Swapped in the top plates for the air bags and put everything back together. They work great. We top them off every couple weeks, but really only necessary to top them off when we are going on trip or towing something. Hitch doesn’t scrape any more and body roll is reduced. Great investment. Highly recommend. 667173

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by: joe rice04/12/2019

2014 Kia Sedona

Maybe excellent after I try to fix it. Seems the driver side wont hold air too long. I just need it when I pull my Casita camper with my KIA Sedona and I just add air before I start out. Not too annoying really. Fixing it may be a little more difficult then living with it. But I think it was a good idea to buy and install. 627708

The vast majority of the time, leaks will occur where the tubing enters the spring. If the tubing is not cut at a perfect 90° angle, its going to leak. You can test this by pressuring up the system and painting a solution of dishwashing liquid and water at the point where the tubing enters the fitting. If theres bubbles, theres your leak.

-- Mike L - 04/13/2019

by: Scott04/02/2019

2016 Kia Sedona

Installed easily on my 2016 Sedona. I am pulling a pop up camper and this helped keep it level without adding stiffness to the van suspension. I only wish the tube didn't hang down below the suspension, 616519

by: Marcel10/13/2018

Kia Sedona

Great product for Kia Sedona 2012 Towing my boat was heavy on car’s rear suspention. These airhelpers are great Easy to install 574073

Love the product! Holds my Sedona level, even with all the kids plus a load in the rear. Evens out the ride driving over bumps. Great for towing a trailer. Only down side was installation. I had the product installed by the Kia dealer as I figured it would be easy for them; it took the professionals 4 hrs to install. Outside of the cost for installation, great value for the money. Highly recommend! 514351

by: Steve10/04/2017

So far so good, It's been installed for a month, carries the wheel chair with little or no dropping of the rear end. 439096

by: Walt A03/30/2017

Firestone Coil-Rite still doing great. 363164

by: Carl L06/25/2016

Most challenging to install. Not snap fit. Removal of several components and careful routing of delicate air line also had to purchase grommets for holes where chaffing of air line would occur. Don't expect longevity. Suggest development of a single support spring assembly to be better engineered and increase longevity, reliability, and ride stabilization as well as load capacity. Rusted parts don't disassemble with out heat and air tools. New bolts washers and nuts should be included. Thank you 265078

Have not installed it yet but I will follow up when it is installed. Great ordering experience and all was as described on website. 141733

Kit has made the ride in my Honda Odyssey overall better. Also keeps the back end from sagging to far when I've got the trailer on. Quality parts (stainless steel valves and valve caps) easy instructions and it fits perfect. Only drawback was that I had to have my mechanic install it, but after talking with him he said that it would have been a challenge without a lift. 90923

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Thanks to all of the folks who shared their observations on the installation of Firestone Air Helper Springs on Toyota RAV4s. Some of their suggestions made my life much easier. The Firestone instructions, as others observed, were pretty generic and were probably not written by a person who actually installed them on a RAV4. Here are a few things that I found useful: I found that the easiest way to cram the air bags into the coil springs was to flatten them like a pancake with the top and bottom surfaces collapsed onto each other and lash them in this state with a zip tie. Compressed this way you can push them thru the gap in the coil spring in the correct orientation so that when you release the zip tie they expand into the coil spring correctly. It helps to push them thru an opening just below the center of the coil spring so that the air bag ends up slightly below center touching the bottom plastic protective disk. It is really difficult to move the air bags up or down once they expand into the coil spring. I attached the air hose after the bag was in place. You can use a heat gun to warm the air hose enough to bend it so that it exits the lower control arm, turns 90 degrees, and runs along the back of the control arm without hanging down. As others noted the exhaust system presents special problems on the right side. I ended up routing the air line toward the brake and up to the upper control arm to stay away from the exhaust pipe. It's not clear what the best strategy is for routing the air lines. They seem pretty tough, but will likely be rubbing on something given all of the movement in the suspension. I'd suggest not cutting the air line and starting with the right side, which for me needed more air line length to keep away from the exhaust system. That way you will have enough air line to finish the right side and you can use the remainder on the left side, which will need less. I cut the line in half to begin with and barely had enough for the right side. All of the bits seem to be of high quality. The quick connect air fittings seem to seal well and grab tenaciously so you will have a very hard time removing them once you install them. Like a Chinese puzzle on steroids. Our trailer has around 440lb tongue weight and these have brought us back to level with a few psi to spare. We'll see how it goes over the road. Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas and suggestions. 161229

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

I received my order and installed the Air Helper Springs the next day. I had the opportunity to fully test them yesterday. They were not difficult to install and the instructions were easy to follow. I do wish there had been a video for my particular vehicle since I’m not exactly sure my routing of the air line around the exhaust the best location. Time will tell. After hooking up my trailer I adjusted the air, best I could, since all my tire gauges start at 10 lbs and go up from there. I did get the rear of the Pathfinder as level as I could. A recommendation from etrailer on a good digital or analog gauge would have also been helpful. I did pick up a digital gauge today, works great. Thanks etrailer for a great products, instructions and your follow up email that answered my questions, 513109

Excellent! I use it when I tow my equipment trailer and I haven’t had “any” problems. I did alter the hose configuration to a single point of air input instead of a valve for each bag. I know their reasoning but single input works better for me.

Kevin S - 05/26/2019

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Good product. takes some effort getting the bag inside the coils. As far as removing the frame bumper - didn't do it - it is pressed in between the frame and top of coil spring. So far so good 514375

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Product is what you see on the web page and the videos exclent its idiot prove 411973

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

I got the a draw tite hitch, wiring harness and Firestone coil helpers for my 2016 Nissan pathfinder. Everything fit great and was easy to install. The price was awesome and shipping was super fast. An easy A+ for etrailer.com. 343985

by: Nn06/12/2016

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Did not work at all on my 11altima. No change to the suspension and the bags deformed beyond recognition after 2 weeks 260702

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Easy installation fixed my problem of low ride height. The only thing I would change is I wish there was a 90° angle for the bottom so it doesn't stick so far out I know it's going to end up catching things on the road 595108

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Review is for very helpful service- got into a time squeeze, made a call on Sunday, and received the correct part on Tuesday AM. No review on product yet, but it looks like it should work well. The go into the rear coils of a Toyota Sequioa and are currently being installed. 662780

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

As a former mechanic, this was a tough install. It was a struggle to get the air bags through the springs and there was not enough room to remove the 3" piece of tubing so I installed the bag with the full length of tubing already in place. I was hoping to gain about a 2" lift, but it only raises the vehicle about 3/4 of an inch. The bags do make a noticeable difference in handling and the hitch is not so close to the ground while hauling a trailer. 103341

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

We ordered a suspension kit it came right away and at a great price. We had checked out several shops in town who said they were hard to get for our new vehicle and the cost was out of this world. Great job guys 165779

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

I've installed the air springs and and they hold up great. I'm pulling a tall 5 x 10 enclosed trailer and no more sagging in the rear end. Air up the bags to 35 max PSI and the ride quality is excellent. 715974

by: Mark B01/01/2020

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Working out very well 735132

Review from a similar Coil-Rite in Vehicle Suspension

Product installed without any issues. Do suggest taking a paper towel or rag and spraying a small amount of WD40 on it and wiping around spring coils only not on air bag. Bags slide in a little easier. Would have been 5 Star except for unacceptable shipping time, 5 days to on instate location 200 miles away. 579207