Patent ID: 7380800

Claim:
A method for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle having a plurality of wheels including left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, the suspension system switchable between two modes of operation, including a first mode for when the vehicle is experiencing an on-road driving condition and a second mode for when the vehicle is experiencing an off-road driving condition, the method comprising: sensing a speed of the vehicle and generating a vehicle speed signal; detecting an off-road driving condition including sensing a front displacement for each of the front wheels; sensing a rear displacement for each of the rear wheels; determining whether the front displacements of the front wheels are out of phase with the rear displacements of the rear wheels; and detecting the off-road driving condition based on the front displacements being out of phase with the rear displacements; comparing the vehicle speed signal to a predetermined speed threshold; and controlling the suspension system to switch to the second mode of operation upon detecting the off-road driving condition and the vehicle speed signal being less than the predetermined speed threshold.