If you think there’s something wrong with...

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Blueinterceptor

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the way you 15 tahoe or suburban rides. There is probably something wrong with it.

I am a big believer in the 15 Chevy Tahoe suburban vehicles. I like them, believe they have good room. Good reliability etc etc.
I have a 15/16/17 Tahoe and just turned in a 15 suburban. I liked the ride on the 15 / 17 Tahoes and suburban. The 16 Tahoe was never a favorite though. I believed the ride was harsh. At times very harsh. I would describe it as riding like a brick or on a boat in choppy seas. I described it as riding in a 2500 series suburban I felt every rock on the asphalt. This was from new. 2 years ago. I had complained about it unofficially to the service mgrs a couple of times and fooled myself into believing the burb was better simply because of the longer wheel base.
I could feel the cracks on the highway pavement when I went over them. Mostly when driving upto 55 mph. After that the roughness smoothed. I fooled myself into thinking it was just me. Fast forward to this past week. I went for a ride in the snow. Nothing heavy but I could feel the snow while driving. It felt and sounded like I was driving over rumble strips. A little more highway driving on different days and the car just didn’t seem right. Especially compared to my 17 tahoe.
I had asked if there were any recalls or reprogramming of the computers to help smooth out the ride. I needed an alignment every 7500 miles or at every oil change. I was told no programs recalls etc etc.
I finally grew some ba#%€s and called my selling dealer. I told them this is wrong it needs to be fixed and was dropping the car off and they could keep until fixed. I did a search for harsh rides on 16 Tahoe’s. I got directed to a thread on this website for 15 Tahoe’s that literally described my concerns to a T.
I brought the info with me. Checked the car in. They did their check, found nothing wrong. They reprogrammed a suspension module. The service mgr informed the tech bulletin did not apply to my car but only to 15’s.;

We then went for a test drive. I let him drive. I said if there’s a problem, you’ll know right away.
We got 1/2 block drove over a crack in the road and the truck shook, not terribly but it should not drive like that. He agreeded with me. We continued our test drive and the truck behaved like it did since new. Like a brick.

We go back to the dealership. The mechanic was great and listened to my complaints and they had to follow their protocols.
A call was placed to gm in an effort to get permission to follow the remedy on the tsb. As it calls for replacing all struts, coil springs etc. mech was told you probably have a locked strut. Sure enough the right rear strut was locked up and prevented the struts from dampening the ride.

I feel pretty stupid.
Thank you to the sight for valuable information in being able to explain my issue.
No sensors picked up this issue.
Nobody noticed in 4 oil changed. 4 rotations of the tires or any other physical inspection of the truck or any other maintenance done on the vehicle

I was also told that the service Dept had never heard of this tsb.
 
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dbbd1

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Which TSB are you specifically referring to?
 
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Blueinterceptor

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Update. Got the truck back on Tuesday. Ride has definitely improved. Not every bump feels like a crater.
 

sickk23

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Man, a locked up shock sure would give one heck of a crappy ride!
Oh man I bet it makes it jittery as heck. And the MRC is super sensitive from what I’ve read. Even putting the suv up on a lift can cause it to go stiff and need replacing. I don’t exactly understand the parts and system that GM uses on these trucks but they seem to be CHEAP.

Side note, the Grand Cherokee SRT uses a nearly identical adaptive suspension setup. My brother has a 2014. Shortly after he got it, it started riding like shit. We took it on a trip and it was miserable. A bump on the interstate would make you hop so hard the seatbelt would lock. Turns out an electrical wire was hanging on the inside of the tire and it shredded it causing the system to default to “Track” mode without a code. The stiffest setting (like these suvs). Later there was a recall. Just a pointless little story. Luckily I never experienced any issues with my burb, the slightest things make me crazy.
 

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