New Yukon Denali owner with some questions

[Nwhite202]

Hi All,

Just picked up a CPO 21 Yukon Denali with the ultimate package and had some questions.

Bit of back ground. The denali has 19,000 miles but don’t let that fool you. It was NYC owed and has 2,255 engine hours, which under normal driving conditions equates to 70,000 miles. (Wish I had investigated this prior to purchasing)

That said, the Yukon has air suspension and I have noticed it feels very unstable on any kind of road imperfection. There is a lot of judder in the cabin, almost feels like something is loose. I have never owned a vehicle with air suspension so I don’t know if this is normal or but from prior experience it feels like the struts are bad. Could the magnetic dampers be toast?

Also,

I am coming from a Lexus gs350 and the headlights in the Yukon are horrible comparatively. Does anyone else feel like the light output is just bad? It had the daytime running light recall so that isn’t the issue.

Thanks I’m advance for any help/guidance.

 

[Reels]

You should still have factory warranty. I would ask them to inspect the system maybe at next oil change. It should not be squirley. It should be like a floating couch.

I have no complaints on the headlights. I have never driven a Lexus though, so can not offer a comparison there.

 

[Nwhite202]

Reels, yes you are correct, still under the factory warranty. I will definatley bring it up. It doesn’t seem normal to me. I test drove a non air suspension Denali and it did not feel like this at all. Drove great.

 

[wjburken]

Reels, yes you are correct, still under the factory warranty. I will definatley bring it up. It doesn’t seem normal to me. I test drove a non air suspension Denali and it did not feel like this at all. Drove great.

Not to be a smart a$$, but if you drove a Denali that handled great, why did you buy the one that didn’t? Not judging, just questioning.

Get it in and have them check it over.

 

[Nwhite202]

That’s a reasonable question. The other one had more miles and was more expensive. Also not my preferred color.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I’ve got air suspension and Magnetic Ride control on my Denali, and don’t notice any squirly ride, etc. but the setup is definitely tuned to a softer ride; so if your Lexus was more sport tuned, it will feel more floaty. I’d definitely take it in, and ask the dealer’s service manager to go for a ride with you to point out what you are feeling.

I’ve had Tahoes and Suburbans since 1996, and my 2022 is definitely the best riding of the bunch.

 

[Nwhite202]

 

[Nwhite202]

Thanks for all the replies and warm welcome. I live in Massachusetts so the roads aren’t the best so that isn’t helping. The ride is very comfortable on smooth pavement. It just seems very unsettled and unstable on any kind of crack, manhole cover, etc. I have owned cars with large diameter wheels and never felt such jarring impacts from those kinds of things. Almost like there is no damper.

I’ll bring it to the dealer and see what they say. I may see if I can drive another Yukon or Tahoe with the air suspension as a point of comparison. That will really help to determine if it’s a “me problem” or something is actually wrong with the yukon

 

[steiny93]

We have a pair of denali's (a '21 and a '23). One is mag ride the other has the air suspension. We also had a regular Yukon (non mag within air) '22 for 3 months while the '21 waited for a turbo.

None of them felt harsh or unstable. The regular yukon had the softest feel of any of them, but
not unstable or had a jutter when driving. I don't really notice a difference between the mag ride and the air suspension in regards to how harsh they are over impacts.

I prefer the mag ride setup, but the air is really nice if you have heavy cargo or towing.

 

[Nwhite202]

We have a pair of denali's (a '21 and a '23). One is mag ride the other has the air suspension. We also had a regular Yukon (non mag within air) '22 for 3 months while the '21 waited for a turbo.

None of them felt harsh or unstable. The regular yukon had the softest feel of any of them, but
not unstable or had a jutter when driving. I don't really notice a difference between the mag ride and the air suspension in regards to how harsh they are over impacts.

I prefer the mag ride setup, but the air is really nice if you have heavy cargo or towing.

Any idea how I would know if the mag ride was worn out on the air suspension? Would the ride quality be different? Would I see any fluid leaking?

 

[steiny93]

I'm assuming it is under factory bumper to bumper. If so I'd start with the dealer.
Other option is to get it inspected; start with a suspension place. When suspension wears it gets loose; lift the truck up and start wiggling stuff.

If the air suspension is bad it'll leak and the compressor will run a lot.
We had some magride shocks go bad, they leaked, it was visible on the shocks themselves.

Yes, ride quality would be different, effectively you wouldn't have any damper.

 

[Nwhite202]

I'm assuming it is under factory bumper to bumper. If so I'd start with the dealer.
Other option is to get it inspected; start with a suspension place. When suspension wears it gets loose; lift the truck up and start wiggling stuff.

If the air suspension is bad it'll leak and the compressor will run a lot.
We had some magride shocks go bad, they leaked, it was visible on the shocks themselves.

Yes, ride quality would be different, effectively you wouldn't have any damper.

Update for all who have chimed in:

Brought Yukon to the dealer. They balanced all 4 wheels, added new Michelin tires, did 3 alignments. Yes 3. It was so bad, they asked if there was any suspension work done before I brought it in. I am the second owner so I had no idea. The Chevrolet dealership I bought it from had not done any.

After all that, the truck still rides like absolute garbage albeit straight and without wheel vibration. It feels like there is no suspension at all. Bouncy and extremely harsh over any road imperfections. The entire truck slams everything. The dealer test drove it when I brought it in and didn’t mention anything about the ride being “bad”.

I honestly don’t know what to do at this point. I’ve already dumped $2,500 into this thing in the first 2 weeks I’ve owned it and I don’t want to continue down the rabbit hole even if it’s under warranty. Dealerships don’t care to help.

Do I cut my losses and take the $7k hit if I trade this thing in? Do I continue to try with any dealership to help fix it? Someone talk me off the ledge haha

 

[Tahoe14]

Maybe try a different Dealer.

 

[pa31p]

Could the shocks be leaky/worn out?

 

[adventurenali92]

Update for all who have chimed in:

Brought Yukon to the dealer. They balanced all 4 wheels, added new Michelin tires, did 3 alignments. Yes 3. It was so bad, they asked if there was any suspension work done before I brought it in. I am the second owner so I had no idea. The Chevrolet dealership I bought it from had not done any.

After all that, the truck still rides like absolute garbage albeit straight and without wheel vibration. It feels like there is no suspension at all. Bouncy and extremely harsh over any road imperfections. The entire truck slams everything. The dealer test drove it when I brought it in and didn’t mention anything about the ride being “bad”.

I honestly don’t know what to do at this point. I’ve already dumped $2,500 into this thing in the first 2 weeks I’ve owned it and I don’t want to continue down the rabbit hole even if it’s under warranty. Dealerships don’t care to help.

Do I cut my losses and take the $7k hit if I trade this thing in? Do I continue to try with any dealership to help fix it? Someone talk me off the ledge haha

We’ve heard this story time and time again with dealer techs and service departments. Some suck and do bare minimum and some are great and will go the extra mile.

If the ride is as bad as you describe, and it’s under warranty, find a new dealer, read their reviews online and talk to existing customers of the dealer. That can help in finding one with a good service department. Then make the lead service person go for a ride with you in the truck to experience exactly what the problem is that’s happening. That way they can’t tell you “it’s normal and we didn’t notice anything”….

 

[NothEastTahoe]

As petty as it can be, you can always tag them on some form of social media and blast them, while a last resort imo, it does tend to work if what people say is to be believed. But my new yukon is the nicest riding vehicle I've ever owned, steady, firm and planted on the road. What you are experiencing is not right.

 

[Miami-Dade]

Update for all who have chimed in:

Brought Yukon to the dealer. They balanced all 4 wheels, added new Michelin tires, did 3 alignments. Yes 3. It was so bad, they asked if there was any suspension work done before I brought it in. I am the second owner so I had no idea. The Chevrolet dealership I bought it from had not done any.

After all that, the truck still rides like absolute garbage albeit straight and without wheel vibration. It feels like there is no suspension at all. Bouncy and extremely harsh over any road imperfections. The entire truck slams everything. The dealer test drove it when I brought it in and didn’t mention anything about the ride being “bad”.

I honestly don’t know what to do at this point. I’ve already dumped $2,500 into this thing in the first 2 weeks I’ve owned it and I don’t want to continue down the rabbit hole even if it’s under warranty. Dealerships don’t care to help.

Do I cut my losses and take the $7k hit if I trade this thing in? Do I continue to try with any dealership to help fix it? Someone talk me off the ledge haha

You might want to check out Paramus Chevrolet before you take a hit of 7K bucks. They are good to deal with for service.

Are you dealing with Major Chevrolet in Queens?