Magnetic Ride Control vs Air Ride Suspension

[Polo08816]

I just saw a 2021+ Chevy Suburban High Country pulled off on the side of the road near where we lived. The occupants had the spare tire out but they didn't seem to be doing anything with it. The entire front of the vehicle looked really low - it wasn't just one corner of the vehicle lower than the rest. It looked like his Air Ride system failed and the car was pretty much immobile at that point unless you want to drive around on the bump stops?

The downside of the Air Ride suspension. It works great until it doesn't.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

The air ride on some of the newer trucks allow for ride height changes while driving to conform better to the terrain that they are driving on.

 

[tagexpcom]

It's interesting to read air-ride comments. I only have magnetic on my 2021 Yukon Denali and it's 'fine' but my 2004 Cadillac SRX (bought new and still drive it) has auto air-leveling and is now 20yrs old and has always 'just worked' - it's never been fixed or replaced. Cool to load it up at Home Depot and see it sag but then level right up as soon as the car is started.

 

[Antonm]

I just saw a 2021+ Chevy Suburban High Country pulled off on the side of the road near where we lived. The occupants had the spare tire out but they didn't seem to be doing anything with it. The entire front of the vehicle looked really low - it wasn't just one corner of the vehicle lower than the rest. It looked like his Air Ride system failed and the car was pretty much immobile at that point unless you want to drive around on the bump stops?

The downside of the Air Ride suspension. It works great until it doesn't.

So let me get this straight... You saw a vehicle on the side of the road, you have no idea why it's there , what happened, or even if the vehicle has the air ride system at all (air ride was optional on high country, not standard), but you assume the vehicle has air ride, and that it completely failed because they had the spare tire out.... yeah that makes a lot of sense right there.
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[Polo08816]

I just saw a 2021+ Chevy Suburban High Country pulled off on the side of the road near where we lived. The occupants had the spare tire out but they didn't seem to be doing anything with it. The entire front of the vehicle looked really low - it wasn't just one corner of the vehicle lower than the rest. It looked like his Air Ride system failed and the car was pretty much immobile at that point unless you want to drive around on the bump stops?

The downside of the Air Ride suspension. It works great until it doesn't.

So let me get this straight... You saw a vehicle on the side of the road, you have no idea why it's there , what happened, or even if the vehicle has the air ride system at all (air ride was optional on high country, not standard), but you assume the vehicle has air ride, and that it completely failed because they had the spare tire out.... yeah that makes a lot of sense right there.
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You missed the bolded part so I'll repeat it again.

The entire front of the vehicle was incredibly low but none of the front tires looked flat. There did not appear to be any collision damage. The driver had the spare tire out but wasn't taking any action to replace any of the front tires with it.

There was another car pulled over with it with their hazards on. It appeared as if the occupants for both vehicles knew each other and the other vehicle was there to assist. Maybe they were following each other when the failure happened... OR maybe the occupants of the Suburban High Country called a friend/family member to assist with his immobile vehicle.

An air ride system failure affecting the entire front axle causing the entire front to look like the vehicle was slammed ... is an educated guess.

What other mechanical failures would look the same?

 

[Antonm]

You missed the bolded part so I'll repeat it again.

The entire front of the vehicle was incredibly low but none of the front tires looked flat. There did not appear to be any collision damage. The driver had the spare tire out but wasn't taking any action to replace any of the front tires with it.

There was another car pulled over with it with their hazards on. It appeared as if the occupants for both vehicles knew each other and the other vehicle was there to assist. Maybe they were following each other when the failure happened... OR maybe the occupants of the Suburban High Country called a friend/family member to assist with his immobile vehicle.

An air ride system failure affecting the entire front axle causing the entire front to look like the vehicle was slammed ... is an educated guess.

What other mechanical failures would look the same?

So let's assume the vehicle in question did have the air suspension system (which is an assumption), you know there is an "easy exit" setting for the air system that lowers the car when you put in in park. We use this little feature when visiting the MIL because she's like 81 years old and it helps her to not have to step up as much.

You are not making educated guesses, you're making wild ass guesses about a situation you know absolutely nothing about, blaming a system that you don't even really know the vehicle had.

The high country models do come with the 6.2 standard, it's just as likely by your logic that it was sitting on the side of the road because the engine seized due to the lifter bore issues the 6.2 has.

Bottom line you don't know what was going on and you also don't have enough information to make an educated guess. So you're just running your mouth (or keyboard in this case) blathering on without a freaking clue.
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[Polo08816]

So let's assume the vehicle in question did have the air suspension system (which is an assumption), you know there is an "easy exit" setting for the air system that lowers the car when you put in in park. We use this little feature when visiting the MIL because she's like 81 years old and it helps her to not have to step up as much.

You are not making educated guesses, you're making wild ass guesses about a situation you know absolutely nothing about, blaming a system that you don't even really know the vehicle had.

The high country models do come with the 6.2 standard, it's just as likely by your logic that it was sitting on the side of the road because the engine seized due to the lifter bore issues the 6.2 has.

Bottom line you don't know what was going on and you also don't have enough information to make an educated guess. So you're just running your mouth (or keyboard in this case) blathering on without a freaking clue.
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Does the "easy exit" setting just lower the front axle or does it lower the entire vehicle evenly?

You seem really offended. I take it you have an Air Ride equipped vehicle?

 

[Antonm]

You seem really offended. Do you have an Air Ride equipped vehicle?

Mad , no more like disgusted at people that actually know nothing, who then go post a bunch of crap like they do. Reminds me of our news media today, with all their uninformed opinions on things that they literally know nothing about, but will jump right to a conclusion and tell you that's the way it is.

But,,, the front end was low it must've been the air ride,,,,, or,, maybe they jacked up the rear end to get the spare tire out of its storage location. These trucks have plenty enough issues as is without making up new ones out of thin air.
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[Polo08816]

Mad , no more like disgusted at people that actually know nothing, who then go post a bunch of crap like they do. Reminds me of our news media today, with all their uninformed opinions on things that they literally know nothing about, but will jump right to a conclusion and tell you that's the way it is.

But,,, the front end was low it must've been the air ride,,,,, or,, maybe they jacked up the rear end to get the spare tire out of its storage location. These trucks have plenty enough issues as is without making up new ones out of thin air.
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So you need to jack up the rear of the vehicle to remove the spare tire? Then I presume you would need to use the same jack (unless you're carrying 2 jacks) to lift the corner of the vehicle for the tire that you're replacing.

 

[Antonm]

Or,,, if the flat is on the front, once you have the spare tire out,,,lower the jack, and move it to the front.

Did you ride the short bus to school maybe, these aren't hard concepts or advanced logic we're talking here, pretty simple stuff that you don't seem to be grasping.
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[Polo08816]

Or,,, if the flat is on the front, once you have the spare tire out,,,lower the jack, and move it to the front.

Did you ride the short bus to school maybe, these aren't hard concepts or advanced logic we're talking here, pretty simple stuff that you don't seem to be grasping.
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To confirm for everyone reading this thread, your claim is that you HAVE to use a lift/jack to raise the rear of the Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/Escalade in order to remove the spare tire because that there is not enough static ground clearance for someone to remove the spare tire/wheel from its factory location and clear the rear of the vehicle.

 

[Antonm]

To confirm for everyone reading this thread, your claim is that you HAVE to use a lift/jack to raise the rear of the Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/Escalade in order to remove the spare tire because that there is not enough static ground clearance for someone to remove the spare tire/wheel from its factory location and clear the rear of the vehicle.

Have to in every situation, no of course not..... On 2wd truck parked in a ditch on the side of the road,,, quite possibility.

And with the information known here (which is none really, because we don't even know if the dang car had air ride), it's impossible to determine,,,which is what I've been saying this whole time.

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[Polo08816]

Have to in every situation, no of course not..... On 2wd truck parked in a ditch on the side of the road,,, quite possibility.

And with the information known here (which is none really, because we don't even know if the dang car had air ride), it's impossible to determine,,,which is what I've been saying this whole time.

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It was on flat pavement. There would have been no need to jack up the rear to access the spare tire.


Information known (or allegedly known if you think I'm gas-lighting you and making this all up) so far:

- 2021+ Suburban High Country with MD plates
- male middle age driver
- stopped on flat / even pavement with hazard lights flashing near an off ramp of I-70 in Frederick County, MD
- entire front end/axle of the vehicle appear squatted to the ground in an even manner from driver side to passenger side of the front axle
- rear end of the vehicle appeared at normal ride height and even between driver side and passenger side
- none of the 4 tires/wheels on the vehicle appeared to be flat or otherwise damaged (the wheel/tires looked as if they were a factory configuration - not aftermarket)
- no visible collision damage to the front of the vehicle
- no parts appeared to be dragging below the vehicle in an unusual manner
- spare tire was removed from the factory mounting but resting on the ground / leaning against the rear bumper of the Suburban
- no vehicle jack used on any corner of the vehicle (yet)
- a second vehicle was also stopped behind the 2021+ Suburban High Country with its flashers on
- female driver of second vehicle's interactions with male driver of 2021+ Suburban High Country were very casual which appeared as if they were familiar with each other; it appeared as if this second vehicle was there to render assistance to the first vehicle

Here's what I think may have or likely happened:
1. Driver of 2021+ Suburban observes and experiences a malfunction or failure on I-70 W which caused the front end / axle of the vehicle to dip / squat.
2. Driver of 2021+ Suburban pulls off I-70 W thinking that he has a flat.
3. Driver of 2021+ Suburban removes spare tire from factory spare tire location in preparation of swapping a flat tire with the spare tire
4. Driver of 2021+ Suburban also observes that none of his front tires appear flat despite the front end of the vehicle being squatted to the ground evenly between the driver and passenger side.
5. Driver of 2021+ Suburban calls his wife/family member/friend to assist in case the vehicle needs to get towed and he needs a ride home because a spare tire is not going to remedy the situation.


At the end of the day, this is what I believe is likely to have happened because it is the most probable explanation/failure that matches the above symptoms/observations of a non-collision failure. I've never seen two front traditional coil springs fail at the exact same time that would leave the entire front end of the vehicle riding on bump stops in a non-collision situation.

Of course you can say, "Well, you can't be certain!" Sure, but you also need to offer a more convincing and more probable explanation for why the entire front end of a 2021+ Suburban High Country would be squatted to the ground without collision damage.

 

[Antonm]

It was on flat pavement. There would have been no need to jack up the rear to access the spare tire.


Information known (or allegedly known if you think I'm gas-lighting you and making this all up) so far:

- 2021+ Suburban High Country with MD plates
- male middle age driver
- stopped on flat / even pavement with hazard lights flashing near an off ramp of I-70 in Frederick County, MD
- entire front end/axle of the vehicle appear squatted to the ground in an even manner from driver side to passenger side of the front axle
- rear end of the vehicle appeared at normal ride height and even between driver side and passenger side
- none of the 4 tires/wheels on the vehicle appeared to be flat or otherwise damaged (the wheel/tires looked as if they were a factory configuration - not aftermarket)
- no visible collision damage to the front of the vehicle
- no parts appeared to be dragging below the vehicle in an unusual manner
- spare tire was removed from the factory mounting but resting on the ground / leaning against the rear bumper of the Suburban
- no vehicle jack used on any corner of the vehicle (yet)
- a second vehicle was also stopped behind the 2021+ Suburban High Country with its flashers on
- female driver of second vehicle's interactions with male driver of 2021+ Suburban High Country were very casual which appeared as if they were familiar with each other; it appeared as if this second vehicle was there to render assistance to the first vehicle

Here's what I think may have or likely happened:
1. Driver of 2021+ Suburban observes and experiences a malfunction or failure on I-70 W which caused the front end / axle of the vehicle to dip / squat.
2. Driver of 2021+ Suburban pulls off I-70 W thinking that he has a flat.
3. Driver of 2021+ Suburban removes spare tire from factory spare tire location in preparation of swapping a flat tire with the spare tire
4. Driver of 2021+ Suburban also observes that none of his front tires appear flat despite the front end of the vehicle being squatted to the ground evenly between the driver and passenger side.
5. Driver of 2021+ Suburban calls his wife/family member/friend to assist in case the vehicle needs to get towed and he needs a ride home because a spare tire is not going to remedy the situation.


At the end of the day, this is what I believe is likely to have happened because it is the most probable explanation/failure that matches the above symptoms/observations of a non-collision failure. I've never seen two front traditional coil springs fail at the exact same time that would leave the entire front end of the vehicle riding on bump stops in a non-collision situation.

Of course you can say, "Well, you can't be certain!" Sure, but you also need to offer a more convincing and more probable explanation for why the entire front end of a 2021+ Suburban High Country would be squatted to the ground without collision damage.

Now you're just lying and making up whatever details you think will support your half *** diagnosis of a vehicle that you don't even know had the system you say failed. You would've had to to have stopped and spent five minutes at the scene to gather all detail you say above.
You're a freaking joke and every time I read your crap I get dumber for having read it. Idiots like you are why so much wrong information exists on these type message board forums and the internet in general. You see something, have no idea what is actually going on, jump to some conclusion based off feelings , but then go put out "first hand accounts" of something.

And you what the really sad part is, I know that no amount of logic or reason will every dissuade you or those like you. It's like that movie where Luke Wilson was trying to explain the need to use water on the crops vice Brawndo.
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[Polo08816]

It was on flat pavement. There would have been no need to jack up the rear to access the spare tire.


Information known (or allegedly known if you think I'm gas-lighting you and making this all up) so far:

- 2021+ Suburban High Country with MD plates
- male middle age driver
- stopped on flat / even pavement with hazard lights flashing near an off ramp of I-70 in Frederick County, MD
- entire front end/axle of the vehicle appear squatted to the ground in an even manner from driver side to passenger side of the front axle
- rear end of the vehicle appeared at normal ride height and even between driver side and passenger side
- none of the 4 tires/wheels on the vehicle appeared to be flat or otherwise damaged (the wheel/tires looked as if they were a factory configuration - not aftermarket)
- no visible collision damage to the front of the vehicle
- no parts appeared to be dragging below the vehicle in an unusual manner
- spare tire was removed from the factory mounting but resting on the ground / leaning against the rear bumper of the Suburban
- no vehicle jack used on any corner of the vehicle (yet)
- a second vehicle was also stopped behind the 2021+ Suburban High Country with its flashers on
- female driver of second vehicle's interactions with male driver of 2021+ Suburban High Country were very casual which appeared as if they were familiar with each other; it appeared as if this second vehicle was there to render assistance to the first vehicle

Here's what I think may have or likely happened:
1. Driver of 2021+ Suburban observes and experiences a malfunction or failure on I-70 W which caused the front end / axle of the vehicle to dip / squat.
2. Driver of 2021+ Suburban pulls off I-70 W thinking that he has a flat.
3. Driver of 2021+ Suburban removes spare tire from factory spare tire location in preparation of swapping a flat tire with the spare tire
4. Driver of 2021+ Suburban also observes that none of his front tires appear flat despite the front end of the vehicle being squatted to the ground evenly between the driver and passenger side.
5. Driver of 2021+ Suburban calls his wife/family member/friend to assist in case the vehicle needs to get towed and he needs a ride home because a spare tire is not going to remedy the situation.


At the end of the day, this is what I believe is likely to have happened because it is the most probable explanation/failure that matches the above symptoms/observations of a non-collision failure. I've never seen two front traditional coil springs fail at the exact same time that would leave the entire front end of the vehicle riding on bump stops in a non-collision situation.

Of course you can say, "Well, you can't be certain!" Sure, but you also need to offer a more convincing and more probable explanation for why the entire front end of a 2021+ Suburban High Country would be squatted to the ground without collision damage.

Now you're just lying and making up whatever details you think will support your half *** diagnosis of a vehicle that you don't even know had the system you say failed. You would've had to to have stopped and spent five minutes at the scene to gather all detail you say above.
You're a freaking joke and every time I read your crap I get dumber for having read it. Idiots like you are why so much wrong information exists on these type message board forums and the internet in general. You see something, have no idea what is actually going on, jump to some conclusion based of feelings , but then go put out "first hand accounts" of something.

And you what the really sad part is, I know that no amount of logic or reason will every dissuade you or those like you. It's like that movie where Luke Wilson was trying to explain the need to use water on the crops vice Brawndo.
...

Okay, let's just say for argument sake that I wasn't lying and I'm not making stuff up, what is your proposed more likely alternative mechanical failure? I mean if I'm an idiot and you're not, you should be able to provide an answer that is more plausible than what I supposed happened.

 

[Antonm]

Okay, let's just say for argument sake that I wasn't lying and I'm not making stuff up, what is your proposed more likely alternative mechanical failure? I mean if I'm an idiot and you're not, you should be able to provide an answer that is more plausible than what I supposed happened.

Neither of us have enough information to have a plausible guess,,,that's the whole freaking point. We don't even know what suspension system the vehicle in question has.

Perhaps I'm being to much of an azzhole, because at the end of the day it simply doesn't really matter to me. And arguing on the internet is like running is the special Olympics,, ,even if you win, you're still retar----special.
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[Polo08816]

Neither of us have enough information to have a plausible guess,,,that's the whole freaking point. We don't even know what suspension system the vehicle in question has.

Perhaps I'm being to much of an azzhole, because at the end of the day it simply doesn't really matter to me. And arguing on the internet is like running is the special Olympics,, ,even if you win, you're still retar----special.
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Better question: has any auto manufacturer been able to make an Air Ride suspension that was more reliable than its traditional coil spring/strut/shock setup?

 

[Antonm]

Most 18 wheelers/ class 8 trucks out there have air suspension on them, and they go for literally millions of miles, so yeah, air suspension is a proven technology that's used literally everyday on vehicles that if they don't work, cost the companies money.

Down time and cost of repairs are metrics any decent trucking company tracks, if that data showed a certain technology cost more in repairs or caused more equipment downtime, they sure as heck wouldn't use it because they only care about money, not driver comfort.
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[Joseph Garcia]

It's interesting to read air-ride comments. I only have magnetic on my 2021 Yukon Denali and it's 'fine' but my 2004 Cadillac SRX (bought new and still drive it) has auto air-leveling and is now 20yrs old and has always 'just worked' - it's never been fixed or replaced. Cool to load it up at Home Depot and see it sag but then level right up as soon as the car is started.

You've had phenomenal luck with your OEM active suspension still intact after 20 years. I hope that you did not just jinx yourself.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Or,,, if the flat is on the front, once you have the spare tire out,,,lower the jack, and move it to the front.

Did you ride the short bus to school maybe, these aren't hard concepts or advanced logic we're talking here, pretty simple stuff that you don't seem to be grasping.
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So, now we are making 'short bus' digs at fellow members, huh? I've had about enough of this Facebook-type shit now.

I have a son who who rode a short bus, and I find your comments totally despicable. I have quite thick skin, but when you tread on making fun of folks who have disabilities or anyone in my family, direct or indirect, my skin becomes quite thin.

This Forum is made up of mature adults, who don't judge 'why' a member posts an observation or comment. We can, and do, respectfully disagree with each other when we feel that we should/need to, but we do it in a respectful and professional manner. We do not reduce ourselves to childish gibberish and insulting comments in this Forum. That is what Facebook and X are for, and I suggest the you give them a try.

@Fless , @soulsea