Rear trailing arm snapped on my two week old Yukon Denali. Pics and story

[JP Manor]

Wife was making a right turn at about 5 mph leaving her mothers house today and heard a loud noise from under the car and said the car started shaking and making noise. Was loud enough to wake up and upset our newborn daughter in the rear car seat. She pulled over because she thought she must have hit something, but looked around and saw only a flat tire so she pulled over and called me. I got to the scene soon after and noticed that the wheel was pushed all the way back into the fender and I knew something wasn't right.. I looked under the car and I couldn't believe my eyes... Had it towed on a flatbed to the dealer.. Dealer couldn't believe it either and said they've never seen anything like this but assured me they'll take care of it..

So weird.. What do you guys think could be the cause of this??

 

[iamdub]

What popped the tire? It's on the right side and she was making a right hand turn- could she have hit a curb or something? I'd think that something to rip out the end of the arm would have required a hard enough hit that there would be damage to the wheel, but maybe if it was a direct head-on hit to the wheel?

 

[JP Manor]

My first thought was that she he hit a curb, but quickly realized there are no curbs in this neighborhood.. I'm thinking maybe the sharp part of the arm that broke off punctured the tire, but I'll know more in the morning when I go back to the dealer to take a closer look.

 

[massivespl]

Looks like a hole in the sidewall on the second letter E in the word dueler on the tire.

 

[JP Manor]

Ah. I see that now. Very strange. Assuming the tire was flat when she drove off, how could that damage to the arm occur at low speed a block away?

 

[Yukon John]

I'm guessing she hit a pothole or something in the road hard enough to puncture the tire but not damage the rim. Admittedly...it had to be a unique group of circumstanced to rip the trailing arm from the axle. These vehicle go through a tremendous amount of dynamic testing to expose any weakness in design. Perhaps there is defective metallurgy at fault here at the trailing arm/axle connection. This is a strange case for sure!!

I suggest you have a GM Zone rep look at this and push to get the entire rear axle assembly replaced. From the way the photos show it, the entire rear axle assembly is twisted out of alignment and the trailing arm/axle connection on the left side may have been compromised as well.

Good luck with this...let us know how this turns out.

 

[benski]

Strange indeed. Maybe a defective from the factory part? By all means, have everything back there looked at VERY carefully or replaced outright. If this had happened at 50 mph, your outcome may have been much worse.

 

[JP Manor]

Went and saw the service manager this morning.. He basically said, "The big boss needs to take a look at this one, We'll keep you updated"

Really hoping this doesn't turn into a debacle but I'm confident GM will resolve this properly. Will keep you updated.

 

[JP Manor]

Just got a call from service... Told me that they have determined that the damage is not a "GM warranty issue" and to contact my insurance company...

And here we go!

 

[massivespl]

Just got a call from service... Told me that they have determined that the damage is not a "GM warranty issue" and to contact my insurance company...

And here we go!

If it's just a tire and trailing arm no need for insurance. Just fix it yourself for like $300

And from that second picture it looks like the tire on the inner edge has some cupping/chopping going on... That trailing arm was prly broke for awhile or something ain't right cuz that tire should look cupped... It could be just the picture or because it's flat though

 

[NeverSatisfied]

samething happened to my fathers 07 escalade, didn't puncture a tire or anything because it was still together at the top of the arm just the bottom of it broke. Don't know how or why it happened but just bought a new one replaced it and was good to go

 

[smccollamjr]

Just got a call from service... Told me that they have determined that the damage is not a "GM warranty issue" and to contact my insurance company...

And here we go!

I'd talk to the "big boss" myself, then work your way up from there. A pothole can puncture a tire, but it shouldn't break that arm. They are lazy and don't want to deal with warranty paperwork. I don't think dealers make much on warranty work either.

 

[Yukon John]

Just got a call from service... Told me that they have determined that the damage is not a "GM warranty issue" and to contact my insurance company...

And here we go!

Don't know where you are but every region of the country has a "GM Zone Office". Call GM customer service and explain to them what happened and ask for an escalation from dealer service to "Zone".

Have you had a chance to look at this yet on a lift? You might see an impact point from previous damage....in any case consider calling your Insurance Carrier and making a claim. They have trained adjusters that can spot things that most people can't.

Also think about this possibility...has ANYONE besides you or your wife driven this vehicle ? A valet...relative or friend ?

There is a cause and effect for everything that happens ...something about this doesn't pass the "Smell Test". Dig deeper and good luck!

 

[#1taho]

When I was 18 I worked in a wrecking yard. We had yard vehicles and drove the crap out of them. Nothing like that ever happened. And most of these vehicles were rusted and at the end of there life.
Yours still has the paint on the trailing arm. I would be digging deeper.

 

[JP Manor]

Don't know where you are but every region of the country has a "GM Zone Office". Call GM customer service and explain to them what happened and ask for an escalation from dealer service to "Zone".

Have you had a chance to look at this yet on a lift? You might see an impact point from previous damage....in any case consider calling your Insurance Carrier and making a claim. They have trained adjusters that can spot things that most people can't.

Also think about this possibility...has ANYONE besides you or your wife driven this vehicle ? A valet...relative or friend ?

There is a cause and effect for everything that happens ...something about this doesn't pass the "Smell Test". Dig deeper and good luck!

I took a buddy of mine who is a very experienced professional mechanic to the dealer yesterday to see the truck... He thought it was very strange that the arm would break off like that, even from a curb hit or pothole. We spoke to the manager in detail and he was unfortunately not a lot of help. I agree with you 100% about the adjuster. I filed and claim and they're going to check it out next week.

At the end of the day I'm going to use this opportunity to install a leveling kit and either larger tires, or I may ditch the 22's all together at go down to 20's.

 

[08HoeCD]

Sorry to see this happen, as your wife must have been freaked out at the time.

Not so sure there's much more to this in terms of cause other than just being a one-in-a-million case of component failure. It is definitely concerning, but it just may be one of those weird cases that can't be explained other than replacing the component, which I'm hopeful that GM will do without any undue hassle.

Good luck!

 

[08HoeCD]

At the end of the day I'm going to use this opportunity to install a leveling kit and either larger tires, or I may ditch the 22's all together at go down to 20's.

Smart man, especially when it comes to the idea about larger tires.

 

[gat0r]

thats odd for sure. glad no one was hurt

how many miles are on yuk? the tire wear seems a bit much.

you'd think they would make that arm a little beefier/
maybe the supplier that made my rims, made your trailing arms. there is something more to that damage.
hopefully someone higher up in GM or yur insur will be able to determine.

 

[Yukon John]

In looking at pic number 2...there appears to be a curious scratch/gouge on the front of the axle. This might be a point of impact. Think about an object sticking out of the ground such as a steel pipe that would clear other parts of the vehicle during forward travel....yet impact the front of the rear axle.

I punched a hole in a differential carrier on a Ford pickup driving over a gate post that had been cut 12" above ground. I drove about a mile before the rear end started grinding itself to bits.

I stopped...got out and followed the trail of differential fluid back to the point of impact. I was amazed how freaky this was. You just might have something similar in your case.

 

[Shunto]

Best of luck man....