2016 Tahoe Rough Ride

[rockerking]

I have a 2016 Tahoe with the LTZ package which includes the magnetic ride control and the automatic level control. The truck has just over 46,000 miles most of which were highway miles on vacations. Since the last time I drove it a couple of weeks ago with seven passengers it rides like a lumber wagon. The truck has the same rake to it as my 1970 Z28 did years ago when I had air shocks on it pumped to 90 PSI. There are no service messages coming through on the dash but I am sure that the shocks did not come back to normal after the last trip full of passengers. Should I be looking at the automatic level control or is this a problem with the magnetic ride control?

 

[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.

Do you have a bi-directional scanner for your truck? If you, you should be able to see if the suspension control module is correctly interacting with the shocks, or if it is somehow locked into the stiff setting for the Magnaride.

 

[dpollak81]

Hey Rockerking, I think the stiffer ride is characteristic of the magrides, although I have heard that there is a softward update that seems to smooth things out on the 2015-2016 models. Might reach out to your dealer and/or do a search on the TSB number and start with that update.

Also check your front struts for any seepage or fluid dribbling down the sides. 46k miles would be on the earlier side for failure but age wise they could be starting to give up...

 

[rockerking]

Turned out is was the magna ride, I took it back to the dealer under the extended warranty contract I had purchased six years ago and they paid out $2700 for the repair which included a leaky oil cooler line along with replacing both front shocks. I hit the jackpot on this one as I paid $1600 for the contract, just goes to show that sometimes the little guy wins. I had no idea that owning a LTZ model included this hi-tech suspension, I knew that there was an air compressor that adjusted the shocks in the back when carrying a full load but had no idea of the front suspension.

 

[Tahoe14]

Glad you got it taken care of under warranty. It would have been nice if they had replaced the rears also. Keep an eye on them as they may go out as well.

 

[dpollak81]

Yeah I kind of regret not buying a warranty on our 15 Denali… we’ve put almost $3k into it in the last year with shocks/struts, AC and transmission.