URGENT FEEDBACK NEEDED - Extremely Stiff Ride (vibration) on 2017 Denali XL

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Jeremyf0923

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Hey everyone - have scoured the forum and have seen a number of posts that seem to be about an issue similar to mine, but at this point not sure so starting my own thread for feedback.

I have a 2017 Denali XL. Bought it in December 2016. Loved everything about it for first 6,000 miles then things started going south. Everything has been fixed by the dealership except for one thing, which is the absolute most annoying. So for the first 6,000 miles it drove flawlessly - in fact I would always tell my friends/family that for a truck this size it was amazing how it felt like it just floated on the highway - such a smooth ride. Then the ride began getting rough. When I say rough I mean we begun to feel every little bump in the road, even on newly paved perfectly smooth highway I can feel even the slightest road imperfection. Comparatively, I have a Mercedes AMG C63S - and it drives smoother on the highway in Sports+ mode than my Yukon! Obviously there is something wrong with my truck!

That said, I took it into dealership. They rotated and balanced the tires and sent me on my way. Made the mistake of not taking it for a test drive before leaving. The rotate and balance made the condition worse. So brought it back in and they road force balanced it. Seemed to make the vibration a little less for first week or so and then it came back (in fact the improvement may have just been in my head). So brought it back yet again this past week. The Lead service technician drove with me this time and said he could feel it immediately. He said the vibration was caused by the magnetic ride control suspension and there was likely nothing they could do about it, but would speak to a GM engineer to assess any potential fixes. I asked why it drove so well the first 6,000 miles and all he could say is that the magnetic ride control suspensions seem to firm up over time and this is typical on trucks with this option. Had I known this was "typical" I would have NEVER bought a truck with this option. And what infuriates me is that it drove perfectly as I said for the first 6,000 or so miles.

Anyway, the GM engineer has no fix so I am picking it up tomorrow with the same damn issue! This is an $80K truck that obviously LACKS a drive/suspension mode option to change it from comfort to sport - and it seems to have a default suspension setting of SUPER sport. And I now have no option but to just grin and bear it until I get so fed up that I sell it. I am beyond frustrated and just can't imagine that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to correct this situation. I also know that I can't possibly be the only one out there with this problem so I am hoping that there are forum members that have experienced what I am going through and their service department found an answer.

Please let me know your thoughts - and many thanks in advance for any support/guidance that you can provide!

Jeremy
 

mizzouguy

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Someone on here told their story on their new truck with 22 inch wheels (i could be wrong on the size) and the tires would lip on the rim, throwing the balance off immediately. Have them mark the tire and wheel with chalk and go drive it to see if they slip....suggestion.
 

NathanJax

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Sounds like you need to take it back 2 more times and then use the lemon law...
 

CruiseGuy24

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I have a 2017 Denali XL bought in Oct 2016. Have about 11k miles. Over the last 2 weeks I have noticed some similar things that you describe. It seems to be getting slowly worse. I have not yet brought it to the dealer and have no suggestions for you. I actually came on here tonight to see if anyone else reported the same thing and had a solution.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

JWBGMC

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Hey everyone - have scoured the forum and have seen a number of posts that seem to be about an issue similar to mine, but at this point not sure so starting my own thread for feedback.

I have a 2017 Denali XL. Bought it in December 2016. Loved everything about it for first 6,000 miles then things started going south. Everything has been fixed by the dealership except for one thing, which is the absolute most annoying. So for the first 6,000 miles it drove flawlessly - in fact I would always tell my friends/family that for a truck this size it was amazing how it felt like it just floated on the highway - such a smooth ride. Then the ride began getting rough. When I say rough I mean we begun to feel every little bump in the road, even on newly paved perfectly smooth highway I can feel even the slightest road imperfection. Comparatively, I have a Mercedes AMG C63S - and it drives smoother on the highway in Sports+ mode than my Yukon! Obviously there is something wrong with my truck!

That said, I took it into dealership. They rotated and balanced the tires and sent me on my way. Made the mistake of not taking it for a test drive before leaving. The rotate and balance made the condition worse. So brought it back in and they road force balanced it. Seemed to make the vibration a little less for first week or so and then it came back (in fact the improvement may have just been in my head). So brought it back yet again this past week. The Lead service technician drove with me this time and said he could feel it immediately. He said the vibration was caused by the magnetic ride control suspension and there was likely nothing they could do about it, but would speak to a GM engineer to assess any potential fixes. I asked why it drove so well the first 6,000 miles and all he could say is that the magnetic ride control suspensions seem to firm up over time and this is typical on trucks with this option. Had I known this was "typical" I would have NEVER bought a truck with this option. And what infuriates me is that it drove perfectly as I said for the first 6,000 or so miles.

Anyway, the GM engineer has no fix so I am picking it up tomorrow with the same damn issue! This is an $80K truck that obviously LACKS a drive/suspension mode option to change it from comfort to sport - and it seems to have a default suspension setting of SUPER sport. And I now have no option but to just grin and bear it until I get so fed up that I sell it. I am beyond frustrated and just can't imagine that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to correct this situation. I also know that I can't possibly be the only one out there with this problem so I am hoping that there are forum members that have experienced what I am going through and their service department found an answer.

Please let me know your thoughts - and many thanks in advance for any support/guidance that you can provide!

Jeremy
I replaced my 2015 Escalade with a 2017 GMC Yukon Denali that now has 18,000 miles. I also find that it has a stiff ride. But I just live with it. I also hear noise in the left-front suspension. Dealership fixed that but the noise has come back. Also, air-conditioned passenger seat constantly rattles. Dealership acknowledges it but cannot repair it. Might be why 2018 Yukons have only ventilated front seats rather than cooled front seats. The passenger seat never vibrates if a passenger is in it.
 

Blueinterceptor

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I replaced my 2015 Escalade with a 2017 GMC Yukon Denali that now has 18,000 miles. I also find that it has a stiff ride. But I just live with it. I also hear noise in the left-front suspension. Dealership fixed that but the noise has come back. Also, air-conditioned passenger seat constantly rattles. Dealership acknowledges it but cannot repair it. Might be why 2018 Yukons have only ventilated front seats rather than cooled front seats. The passenger seat never vibrates if a passenger is in it.


Seats are held in place by 4 bolts. I would imagine you could put a couple of o rings in there and tighten things up

Ask them to try to tighten up the nut that holds the shock in place
 

gary645

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Regarding noise that seems to be coming from left front suspension. TSB PIT5477A addresses this issue - then need to replace the "jounce bumpers." Had mine replaced and the noise is gone.
 

Blueinterceptor

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One other thing the rough ride...
Do you have the max trailer omg package? If so. Considerable stiffness comes from that. I don't know if they can turn off the load leveling air bags in the back
 

gat0r

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speaking of auto ride, others have posted about issues w/ the ride height sensor link for the auto ride causing issues w/ harshness. might be something to check
 

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