Very strange suspension problem
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: CA
Very strange suspension problem
Hi All - This is a very strange story, and the reason I'm posting here to see if anyone has insight. Apologies for the long story .. just trying to set the full picture here ...
I have a 2007 GX470, and I just put 4 brand new All Terrain tires last week (in anticipation for a solo 4x4 trip sometime soon in the future). 2 days later, we were off to a 5 day family camping trip to Lake Powell (1300 miles trip altogether). When we do these trips, i attach a SwayAway2 hitch at the back, which carries a good amount of weight, in addition to some heavy gear on the roof. At some point, I found myself in a situation where I had to go through very deep sands. Now, as a 4x4 guy, I was nothing but happy about it, but stressing my car in deep sands with all this weight on it didn't feel right -- but again, had to do it, so my beloved GX ate it like a king without complaining. At one point though, while trying to keep the speed steady, I hit a bump, felt it hard, but continued on.
After that, the whole way back, the car was super super bumpy on the freeway, and when I got home and took the hitch off, it got worse, to a point where it was almost undrivable. Thinking it was just an alignment issue, I took it to the mechanic, who said he didn't have time that day to fix, but it is for sure the shock suspension air sacks (either one of them or both). The next day we took it to another mechanic just to get another estimate .. this guy, tells my wife this: rear air bags, rear insulators, gas shocks, gas struts .. all bad!! $4000 dollars almost of a fix. My wife hears this, and turns right back to the first mechanic.
But here comes the twilight zone .. while driving from the second mechanic to the first, the car was driving completely smooth!!! The first mechanic couldn't believe his eyes either .. because he saw the car a day before and it was almost to the floor.
So I ask .. how the heck does a car go from almost undrivable to normal in a matter of minutes? No one touched it, except maybe the second mechanic putting it on the jack (I'm leaving out my curses to the guy that wanted to rob my wife .. what a jerk!!).
Could it be an electrical problem? Do these air sacks function electrically? I'm stumped and not sure what to do ...
Thanks.
I have a 2007 GX470, and I just put 4 brand new All Terrain tires last week (in anticipation for a solo 4x4 trip sometime soon in the future). 2 days later, we were off to a 5 day family camping trip to Lake Powell (1300 miles trip altogether). When we do these trips, i attach a SwayAway2 hitch at the back, which carries a good amount of weight, in addition to some heavy gear on the roof. At some point, I found myself in a situation where I had to go through very deep sands. Now, as a 4x4 guy, I was nothing but happy about it, but stressing my car in deep sands with all this weight on it didn't feel right -- but again, had to do it, so my beloved GX ate it like a king without complaining. At one point though, while trying to keep the speed steady, I hit a bump, felt it hard, but continued on.
After that, the whole way back, the car was super super bumpy on the freeway, and when I got home and took the hitch off, it got worse, to a point where it was almost undrivable. Thinking it was just an alignment issue, I took it to the mechanic, who said he didn't have time that day to fix, but it is for sure the shock suspension air sacks (either one of them or both). The next day we took it to another mechanic just to get another estimate .. this guy, tells my wife this: rear air bags, rear insulators, gas shocks, gas struts .. all bad!! $4000 dollars almost of a fix. My wife hears this, and turns right back to the first mechanic.
But here comes the twilight zone .. while driving from the second mechanic to the first, the car was driving completely smooth!!! The first mechanic couldn't believe his eyes either .. because he saw the car a day before and it was almost to the floor.
So I ask .. how the heck does a car go from almost undrivable to normal in a matter of minutes? No one touched it, except maybe the second mechanic putting it on the jack (I'm leaving out my curses to the guy that wanted to rob my wife .. what a jerk!!).
Could it be an electrical problem? Do these air sacks function electrically? I'm stumped and not sure what to do ...
Thanks.
Rookie
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 47
Likes: 17
From: CA
But here comes the twilight zone .. while driving from the second mechanic to the first, the car was driving completely smooth!!! The first mechanic couldn't believe his eyes either .. because he saw the car a day before and it was almost to the floor.
So I ask .. how the heck does a car go from almost undrivable to normal in a matter of minutes?Thanks.
So I ask .. how the heck does a car go from almost undrivable to normal in a matter of minutes?Thanks.
Rolled the dice, only had that replaced, and voila - all good. Was only a couple hundred dollars at the dealer vs a few thousand.
Do a search hear, there are a lot of threads on it.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 9
Likes: 2
From: Ohio
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