Vehicle driving very stiff/hard ride after lower control arms replaced

Tiny
BAKPAK5
  • MEMBER
  • 2011 GMC ACADIA
  • 2WD
  • 150,000 MILES
We had the lower control arms replaced by a local mechanic and now the vehicle drives very stiff like the shocks aren’t working. It’s an extremely hard ride. We took it back and they said nothing is wrong with it. Is this normal after control arm replacement?
Monday, February 18th, 2019 AT 9:30 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
JONNYB1963
  • MECHANIC
  • 252 POSTS
Well, after replacing something like that you can expect a firmer ride since the rubber parts used to attach the control arms tend to wear out over time giving you a soft ride. But I would not say that it should feel "extreme".
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Monday, February 18th, 2019 AT 10:32 AM
Tiny
BAKPAK5
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
We made them drive it again. Now they are saying the shocks and struts are shot. We had no driving issues before we took it in. It went in for a check engine light. Why would we not have any driving issues before but now we do after the control arm replacement? And shouldn’t they have know the shocks and struts were shot?
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Monday, February 18th, 2019 AT 11:30 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,513 POSTS
So what sometimes happens is if the struts are close to going out when they are fully extended for a period of time they can "lock". This cannot be avoided when the job is done and there is no way to tell when they are out. Just one of those things, no one is to blame. Here is what needs to be done to fix the car. Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.
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Thursday, February 21st, 2019 AT 10:52 AM

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