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

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?

3 Replies

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

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

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,367 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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