Rear suspension feels very stiff out of a sudden
 

Happy New Year everyone !

I have not been driving the Camaro for the last 2 months and I took it out again. I have been driving an SUV with slightly softer suspension, but I found the transition back to the Camaro to be a bit "rocky". The rear shocks feel very firm compared to before. Every single crack in the road feels very rough on the rear axle, the front is smoother. Going over bumps, the front goes over smoothly, the back goes over with a little thud and it feels uncomfortable; noticeably harder than when I drove the car a few months ago. I can't figure out what is going on and why it stiffened up this much. To me what I feel has changed is the amount of "travel" in the suspension, it feels somehow limited and firm on the rear.

I am using the same 18" winter tires that I have used for the last 3 years and the 18" winter combo was comfier than the 20" summer set.... it doesn't feel like that now.
I have tested in Tour/Sport/Track and it stiffens up even more in Track so the Magnetic Ride control is still working. Also the tire pressure is 33 psi all around so I don't think it can be the tires.

Does anyone have any explanation on why the suspension feels so stiff on the rear ?

Make sure the little arms on the position sensors are not damaged...You wouldn't get an error code but it will not work properly.

I took the car to a mechanic for a quick look up on a jack and sadly both rear shocks have lost fluid, that's why it feels so hard.
I only have 71,000 KM / 44,000 miles with the car and the rear shocks are gone. More strangely, the fluid leaked while the car was literally parked in the garage. I am shaking my head in disbelief....

I am out of bumper to bumper warranty, only have the powertrain warranty remaining. Is it normal for the shocks to go out this early and do I have any chance of having them replaced under some sort of warranty?

Likely a function of cooler temperatures. Most any oil will become more viscous as the ambient temperatures drop. Have you noticed whether it softens up some after driving a few miles?

If your SUV driving only started this year, you've perhaps become a bit too accustomed to its ride characteristics and are feeling the difference more than you would have just swapping from summer to winter tires.


Norm

My front MRC struts needed replacing at about 150K miles - they were getting clunky. The rears went to shit at about 180K.. ,car is solid as a rock at the back - zero bounce. They will get5 replaced and the springs also - might as well while they are there.

Wow, you have a LOT of KM / Miles on your car :eyebulge:. What kind of reliability issues have you had so far?

Not really anything unexpected.

Struts .. lol.

It did start using up too much oil in the last few months - so had the motor pulled and some new parts put in. She is fun again with the added hp

Serpentine belt sometime last summer -about 250K KM area.

I envy you. I just took my 2SS into the dealership for an oil change and state inspection this morning, and got a call around noon that the rear MRC struts were leaking and failed inspection, needing to be replaced. 24k miles, 4 years old, and has lived a pretty easy life. :mad0260:

180k!!! What year is your car?:twitch: SS or 1LE?

I noticed my SS riding hard 2 weeks ago. Had it looked at last week and have a bad rear shock. Waiting for shocks to come in. Magniride setup. Will cost me $1650 to replace the pair. Have 50k miles on it. 6 speed manual. The car has been 50k miles of pure bad ass gear banging fun so I cant complain too much. Not sure who the supplier is for Chevy's shocks but Chevy should demand better long term dependabiity.

What did the charge you for replacement?

my buddy lowered his ss 1le and he had the same issue and even had the suspension light pop on also

Check Amazon for OEM shocks, I found the MRC shocks far cheaper than anywhere else they were original, so far so good with them.