[ShamrockZL1]

Hi I have a 2022 ZL1 1LE. I noticed a clunking noise from the front left side of the car. The garage diagnosed that the shock absorber had fsiled. They only ordered one shock absorber for that side. My car has 11,000 km on it. Is it GM protocol to switch both shock absorbers when one fails? If both must be replaced is their an official GM document stating that?

[GXP08jrf]

Only the failed part would be replaced under warranty. There is nothing that I'm aware of or that I've ever seen that indicates that shocks should be or will be replaced in pairs under warranty.

In much the same way, they wouldn't replace a pair of wheel hubs, window motors, headlights, rearview mirrors, brake calipers, seat covers etc, if only one failed...

[ShamrockZL1]

Thank you for the reply. My question is, if I drive the car the way it was meant to be driven on the track and on twisty roads will it be okay to drive with a semi-old shock and a brand new shock?

[Msquared]

For a car that is old or has a lot of miles, it wouldn't be good to replace just one damaged shock because it's like that the other side's shock has wear and the damping rates have changed at least a little. This is why it is typically recommended to replace them in at least pairs (if not all four). However, in the case of car that is just two years old and only has 11k km on it, I wouldn't worry about it. The non-defective shock on the other side should still be working pretty much as new.

[GXP08jrf]

Originally Posted by ShamrockZL1

Thank you for the reply. My question is, if I drive the car the way it was meant to be driven on the track and on twisty roads will it be okay to drive with a semi-old shock and a brand new shock?

That's a little different perspective than your original post, and there are a lot of "ifs"...

With spirited driving on public roads and twisties, the difference in the new an slightly used whould be minimal and undetectable. It's more likely that the one you replaced under warranty had a manufacturing defect which was the root cause of failure versus being worn out from use. It happens.

If you're recreationally driving on the track, and you're questioning it, I bet you're going to "notice" a difference, but most likely it's going to be more of a mental thing than an actual physical difference. In this case, you're probably better off paying for the other side replacement so that you're not fixated on it for the next 80k miles. Replace it so that you concentrate on your line instead of mechanical feel.

If your track driving is competitive, and you're a professional driver, you may deterct real differences in performance, but you may already be considering upgraded components anyway...

Any way you slice it, warranty is not going to cover the "good" part until it fails.

[ShamrockZL1]

Great answers...I am not a professional driver and I wish I was more sensitive to the "feel" of the car. My greatest worry is the car being safe when driven to the extreme on mostly public twisties. I don't want to have any braking or steering issues because of the difference in shocks.

[CYN_CRVR]

Originally Posted by Msquared

For a car that is old or has a lot of miles, it wouldn't be good to replace just one damaged shock because it's like that the other side's shock has wear and the damping rates have changed at least a little. This is why it is typically recommended to replace them in at least pairs (if not all four). However, in the case of car that is just two years old and only has 11k km on it, I wouldn't worry about it. The non-defective shock on the other side should still be working pretty much as new.

+1