Cadillac Escalade amends its bad ride manners

Our main complaint after testing the Cadillac Escalade was that it suffered from a harsh, uncomfortable ride. That’s undesirable in any vehicle, let alone a luxury model that costs nearly $90,000.

Clearly, we weren’t alone. Customers who bought the vehicle complained as well, and as a result, GM came up with a remedy in the form of a technical service bulletin. This customer service campaign covers not only the Escalade but also the Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ and Suburban LTZ, and GMC Yukon Denali. These are all the versions of these large SUVs that are equipped with magnetic ride control. Identified as TSB #PIT5429, the campaign notice was issued to dealerships on June 1, 2015.

Here’s what it entails: Service centers are equipped to replace the front springs and shock absorbers and the rear shock absorbers. Then the dealer will reprogram the suspension control module, which is part of the magnetic ride control system. The process should take 3.5 hours.

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Our Escalade went through this process, and the ride indeed improved some, but it’s not a dramatic change. Where the harshness could reach an offensive level before, it now makes the ride merely tolerable. Instead of imperfect pavement striking through with frequent jarring impacts, now the SUV just feels stiff and a bit unsettled. But even with the improvement, the ride still doesn’t meet expectations for the class.

That exact change took place in production as off February 9^th. So any one of these models found on dealers’ lot are likely to have this improvement built in, but check the production date on the label affixed to the door jamb to be sure.

Our Suburban LTZ didn’t garner the same complaints due to its 20-inch tires as opposed to the 22-inch tires the Escalade is shod with. Those supersized wheels might look good on the Escalade, but they leave just a narrow band of rubber between the pavement and the rim, which definitely doesn’t do the ride any favors.

We appreciate the running change to improve comfort, but for the amount of work this fix entails, the benefits are modest.

—Gabe Shenhar

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