Rear Compressor Runs Excessively 2018 Yukon XL Denali

[Firehoser_1]

I am currently dealing with the same problem with our 2018 Yukon XL 28k miles. The dealership can't find and issue but also states that the compressor is running too much. i.e. 10 different times for approx 1 minute 30 seconds over a 20 minute period, while in stop and go traffic. The dealership has determined there is no leak in the system. There are no codes thrown and therefore will not fix the excessive running of the compressor. Their solution was to allow the compressor to fail and then warranty it. Have you had a solution to the compressor issue?

[18TahoeMan]

Did anybody find a permanent fix for this problem? I have a 2018 Tahoe and it has randomly done the same thing, with or without a trailer attached. The compressor runs endlessly when I have the trailer on, and randomly without a trailer. I've been to two different Chevy dealerships and they dont find a problem, of course the compressor wont run when I'm there. I suspect there is a decent leak in the air system, causing the compressor to run as needed to keep the pressure up. I just came home today (3/27/20) from having it checked out by the dealership who did not find anything wrong.

[mfranklin0607]

Brian, 

Did you ever get any resolution out of this? I'm currently dealing with the dealership as well with my 2018 Suburban. They keep telling me that it's normal. I'm sorry but if my car is sitting still and no weight has shifted then please tell me why the compressor is coming on. Not only that, we will be driving down the road and it will continuously come on. I even have a video that showed it coming on 2 times within 1 minute and 46 seconds of the previous time. I honestly have probably about 20+ videos of it doing it. But they say it's normal. I hope you got your issue fixed. These vehicles aren't cheap by any means especially when you buy them brand new. 

[BigWeakSauce]

The air ride systems are self regulating, when a pressure sensor reads low pressure the compressor will kick on until the threshold is reached.  If it keeps kicking on, you almost certainly have a leak somewhere... The compressor is normally located just behind the rear driver side wheel, if the sound is coming from anywhere else, that is likely the location of your issue.  As the compressor begins to fail it will get louder and it will sound like it's struggling to keep up, it may not kick on at all once it's failed, at that point you should notice significant ride quality issues.  They aren't designed to draw voltage for long periods of time so a small leak can damage the compressor quickly, which is why out of nowhere your compressor might be so loud.

A dealer or repair shop with the diagnostic reading system (call and ask) can actually see exactly where the leak is on the computer.  Through the software they can manually turn the compressor on and see exactly what sensor or component is failing.  The software shows pressure readings and you can deduce from that data where your leak is.  A lot of dealers won't have the patience to trigger the compressor and wait to see what leaks, especially if the leak takes several minutes to show up, they may simply see everything filled correctly and move on.  I don't know how to do it but there is a way to put a gauge on your shocks to manually read pressure, that may help if your leak is really slow.  And just FYI the system will show what component is as at fault but not necessarily why.  So if you pay to replace a sensor that goes bad again quickly, the true problem is likely in the wiring.  The harnesses on these vehicles have a tendency to rub through and damage the wires after high miles.  And if you replace the compressor and it goes bad again quickly it's probably a leak wearing it out or a wiring issue supplying incorrect voltage.

Normally the dealer charges like $100-150 to diagnose for you, credited toward the cost of repair, look it up on youtube and you can see what they see on the screen and how easy it is to see where the problem is.

It's very frustrating to put your vehicle in the shop only to get it back without a good solution, I hope this helps someone!

[page1]

My '15 Yukon started doing this 3 months ago...  turned out one of my rear Magride shocks was leaking...  replaced both shocks and it resolved the issue.  (note i have 110K miles on my '15, i would hope '18 shocks would not be leaking yet)

[Keith Berry]

I’m having a similar issue with my 2018 Yukon XL Denali. However, I seems like it’s related to the AC/heat because when it starts I can kill the rear fan and it goes away.  Sounds just like in the video though. 
 

anyone been able to figure it out? 

[DarkHelmet]

Digging up an old thread.  My 2016 Yukon Denali with only 39,000 miles is having the same issue, and I also noticed the same thing as Keith Berry.  It *seems* like the sound stops/goes away whenever I shut off the climate control.

 

Keith, or anyone else, have any idea on why it seems shutting climate control off would cause this?  I'd chalk it up to chance, but seems like I'm not the only one that noticed this.