03 Escalade "Service Ride Control" - could this cause it?
 

(NOTE TO MODS: I realize this is probably a post best-suited for the Suspension forum, but I'm not sure about everything so I thought this to be the best bet in terms of seeing & responding by more people. So, my bad if I screwed up.)

Hey all! New to posting but have lurked quite a bit in the past. You guys are tremendously intelligent and helpful so I thought I'd give asking you guys a shot to maybe pinpoint what my problem is. To be clear - I plan on taking it to a mechanic for repair and such, but I want to minimize my cost for "diagnosis", so to speak.

-2003 Cadillac Escalade (SUV), AWD 6.0, ~138K (bought new) with no other real issues other than what's in my post. Also, I'm one of the folks whose vehicle was eligible for the Instrument Panel defect recall/repair, but did not or have not dealt with that (yet).

PROBLEM:
Just the other day, my Service Ride Control light popped up. Occasionally various messages have popped up here and there (check engine oil, low coolant etc.) when they actually probably shouldn't have. I'd check them and have to do very little or no repair/work at all and they'd go away after the engine was turned off. So, at first I dismissed the SRC as this kind of thing because I didn't hear/feel/see anything else with my car that was out of the ordinary, at least with what I thought "Ride Control" meant. But, it's sticking around it looks like.

I looked it up in the manual and realized it was a suspension-related issue (I think) and also discovered some of the various things (may or may not be accurate) that can trigger that light--like water damage, shocks, recently been on a lift, airbag, etc. Also, a trip to Autozone or the like will let me at least fetch the code - which I plan to do before taking to be serviced.

Anyways, these might help you guys assist me in pinpointing what caused the service message:

RELEVANT FACTS
(1)Moved to bitterly-cold Michigan at the end of August from Kentucky (thought cold climate might possibly affect this?)

(2)Had a flat, put my spare on, then a couple days later did a tire-service @ Wal-Mart ~1wk before Christmas (tires bought from them and I have Road Hazard Insurance), drove about 1400+ miles home & back for the holiday. Wal-Mart guys made no mention of any problems, issues, or concerns they encountered so I assume everything was normal @ that time, or at least they weren't paying attention.

(3)Have never wrecked or incurred any kind of damage that would affect suspension, IMO. So, the airbags have never been deployed.

(4)Only relevant replacement part I've had to get was the transmission-- rebuilt at about 98k miles or thereabouts. If I recall, 4th or 5th (maybe both) gear was stripped out.

(5)As mentioned, my instrument panel falls within the category for possible recall/defect from a few years ago. It hadn't caused me any problems, but recently when we had our first really cold temperature up here (~early Nov maybe) I got in my car one morning and the speedometer needle sort of "sticks" and read about 5-10mph slower than what it should. From what I can tell, this problem persists today.

(5)Except for below, no noises, leaks, or any other damage from the naked eye. Everything is acting the way it always has, unless there's something getting past me that I should be recognizing.

(6)I do think I might have some kind of radiator problem because I have had to constantly (every 1-1.5mo sometimes sooner) refill the engine coolant tank. FWIW, I have always used the kind that the manual instructs--DEXCOOL. I've had to do this for about a year or so, but it hasn't really caused me any problems other than having to burn about $10 each time I have to do it. I know I should have had this taken care of a long time ago and I honestly have had every intention to.. but each time I plan to do it something ALWAYS keeps me from being able to take it to be serviced. It never fails.. so I put coolant in it each time and I'd just forget or keep putting it off.


Sorry for the breadth of this post.. but I wanted to be as articulate and precise as I could and provide everything I could think of that might be relevant If I left anything out or if you have any other questions/clarifications just let me know.

I plan on getting the error-code from Autozone over the weekend, so as soon as I get that I'll relay it onto you guys. But for now, any feedback based off of this would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Before actually repairing it, I'm trying to avoid paying for a "diagnosis" of what's wrong on top of the repair/parts.

So, thanks in advance!!!

Bump.. any help? anyone?