Shake or Vibration Issues

[hotrodz37]

Update on mine. 30 days in the shop, still no resolution.

 

Things theyve tried

 

Tires all rebalanced and road forced multiple times.

Swapped tires and rims with other trucks.

Driveshaft replaced with other truck on the lot.

New design driveshaft ordered and installed.

New Rear end assembly ordered and installed.

All motor and trans mounts checked and replaced.

Specialty tools were overnighted to check all driveline angles.

Now they are opening some valve in the exhaust manually and taking it for a test drive to see if it is getting stuck closed causing the vibration.

 

I want them to buy it back from me at this point. I dont want to drive a science experiment frankestein truck now even if they do fix it. I believe eventually they will find some way to minimize it and give it back to me claiming it is now within spec. Who knows what else the vibration has effected causing a premature failure down the road.

 

I want them to buy it back not replace it. I've been a loyal gmc fan and love everything else about the truck but dont want to risk another lemon.

 

Hopefully they find a fix soon and you can report on it and we can all get this solved! I went through buy back, and test drove my new truck for a week before I signed the papers. No vibration. Now the vibration has shown up. I was hopeful luck would be on my side and I wouldn't get two shaking trucks in a row, but it appears as though I wasn't as lucky as I had hoped.

 

It sucks because I think we have a very smart and competent group of owners here, including some (not all) of the GM technicians at our dealerships. We all seem to be mechanically inclined and this has been throwing us for a loop since the get go.

 

The issue is, who knows if the New "replacement" parts coming from GM are all out of spec as well since they messed up a few thousand trucks with faulty parts the first go round, whose to say that the few people that have had parts replaced didn't have them replaced with out of spec parts as well.

 

Wondering if anybody has gone to a driveline shop and had their driveshaft rebalanced instead of taking replacements from GM and hoping that they are properly balanced from the get go. Would just like to confirm that. If not this, maybe shocks and suspension components.

Edited May 7, 2014 by hotrodz37

[pm26]

If your shocks or struts are bad enough to cause vibration, you will normally see wheel hop because the shock or strut is unable to control the spring oscillations. I had this happen on a small car before (bought it used) and the sensation was the same as a badly balanced tire. I have seen a few vehicles on the road with a severe wheel hop case indicating bad shocks or struts. This is not likely to happen with a new truck though.

Edited May 7, 2014 by pm26

[pm26]

 

 

The issue is, who knows if the New "replacement" parts coming from GM are all out of spec as well since they messed up a few thousand trucks with faulty parts the first go round, whose to say that the few people that have had parts replaced didn't have them replaced with out of spec parts as well.

 

 

A very valid point and I experienced something similar, but not on a critical part. The vinyl on the driver's door panel on my Impala LTZ started separating and bubbling, and it was replaced under warranty. The new replacement panel started doing the same thing after several months. The third replacement panel is good and no issues for the last two years. Draw your own conclusions here.

Edited May 7, 2014 by pm26

[hotrodz37]

If your shocks or struts are bad enough to cause vibration, you will normally see wheel hop becuase the shock or strut is unable to control the spring oscillations. I had this happen on a small car before (bought it used) and the sensation was the same as a badly balanced tire. I have seen a few vehcile ont he road with a severed wheel hop case indicating bad shocks or struts. This is not likely to happen with a new truck though.

 

Yeah, I hear ya there! I know the 2014 rides a lot stiffer than my 2013 and my 2004. Just wondering if its transferring more road surface vibration into the frame instead of mitigating it, thus any road imperfection or slightly out of balance tire is multiplied and shooting into the frame and cab.

[Silverado 6.2]

 

Yeah, I hear ya there! I know the 2014 rides a lot stiffer than my 2013 and my 2004. Just wondering if its transferring more road surface vibration into the frame instead of mitigating it, thus any road imperfection or slightly out of balance tire is multiplied and shooting into the frame and cab.

I would say that if it really does ride stiffer then you past trucks then you may have a shock issue because I had an 04 z71, 08 z71, 2011 max trailering pack, and now a 14 max trailering pack and this 2014 rides so smooth and soft it makes all my old ones feel like a 1990s truck. My brother has a 2011 f150 crew lariat with may tow pack, mine even rides better then his and his is smooth and soft. I also have firestone destination AT tires on mine if that would make a difference.

[hotrodz37]

I would say that if it really does ride stiffer then you past trucks then you may have a shock issue because I had an 04 z71, 08 z71, 2011 max trailering pack, and now a 14 max trailering pack and this 2014 rides so smooth and soft it makes all my old ones feel like a 1990s truck. My brother has a 2011 f150 crew lariat with may tow pack, mine even rides better then his and his is smooth and soft. I also have firestone destination AT tires on mine if that would make a difference.

 

It rides better don't get me wrong, but the suspension is quite a bit stiffer IMO. I have the z60 suspension, not sure what the max tow has on yours but it might be the same. Others have mentioned it on here as well. It probably isn't the shocks causing the vibration, however it seems like everything has been tried, other than shocks, body mounts, and torque converter so just trying to narrow it down by checking one more thing off the list!

Edited May 7, 2014 by hotrodz37

[TxTruckMan]

I have to tell you, I'm reaching the boiling point here. I mean, how long has it been and there's no fix yet? Come on GM. It's to the point where I dont even want to drive my brand new truck. You would think this would have gone a few weeks at most and then GM would have a posted bulletin with a known fix to solve their customers problems. I'm about ready to trade out to a Ford at a loss, and if I do I'm never coming back to GM for the rest of my life. I've owned Chevy since highschool but clearly brand loyalty gets you nowhere. I'm very, very disappointed with GM right now.

Have you been reading this thread? There's no smoking gun to everybody's problems. Every truck is different. If you want your truck fixed, you need to leave it at the dealership and tell them you won't take it back until your specific complaint is fixed. Waiting for a TSB is not the answer. If the dealership can't fix it and GM agrees you have a problem, they'll switch out your truck.

[TxTruckMan]

There are so many variables here. GM is constantly oursourcing produciton of various parts to third world countries and who knows how good the quality control is. For example, who knows if all flywheels installed on these engines are properly balanced? A badly balanced flywheel will cause all kinds of vibration problems, send the dealer service department on a goose chase replacing all driveline parts downstream of the transmission, with no improvement.

 

This is why good workmanship and good quality control must be maintained at the part level, and also during assembly. Otherwise, getting a good truck is nothing but a crap shoot.

What does outsourcing have to do with quality control? Are you implying that only Americans (like the UAW) can build quality product? Where is your evidence of said outsourcing? Please post a list of all the foreign parts so that we know which parts are US made and which are foreign.

 

Thanks!

[Aboothlsu]

 

Hopefully they find a fix soon and you can report on it and we can all get this solved! I went through buy back, and test drove my new truck for a week before I signed the papers. No vibration. Now the vibration has shown up. I was hopeful luck would be on my side and I wouldn't get two shaking trucks in a row, but it appears as though I wasn't as lucky as I had hoped.

 

It sucks because I think we have a very smart and competent group of owners here, including some (not all) of the GM technicians at our dealerships. We all seem to be mechanically inclined and this has been throwing us for a loop since the get go.

 

The issue is, who knows if the New "replacement" parts coming from GM are all out of spec as well since they messed up a few thousand trucks with faulty parts the first go round, whose to say that the few people that have had parts replaced didn't have them replaced with out of spec parts as well.

 

Wondering if anybody has gone to a driveline shop and had their driveshaft rebalanced instead of taking replacements from GM and hoping that they are properly balanced from the get go. Would just like to confirm that. If not this, maybe shocks and suspension components.

 

At this point to be honest Im hoping they dont find it and they buy it back. I really dont want to swap it for another truck and go through all of this again in a few thousand miles. Or them finding a solution that temporaily reduces the vibration and Im back in there in a few weeks.

 

After they try experimenting with the exhuast Im afraid they are going to start tinkering in the transmission and torque converter. I'm tired of GM running experiments on my new truck.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Aboothlsu

[jcastyo]

I have been following this post for a while. When I can, I will see if there are any new updates. I just wanted to know if anyone with a single cab or double cab are having these issues. From the looks of it, it only seems the ones with crew cabs are have this shaking issue with our trucks.

 

I know there seems to be two distinct issues. A shake (think tires/wheels unbalanced) and a vibration (like the one that occurs during hard acceleration vibrating through the floor pan or something).

 

I am experiencing both issues at the moment and the one I really care to have fixed is the shaking issue, I just hate this bouncing around the truck does at certain speeds, more so at highway speeds because of long trips.

Edited May 7, 2014 by jcastyo

[Silverado-Hareek]

I have been following this post for a while. When I can, I will see if there are any new updates. I just wanted to know if anyone with a single cab or double cab are having these issues. From the looks of it, it only seems the ones with crew cabs are have this shaking issue with our trucks.

 

I know there seems to be two distinct issues. A shake (think tires/wheels unbalanced) and a vibration (like the one that occurs during hard acceleration vibrating through the floor pan or something).

 

It takes awhile but I read through all 90 pages. The problem is not limited to a specific body style, axle ratio, or bed length. It's a random issue across multiple versions of the truck. Maybe a specific type of vibration is specific to a certain body style/bed length but no one has been able to isolate that issue if that's the case.

[Aboothlsu]

has anyone had any luck with the lemon law. Here is part of it in my state.

 

Manufacturer's Responsibility

Under the Louisiana Lemon Law, the vehicle's manufacturer or the authorized dealer must either repair or replace the vehicle.

After the manufacturer or dealer has made 4 attempts to repair the vehicle, or the vehicle has been inoperable for 45 days due to repairs, the vehicle must be replaced or refunded. The problem must be resolved within 10 business days.

 

Im not sure if I already qaulify under this law, more than 4 attempts have been made but all during the same shop stay. So not sure if all of this counts as one attempt or multiple. Ive been waiting for that 45 day mark to demand a refund or replacement.

[jcastyo]

 

It takes awhile but I read through all 90 pages. The problem is not limited to a specific body style, axle ratio, or bed length. It's a random issue across multiple versions of the truck. Maybe a specific type of vibration is specific to a certain body style/bed length but no one has been able to isolate that issue if that's the case.

 

Thanks, yeah I need to catch up on some of these pages. Last time I remember was 70+ pages

Edited May 7, 2014 by jcastyo

[20SierraL8T24]

I'm taking mine to a drive line shop sometime soon and having them spin and balance the rear first and if that doesn't do it, the front is next. I'll keep all posted on the outcome.

[bowflygsp]

 

It takes awhile but I read through all 90 pages. The problem is not limited to a specific body style, axle ratio, or bed length. It's a random issue across multiple versions of the truck. Maybe a specific type of vibration is specific to a certain body style/bed length but no one has been able to isolate that issue if that's the case.

 

My truck that is in the shop right now is a 4WD, Z71, double cab, 6.5' bed, 3.42 rear end and has the 40-50mph vibration but not so much the highway speed (70+mph) vibration.

 

The loaner truck I am driving right now is a 2WD, crew cab, 6.5' bed, unknown rear end and is silky smooth except it has a similar, but smaller magnitude vibration in the 20-30mph range.

 

 

I do suspect there are certain combinations that are prone to certain vibration issues though.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I used to work for GM and still have contacts there.

I was able to indirectly contact a driveline engineer at the Milford Proving Grounds that has been working on these trucks.

When I supplied my VIN, the response was "the axle ratio and tire size are not the ones that have had vibration issues."

This didn't help me much, but it seems to show that GM knows (or at least suspects) there is a certain combination prone to certain vibrations.