Vibration in steering wheel 2015 1500 Silverado 4x2

[GM Trux for 30 Yrs]

You guys seem to post useful info, perhaps you can help. In short, I started noticing significant vibration that progressively got worse, beginning around 10k miles (now have about 25k). I assumed tires and went through the usual troubleshooting... balanced them a couple of times, rotated, etc. Stock 20 inch wheels.

I don't have much faith in factory tires, so I replaced them with stock size Michelin LTX MS/2. It rode a lot better for a couple hundred miles, then I noticed vibration getting worse again. Had tires rebalanced. Called Chevy dealer (3 months ago), they were dealing with this issue and had no answers yet and several trucks waiting diagnosis. Started doing my own diagnosis... visited dealer again and he told me Michelins could be the problem. He can put picometer on the truck but they won't fix the center console vibration because it's just something we have to live with according to him. No joke... you can put a bottle of water in the console (60/40 split) and it will occasionally slop out the open top.

 

To be fair, it rides OK... a lot better than my wife's Jeep Wrangler. But in my mind you shouldn't be able to even have this dissussion... the Siverado shouldn't have this kind of vibration at all.

All said... I'm still feeling a bunch of pulsation in the steering wheel at idle and more vibration up to 1200-1800 rpm. This is a pulsation up and down with overall vibration, it does not wobble like a bad front tire. It has little to no change with road conditions (cracks, bumps, etc). Not much change if at all if you drop it in Neutral. It seems to me to be more related to RPM than speed or road conditions. You do feel a different ride condition if you're on concrete... a little stiffer ride, but that's not the vibration I'm feeling in the steering wheel. Every now and then you get a sensation like a broken shock (remember the 80's silverado's?), but it's not consistent.

Any thoughts or help? I'll get back to the dealer and hook up their pico-meter... I suspect a bad motor mount or some rotating engine attachment with a balance problem. Perhaps other vibration in the frame coming up the steering column. I would think a bad power steering pump except the electric steering kind of kills that idea...

I've driven GM trucks my whole life and I've never seen one that runs this well have this much vibration. When I got in it, it rode like a Cadillac. Now it feels a whole lot more like an old Dodge or really old Ford. Frustrating thing is that it's not consistent... same roads, sometimes different levels of vibration. I am convinced it is not speed related, which takes tire balance out of the equation.

 

This is Houston, TX... I just realized that the vibration seems to be a little less severe lately. Daytime highs are 90-95 right now, evenings are quite a bit cooler. Perhaps a coincidence... I'm grasping at straws now.

 

Thanks for any help... or other ideas about how to diagnose it.

[nadrojcote]

Here's the almost 400 page long thread about others having the same issue. No resolution. Some people have had to open law suits, and in turn get their vehicle bought back. Many have cut their loses, sold the truck and bought a different brand. Mostly Ram.

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/153186-shake-or-vibration-issues/page-1

[14silverado4.3]

Got the same thing, can someone tell me what may cause a tire to change balance points and weights? Is the tire out of round? Had tires rebalanced 3 times in last 2 months and they keep moving the weights around the rim? Chasing the balance!

[nadrojcote]

Doing burn outs? Could cause the tire to spin on the rim.

[GM Trux for 30 Yrs]

14 Silverado 4.3...

Dealer told me that one of the vibration causes has to do with quality of the factory tires. They require a road force balance of either factory tires or Continental tires. He won't touch my Michelins. He said it takes something like 20 tires to find 4 that perfectly balance on the road force machine. I don't know if this is my issue, but i doubt it. I still feel the steering wheel vibration even at idle now. For awhile it was most noticeable at 1200-1800 rpm. I may be combining issues... regardless, it's kind of disappointing to deal with this on such a new truck.

Thanks for the posts so far...

[02Sierra_Mark]

Mike- I'm no expert but perhaps you need to try a different dealership. In my situation, 2 of the original tires had flat spots when I bought it. Dealership replaced the tires and everything was fine. Fast forward to my first service-oil change/rotation, went to a different dealership near my work and got it done. As soon as I got up to 65-70 on the freeway, the vibration was terrible. Had a water bottle bouncing around in the cup holder. My first thought was...crap...all those threads on this forum talking about vibrating trucks...now I'm screwed.

 

Brought it back the next morning and explained the situation. They did a road force balance on it and resolved the vibration issue. Five months and 6K miles later, still good. When I picked the truck up, the service writer asked me where I bought the truck cause the tech that did the balancing wanted to know what ass clown worked on my truck...not too impressed by the other dealerships work..lol.

 

So, all that to say, you might need to take it somewhere else to get another mechanic to look at it. Not sure where in Houston you live, but I can pm you the dealership that got me fixed up.

 

Mark

[abominable z71]

I believe they linked a vibration at idle back to the right side motor mount requiring a 3 mm shim. If you thinks your vibe is rpm related and not speed related I would start there.

[14silverado4.3]

You guys seem to post useful info, perhaps you can help. In short, I started noticing significant vibration that progressively got worse, beginning around 10k miles (now have about 25k). I assumed tires and went through the usual troubleshooting... balanced them a couple of times, rotated, etc. Stock 20 inch wheels.

I don't have much faith in factory tires, so I replaced them with stock size Michelin LTX MS/2. It rode a lot better for a couple hundred miles, then I noticed vibration getting worse again. Had tires rebalanced. Called Chevy dealer (3 months ago), they were dealing with this issue and had no answers yet and several trucks waiting diagnosis. Started doing my own diagnosis... visited dealer again and he told me Michelins could be the problem. He can put picometer on the truck but they won't fix the center console vibration because it's just something we have to live with according to him. No joke... you can put a bottle of water in the console (60/40 split) and it will occasionally slop out the open top.

 

To be fair, it rides OK... a lot better than my wife's Jeep Wrangler. But in my mind you shouldn't be able to even have this dissussion... the Siverado shouldn't have this kind of vibration at all.

 

All said... I'm still feeling a bunch of pulsation in the steering wheel at idle and more vibration up to 1200-1800 rpm. This is a pulsation up and down with overall vibration, it does not wobble like a bad front tire. It has little to no change with road conditions (cracks, bumps, etc). Not much change if at all if you drop it in Neutral. It seems to me to be more related to RPM than speed or road conditions. You do feel a different ride condition if you're on concrete... a little stiffer ride, but that's not the vibration I'm feeling in the steering wheel. Every now and then you get a sensation like a broken shock (remember the 80's silverado's?), but it's not consistent.

 

Any thoughts or help? I'll get back to the dealer and hook up their pico-meter... I suspect a bad motor mount or some rotating engine attachment with a balance problem. Perhaps other vibration in the frame coming up the steering column. I would think a bad power steering pump except the electric steering kind of kills that idea...

 

I've driven GM trucks my whole life and I've never seen one that runs this well have this much vibration. When I got in it, it rode like a Cadillac. Now it feels a whole lot more like an old Dodge or really old Ford. Frustrating thing is that it's not consistent... same roads, sometimes different levels of vibration. I am convinced it is not speed related, which takes tire balance out of the equation.

 

This is Houston, TX... I just realized that the vibration seems to be a little less severe lately. Daytime highs are 90-95 right now, evenings are quite a bit cooler. Perhaps a coincidence... I'm grasping at straws now.

 

Thanks for any help... or other ideas about how to diagnose it.

I am also on the hunt on this. What I find is the roadforce balance does well for a couple days, then the vibration comes back. I would be fine with the slight vibe in the rear, the steering wheel vibration sucks period. I also thought bad front shocks or inadequate front shocks. They may not be dampening and what we feel is not a vibration but a resonance. Does anyone know how to disconnect the electronic steering assist?

[14silverado4.3]

14 Silverado 4.3...

Dealer told me that one of the vibration causes has to do with quality of the factory tires. They require a road force balance of either factory tires or Continental tires. He won't touch my Michelins. He said it takes something like 20 tires to find 4 that perfectly balance on the road force machine. I don't know if this is my issue, but i doubt it. I still feel the steering wheel vibration even at idle now. For awhile it was most noticeable at 1200-1800 rpm. I may be combining issues... regardless, it's kind of disappointing to deal with this on such a new truck.

Thanks for the posts so far...

Did you have any luck with this?

[Payton34]

I am having similar problem.  Steering wheel vibrating on rough road or smooth road after going over a bump. I had tires road force balanced but didn’t change anything. I replaced swaybar bushings and endlink bushings few months ago. My control ate bushings are ok. The truck feels solid when going over bumps. It is just steering wheel vibrating feeling loose. I checked the steering shaft under the hood and it has a decent amount of play in it.  Shouldn’t the steering intermediate shaft be solid and no movement?