Silverado2016

Update 12-26-2016 Well after driving another 12,000+/- miles since September, the rubber leaf spring end pads/plugs that the other GM dealer mechanic suggested as a fix seems to have eliminated the rear leaf spring noises that my truck had. Will see if I am saying this again after another 30,000 miles or approx. 70,000 miles on the odometer. Hopefully so. Again this was not a listed official GM TSB that any of the GM dealers I visited could find in any computer system. It was a suggested fix, with taking a gamble on what a few experienced mechanics and coincidentally truck owners suggested via field tested results on previous models. Not sure why GM would eliminate rubber suspension components and go to a plastic pad in lieu of rubber parts on suspension. Plastic has give and can outlast rubber in some instances, but just doesn't have the right physical properties to be used as a suspension component in this particular case and use. The design flaw and or executive decisions ultimately compromised the performance and quietness of the earlier model leaf springs. It would also be interesting to see what the new 2019 model has, if GM addressed any of the issues we are all having or did they just kick the can down the road, and or add to the list of design and performance problems. Would be great if GM gave a damn about their reputation of their trucks and issued a recall. The clunky and noisy drivetrain and suspension is less than acceptable in the late model GM Silverado and GMC Sierra's. Regards.

I don't have a link as the dealer did the swap. The rubber pads are the factory GM leaf spring pads for the same spring. They are circular in shape, with a molded grommet style nub that holds it in place on the spring. Your local GM dealer should be able to pull the part number for you based on your vehicle's Vin#. The pad is visible in pictures on the earlier posts regarding this topic.

Good luck with the leaf spring replacement. My truck has had three sets of rear leaf springs on it as of 25,000 miles, including the original factory springs. First replaced at 10,000 miles, another at 25,000 miles. The original springs were from a Canada plant, both sets of replacements were from Mexico plants. So it's not a quality control issue as the parts were from entirely different parts plants and batches. Mostly highway miles and not towing or hauling anything other than a step ladder or small tool box similar to the Silverado truck commercial. My belief is the metal parts of the springs are not failing, its the poorly designed plastic leaf spring wear/abrasion pads that are making all the noise and movement, and they can't just replace the plastic part as of now as it is not offered separately. Hence them needing to replace the entire spring. GM and the dealers are still replacing the springs or cleaning and greasing, or just trying to skate around the bigger issue that there is a design problem with the plastic parts. The plastic isn't a good material choice, or is the wrong blend of plastic, or isn't thick enough etc. Their engineering team needs to take a deeper look and come up with a better design. What I experienced is once the customer has their truck springs replaced a few times, then the dealer and GM rep from Detroit begain with the story that they just perform that way and live with it or trade it in on a car or SUV that would be much more quiet. Trade it in at or below blue book value. So the customer looses $ no matter how you look at it, for an issue that GM is hiding. Meanwhile your vehicle warranty will be closer to running out and any future repair cost is on the customer. What they don't understand or want to admit, is it is not an acceptable condition. It sounds like someone beating on the bed of the truck with a rubber mallet going down the road. This should never be acceptable on a relatively new truck. I've driven other trucks with over 150,000 miles that haven't sounded that bad before. The plastic to rubber swap resolved my issue for now. I'll see if I can get more than 10,000 miles before the issue returns. The jury is still out until then if the problem is completely resolved. For now though however, the rubber has silenced the noise entirely. So far it rides better than a brand new set of replacement or factory springs with the plastic pads. My truck is stock, without aftermarket lift kits, tires, etc. and has always been serviced at a certified GM Chevrolet dealership. It is pampered and well kept vehicle that is garaged at night. No accidents, damages, etc. and has never been off-road. GM rep from Detroit really rubbed me the wrong way, and the dealer I bought the truck from and had all repairs performed at since purchase went out of their way to cut all ties after the second time I was in about the rear suspension issues. They didn't seem to care to much or even want to resolve the issue, but would rather spend their resources and Band-Aid repairs trying to convince me the problems were just normal for their trucks and live with it. The whole GM experience has opened my eyes as to what they can and will do to cover something up, or eliminate their end of the warranty responsibilities once they can't fix the problem permanently or to an acceptable expected level of repair.

Photos of the plastic wear pads to rubber pad swap - completed. The plastic leaf wear pads/spacers are total junk on these vehicles, and can't be purchased separately. SO this is the fix unless you go out and buy an entire new leaf spring pack and assembly. This pad swap is not a permanent lifetime of the vehicle fix, however I would be betting that it outlasts the factory plastic pads. The dealer mechanic has seen this type of replacement last 50,000 miles or more. I've also updated to 5100 series leveling Bilsteins, from the stock factory GM Ranchos. The rear Ranchos had failed (lost all rebound) at 30,000 highway miles or prior to this. Ranchos made for GM are complete junk as well. As of now, with 500 miles on the rubber pad swap - there are NO noises remaining from the rear of the vehicle. The Bilsteins are much better for road handling. The rubber pads between the springs silenced the noises from the rear of the vehicle and enhanced the on road handling and performance. Eliminated most of the old large boat type body roll in the suspension. It's pathetic GM's engineering dept, R&D and or field test team couldn't come up with a solution. I feel like they want their vehicles to fail after a short time and then try to convince us to just trade it in for pennies on the dollar and buy new. Why would any customer want their product again if it only lasts 25,000 miles?

Just swapped my GM factory plastic spring pads with rubber pads. Not an official repair method per TSB, however I can tell you from experience that this method eliminated all the noises from the rear of the vehicle. No help from the GM regional rep that was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, or technical support, or GM customer service.

GM part#'s on the 2016: Rear leaf spring packs #23401109 - double cab 4x4 - standard leaf spring #23401108 - enhanced tow package spring. I'm assuming the enhanced tow package is a heavier spring capable of heavier capacity loads, but do not know for certain. It would be interesting to see what spring part number people are having issues with. Is it both, or just one of the above mentioned leaf packs? I'll be looking closer at mine to see which set of springs are on it. I still believe it is the plastic abrasion pads that are picking up grit and prematurely wearing or creating friction between the steel leafs. There may also be something going on with the rubber mount bushings and grommet inserts at the ends of the springs. Unfortunately the GM dealer just told me and showed me that GM does not sell the plastic pads or rubber bushings separately. The entire leaf spring assembly is sold as a unit. Hence the reason that GM replaced my springs twice to eliminate the noises during the first 25,000 miles on my vehicle. Probably also why the GM regional rep was telling me they no longer replace the springs again. It's becoming costly for GM to fix our vehicles properly - both from a parts and labor standpoint. Doesn't make it right, and doesn't fix the issue to just clean and lube these parts no matter what type of lubricant or grease. All of these are temporary fixes that don't eliminate the problem permanently or long term. Lubricants only make the issue return faster as they all pick up road grime/grit as you travel down the highway. Will see what GM has in store for us, but its definitely a design flaw they won't admit and own up to.

It's "normal" for GM's Regional Service rep/manager, however I had a local GM service manager, myself, a aerospace machinist, a licensed mechanic and just about everyone on this forum say otherwise on an issue that sounds very similar to yours. Amazing how they weasel their way out of warranty repairs to save the billion dollar corporation $.

YES. Good luck is all I can say.

Popping in the rear may be leaf springs. Trade in every (50) miles or so is what GM wants.

Had mine re-torqued on a 2016. GM Dealer told me all was fine. Problem was still there as I drove off their parking lot that evening. Took back, at least 4 more times, replaced the leaf springs two more times, or every 10,000 miles. Problem returned each time after 10,000 miles or less. Now the GM dealer won't replace them because of how the TSB reads. GM's recommended grease lasted about 3000-4000 miles for me and now is louder than ever. Stuck with the issue indefinitely on a $50,000 truck.

My rear ranchos were failing at about 25,000 miles. Replaced all 4 shocks hopping the problems would go away and the pop,clunk, bang noise was still there. Some of the issues described in this thread could be the junk ranchos, but I suspect a lot more are actually the leaf springs. It's difficult to believe leaf springs could fail at low mileage, but I believe these late model trucks have a sub par leaf spring design that is contributing to most of the issues on the other posts.

Well GM won't replace them anymore. Had mine replaced twice on a 2016 under warranty. Problems returned. Now they say the TSB will only let them grease them with a special moly based GM grease. I can say the grease lasted about 1 oil change, or 3000-4000 miles. Now the dealer says I should pay a little extra to have the leaf springs fully cleaned, greased and serviced every oil change. If I were to change out the springs they tell me all my drivetrain warranty would be void. What a joke of a truck and corporation. Can't wait to get into another brand. GM is quickly becoming the POS brand amongst truck buyers.

Probably the best diagnosis and info yet on the topic on the late model trucks as far as rear suspension noise. My 2016 Silverado 1500 LT series truck hasn't developed a "squeak" as some of the earlier models but it definitely fits the description of a defined a pop, clunk, bang. I want to say the earlier model styles did not have as many plastic pads in between the springs which may have been a contributing factor to the "squeeks"? Well GM updated the spring design in the late models to have more integrated plastic pads and revised the retaining C clip with a plastic liner sometime possibly around 2015-2016 year. It eliminated some of the "sqeeks" but now is in part contributing to the pop, bang, clunk, as road grit gets ground into the plastic pads between the leafs. It's good to know this home remedy may also temporarily fix what appears to be what some describe as an "end play" issue with in the axle. The condition may actually be the leaf's rubbing as the truck bed is shook from side to side. I know when I had my leaf springs replaced twice, this end play issue nearly was eliminated altogether. However 10,000 miles on each GM leaf pack and the end play returns. I really believe GM engineering, R&D should take a hard look at the leaf spring designs on these series trucks and do something about it. People are getting pissed off and the GM brand is developing a bad reputation (not in a good way) for having a poorly designed rear suspension, problematic and noisy vehicle as a result amongst the truck buyers. GM engineers need to come up with a permanent solution that solves the problem instead of the current constant clean, grease, repeat TSB band-aid. Any form of lubricant, especially grease is only traps road grit, which is a major contributing factor to the issue to begin with (friction between the metals and pads). I have no doubt there will be more people with this issue on their vehicles as people begin to put more miles on their late model vehicles.

Totally agree. I really liked the look of the truck both inside and out when I was looking at other makes and models. This noise is so pronounced and noticeable when driving down the road that it's embarrassing. The rain only masks it slightly at this point. What's even more disturbing is how GM's Midwest Regional Service Manager handled my case. He was such a coward he couldn't even give me his business card. Only had a nametag on stating who he was and his home office location. He essentially tried to tell me to just deal with it. It's definitely the worst money I've ever spent on something. I really hate GM because of my experience and how they treated me. It was the last GM product my family will ever own due to the experience and treatment.

I have this issue on my truck and the dealer told me it was "end play" and was normal. Well they didn't even take the time to measure if the "end play" was within GM specification. My truck is also one of the lucky ones that has a serious bang/pop/clunk noise that people are describing on the late model years. I do know that not all of the trucks have this noise. I also know of machinist for aerospace engineering companies that swear that there should be virtually no end play, and certainly no noise should be coming from the rear axle as a result of any such condition. There are plenty of other manufacturer's that do not have "end play" in their rear axles that are making this kind of racket.