Shake or Vibration Issues

[OmahaBen]

I have about 23K mile on my 2014 Sierra. It did not have an awful shake but a slight one. They have had my truck at least 6-7 times. GM even extended my warranty to 70,000 miles They got the vibration analyzer this summer and the pico meter at the beginning of August. Each time I get it back it gets a little better. However I think they have gotten it as far as they can because I got the "it is within spec" response from the service advisor today.

 

I have been very patient but something is still up with this truck. I believe my problem is in the wheel/tire assemblies. They are going to allow me to try a different set of wheels and tires from another truck tomorrow.

 

The plain fact of the matter is my old truck didn't vibrate at interstate speeds and this one shouldn't either. There is obviously a huge problem here as this post and all the videos on youtube.

 

Here is my theory:

The allowable runout of parts is too high. If each part say the wheels and tires, axles, driveshaft and all other rotating parts have the Maximum possible runout you are going to have issues. The allowable runout should be less and made tighter. I would suspect the vibration issues would go away.

 

Hopefully this can be fixed for everyone. I can see a lot of diehard GM people switching to other brands because of this if they don't.

[C6Bill]

Just keep reading this thread if you want to see people jumping to another brand. And from the looks of it 9 out of 10 that are leaving go for RAM.

 

In my case I am not going anywhere, yet. I'm just holding out hope that's it's fixed for 2016, production will be starting in a few weeks. And if they do fix it for 2016 then maybe they can go back and cleanup the 14's and 15's that have this issue.

[kennydor]

well here is an update on my situation. I had the shake...bad..75 mph and there it would go...brought it in...new drive shaft and wheel balancing and the shake was completely gone. brought it in for a tire rotation and oil change and the shake was back! brought it back in...dealership said 3 wheels out of balance...they "balanced" them and the shake was somewhat better but not gone leading me to believe this was a tire/wheel isssue.. Found a hunter road force balancer in my area and brought it in on my own...what do you know..they said 3 of the 4 were out of balance as much as 2 oz!!!!! got it back and shake completely gone.....makes me wonder the balancing standards of the dealership!!!!!! i guess i feel lucky that my truck is fixed after reading this thread daily

[Aaron1085]

Well, canceled my claim with GM and BBB because my local dealer stepped up. If you'll look a few pages back, I was scheduled for arbitration with GM over my shaking issue. They called and offered two shitty deals to me to avoid it. Due to my hatred of GM customer service and the way my truck has acting, my local dealer, sales manager made it right. Sick deal on a 2015 Crew Cab All Terrain. Fingers crossed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[C6Bill]

Beautiful truck, hope it all works out for you

[IgnitionOn]

I have a 2014 Sierra regular cab and it vibrates pretty obviously when idle on drive or park and all of them really. It's very obnoxious.

Also when driving at really any speed it shakes and vibrates as if I'm hitting bumps

Has been happening since I got it new but thought nothing of it

10,000+ miles later and I'm sick of it

[Britt Lifsey]

For 10,000+ miles you never thought anything about but now, with 2 posts, you're sick of it? Seems odd...

[LongrangeLauber]

For 10,000+ miles you never thought anything about but now, with 2 posts, you're sick of it? Seems odd...

I didn't really start paying attention to mine and noticed it at 15k miles. I don't have two posts but just sayn

[4x4LJB]

I'm a newbie to this forum, and this is my first post. Sorry it has to be a semi-downer...

 

Anyways, I'm evaluating what will be my first 1500 class 4x4. My first truck, ever. I've ruled out the Ford F150. I like the Dodge RAM 1500, the Chevy Silverado, and the GMC Sierra.

 

I took two GMC Sierras for a test drive yesterday. The first was an SLE with the All Terrain Package. I liked it a lot. It was smooth on the highway, quiet, and I squeezed 17 MPG out of it, mostly stop and go and about 40% highway. With the off-road package and the Z71 shocks, etc I was expecting a rough ride. It was smooth as glass at all speeds. It had the 18" Rims, BTW.

 

Took out a Sierra 1500 SLT. Also with Z71. It was quiet, but on the highway at @ 60-70 mph it had a low pitched oscillation sound and a slight quiver in the front end, on the right side. Not cool for a 48k truck. It had the 20" rims. But, in mostly highway driving I squeezed 23+ mpg out of it. Impressive for a V8 4x4, with 70 miles on the odometer.

 

These were both 2015 models. Both with 5.3 litre V8s, 3.42 rear axle.

 

Bottom line, if I buy a Sierra or Silverado I will test drive it thoroughly before I sign the papers. If anything is amiss, I won't buy. Oscillation and vibration problems must be hard as heck to eliminate in a 4x4, what with all this driveline stuff.

 

Thank You;

 

Lee

Edited September 4, 2015 by 4x4LJB

[IgnitionOn]

For 10,000+ miles you never thought anything about but now, with 2 posts, you're sick of it? Seems odd...

I did think something of it, I just didn't bother researching it until now, that's why I have 2 posts?

[Alter Ego Trip]

Well I have some news that might help going forward.

 

So those that have followed my posts, My service manager and myself have been working with Chevrolet pretty closely on trying to figure out what is causing the issue. After a long conversation today; we got some insight that is starting to make sense.

 

In 2014 Chevrolet had to make a design change to the front end. I won't go into detail but it involved a safety concern. Due to this the front struts were replaced with ones that were much stiffer than originally designed. This is what is believed to be the root cause of the vibration felt through the cab and steering wheel, which makes sense. That's also why it's very pronounced in my truck when braking. It also falls inline with the fact that colder temps lead to a more pronounced vibration. I felt that is was an issue in the front of the truck since day one, but all signs pointed to drivetrain. I also think this might be why many have claimed that a leveling kit alleviated the problem to some extent. It had nothing to do with driveline alignment or such; but the leveling kit is acting as an additional buffer/dampener between the suspension and cab/steering wheel.

 

We are trying to get a field tech out and have him drive my truck so he can experience first hand what is going on. After driving numerous trucks in my inventory; there are many that exhibit this shaking to some extent or another. We feel that this problem is only going to get worse and a fix needs to be employed before it gets any more out of hand.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Alter Ego Trip

[Yzkiley]

Hi everyone

 

I havent posted in awhile because I thought my problem vibration/shaking problem was fixed. So here we are again, shaking has reappeared 23k. It was good for the last 10k at least tolerable, now im thinking I need a balance but none of the weights have come off because I used metal duct tape overtop of the weights. I am quite fustrated by the whole experience with this truck. Its shaking to the point that if I dont have a lid on my coffee it spills out. I am to the point of not spending anymore time or money on this truck. Its been to the dealer multiple times for shaking. Has had new aftermarket rims, 2 sets of tires, also new tires for stock rims. I'm thinking thats it I'm done. Last trip to the dealer for a balance and if its not fixed will be trading it in for a 2016 tacoma which will be thoroughly driven before I sign. Lesson learned - fully test new vechicle before signing....

Edited September 4, 2015 by Yzkiley

[Newell33]

Well I have some news that might help going forward.

 

So those that have followed my posts, My service manager and myself have been working with Chevrolet pretty closely on trying to figure out what is causing the issue. After a long conversation today; we got some insight that is starting to make sense.

 

In 2014 Chevrolet had to make a design change to the front end. I won't go into detail but it involved a safety concern. Due to this the front struts were replaced with ones that were much stiffer than originally designed. This is what is believed to be the root cause of the vibration felt through the cab and steering wheel, which makes sense. That's also why it's very pronounced in my truck when braking. It also falls inline with the fact that colder temps lead to a more pronounced vibration. I felt that is was an issue in the front of the truck since day one, but all signs pointed to drivetrain. I also think this might be why many have claimed that a leveling kit alleviated the problem to some extent. It had nothing to do with driveline alignment or such; but the leveling kit is acting as an additional buffer/dampener between the suspension and cab/steering wheel.

 

We are trying to get a field tech out and have him drive my truck so he can experience first hand what is going on. After driving numerous trucks in my inventory; there are many that exhibit this shaking to some extent or another. We feel that this problem is only going to get worse and a fix needs to be employed before it gets any more out of hand.

This is great information, but how do you explain the trucks that are completely smooth, and utilize the same struts?

[Alter Ego Trip]

This is great information, but how do you explain the trucks that are completely smooth, and utilize the same struts?

 

I'd chock it up to mfg tolerance differences. Another thing to note is; the trucks that were the worst had 20" and larger wheels. My truck has 22's and the two High Countrys I drove which were almost as bad had 20's. Bigger wheels and lower profile tires lead to less absorption of road anomalies before being transferred to the suspension. This is just an educated guess on my part, but I'd wager to be on the right track.

 

Keep in mind also; most people might not even be akin to the vibration unless it's pointed out. One of my employees has had his truck for 5,000 miles and claimed it's perfectly smooth. I went out and drove it and it also exhibits a shake; albeit minor. After pointing it out, it's now driving him crazy, lol.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Alter Ego Trip

[afireinside7444]

Ok from i finally got her on the freeway, my normal drive in to work after picking it up last night. Most of the ride in i thought it was 100% gone but as i was playing around 75 to 80 i could still randomly feel a tiny vibe and see the console shake a bit. Much improved maybe 90% better but still present....... now to debate calling the lemon law lawyer for a final repair attempt or deal w it..... We are going to a wedding out of state so we can put some freeway miles on it