Shake or Vibration Issues

mikegmi2 · September 4, 2015

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.

You are exactly right about the out-of-spec parts. This is exactly the issue. It is well documented within GM, and they have called it a 'perfect storm' of parts being delivered to them out of spec for their 1500 truck lines. The problem is, rather than coming clean...they're playing the damage control game and forcing all of us to take trucks to the dealer multiple times, make BBB cases, and garbage like that.

Piss poor way to treat your customers, GM. Word will continue to spread. Keep lowering those prices and keep the big incentives coming on those Sierras and Silverados! Gotta move that garbage...

C6Bill · September 4, 2015

There was a time when I thought mine was 90% better, then after a week of city/country driving I went back on the highway and it was worse than ever.

C6Bill · September 4, 2015

It is well documented within GM, and they have called it a 'perfect storm' of parts being delivered to them out of spec for their 1500 truck lines.

I don't doubt that at all but do you have any proof of that ? If so we'd all love to see it.

mikegmi2 · September 4, 2015

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

Not sure what the deal is, the .jpg link is broken for me...but hopefully you got nothing short of full MSRP trade. That is what I got, and what everyone should get when trading in a lemon.

That is what GM does. They offer you 2 crappy deals, maybe a third, then the arbitration date is set...and a day or 2 before arbitration, you will get a call saying they basically give up, and will give you full MSRP trade. Accept nothing less.

mikegmi2 · September 4, 2015

Guys... print all 4 of these pages out and take it to the dealer with you when you go. I think they are going to pin this soon but until then, I just thought I would throw it up in here in case you haven't seen it.

>>>>>>Vibration Analysis<<<<<<

Where did all of this information come from? Service bulletins?

14silverado4.3 · September 4, 2015

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.

Do you mean front shocks?

Bdkfl · September 4, 2015

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.

The sales manager at the dealership we picked up our new truck at said the same exact thing. It's the front end, he also added that it was too light. He also said THEY ALL DO IT. Yup, they all do it. Now does everyone feel it? Maybe not. Do small differences in the build make a difference? Maybe. Who knows why it's so bad in some and not in others. The Chevys we drive were SO bad and they were brand new. All the sierras we not as bad. I wonder why?

Wrench589 · September 4, 2015

Where did all of this information come from? Service bulletins?

I think that is the service bulletin, PI1354A. That website just re-prints it as you see it.

No question GM knows this is a real issue. How to deal with it is another question.

I say everyone with one of these problem vehicles start sending letters and emails to the CEO of GM. After a couple thousand letters and emails, she will likely get so fed up she orders something drastic.

Even better - we all chip in a few bucks and take out some full page ads in the prominent newspapers with an "open letter" to the CEO of GM. That kind of negative press goes a long way to getting GM's attention. Seriously. Time to turn up the heat!

Alter Ego Trip · September 4, 2015

The other thing that sounds like it is going to get updated is the cab mounts. They are transferring too much NVH into the cab.

rocknfire · September 4, 2015

The sales manager at the dealership we picked up our new truck at said the same exact thing. It's the front end, he also added that it was too light. He also said THEY ALL DO IT. Yup, they all do it. Now does everyone feel it? Maybe not. Do small differences in the build make a difference? Maybe. Who knows why it's so bad in some and not in others. The Chevys we drive were SO bad and they were brand new. All the sierras we not as bad. I wonder why?

I've driven a half dozen of them and haven't felt any vibes at all. I have one, my brother has one. I have buddies that have them. All have at least 8000 miles and one has 25000. No vibes. All have tightened u bolts on the leaf springs and the clunking went away.[emoji4]

OmahaBen · September 4, 2015

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.

Today the local dealer swapped on a set of 17 or 18" wheels and tires from another truck. They are saying the vibration is within spec but the service manager does acknowledge there is still a vibration. Even with the other wheels and tires on he could feel it in the seat and steering wheel at the 75-80mph. The local dealer has been really helpful and is willing to do what is necessary to make me happy.

We will see where this goes. Personally I would like to see this through and help as many people on here get this fixed up. While my vibration is not as bad as some there certainly is an issue with these trucks.

Mcarlo24 · September 4, 2015

I think that is the service bulletin, PI1354A. That website just re-prints it as you see it.

No question GM knows this is a real issue. How to deal with it is another question.

I say everyone with one of these problem vehicles start sending letters and emails to the CEO of GM. After a couple thousand letters and emails, she will likely get so fed up she orders something drastic.

Even better - we all chip in a few bucks and take out some full page ads in the prominent newspapers with an "open letter" to the CEO of GM. That kind of negative press goes a long way to getting GM's attention. Seriously. Time to turn up the heat!

Or... Call your local ABC news Consumer Issues dept and see if they will pick up the story... In NJ, 6 ABC has a Call for Action 800 number where they will listen to the issue and decide if they want to proceed with it..

abominable z71 · September 4, 2015

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

The hunter is only as good as the tech using it. Choosing the right centering cone for the rim and NOT using the smart weight feature will get a much a better balance out of the same machine. The hunter road force touch which is the latest machine hunter builds also self calibrates every 4 hours. So if the machine isn't the touch version it requires the machine to be manually calibrated. I took my wheels from a shop that had the hunter touch and used the smart weight feature to a different shop with the same machine but better understanding of their machine and they found all wheels out of balance one was 3.25 oz out.

abominable z71 · September 4, 2015

There has been speculation about the smooth road shake feature in the electric power steering possibly causing issue. I disabled the electric power steering and tested it. Didn't change a thing. Super smooth freeway vibration was the same.

Alter Ego Trip · September 4, 2015

I honestly think the problem has nothing to do with the running gear. I'm willing to bet all mfg's have the same tolerance level when it comes to NVH. It has more to do with the fact that Chevrolet is not isolating the problem like it should be.

Fix this you'll fix the shake. Look at it this way; you can put cement cab mounts on the truck and it will ride like dog crap. Now you can say it's a wheel balance, driveline, rear end, or a plethora of other things, and you'd be correct to an extent; but no matter what you do, it will still ride like crap with cement mounts.

Chevy needs to address either the front suspension, cab mounts, or both IMO. Isolation will go a lot further than trying to systematically track down every little vibration.