Shake or Vibration Issues

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

Different dealer?

Maybe this time around they will check your rear ring and pinion specs.

it is the same dealer, the first time I got the now famous "not replicated" the second time the regional rep drove my truck and said yes, all of the issues I complained about are there, but they wont do anything and it was deemed "normal operation" this is now my third attempt, and have literally done NOTHING to my truck on the first 2 attempts. They actually re paved a section of highway last night and I drove on it this morning, and took video.... still terrible hahaha. I still need to get a video for the rough idle. unfortunately I don't have time to do it right now. I will try to get it done before I drop it off at the dealer this afternoon.

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

is anybody else concerned that with this new '16 they are just going to use more dampening materials to hide the vibrations instead of find/ fix them at their source? That is one of my big concerns for those of you who are currently waiting for the '16.

abominable z71 · September 21, 2015

is anybody else concerned that with this new '16 they are just going to use more dampening materials to hide the vibrations instead of find/ fix them at their source? That is one of my big concerns for those of you who are currently waiting for the '16.

Being that there have been so many different sources for the vibrations caused by parts made by different manufactures, I would say it is almost certain they will just damp the vibrations to make sure they are not making their way into the cab, this is the one thing GM has control of in house, change the cab mounts and steering mount to eliminate the transmission path, perception is reality, no perceived vibration...no vibration, at least until parts start to fail.

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

Being that there have been so many different sources for the vibrations caused by parts made by different manufactures, I would say it is almost certain they will just damp the vibrations to make sure they are not making their way into the cab, this is the one thing GM has control of in house, change the cab mounts and steering mount to eliminate the transmission path, perception is reality, no perceived vibration...no vibration, at least until parts start to fail.

See, that really scares me, and makes me not want to take a '16 replacement. Assuming that they can't fix mine of course (that is a bet I'd be willing to take, especially since they havn't fixed anyone else's unless their issue was actually the tires) but from what I've read here, they cry and shut down the instant you bring up a straight buy back. Which I would be seeking full MSRP including all factory options & accessories, tax, financing/ doc fees, and the first years excise tax as any new vehicle will now have a higher excise tax again, as well as an adjustment of my credit score showing that the truck was bought back due to defect and I'm not really looking for a second vehicle loan.

If they '16 didn't scare me so much, all of that wouldn't matter.

mikegmi2 · September 21, 2015

Thought I would share photos of the balancing weights they added to some of my tires:

Also, I had the rear axle assembly swapped out with new one last week on my 2015. I haven't had a lot of highway driving yet or tested the deceleration out to see if vibes are gone, so will update once I put a bit more miles on it.

It is embarrassing I have owned 2 brand new trucks within the last year, and both had defective rear axle assemblies. That's a major component...not a headlight. Sad.

Edited September 21, 2015 by mikegmi2

OmahaBen · September 21, 2015

I am a GM guy all of my personal vehicles have been GM until this point. I dropped my truck off today with a different dealer, I know a service rep there and said they have fixed the issue in several. I thought I would give that a whirl before applying for a buy back.

The loaner I got is a 2015 doublecab SLT truck and it vibrates worse than mine. Mine isn't horrible it just starts vibrating once you go over 70mph or so.

With knowing all of the issues I am thinking about looking at other options vs buying another GM. I don't want to take a chance on a 2016 that may have the same issue.

I hope I can come back and tell you the issue has been fixed. I really like the truck overall and the driveline. I don't think the other manufacturers have a better motor than the 6.2.

RoadieWingZ · September 21, 2015

Just dropped mine off at dealer this morning after 10 days and 900 miles. Per what's happened with most of you, they are checking tires for balance and/or flat spots. Have had 2 loaners (Z71 4WD and LT 2WD; both dbl cabs) within the 10 days (first minor issue not vibration related) and both have had a smooth ride compared to my LTZ. 500 highway miles this past weekend and it felt like I was sitting in a vibrating massage chair; not a feature I saw on the window sticker.......? Maybe I'll be one of the lucky owners and be able to move on to more positive topics. Will update with results when I go back to check the results

Hmmmm .... Just noticed the current loaner has Continental tires instead of Good Year like mine....

Edited September 21, 2015 by RoadieWingZ

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

as promised here is a link for the rough idle video. I have compared my truck with Bill's 6.2 and his truck has virtually no movement at idle, unlike mine. Bill can attest to this, this video doesn't show how bad my rough idle can actually be, today was actually relatively good comparatively speaking

hotrodz37 · September 21, 2015

as promised here is a link for the rough idle video. I have compared my truck with Bill's 6.2 and his truck has virtually no movement at idle, unlike mine. Bill can attest to this, this video doesn't show how bad my rough idle can actually be, today was actually relatively good comparatively speaking

Jesse, mine does the exact same thing. Sometimes it will idle somewhat smooth and then have a jolt and stumble etc. Drive me nuts being able to feel it at a stop light and if you open the hood like you did and put your hand on it, you can feel it even more ande actually see it happen like you're hitting the gas and the torque is twisting the motor.

One thing I did notice is that with the correct oil level mine seemed to idle much smoother. The last 2 times I have gotten oil changes (free) at the dealer they have overfilled it. Once I drained some out back to full, it seemed to do quite a bit better. Not gone but better.

Also wondering if the motor mounts are completely tight. I have found multiple bolts on my truck that are way looser than they should be. Ex: real axle u-bolts, should be at 78 ft-lbs from the factory and mine were no more than 40.

Edited September 21, 2015 by hotrodz37

LongrangeLauber · September 21, 2015

^^^ that u bolt torque is scary low. Bet the axle housing twisted at that torque setting

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

Jesse, mine does the exact same thing. Sometimes it will idle somewhat smooth and then have a jolt and stumble etc. Drive me nuts being able to feel it at a stop light and if you open the hood like you did and put your hand on it, you can feel it even more ande actually see it happen like you're hitting the gas and the torque is twisting the motor.

One thing I did notice is that with the correct oil level mine seemed to idle much smoother. The last 2 times I have gotten oil changes (free) at the dealer they have overfilled it. Once I drained some out back to full, it seemed to do quite a bit better. Not gone but better.

Also wondering if the motor mounts are completely tight. I have found multiple bolts on my truck that are way looser than they should be. Ex: real axle u-bolts, should be at 78 ft-lbs from the factory and mine were no more than 40.

I haven't even had my first oil change yet, but I'll check the oil level when I go back to my truck to see where it is, yes it does absolutely drive me nuts as well, and I agree that it feels terrible when you put your hand on it, I just thought this would be the best way to show it, just like the driving vibrations in the truck like I posted last night.

When I drop it off later, I'll specifically ask them to check all of the bolts to make sure that they are torqued to their spec. Its insane how much these trucks cost, and how poorly they are made.

I wonder what they have for a loaner for me this time, I got a Tahoe last time haha

Edited September 21, 2015 by Jesse D

Jesse Davidson · September 21, 2015

Jesse, mine does the exact same thing. Sometimes it will idle somewhat smooth and then have a jolt and stumble etc. Drive me nuts being able to feel it at a stop light and if you open the hood like you did and put your hand on it, you can feel it even more ande actually see it happen like you're hitting the gas and the torque is twisting the motor.

One thing I did notice is that with the correct oil level mine seemed to idle much smoother. The last 2 times I have gotten oil changes (free) at the dealer they have overfilled it. Once I drained some out back to full, it seemed to do quite a bit better. Not gone but better.

Also wondering if the motor mounts are completely tight. I have found multiple bolts on my truck that are way looser than they should be. Ex: real axle u-bolts, should be at 78 ft-lbs from the factory and mine were no more than 40.

Just thought I'd throw out an update on this. I just dropped my truck off, and brought this and a few other things up to my service writer:

-- the torque on the u bolts is actually now a recall, they have found on many vehicles that they are not tight enough. (released in the last few days)

-- there is a recall for some of the 4x4's, which at cooler temperatures, 4x4 kicks in automatically regardless of whether or not you keep it in 2wd (again released in the last few days) I put my truck in 4x4 leaving a job site today, and there was a squealing/ grinding type of noise. this is an indication you have this problem

-- there are a few other recalls, but he didn't get into them because my truck didn't qualify

I showed them some of my video's for the vibration and rough idle, so they now know how bad it is, and can't say that it wasn't replicated. We shall see what comes of this attempt, I highly doubt any of the issues I actually brought it in for will be fixed, but who knows.

ohh and they gave me a little Piece of Shit Impala LS as my loaner, I complained, but they said thats all they had.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Jesse D

pm26 · September 21, 2015

RF all 4 tires... this seems to be an issue with the tires everytime they get rotated they cause vibrations... Why who knows why ? it is just plain weird... happened to me... even moving from front to rear the vibe stuck around... after they RF'd all 4 tires again then it was good as gold... even the SM was in disbelief that it worked...

Why? Because they are balanced wrong that's why? If you take four improperly balanced tires and place them randomly on the truck, there is a good chance you do it in such a way that individual vibration cancel each other out to some extent. if you reposition such poorly balanced tires differently, you can cause significant vibration, and even amplify the overall effect. This looks like a logical explanation to me. Forget this road force crap already and go somewhere to an independent shop that has capability to properly balance your wheels. You may be pleasantly surprised. I have seen tires as much out as 1 ounce using state - of - the - art Hunter 9700 road force balancer because the guy was in a hurry and did nto bother to center the wheel properly on the machine and the machine was not recently calibrated. You think I am making this up? I have seen dealerships balance wheels completely wrong, so bad in fact it was sickening when they were finally balanced right and I saw how far off they were. My coworker had a Dodge Durango with a vibration problem. The local Dodge dealer did balancing three times and it was worse every time! Finally it was done right at an independent shop and every wheel was almost 1 ounce out on each side! That will surely cause very unpleasant vibration. Pathetic isn't it? And remember, tires with zero road force variation, i.e. completely round can still be balanced wrong, even though usually such perfect tires seldom require larger weights to balance.

Edited September 22, 2015 by pm26

14silverado4.3 · September 21, 2015

Hey

14silverado4.3 · September 21, 2015

Epiphany moment. Loose u bolts on axle, is the axle rotating in the cups. , therefore you working angle is out of spec because the diff u joint is or has rotated