Shake or Vibration Issues

Bart’s Silverado · July 20, 2018

The vibration is in the aluminum driveshaft. I replaced mine in my 2017 LTZ 2WD with a steel two piece rated for a 3/4 ton truck. My truck has been smooth as silk at all speeds ever since. I'm approaching 10,000 miles on the driveshaft. Cost was under $800 from Performance Drivelines. Look them up and leave the Chevy Shake behind!

Leevon · July 21, 2018

On 7/20/2018 at 12:28 AM, Pinnacle said:

you have it on your 18 with zero miles on it?

Very minor, but yes I believe it has some sort of harmonic vibration. The 17 GMC was bad.

Snoringbear · July 21, 2018

On 7/18/2018 at 1:02 PM, wmadden said:

Okay, so we're 797 pages into this thread and GM obviously isn't going to do anything to fix the problem... I have two vehicles, '17 Denali crew cab and a '16 Denali Yukon XL both with the shimmy/studder. How many of you are planning to trade in for a '19 with the new design, or are you done with GM and going another brand?... and if so, what are you looking to move to?

Never buy a first year model which the 2019 Silverado 1500 is. However, I my buy the 2020. We shall see....

th3r00st3r · July 24, 2018

On 7/20/2018 at 4:40 PM, Bart’s Silverado said:

The vibration is in the aluminum driveshaft. I replaced mine in my 2017 LTZ 2WD with a steel two piece rated for a 3/4 ton truck. My truck has been smooth as silk at all speeds ever since. I'm approaching 10,000 miles on the driveshaft. Cost was under $800 from Performance Drivelines. Look them up and leave the Chevy Shake behind!

It sux that you have to fork out $800 to fix a problem that they are A: Aware of (based on the fact the settled with 1 truck owner for $13 and let him keep the vehicle, and one other owner they bought the truck back) and B: should be covered by the BTB warranty. Turns out, I took mine in last Friday morning only to have them tell me I was 150 miles over the warranty(36K they said could go to 39k and I was at 40,500) and would need $140 diagnostic. I also know the process and order of operations I would have to go through just to get to the point where they would finally either tell me "it's normal" or Lemon Law it. Is it worth it to stick it to them, or just trade it in for a different maker.

th3r00st3r · July 24, 2018

On 7/20/2018 at 4:32 PM, contenderv07 said:

mine doesn't start until it hits 70 mph, then until about 76 it starts to die down, but like someone else said, this shouldn't be happening to a 45k + vehicle, especially for how long they've known about it. I've got a 2018 with 1000 miles on it BTW

On 7/20/2018 at 12:32 PM, Roscopcoletrain said:

So is this a constant always at the same speed shake/vibration or does it come and go for people?

The consensus seems to be between 70 and 80 mph. Mine is at 70mph to about 75-76.
Going to initiate my extended warranty through my CU since the dealer told me I was 150 miles over the bumper to bumper. They must know they make crap otherwise they would have the Hyundai or Kia warranty of 10 years 100,000 and stand behind their product.

Roscopcoletrain · July 24, 2018

10 hours ago, th3r00st3r said:

The consensus seems to be between 70 and 80 mph. Mine is at 70mph to about 75-76.
Going to initiate my extended warranty through my CU since the dealer told me I was 150 miles over the bumper to bumper. They must know they make crap otherwise they would have the Hyundai or Kia warranty of 10 years 100,000 and stand behind their product.

So it happens every time at roughly the same speed? Its not something that shows up one day, gone the next?

th3r00st3r · July 24, 2018

5 hours ago, Roscopcoletrain said:

So it happens every time at roughly the same speed? Its not something that shows up one day, gone the next?

No, it's pretty consistent across most of the threads.

Silverado-Hareek · July 24, 2018

On 10/29/2014 at 8:51 AM, Silverado-Hareek said:

Yes me. And I can't pinpoint the cause. I suspect the tires are the problem. I noticed it mostly back in the spring and then it went away around June. Since then I haven't had any vibrations at all except for 2 specific instances driving to work in September. The fact that it comes and goes and seems to be related somewhat to the outside temperature has me leaning toward the tires. How long it sits without being driven is possibly affecting it too. The truck drives great otherwise when I don't feel the vibrations in the steering wheel.

I will add though in general, with the stiffer suspension on these trucks, I personally feel more of the road than I did in my 2007 Silverado and that's after driving 3 different 2014's that didn't have vibration issues. So while there are vibration problems that people are experiencing, I think the combination of the stiffer suspension and the electronic power steering together transmit road imperfections to the driver and passengers more than the GMT900's did.

You can see my truck specs below my avatar. I have Goodyear SR-A tires that came with the truck. As soon as they're ready to be replaced, I'm getting either Michelin AT2's or BFGoodrich T/A KO's.

Well 4 years later, I can confirm it was my tires. I just put on BFG K02's in load range E last week and installed bilstein 5100 shocks and so far the truck drives great. The tires are a little heavier now and you can feel that, but I don't feel vibrations in the steering wheel like I did with the Goodyears. Of course, this means that in my case it was the tires and not everyone has the same type of vibration. I do still think there are multiple types of vibration problems out there related to tires, the driveline, etc. But for the folks with stock tires that suspect the tires are the culprit of your high speed 60MPH+ steering wheel vibration, it's likely your tires.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Silverado-Hareek

th3r00st3r · July 24, 2018

4 hours ago, Silverado-Hareek said:

Well 4 years later, I can confirm it was my tires. I just put on BFG K02's in load range E last week and installed bilstein 5100 shocks and so far the truck drives great. The tires are a little heavier now and you can feel that, but I don't feel vibrations in the steering wheel like I did with the Goodyears. Of course, this means that in my case it was the tires and not everyone has the same type of vibration. I do still think there are multiple types of vibration problems out there related to tires, the driveline, etc. But for the folks with stock tires that suspect the tires are the culprit of your high speed 60MPH+ steering wheel vibration, it's likely your tires.

You sir, got lucky. There are countless threads on here where people have changed one or more of their tires, rims, rear suspension, drive shafts and still have the issue.
I said screw it, and took it in this morning for a tire balance and they said 3 of them were way out of balance. I'll start there and see if it helps.

contenderv07 · July 24, 2018

yea thats the bad part.... I just bought my truck and I'd hate to possibly spend 1k in tires, or 800 for a new drive shaft, etc.. without knowing 100% what it is. I did get my road force balance yesterday and it did help SOME, but still....

Silverado-Hareek · July 24, 2018

14 minutes ago, contenderv07 said:

yea thats the bad part.... I just bought my truck and I'd hate to possibly spend 1k in tires, or 800 for a new drive shaft, etc.. without knowing 100% what it is. I did get my road force balance yesterday and it did help SOME, but still....

I know it’s easier said than done but if you just got yours, a tire shop should give you credit for your existing tires since they can resell them

th3r00st3r · July 25, 2018

18 hours ago, contenderv07 said:

yea thats the bad part.... I just bought my truck and I'd hate to possibly spend 1k in tires, or 800 for a new drive shaft, etc.. without knowing 100% what it is. I did get my road force balance yesterday and it did help SOME, but still....

When I bought my truck, I bought new rims and tires for around $1400 and sold my stock rims and tires on offerup for $800, so it only cost me $600 for the upgrade.

th3r00st3r · July 25, 2018

Follow Up:

I took my truck to Firestone, since I was out of the GM 36k B2B Warranty, and paid $60 to have my tires balanced. Turns out 3 of them were pretty far out of balance. Since yesterday, It rides a lot smoother in the "Chevy Shake" speed range of 70-80mph. I have a long road trip coming up this Friday and will report after I get back. Hopefully I am lucky that was it.

contenderv07 · July 25, 2018

5 hours ago, th3r00st3r said:

When I bought my truck, I bought new rims and tires for around $1400 and sold my stock rims and tires on offerup for $800, so it only cost me $600 for the upgrade.

I guess I need to see how much discount tire would give for them. I'm assuming the sooner the better

scooter484 · July 26, 2018

On 7/24/2018 at 11:19 AM, Silverado-Hareek said:

Well 4 years later, I can confirm it was my tires. I just put on BFG K02's in load range E last week and installed bilstein 5100 shocks and so far the truck drives great. The tires are a little heavier now and you can feel that, but I don't feel vibrations in the steering wheel like I did with the Goodyears. Of course, this means that in my case it was the tires and not everyone has the same type of vibration. I do still think there are multiple types of vibration problems out there related to tires, the driveline, etc. But for the folks with stock tires that suspect the tires are the culprit of your high speed 60MPH+ steering wheel vibration, it's likely your tires.

I Don't see how you can say it was the tires since you replaced the tires and the shocks, have you put the old shocks back on to see if the VIB comes back with the new tires.