2014 2500HD LTZ Vibration - Passenger Seat Bobble Head

[TitanFan22]

Traded in a smooth as silk 2013 LT 2 weeks ago. Drove 500 miles to get the truck I wanted and drove home in snow and ice so didn't get the truck above 60 mph most of the way home. Now realizing new truck has bad vibration that gets worse as speeds increase. At 75mph, empty passenger seat bounces like a bobble head.

 

Took to local dealership Saturday and was told #1 - it's normal for an HD truck; #2 - even if there were an issue they wouldn't touch the tires until I have 1500 miles because the tires need that much time to make sure they weren't sitting for too long at the dealer.

 

#1 I know is BS being that I traded in the exact same truck and never had a single vibration in it. #2, I don't get why they would refuse to touch tires until 1500 miles. #3, how can they tell me it's normal but at the same time tell me to wait until 1500 miles....

 

Anyways, just thought I'd see if any thoughts/recommendations.

[sahls01gmc]

I would say a vibration that bad is not normal. Does an HD truck ride a lil rougher than others......yes. But, they shouldn't vibrate that bad. I would suspect the tires could be involved. Are they more aggressive than your '13? Was your '13 an HD, or 1500?

[rotti]

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/153186-shake-or-vibration/?hl=vibration

[therink]

Go to duramax forum and type in the phrase "vibration at 70 mph". You will read at least 70 pages about what you are describing. I had the problem for the first 20k miles and it took 3 dealerships, about 4 months of contacting GM, threatened a law suit and GM arranged for a GM engineer to meet me at a dealer. It turned out to be faulty tires. It took 4 different sets of Michelins and the GM engineer to balance the tires to resolve my problem.

[TitanFan22]

My '13 was a HD and had the exact same tire/wheel combo. Only difference in the two trucks is the interior trim level and 4.10 vs 3.73.

 

Steve, have you had any problems since they replaced/balanced? How many miles since?

 

Thanks

[therink]

I have not had the problem since. My take on it is that the frame on the 2011+ HD is very stiff with stout suspension, causing the slightest run off on a wheel to be felt. I am thinking that when the time comes to replace my tires, I will go through this again. It is important that a very well calibrated balance machine is used and balanced to precision standard.

Do not let a dealer tell you the vibration is normal.

I contacted GM via this forum and they hooked me up with a field engineer that eventually took care of the problem.

[GMCustomerService]

Hi TitanFan22,

 

I'm sorry to hear of the concerns you are having with your vehicle vibrating at increasing speeds. I would like to look further into this. If you would like my assistance, please send me a PM here on the site with your name, phone number, address, VIN, current mileage and involved dealer. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thank you,

 

Andraya R.

Gm Customer Care

[TitanFan22]

I have an appointment scheduled to meet with the service manager next Friday at 4 (because I won't have 1500 miles until then and I don't want to hear that excuse again if I take it sooner). I told him I wanted him to ride with me and then keep the truck and fix it on Saturday. He responded that he will be available Friday at 4 but didn't say much else. After scheduling this meeting, I sent my info to GM Customer Care per the request above and they've responded that they have "reached out" to my dealership and I should hear from them in 24-48 hours. We shall see...

[therink]

Don't take "it is normal" for an answer. It took me 3 dealers and 4 months before anyone would give me the time of day. One dealer said "yup it shakes, but we don't have proper balancing equipment to get tires with GM bulliten tire runoff tolerance". This is when I got GM and engineer involved. They set up a ultrasonic monitor on the floor under the seat and confirmed the issue.

I hope you have better results. Please let is know how you make out.

[TitanFan22]

Emails with Service manager below:

----- Original Message -----
From: David Beasley <[email protected]>
Cc: cameron reddy <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 20:26:37 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: RE: 2500HD vibration

Brian,

 

I will be available for a test drive tomorrow at 4pm. I do not recommend bringing it in on Saturday for repairs though. We will talk more on this while we drive the truck tomorrow. See you then.

 

 

Thanks,

David Beasley

Service Manager

Walker Chevrolet

[email protected]

 

 

 

From: Brian

Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2014 10:00 AM
To: David Beasley
Subject: Re: 2500HD vibration

 

David,

 

I will see you tomorrow around 4pm. The vibration has not improved and I'm at 1600 miles. Please confirm your availability for a test drive tomorrow afternoon and Saturday repairs.

 

Brian

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 17, 2014, at 2:41 PM, Brian Daughtrey <[email protected]> wrote:

 

I will be there (unless the vibration disappears between now and then).

 

Brian

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 17, 2014, at 2:27 PM, "David Beasley" <[email protected]> wrote:

 

Mr. D,

 

I have spoken with Cameron concerning your truck & I will be available Friday afternoon around 4pm. Let me know if this will work with your schedule.

 

 

Thanks,

David Beasley

Service Manager

Walker Chevrolet

[email protected]

 

 

 

From: Brian

Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 2:06 PM
To:[email protected]
Subject: Fwd: 2500HD vibration

 

David,

 

It's my understanding that the tech who drove my truck Saturday claims it's normal for a $50,000 truck's passenger seat to bounce like a bobble head at highway speeds and even if it's not normal, I need to wait until I hit 1500 miles before your team will even begin to look into the tires potentially needing balanced or replaced.

 

As I've mentioned to Cameron and Jennifer, I traded a 2013 2500HD LT for this truck 2 weeks ago. I had that truck for a year and it was at your dealership 3 times during that span (oil changes, etc) and never once did I complain about a vibration so it's not like I don't know what this truck should ride like.

 

I have just over 1100 miles currently. Assuming Cameron is correct and I have to wait 400 miles to even get your attention, I'd like to set up an appointment for late afternoon on Friday the 28th for you to ride in my truck so I can point out the obvious issue. I will then plan to leave it with you for the issue to be resolved on Saturday March 1.

 

Any questions/concerns, let me know.

 

Brian
Sent from my iPad

 

[TitanFan22]

Steve,

 

Do you know what the spec was to balance your tires? They just replaced two of mine that were at 60 and 68 lbs and the new ones balanced to 7 and 11 lbs which the service guy tells me is the absolute best he has ever seen a 10 ply tire balance in his 15 years of service. The two that were not replaced balanced to 25 and 28 lbs. He said he thought spec was 42 lbs and I should be good.

 

Driving in to the office this morning, the vibration seems to be better but not gone. Wondering if I need to push for the other 2 to be balanced better as well...

[therink]

Hi

If I recall, the GM engineer said all tires needed to be within 15lbs.inwould make them do all 4. Have them replace any tire that won't balance within the spec.

Steve

Hi

If I recall, the GM engineer said all tires needed to be within 15lbs.inwould make them do all 4. Have them replace any tire that won't balance within the spec.

Steve

[TitanFan22]

Thanks Steve, I'll give it a whirl. If anyone knows of a published spec, please let me know.

[TitanFan22]

Good afternoon Brian,

 

As below with your concern of the road force measurements, as I understand what you found as a result of your investigation but I will copy you the directions that General Motors requires of to use as a guide for road force measurements:

 

GM approved tire force variation measurement equipment does an excellent job of measuring wheel runout, and of finding the low point of the wheel (for runout) and the high point of the tire (for radial force variation). This allows the tire to be matched mounted to the wheel for lowest tire/wheel assembly force variation.

 

The machine will simplify this process into easy steps. The following assembly radial force variation numbers should be used as a guide:

 

P-Metric tires of passenger cars

18 lbs (8 kg) or less

 

P-Metric tires on light trucks

24 lbs (11 kg) or less

 

LT-tires on light trucks

35 lbs (16 kg) or less

 

As you can see that the measurements on your truck are below the maximum number required by GM for replacement. I will be glad to have the technician recheck the balance to see if any weights have come off. Just let me know and hope you have a blessed day.

[TitanFan22]

Last week the dealership replaced the other 2 tires (and repaired damage to all the wheels where the factory wheel weights left "cuts/nicks" in the polished aluminum), one of them still road force balanced to 20, all others 11 or less. The service manager did not test drive but says the tech stated my truck now "drives like a 2500HD with 4 new tires". I drove it away and the vibration remains. I spoke with the service manager this morning and he said the next step is to bring in a field engineer but that could take weeks to schedule him here for a visit. The saga continues... I sure wish I had kept my 2013 LT that drove like a dream.

 

Side note - the wheel repairs were done by a mobile wheel repair company and I'm not thrilled with the results. The wheels have swirl marks and in a spot or two, a rough finish. I'm going to drop by to see a truck on the lot with the same wheels to compare before I complain too much. Maybe they were that way from the factory but I really don't think so. I remember them being smooth polished aluminum with no swirl marks or rough spots.