2015 YUKON NOISE IN CABIN

yukon-xl · February 6, 2018

Just wanted to give an update on my 2016 Yukon XL 5.3L SLT 4WD (no sunroof, no magnetic ride, and no noise cancellation)

*I believe Denali package with magnetic ride and noise cancellation has less booming as I test drove my friends 2015 Denali XL and it sounded much quieter, but he did have Michelin tires on 20" wheels*

I had low speed booming noise that was bothering to my ears and slight buffeting that would get worse at times and come on and off depending on road surface and tire flat spots (i drive the car few times a week, not every day, sometimes once a week)

I took it to GMC dealer and asked them about new exhaust and dampers but after their inspection they said that service tech added some weight to roof and stated that the noise was mostly gone and therefore got GM to approve to re-glue/re-attach my roof to roof bows under my certified warranty using PIT5318D

I think there is a new procedure where special 2-tube glue mixture is used and it dries quick and forms into a thick compacted soft foam where it will not crack anymore. (because about 10mo ago when I asked Chevy dealer about roof fix they told me that by my VIN# my 2016 is not under the PIT#)

While waiting on parts I also bought a 36sf package of dynamat at my own expense (sound deadening material that i wanted to install myself but didn't get to it) and asked the dealer to install it to the roof before attaching the roof bows to roof. (I offered to install it myself while they have the roof-line down but they went ahead and installed it at no additional cost)

Now the Yukon drives much better and the roof is solid and when you close the door it barely moves and when you tap on it it feels solid. While at the dealer I test drove the new 2018 Yukon XL SLT 5.3L with sunroof and it had 18" wheels and Michelin tires and it did have about the same booming at low speeds, maybe slightly less, but that could have been to car being brand new and sunroof and Michelin tires.

I asked dealer about shocks and bushings and was told mine were good and that there was updated for magnetic ride/higher end models.

There is still booming at slightly rough roads at low speeds but it doesn't hurt my ears anymore as the tone of the sound is not that high as before... (before, because the roof was lose and of thin metal it was acting like an amplifier for the booming and increasing the noise) I still have original Goodyear tires and I can barley hear any buffeting even after the car is parked for a week. I know that Michelin will improve the ride even more.

Few months ago I even thought to downgrade to older Yukon XL and test drove a 2012 Yukon XL SLT and it also had some booming, maybe slightly less but it had way more overall road noise. I was hoping for better improvement but I guess It is pretty normal for GM and many other SUVs/trucks to have some booming and I have heard that only hydraulic body mounts will improve it farther. (I had 2007 Navigator L in past before switching to my 2016 Yukon XL and it had less booming and I believe it has hydraulic body mounts and also independent rear suspension, but wind/tire noise was worse on it)

I plan to eventually switch to Michelin tires and add some dynamat to floor under carpet just where the carpet comes off easily without taking too much apart, (i read it on another forum that someone did that fairly quick as most of the floor is easily accessed by just pulling the carpet off without disassembling anything, and that it improved on tire slap noise and overall noise)

Hope that this helps others, and please share if any other repairs helped improve the ride.

Thank you!

Edited February 6, 2018 by yukon-xl

mvendetta · February 7, 2018

On 12/27/2017 at 1:21 PM, Elripster said:

I did model them in SolidWorks but I have not built to the model. I just made them to-fit with my band saw.

So my prototypes are urethane bar stock. I used (2) 1.5" square pieces (24" length) glued together but going forward I would use something harder. Maybe something like this... https://www.mcmaster.com/#=1ava2d9

I also suspect going to 36" will help as well. I use 2" wide weather stripping between the bars and roof itself.

I drilled holes to get the radii and then cut into them tangentially with the band saw to try to mimic the shape of the roof racks. I did have to purchase the roof racks separately since my truck did not come with them.

The good news is that I am completely happy with this truck. I went up a size to some more off road worthy tires since I camp and occasionally get the truck into 4 low (locker works!). It rougher as expected but it's not different now than any other truck with larger harder tires.

If this does not get rid of the booming, Dynamat or equivalent will. Buffeting is a very low frequency phenomenon where the booming is higher in frequency and well addressed by Dynamat or similar.

Thanks Frank.

Going to try this on the weekend. Need to buy the crossbars first, but maybe I could use my universal Thule bars from my wife's SUV for proof of concept. Just bought a used 2015 and didn't notice anything the two times I took it out for a test drive, but after a week of commuting, it's very apparent that I'm dealing with the same issue. Guess I now know why I got a great deal on my Denali XL. Still love it though. At 6'8" and with 4 kids and a dog, it's the perfect vehicle.

need-for-speed · July 29, 2018

We had been planning to replace our 2008 Tahoe when I heard of this problem. I asked 3 different people who owned late model Tahoe’s and none of them had the booming / shuddering issue. We rolled the dice and bought a new 2018 Tahoe Premier and all I can say is that thing rides and drives like a dream. Just finished a round trip to Dallas. Extended speeds of 70 mph, 85 mph. This is our third Tahoe. No issues. We did get the 20in whelels.

need-for-speed · February 9, 2019

Ok, one last post before I delete the shortcut to this thread.

Just finished our 3rd round trip form Conroe to Dallas. Drove 85 mph most of the way. Even saw 106 mph briefly (closed course, professional driver of course). We do have the sunroof as well.

This 2018 Tahoe Premier is rock solid with absolutely not booming or shuddering.

GM has fixed this problem. This is the finest vehicle we have ever owned.

And no, I am not in the business. I am a a pipeline engineer/ manager.

Ccamp5 · February 9, 2019

We recently traded in our 2nd 2015 Suburban LTZ with 90K miles on it for a 2019 GMC Yukon Denali and it does not have the problem either.

(Recap our 1st 2015 LT we purchased in 2014 had the problem. Gm bought back the LT 4 mo after purchase and we replaced with 2015 Suburban LTZ. LTZ did not have the problem.).

WE have had 3 GMC Suburban & Yukon within 2015 to present and only the first one had the issue, so i would agree with Need For Speed that the problem has been fixed. Both our 2015 LTZ and 2019 Denali drive like dreams!

Edited February 9, 2019 by Ccamp5

Gatrnol · February 9, 2019

Are the transmissions any smoother now? My 2016 Yukon Denali occasionally lags, then jumps/jars ... it's always been that way as I can recall.

Ccamp5 · February 10, 2019

13 hours ago, Gatrnol said:

Are the transmissions any smoother now? My 2016 Yukon Denali occasionally lags, then jumps/jars ... it's always been that way as I can recall.

The Denali I purchased has the 6.2L EcoTec3 V-8 engine with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque and a new 10-speed transmission. Drives 10x smoother than the others I had. Definitely no lag in this one.

LieutenantDan1127 · February 12, 2019

Just bought a 15 XL Denali and trying our best to make it tolerable for our whole family. It's currently at the dealer having the roof cross members looked at/reattached. Going to have them install dynamat to the roof as well. We have the 22 inch wheels with "Brickstones." After reading most of this thread I've decided to go to 20 inch aftermarket rims. My question is are the other tires that are great at eliminating vibration other than the Michelins? We've always liked the all terrain look and were looking at Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Anyone know if these will ride good as long as they're RFB <15 lbs? The main goal is to make this vehicle tolerable to ride in so if the Michelins are the only proven way to help that, I'll sacrifice looks for quality of ride. If those 2 changes don't fix it I'll be looking at getting the exhaust dampeners, and if still not fixed, experiment with the spacers jammed between the roof and the roof rack. Am I on the right track? This was our dream vehicle and our 5th GM SUV so we're pretty distraught about this issue and want/need to have it fixed or at least tolerable. TIA

need-for-speed · April 11, 2019

On 2/9/2019 at 7:20 AM, Gatrnol said:

Are the transmissions any smoother now? My 2016 Yukon Denali occasionally lags, then jumps/jars ... it's always been that way as I can recall.

Ours is the 5.3L with the 6 speed auto. The tranny works very well. I was not even aware there was an issue with them.

Shaun · June 2, 2019

I should have posted this a year ago but better late than never. After filing for a lemon law buy back and BBB claim, Chevorlet finally fixed my Tahoe. They added some panels to stiffen the roof. They removed the soundproofing and I think it was 4 panels they gloved up there. Chevorlet sent an engineer to my dealership to do the work. I didn’t get to talk with him but the service manager at my dealership said Chevorlet was adding these panels to the new 2018 Tahoes.

Texas Daddy · June 24, 2019

Yep, my 18 burb has no issues. Guess they figured it out...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

EXSlider400 · August 11, 2019

I purchased a new 2019 Yukon Ultimate 4x4 yesterday. I really don’t want to read 182 pages here....can some please let me know if this issue from the 2015 was corrected? I am getting a noise/pressure change that is like a window is rolled down at speeds from anything over 30 mph. Head and ears of my wife and myself are feeling it. All windows and rear glass are shut. Thank you in advance.

Edited August 11, 2019 by EXSlider400

EXSlider400 · August 12, 2019

On 1/12/2017 at 8:58 AM, Leslie Wasson Green said:

Basically the same as yours. Buffeting from 25-55 while the Yukon maintains it's current speed while in v4 mode. The second it goes to V8 the awful buffeting/pressure goes away for the most part

Has anyone tried to clamp the flapper valve open? Or is that going to just make any v4 drone louder.

Edited August 12, 2019 by EXSlider400

FogDucker · August 12, 2019

On 8/11/2019 at 2:15 PM, EXSlider400 said:

I purchased a new 2019 Yukon Ultimate 4x4 yesterday. I really don’t want to read 182 pages here....can some please let me know if this issue from the 2015 was corrected? I am getting a noise/pressure change that is like a window is rolled down at speeds from anything over 30 mph. Head and ears of my wife and myself are feeling it. All windows and rear glass are shut. Thank you in advance.

Hi EXSlider400,

I'm not familiar with any exhaust flappers, but what you describe is the "buffeting" that is discussed in this thread. I have 70K miles on my Yukon now and can say with certainty that out-of-balance tires are the trigger. The root cause is actually something else such as a thin roof being triggered by out-of-balance tires, but the only thing you can control is the tires.

Why am I so certain? Because my dealership had to replace 6 (!) Continental tires to get mine to run smooth and quiet. When I put my winter shoes on [BFG KO2s, road force balanced to 8lbs or better], I never had any buffeting. The Continentals will occasionally flat spot when cold, introducing buffeting. Warm them up and it goes away. I can still hear/feel the buffeting every few months, but only on the Continentals and only when cold. I had the dealership re-balance them 2 years after the initial fix and it improved.

Have your dealership "road force balance" the tires to 10lbs or better. If they don't have a Hunter Road Force Balancer, find another dealership that does. GM has a TSB that states the requirement of 10lbs or better balance per tire on our trucks to minimize buffeting. It's buried somewhere in this thread if they're not already aware of it.

I'll have to buy new summer tires in the spring and when I do, I'll be asking my dealership for 4 of Michelin's finest, road force balanced to 10lbs or better with the printout to back it up! I'll also budget an extra hundred bucks to have them road-force-balanced 2 years in, if required.

--
Marc

Edited August 12, 2019 by FogDucker

Wrench589 · August 13, 2019

22 hours ago, FogDucker said:

Hi EXSlider400,

I'm not familiar with any exhaust flappers, but what you describe is the "buffeting" that is discussed in this thread. I have 70K miles on my Yukon now and can say with certainty that out-of-balance tires are the trigger. The root cause is actually something else such as a thin roof being triggered by out-of-balance tires, but the only thing you can control is the tires.

Why am I so certain? Because my dealership had to replace 6 (!) Continental tires to get mine to run smooth and quiet. When I put my winter shoes on [BFG KO2s, road force balanced to 8lbs or better], I never had any buffeting. The Continentals will occasionally flat spot when cold, introducing buffeting. Warm them up and it goes away. I can still hear/feel the buffeting every few months, but only on the Continentals and only when cold. I had the dealership re-balance them 2 years after the initial fix and it improved.

Have your dealership "road force balance" the tires to 10lbs or better. If they don't have a Hunter Road Force Balancer, find another dealership that does. GM has a TSB that states the requirement of 10lbs or better balance per tire on our trucks to minimize buffeting. It's buried somewhere in this thread if they're not already aware of it.

I'll have to buy new summer tires in the spring and when I do, I'll be asking my dealership for 4 of Michelin's finest, road force balanced to 10lbs or better with the printout to back it up! I'll also budget an extra hundred bucks to have them road-force-balanced 2 years in, if required.

--
Marc

EXSlider400, after 182 pages, the answer is NO, the problem has not been fixed. In fact, the root issue has not really been "discovered"; although I stronglt suspect GM knows what is going on. Likely some kind of body-beaming or other structural/body resonance. The result is a vehicle that is highly sensitive to any vibration sources that may be present, which seem to excite the problem. GM has been focused on getting the tires running a smooth as possible, since tires are always a may contributor, and has been able to keep most customers happy enough to carry on with life.

As Marc noted, let the vehicle sit for a few days and the flat spots will drive the noise until the flat spots disappear. But any other rough road or vibrations will also cause it to be worse. A few people found improvement changing rear axles because they had one with excessive runout. GM also has a TSB to re-glue the roof skin to the cross-members, but to be honest, I didn't notice any improvement when I had that done.

I did notice a big improvement when I put full winter tires on (softer) which were roadforce balanced to the 10lb GM spec for these "problem" trucks. I also saw a further improvement right after that with a front end wheel alignment.

I also notice that in V4 mode, it is a bit more noisy in tha cabin, but not the full-on drone/buffeting.

Based on the 182 pages, it also seems some vehicle are more prone to the issue then others. As well, some people are more sensitive then others. (My wife originally noticed it, but didn't really bother her. She didn't even say anything until I brought it up)

The other thing I will say is the vehicle has 120,000km on it and it is not as sensitive as when it was new. But it's still hypersenstive to any vibs. compared to every other vehicle I've ever owned or have now. We have just learned to live with it. But the truth is, there is a flaw, GM has not fixed it, and they won't, now that there is anew design about to come out.