5.3L Idle Vibration/Rough Idle Surge

2014LTZ-Z71 · November 5, 2014

Hey all,

I read some of the idle vibration posts on here and the threads are relatively old and I posted in them and didn't receive a response so I figured I'd start a new one and see if anyone is having similar issues. When I first got my 2014 Sierra I was pleasantly surprised how smooth it was at idle compared to my 2013. Now it has developed an intermittent idle vibration where it only used to happen before it reached operating temp, now it happens once it's reached operating temp too. If I rev the engine and let the rpms come back down once it comes back to about 700 rpms down to 500 or so it feels like it is surging and stumbling and then settles back down. Sometimes at 500 rpms it feels like it is missing but other times it's just fine and smooth. Rpms don't seem to change when the "surging or missing" feeling happens and I have not had any check engine lights yet. I haven't filled up with fuel in 2 weeks or so and it didn't seem to be doing it last week or I wasn't paying too much attention to it. Should I try premium fuel and see if it helps? Any ideas? Is this the way these engines are? Thanks in advance for any help!

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Our 2014 5.3 was recently repurchased by GM and had this same problem along with a very long list of other issues. We noticed that our truck surged more often when the outside ambient air temperature was over 90-95 degrees and while it was in the drive position with the brake depressed (like at a stoplight). Another thing we noticed is that the outside air temperature digital display on our MyLink screen would always be reading considerably lower than the real outside air temperature while it was having the surging issues. In most cases our air temperature display would be stuck at 88 degrees or lower even though the outside temperature was around 105+ outside. (Just a shot in the dark here) but from what we have seen, we thought it might be some sort of ECM fuel mixture error going on that takes temperature into consideration but the only thing we ever got back from the dealers mechanic was “no codes, can’t fix it”.

Top grade 91, 89, and 87 octane premium fuels had no effect on our particular idle surge problem. Close to the end before the buyback the only thing we found that kept it from surging all the time was to run full tanks of E85 in it. While using 89 or 91 octane gas the engine would try to idle at 500 and then drop down to around 250 to 300 then back up (rinse and repeat) but while we were using the E85 it would hardly drop rpm at all while we were idling at stoplights. At least "in our case" the E85 made it bearable.

Hope this helped…

2014LTZ-Z71 · November 5, 2014

Haha. I wish I would have kept my 2002 Silverado that I traded back in 2010. It was a GREAT truck. Damn I miss it.

You are not alone - we should have NEVER traded in our 2002 Avalanche....

fondupot · November 11, 2014

Truck seems to be doing A LOT better now. No more surging. Maybe after I had the issues with the bad spark plug, there was some build up from misfires left over, so runing the techron through must have cleaned it out.

Silverado-Hareek · November 11, 2014

Truck seems to be doing A LOT better now. No more surging. Maybe after I had the issues with the bad spark plug, there was some build up from misfires left over, so runing the techron through must have cleaned it out.

Awesome glad to hear it. I've mentioned it in other threads but you should look into the BG Induction service for DI engines. It's a three part cleaning process designed to clean your fuel system as well as the valves in the engine and is becoming standard maintenance for DI engines. It's recommended to do once every 15,000 miles.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Silverado-Hareek

bluegrasscamper · November 12, 2014

I'm experiencing the same rough idle issue as well. My dealer told me that I had carbon deposits built up in my intake and needed a fuel induction service. Well, before heading to Charlotte, which was roughly 250 miles from my home in Georgia, I had the fuel induction service done. I lost 2 miles per gallon on that trip, and have yet to recoup any of it 2500 miles later. am I pissed? between this and the excessive slip yoke bump in my truck I'm ready to throw the damn thing in the river! Driving this truck sucks right now.

Silverado-Hareek · November 13, 2014

I'm experiencing the same rough idle issue as well. My dealer told me that I had carbon deposits built up in my intake and needed a fuel induction service. Well, before heading to Charlotte, which was roughly 250 miles from my home in Georgia, I had the fuel induction service done. I lost 2 miles per gallon on that trip, and have yet to recoup any of it 2500 miles later. am I pissed? between this and the excessive slip yoke bump in my truck I'm ready to throw the damn thing in the river! Driving this truck sucks right now.

Who did the induction service and was it the BG induction service?

bluegrasscamper · November 13, 2014

Day's Chevrolet. BG?

Silverado-Hareek · November 13, 2014

Day's Chevrolet. BG?

I would look close at what the dealer actually did and compare it to the BG induction service: http://www.bgfindashop.com/bgservices/fuelair.htm

You can use BG's website to find shops local to you that are certified to do this work. We just did it to my wife's Hyundai Accent which has a DI engine and it worked great. From what I've read, this is the best thing on the market for cleaning DI engines and anything less is probably doing less of a job. You can also go to YouTube and look at videos of this service being performed.

Stex · November 14, 2014

I would look close at what the dealer actually did and compare it to the BG induction service: http://www.bgfindashop.com/bgservices/fuelair.htm

You can use BG's website to find shops local to you that are certified to do this work. We just did it to my wife's Hyundai Accent which has a DI engine and it worked great. From what I've read, this is the best thing on the market for cleaning DI engines and anything less is probably doing less of a job. You can also go to YouTube and look at videos of this service being performed.

What does this service entail? What do they run thru the engine? How is it different/better than a can of BG 44k? Thanks for a reply.

Silverado-Hareek · November 14, 2014

What does this service entail? What do they run thru the engine? How is it different/better than a can of BG 44k? Thanks for a reply.

It's three different cleaning products. One is a BG fuel system cleaner (probably similar to Techron or Gumout). BG 44k might be one of the products as well but I honestly can't remember exactly what all 3 where called. Part of the service is to run a fuel system cleaner directly through the fuel line starting at the fuel tank to clean the entire fuel system. The other part is to run a cleaning agent through your throttle body to clean the throttle body and the valves in the engine. I'm not saying your dealer didn't do this, I'm just saying double check to see what they did. BG is just an industry leading manufacturer of these cleaning projects and they provide a warranty on your engine if you follow their maintenance schedule. All DI engines will need to be cleaned. It's just a matter of what chemicals you use to do it and what the process is that you choose to pursue. The BG induction service seems like the best you can get right now from what I've read.

Stex · November 15, 2014

It's three different cleaning products. One is a BG fuel system cleaner (probably similar to Techron or Gumout). BG 44k might be one of the products as well but I honestly can't remember exactly what all 3 where called. Part of the service is to run a fuel system cleaner directly through the fuel line starting at the fuel tank to clean the entire fuel system. The other part is to run a cleaning agent through your throttle body to clean the throttle body and the valves in the engine. I'm not saying your dealer didn't do this, I'm just saying double check to see what they did. BG is just an industry leading manufacturer of these cleaning projects and they provide a warranty on your engine if you follow their maintenance schedule. All DI engines will need to be cleaned. It's just a matter of what chemicals you use to do it and what the process is that you choose to pursue. The BG induction service seems like the best you can get right now from what I've read.

Thanks S-H, I talked to my friends at my local shop. They do not fix stuff for the heck of it and only when needed. They do not push such services. That said, they said they have had good success with this BG service. I will get more info when my wrench friend that does the service returns from vacation.

Silverado-Hareek · November 17, 2014

Thanks S-H, I talked to my friends at my local shop. They do not fix stuff for the heck of it and only when needed. They do not push such services. That said, they said they have had good success with this BG service. I will get more info when my wrench friend that does the service returns from vacation.

Awesome glad you have a trusted mechanic to go to to verify this. I have a mechanic I've been going to for a while now that is super knowledgeable and I have no reason to believe he's pushing un necessary services on me and that's who I've been getting most of my information from on this BG induction service. As I said we just recently did the service on my wife's Hyundai Accent for the first time in about 45,000 miles and it worked great. Car sounds excellent, it's driving well, and there was a slight engine ticking noise that went away after we did the service so seems like positive signs all around.

Stex · November 17, 2014

Awesome glad you have a trusted mechanic to go to to verify this. I have a mechanic I've been going to for a while now that is super knowledgeable and I have no reason to believe he's pushing un necessary services on me and that's who I've been getting most of my information from on this BG induction service. As I said we just recently did the service on my wife's Hyundai Accent for the first time in about 45,000 miles and it worked great. Car sounds excellent, it's driving well, and there was a slight engine ticking noise that went away after we did the service so seems like positive signs all around.

Yes, I added the no push service info to give the BG service credit on it own rather than just an add on service by a shop. If my low key shop uses the BG service, there is something to it. If I was running a DI engine I would for sure use it. May try it before I put my catch can on? Question, do you remember the cost of the service?

Silverado-Hareek · November 17, 2014

Yes, I added the no push service info to give the BG service credit on it own rather than just an add on service by a shop. If my low key shop uses the BG service, there is something to it. If I was running a DI engine I would for sure use it. May try it before I put my catch can on? Question, do you remember the cost of the service?

It was about $160 for the Hyundai Accent (small hatch back, 4 cylinder) so I would assume the truck would be more. I just realized though you have an '09 truck so that's not a DI engine. I would skip this service then and save your money. You can put the catch can on to keep things clean, but just run some Techron fuel system cleaner through your system and that will clean everything up. Since you have a port injected engine, your fuel is still washing over your valves so a cleaning additive will take care of things for you. The catch can will lessen the amount of crud building up to begin with and you can switch to a Top Tier fuel like Shell to help continue to keep the valves clean. The induction service is primarily for direct injected engines where the fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chamber and does not wash over the tops of the valves keeping them clean.

Stex · November 18, 2014

^ Yep I understood about the DI but going to see what they get on non-DIs as to results. I now use the BG 44k which is a step up over the Techron concentrate. I have had the baffle do over by GM and the Ring cleaner. Still uses oil but a little less than pre-TB fix. Thus the CC. Will check to see if they have any luck on non-DIs and just what it would do for non-DIs.