2015 Silverado LT Vibration/Shaking

[MA-Silverado]

I just purchased a new 2015 (8 miles) Silverado LT (4x4, 4.3L v6). During the test drive all seemed great with the truck so I purchased it. Driving it for the past 2 weeks has been great, love it! That was until 800miles or so I started to notice a slight vibration through the steering wheel and cabin. The issue is not consistent as it comes and goes so I started to do a little research and see this is a problem with past models. I noticed in other threads that people believe the issue to be a drive shaft, ball joints or out of balance parts. Dealers have replaced multiple parts but it seems to be ongoing issues for others.

 

Clearly GM has not resolved this issue but here is the troubleshooting I did. I noticed my tire pressure was low 35psi. I kept changing the pressure to see what would happen with the vibration. Below are my results.

 

To keep the vibration to a minimum, I increased the pressure on all wheels to 45-46 PSI and have found that it vibrates the least at this pressure. It's NOT completely gone but it's a start I guess. I will be contact the dealer tomorrow but wanted to know if anyone else has noticed the vibration with tire pressure changes. I assume tires are the problem. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

17inch wheels, Bridgestone Duler A/T P265/70R17 113S M+S

 

Driver side front 35
Driver side rear 36
Passenger side front 37
Passenger side rear 37
Vibration between 58-63

 

Driver side front 41
Driver side rear 41
Passenger side front 41
Passenger side rear 41
Vibration between 63-68

 

Driver side front 45
Driver side rear 46
Passenger side front 45
Passenger side rear 45
Vibration (a lot less) 63-65

 

Driver side front 42
Driver side rear 46
Passenger side front 44
Passenger side rear 45
Vibration 65-70

 

Driver side front 44
Driver side rear 41
Passenger side front 44
Passenger side read 41
Vibration 63-68

 

Driver side front 43
Driver side rear 43
Passenger side front 43
Passenger side read 43

Vibration 64-66

 

Driver side front 43
Driver side rear 43
Passenger side front 43
Passenger side read 43
Vibration 64-66 - with out tonneau cover

 

Driver side front 39
Driver side rear 39
Passenger side front 45
Passenger side read 45
Vibration 66-69

 

Driver side front 46
Driver side rear 45
Passenger side front 45
Passenger side read 45
Vibration (a lot less) 63-65

[tnchevy]

Tire pressure as it relates to vibration has already been covered in the long "shake and vibration" thread, you ought to have a read! Also, running 45 psi in P rated tires are going to wear the centers out fast, especially in the back tires. My truck has had a vibration problem since I bought it but it is not bad enough to where I will take it in to people who don't have a clue what they are doing. I am pretty sure mine vibes are tire related but I wan't know for sure till I get new tires.

[johnb0311]

Check with dealer for recalls on your driveshaft hanger supports. Bringing mine in tomorrow. Received a recall notice this week and when calling the dealer I found out another recall came in for torque converter issues. Might be something involving the 8 speed transmission, I hear they have a two speed converter to match up to the new 6.2 engine. I have noticed lately, some increased vibration, but very minimal. Good luck with your truck. This is my fifth Silverado since I switched from Ford and I can't say that I'm sorry.

[MA-Silverado]

Update,

 

Had the truck at the dealers yesterday afternoon and they did not fix the issue but here is what they did. Re-balanced all four tires, fixed weight issue on a few and they wanted to check the rims but their machine was out of service so I have to go back for another service call for that. Dealer could not guarantee that this would fix the issue because they could not drive the truck due to rain. They advised to call back if the issue continued. After the service call it seemed to be worse so I headed to my father in-law's to try his rims and tires from his GMC Sierra. His tires (Goodyear) and rims (steel) were the same size but different brand with almost 14k miles on them. After placing his tires on my truck I really noticed the vibration/shaking. So it seems, the more miles on a tire and lower PSI I notice the issue, the newer the tire with more PSI the less I notice the issue. I may be wrong in thinking it's the tires that's causing the issue. If it was the tires the vibration should have stopped with his.

 

Also, my father in-law drove his truck with my rims and tires and felt no vibration or shaking, smooth ride!

 

I will be calling the dealer back today to schedule another service call. I’ll update the post from my next visit.

[MA-Silverado]

Dropped off the truck at the dealership this afternoon so they can work on it. Will update the post once I hear from them.

 

Also, dealership claims they have never had/experienced this issue before. I doubt it but we will see.

[bigdeano]

I am new to the forum, but want to share this info on the Silverados based on personal experience. I have owned at least 4 Silverados over the past ten years with no issues. I came to the site to see if others were experiencing issues with the 2014 or 2015 Silverados. There appears to be much more than I thought.

In August 2014, I bought a 2014 Z71, trading in my 2011 model. While I was driving it home from the dealership and reaching about 40mph, I noticed a significant vibration. It felt like I was driving on a road full of pebbles. I called the dealership and they thought it was flat spots on the tires. Two weeks later same problem.

Had the truck into the shop 4 different times, once for two straight weeks, over a 6 month period. Four technicians noticed the vibration but could not diagnose it. The rearend was replaced, the shocks were replaced, the tires were replaced, etc., etc. I finally got to the point where I filed a claim with GM. they COULD NOT fix the problem and GM gave me a new 2015 Z71. I had to pay the difference of MSRP which was $800.00, but all my pmts up to this date were applied to the new truck.

I was quite pleased with the 2015 until I reached about 500 miles on the new truck. I noticed a vibration, same as the 2014 but only after I reached highway speeds, 60mph and up. I thought I was being paranoid and tried to convince myself that it was not there. Well, my wife and I took a 400 mile trip by highway, and about an hour into the trip, she asked me what was wrong with the truck. She was feeling vibration in her seat and floorboard. Now I am back where I started with the 2014 issues.

During this same trip, I ran into a friend who had bought the 2015 Silverado 2500HD. He said his truck vibrates to the point where his outside mirrors are shaking. Granted completely different truck but seems all too common among the GM trucks. He was bringing it back to the dealership.

As frustrated as I am at this point, I want to note that GM was very good to deal with on the issue with the 2014. Now I am either going to let the dealership try to fix the 2015, or I am going to visit Ford.

 

There is an attorney firm in New Jersey that handles the Lemon Law cases for free. You can find them on the web under Lemon Law for GM or similar. I did not have to use them but they did give me a free consultation.

Hope this is somewhat helpful to those with issues.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/automotive/2292311-gm-truck-vibration-3.html#ixzz3egO9DSrh

[MA-Silverado]

Update,

 

Truck has been at the dealership today and they found two problems. The right rear tire is bad and driveshaft is 23 degrees out of spec. They have ordered a replacement tire and drive shaft. Hopefully parts will arrive Monday/Tuesday depending on shipping because of the holiday weekend. I am not holding my breath but I sure hope this fixes the issue. Will update once parts are replaced, have a great holiday!!!

[GMCustomerService]

MA-Silverado,

 

We understand your vibration concerns have been frustrating and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. It's good to hear you've been working with your dealership and they've been actively trying to resolve this for you. Please continue to keep us posted on your visits. If you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to send us a private message. We'd be happy to reach out on your behalf and follow up with the dealer at any point. We'll be on the lookout for more updates.

 

Sincerely,

 

Eddie A.

GM Customer Care

Edited July 7, 2015 by GM Customer Service

[FBarber1]

Update,

 

Truck has been at the dealership today and they found two problems. The right rear tire is bad and driveshaft is 23 degrees out of spec. They have ordered a replacement tire and drive shaft. Hopefully parts will arrive Monday/Tuesday depending on shipping because of the holiday weekend. I am not holding my breath but I sure hope this fixes the issue. Will update once parts are replaced, have a great holiday!!!

How did this turn out for you? I have had a vibration since ~2k miles, and now have ~28k miles on my truck. New tires are in the near future so I am hoping that I will be able to fix the issue with a simple swap out. Looking forward to hearing if you were able to take care of this.

Edited July 7, 2015 by FBarber1

[MA-Silverado]

Update,

 

Hope all of you had a great 4^th! Here is the latest from the dealership.

 

Replace the original driveshaft with another BAD driveshaft and BAD tire. When driving, the vibration is still noticeable but not as bad from what the dealership has noticed. So, they have ordered another driveshaft and tire but cannot rule out a backend issue. Honestly I have no idea what a backend issue really means nor do I believe the dealership does either. I cannot get a date/time on when the new parts will arrive other than we will call you. This is the second week they have had the truck and I’m starting to lose patience and confidence they will get this resolved. Will update once they replaced the parts again.

Edited July 8, 2015 by MA-Silverado

[Bdkfl]

Update,

 

Hope all of you had a great 4^th! Here is the latest from the dealership.

 

Replace the original driveshaft with another BAD driveshaft and BAD tire. When driving, the vibration is still noticeable but not as bad from what the dealership has noticed. So, they have ordered another driveshaft and tire but cannot rule out a backend issue. Honestly I have no idea what a backend issue really means nor do I believe the dealership does either. I cannot get a date/time on when the new parts will arrive other than we will call you. This is the second week they have had the truck and Im starting to lose patience and confidence they will get this resolved. Will update once they replaced the parts again.

Our driveshaft was completely out of spec as well. Instead of ordering another one they REBUILT it properly. That was the best improvement we had felt by far. Our dealership has been nothing but awesome in helping us find a fix and practically pushed us themselves to go into talks with GM. It's going in for its final repair attempt on the 16th with a GM engineer and they'll probably keep it for the 10 day maximum they'll have and throw parts at it. I would ask them to rebuild it if your on good terms with them.

[Conussd]

I just dropped off my Sierra 1500 today at the dealership. I'm interested to see what they are going to try and do to fix it. The Service Manager came out and basically said that there's probably not much they can do because the roads are so bad out here in California because they are made out of concrete and that our crew cab standard bed configuration makes it worse. Ummm, okay, (with a look of bewilderment on my face). I would love to see that diagnosis written on my repair order. LOL.

 

 

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[1997SierraSLT]

that sounds like a thread on this forum where the OP tells the GM dealer that his truck starts vibrating severly above 75 MPH. GM dealer tells him that he shouldn't be driving over 75 MPH to begin with as that's the maximum speed limit...

[MA-Silverado]

Update,

 

Received a call from the dealership that the driveshaft and tire have been replaced and it seems the issue is gone. Service manager and tech working on the truck assured me they test drove it and they did not feel the vibration. Excitingly I dropped everything I was doing and b-lined to the dealership. Well sure enough the issue has NOT been resolved and at 62mph the vibration starts. I looked over at the service manager who was in the truck with me and asked him if they really test drove the truck. Driving down the highway the service manager noticed the vibration in the steering wheel and throughout the cabin. After the service manager acknowledged the vibration issue has not been resolved we returned to the dealership. I asked what was next and their response was “well, we will hook it up the computer again and see”. Clearly they have no idea what is causing this issue and in my opinion they will not be able to fix this issue. I have not been without a truck going on two weeks and every time I ask for a loner truck, it’s out. I am stuck with a loner Equinox at this time.

 

I called GM customer care and opened a claim. I explaining the issue to the service rep and she had the guts to say that this maybe a characteristic of the truck. I told her that was preposterous, misleading and false advertising. I told her that if this was a characteristic then the vibration should have been listed on the sticker of truck as a feature that the truck may vibrate around 60-75mph. I told her that if I knew of this feature I would not have purchased the truck. Customer care rep asked what I wanted. I told her I wanted my money back. She claims they are not sure if they can do that. I tell her, GM can sell a defective truck but can’t take back a defective truck; there should be a law for this. I asked her what their interpretation of the lemon was and she said I don’t know and we don’t have any lawyer’s for this information. I am now waiting for call back from a manager at the dealership on what my options are.

 

Also, service manager told me that the Colorado’s have an open bulletin on a vibration issue caused by a software issue. To resolve it, an update to the truck’s software has to be updated. Asked if the Silverado has the software issue and he said no.

[14silverado4.3]

A small vibration may be experienced through sweeping turns at highway speeds on some 2015 Colorado and Canyon models. The vibration goes away once the roadway straightens out.

 

This condition is called Smooth Road Shake. The Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) has a calibration to lessen the effects of Smooth Road Shake. However, the calibration is inhibited when the steering wheel is turned beyond a certain degree, at which point the vibration may be felt in the vehicle.

 

Do not replace any parts for this condition. A revised calibration is available that increases the amount of degrees from center that the steering wheel can be turned before inhibiting the Smooth Road Shake correction. Program the Power Steering Control Module with the latest calibration available in TIS2Web and verify the repair.

 

If a vibration still exists after the Power Steering Control Module calibration has been updated, continue with the appropriate vibration diagnostics in the Service Information