How to handle this?

tonygxp · January 19, 2016

Ok, so like I said I was going to do upon returning form the Poconos with the shimmy/vibration problem which still plagues my 2016 Sierra, I took it to the Shop today. Not GM, my friend's performance shop. He also owns a K2, a 2015 Denali CC 6.2 which has had similar vibrations but only at high rpm in lower gears, he hadn't noticed the 75mph shimmy (from now on I'm calling it a shimmy, because vibration is NOT correct, it feels like a tire out of balance or a broken belt in the trie but is very speed specific so shimmy it is).

Upon checking the items which another member found to cure his shimmy woes, the U Bolt nuts, they were loose on mine, looser than the 58ft lbs spec fromGM plus an additional 130 degrees.. I also checked the Cab mount bolts which were all in spec, but I appreciate the suggestion anyway (even after tightening the U bolts, the shimmy remained).

So back to square one. The tires. The tires which were already road forced by GM dealer on 12/31 when truck had 1k miles on it (now it has maybe 1,600 miles?) So two tires are out, about .50 and .75 give or take here or there, so full rebalance on a very new and calibrated last friday Snap On high speed wheel balancer. The third balanced out perfect, this tire had no weights on it other than the factory installed ribbon weights, meaning nor the GM dealer or the tech today needed to rebalance..good.

But, here comes the reason for this thread.. the tire that the GM Tech told the service writer was rotated 180 out because the machine suggested it and balanced (which multiple sets of weights in at least 5 positions (signs of "weight chasing" according to the Tech today) wouldn't balance out... so further inspection revealed that on the inside of that tire was written "N/G" in white paint or marker which also appears to have been partially scrubbed by the GM Tech that did the road force on 12/31 or factory (doubt it) or selling dealer (another why would they do that i picked the truck up with 6 miles on it i believe?)

So now, i'm pretty disturbed, I have not left the tires or the truck with anyone since the 12/31 service and I didn't leave it's side today, my friend owns the shop, a 7k sqft facility with 7 lifts, a AWD Dyno and machine shop and five axis CNC machine, 2D printers you name it.. So the Tech who has been trained on this newer Snap On balancer and as I mentioned just calibrated, starts to rotate the tire manually faster and faster and says look, see that, I say no, but then sure enough there's a bump on the tread... now he and I run our hands on the tire as it's spinning pretty quick and have it spin faster, you can feel it, on the outer shoulder of the tire, it's a raised bump on the tread blocks just before the sidewall. OK, so i have him mark the spot in between the tread and also on the inside of the tire with the word "outside" in lower case letters with white paint marker.. so if the tread paint wears at least we remember where it is in case it decides to "not cooperate" when i bring it back to the dealer.

So, we then "chase" the weights and it balances eventually, again 5 differents posts in and outer rim till it goes to zero. I then call the dealer and talk to the service writer and I tell him about this and now I also advise him of the marks, chip the tech that worked on my truck on 12/31 made on that SAME RIM with the screwed up "N/G" tire (which if you go in the vibration thread you'll see i posted on 12/31 after the service visit along with the repair order).

I am upset because if their tech KNEW the tire was no good "N/G" why the heck would he reinstall it on my truck? wouldn't you think if he found such a problem with the trie to take the time to mark it "N/G" he would say something to the service writer and not reinstall it????? I have a spare.... what the heck? who would want their wife and kids in a truck with "N/G" tire on it traveling over bridges, driving on the hwy etc etc? I mean, I did it today knowing the tire is marked "N/G" but ONLY because I already drove it another 600 miles or more since this guy marked the tire that way including numerous hwy drives, some as long as 145 miles away! man, it's unreal people don't think of consequences like that??

So i am curious how and what you would do to:

A) rectify the original wheel chip/damage to the lug nut barrel (zoom in) and the face of the wheel on my NEW truck..

B) The ongoing shimmy which has not been addressed (i rotated the "N/G" tire to the rear and saw no improvement on the hwy. Should i demand they act on that service bulletin and do the PICO scope procedure etc?

PS, my friend and I took his CC Denali 6.2 out on the hwy today and he brought his truck up to a little over 70mph and after about 5 minutes his truck is doing the same shimmy.. I was so relieved (sad for him) that it is in EVERY truck.. his is the third of our friend's to display the same "shimmy" at 75mph (ish) on any surface during an extended cruise. He was convinced it was the converter (he already has a new 8 speed which they thought cured the high rpm vibrations he was having in 2nd and 4th but it didn't lol) until he shifted to "M5" and it didn't change....

Why are all these trucks doing this? it's insane.. and for anyone in the central NJ area that wants to "prove to me their truck isn't doing it" LOL, meet me at his shop on saturday, we'll go for a ride, prepare to be disappointed.. cause they all do it.

diyer2 · January 19, 2016

I feel for all the truck owners that are having problems. This is what I would try to do.

My first question would be to the service manager " Do your techs receive training "? He will probably say yes. Then ask how the wheel got damaged and the bulge in the tire was missed.

I would ask for a new rim, lug nuts and a set of tires. Settle for a new set of pro-rated tires ( pay the difference if its a fair price) and a new rim and lug nuts.

They may say there's no way to prove the damage was done at the dealer being the time elapsed and if you bring up your findings at the other shop. If you get no where go up the ladder to the dealer manager.

I would also consider calling GM customer service about this dangerous situation of a bulging tire.

Good Luck

tonygxp · January 22, 2016

i'm surprised nobody was stunned about a dealership tech doing this? marking a tire "N/g" then putting it back on the truck? huh.

they responded or i should say he, the service writer that helped me last time did. they want my truck in next week and will provide a loaner for duration. so under the knife she goes.

SAKO79 · January 25, 2016

It's not just these K2 trucks. You look at the 2015-16 canyons and Colorados and people are complaining about vibrations with them also that you cons and the other SUVs that GM has made 2014 plus are also having vibration issues. I was a hardcore GM fan but after my 2014 purchase I will never buy another GM product again too many problems I was actually looking into the 2016 and people are having the same issues with the 14th and 15th so why would I waste more money on it

Lyman24 · January 25, 2016

Bring it back, demand they fix everything, but on the off-chance be prepared to negotiate the next best thing you want. If neither side side is willing to give in, there will be no agreement. Pick you battles, but also play the safety card on the tire. Good luck!