2015 Yukon Denali 2WD Excessive road vibration and transmission shudde

dwchapmanjr · June 21, 2016

Long time reader and first time poster. I recently started to have vibration issues with my 2015 Yukon Denali. It started after the last scheduled oil change and tire rotation. I noticed the vehicle vibrating quite often. I started paying more attention to it and realized there was a shudder in-between gears that became worse as the transmission warmed up.

Took it to the dealer I purchased it at and it was a bit of a fiasco because they were backlogged and ended up taking it to another dealer who performed 2810175 (updated TCM with latest calibration and relearn). They handed me the vehicle and said all fixed. Took the vehicle home and it seemed to be ok but started noticing the shudder again.

One question is after this, is it expected that there should be a relearn time for X miles while its relearning the shift adapts/pressures? Is there an estimated number of miles for this? It seems to shudder less often but when it does it seems worse than before. I've only driven it about 60 miles since the recalibration.

I'm fully aware of PIP5337 and asked them about this but they said the TCC was not bad. The vehicle was purchased June of 2015 so its definitely manufactured before November of 2015 which PIP5337D mentions.

As I drive it more and more, I feel less of a transmission shudder but more road vibration than I felt in the loaner 2016 Yukon SLT or my wife's Kia Soul. I'm wondering if its possible they rebalanced improperly. The road vibration seems to be at lower speeds. At higher speeds it is better but may just be the quality of the roads I am driving on at lower speeds.

I do notice the TAC jumps about 100 rpm during most shifts and not sure if this is normal. It seems to do this when the TCC speed should be 0 (around 2000PM) shifts. I realize it would not be fully locked under 1600RPM.

At this point, I am not really sure if I am just paying too much attention to every bump on the road or if there is an actual issue. Are there any objective ways to determine if there is an actual issue and express that in a way that will not completely annoy the dealer?

I have already had to pull this vehicle from one dealer because they were so backlogged it would have been in the lot sitting for repair for 23 days. With that said, they planned on doing a tear down on it to inspect and thought it was the TCC.

Any help or guidance is much appreciated. Thanks!

dwchapmanjr · June 22, 2016

About 100 miles on driving it and the transmission shudder seems to be getting better. Not quite there. Going to try to go through a full tank or two of gas and see how it goes.

The road noise and vibration still seems like a bit worse than I remember but to be fair I just recently got the vehicle back since 6/6/16 although the loaner Yukon didn't make this much road vibration.

dwchapmanjr · June 25, 2016

One tank in and about 250 miles and it seems to be running very good. Uphill once at 1300 rpm at around 30mph though and it gave me a back massage all the way up. It seems to run great when the transmission temp is 100, and 180 but a little rough while its warming up and in the 140-150 range.

mandals0810 · August 7, 2016

My 2015 Yukon Denali has started the "vibration/shake/shudder" RPMs jump when the vehicle starts to vibrate. Its worse at about 70 MPH with the cruise control set. It feels like I'm driving on the rumble strips....

Just wondering if they were able to fix yours?

dwchapmanjr · August 8, 2016

So my rough shifting is still happening on occasion but the recalibration seemed to fix the steady, feels like its driving on rumble strips.

If you haven't taken it in yet, I'd see if they would at least do the recalibration. I do not think they did the fast learn on it when they did mine though because it took about 2 tanks of gas to shift somewhat normally as it relearned the shift adapts.

dwchapmanjr · August 30, 2016

Finally got worse enough to bring back in. They diagnosed the TCC as the issue and its on back order but stated its safe to drive so I have possession. We'll find out in a few weeks when it gets replaced but fingers crossed.

flatout71 · August 31, 2016

Finally got worse enough to bring back in. They diagnosed the TCC as the issue and its on back order but stated its safe to drive so I have possession. We'll find out in a few weeks when it gets replaced but fingers crossed.

TCC torque converter clutch?

I have a 2105 Denali XL. 17,000 miles. I started having a vibration shuttering problem at lower speeds 30mph is the worst. It typically lasts 5-10 seconds. I am also noting 100--200 rpms surges at low speeds. The shutter vibration is extremely annoying. The truck was great and quite up to this point. Now it is simply horrible to drive.

One final issue is a big slip of the transmission when initially putting the truck from park to drive at startup.

Any comments or suggestions on dealing with the dealer on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Going to try to get it to the dealer next week. Hoping for a positive resolution this is GMC SUV number 9. All prior gmc's were good.

dwchapmanjr · September 1, 2016

TCC torque converter clutch?

I have a 2105 Denali XL. 17,000 miles. I started having a vibration shuttering problem at lower speeds 30mph is the worst. It typically lasts 5-10 seconds. I am also noting 100--200 rpms surges at low speeds. The shutter vibration is extremely annoying. The truck was great and quite up to this point. Now it is simply horrible to drive.

One final issue is a big slip of the transmission when initially putting the truck from park to drive at startup.

Any comments or suggestions on dealing with the dealer on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Going to try to get it to the dealer next week. Hoping for a positive resolution this is GMC SUV number 9. All prior gmc's were good.

Yes, TCC = Torque Converter Clutch

I found that if I warmed up the transmission by driving on the highway I could easily reproduce it constantly at 70mph or at lower speeds after TCC fully locked and slightly pushing the gas.

The dealers do not like being told how to diagnose the problem but make sure they are aware of PIP5337 (specifically PIP5337 revision E From Aug 2016) for the TCC issue. If they have not done many TCC replacements they may not be aware of it.

There is a separate bulletin for the lurching from park to drive. The stator needs to be reinserted and I would make them aware of both of these issues and service bulletins beforehand as they might as well address the stator while replacing the TCC.

They may run the calibration if you have never had it done or are not running the latest for the TCC. It will run rough for a few tanks of gas afterwards but if you're feeling the issue now, it ultimately won't resolve it because the TCC is probably heavily worn already which that calibration is supposed to help avoid.

flatout71 · September 1, 2016

Yes, TCC = Torque Converter Clutch

I found that if I warmed up the transmission by driving on the highway I could easily reproduce it constantly at 70mph or at lower speeds after TCC fully locked and slightly pushing the gas.

The dealers do not like being told how to diagnose the problem but make sure they are aware of PIP5337 (specifically PIP5337 revision E From Aug 2016) for the TCC issue. If they have not done many TCC replacements they may not be aware of it.

There is a separate bulletin for the lurching from park to drive. The stator needs to be reinserted and I would make them aware of both of these issues and service bulletins beforehand as they might as well address the stator while replacing the TCC.

They may run the calibration if you have never had it done or are not running the latest for the TCC. It will run rough for a few tanks of gas afterwards but if you're feeling the issue now, it ultimately won't resolve it because the TCC is probably heavily worn already which that calibration is supposed to help avoid.

Thanks this is a big help.

dwchapmanjr · September 10, 2016

New Torque Converter is in and I have only driven about 25 miles but I noticed a huge difference. It might be because I dealt with it for so long but I don't remember it riding this smooth driving it off the lot.

I did have one shudder under heavy acceleration but I would expect it at this point if its still going through learning some of the shifts. Normally from the 25 miles I drove, I could reproduce it constantly. I'll consider it resolved after a tank of gas but I definitely have the "Cadillac" drive back.

These were the parts replaced as indicated on the invoice. It made no mention of the bulletin but they verbally indicated the transmission specialist did find a bulletin but was confused when I cited PIP5337.

24279497 F-(S) Converter

24274402 (S) Filter

19331925 Fluid

Thanks this is a big help.

Any luck taking it in?

flatout71 · September 10, 2016

New Torque Converter is in and I have only driven about 25 miles but I noticed a huge difference. It might be because I dealt with it for so long but I don't remember it riding this smooth driving it off the lot.

I did have one shudder under heavy acceleration but I would expect it at this point if its still going through learning some of the shifts. Normally from the 25 miles I drove, I could reproduce it constantly. I'll consider it resolved after a tank of gas but I definitely have the "Cadillac" drive back.

These were the parts replaced as indicated on the invoice. It made no mention of the bulletin but they verbally indicated the transmission specialist did find a bulletin but was confused when I cited PIP5337.

24279497 F-(S) Converter

24274402 (S) Filter

19331925 Fluid

Any luck taking it in?

Got tied up at work this week. Going to take it in next week. Thanks for the update. I hope that perhaps my fix will track your's. Glad you saw an improvement!

mrctx5000 · October 18, 2016

Hey Guys: New poster here. I have a 2015 Yukon XL Denali 4wd with severe TCC vibration. Vehicle has 83,000 miles on it. It was probably doing it for quite a while, but I had other suspension issues that were masking the bad ride and shuddering. I finally took it in today assuming " powertrain warranty". After test ride and inspection. they say: The torque converter is destroyed and the fluid is black. ( i'm kinda not surprised ). Tries to blame me for it. They say " You didnt change the fluid at 45k miles like the manual says under 'severe' service schedule. I argue that I dont drive under severe conditions and i strictly follow the 'normal' schedule. I do all highway miles. I never tow. always drive at reasonable speeds. the ATF is not scheduled to be changed under that schedule. Long story short, They agree to replace the torque converter and power flush everything under the warranty. Should get it back in a few days. I'll post how everything performs after the repair.

14silverado4.3 · February 21, 2017

I am getting the same thing and I own a 2014 4.3 6speed. I have normal v4 vibes but occasionally get a 1 to 2 second heavy shudder in V4, with light throttle input can turn it on and off almost at will.

dwchapmanjr · March 27, 2017

Just following up after a few months. Still runs like it was brand new!

Jaimmie · June 12, 2017

I have a 2015 Yukon Denali I noticed after an oil change it started shaking when excelerating between 20-30 mph and 40-50 mph. They told me my tires needed balancing so I did that and an alignment. Well the shaking is still there so I took it back today and the dealership I bough it and they told me that GMC says to fix it I have to pay 650.00 to have the transmission flushed three times and if that doesn't fix it then they will replace my transmission because it's under power train warranty. Well so I call a local GMC dealer and they tell me they have never heard of such a process and to bring it in so they can look at it. Has anyone had this problem and if so please share you experience, I'm at a loss it's 2 years old and should not be having these issues for a car that is babied. Thank you