2022 1500 Wheel Shake and Vibration, and Towing Issue

MrLeadFoot · March 20

They clamped to the drivers seat frame. I don't know what I have underneath, so why? I never did check. Could that tell us something?

Kevin0311 · March 20

If you have the GM rear and i have the AAM then i would basically rule out wheel bearing/locker/axle problem in the rear because what would be the odds, if we both have the same and one of us finally gets a fix and happens to relate to the brand of the rear axle assembly then might be something to try on the others.

MrLeadFoot · March 20

This so frigging frustrating. I scanned my qr code and came up with a VERY short list of codes. I compared those codes to the long list of codes in this forum, and according to that comparison my truck has codes for things not listed on that list. Maybe my truck isn't even legit, I don't know. Why isn't there an easy to access list to decode this? I even tried using one of those online decoders, and many codes on mine were not on their list. And, there doesn't seem to be a code for differentials. Maybe you can figure it out. I did try to crawl under it, but unless I lift it and get way under it, I can't see the tell-tale markings.

1GTUUGEL4NZ547776,2022,TK10543,06,22,01,BGKHTG, AXK AY0 A2X A50 A7K CF5 CJ2 C5Y DEZ DRZ EF7 E63 FE9 FJW FWI F48 GAN GU5 G80 H2X IOK J22 J61 KW7 L87 MAH MHS NP5 NTB N10 QAQ RM7 SH0 UDV UQA UV6 U2K V8D WMW XCE Z45 Z82 Z88 4AA 5SA 6MY 7MP 8AT 9AT,636R,,,,

Edited March 21 by MrLeadFoot

Kevin0311 · March 28

I laid on the ground looked under with flashlight and saw 1 rib/fin from pinion to top so according to photo it is AAM. GM one has what looks to be 4 rib/fin.

Last Saturday i towed my 2500lb trailer on the highway, my 4WD was on due to snow on the roads when i first started driving my 55 mile trip, about 1/2 home it went to some slush then basically wet roads. When roads were down to wet i picked up speed as did other traffic, i was doing 75 with zero vibration.......in 4wd high. Today i installed new oem rear rotors (dial indicator did not move clamped to jack stand with rear axle in D in garage) although inside of rotors did have alot of buildup no issues found. Took a ride on the highway in 2wd and i will say still 95% no vibration felt, nothing in the seat a tiny tiny bit in arm rests but that could have been regular road conditions all though smooth not perfect.

Don't know if fluke or 4wd at higher speed had loosened/warmed up something or what, in winter 4wd is use often but not highway speeds. No idea what changed to make it better.

Going on a trip south in several weeks will report back what happens.

MrLeadFoot · April 2

Interestingly, i noticed before that when the roads are really wet, like in heavy downpour, the vibrations seems less, too.

Dsouza14 · July 23

Has anyone found a solution to this issue? I have the same problem with my brand-new 2024 Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate. It is currently at the dealership for inspection. Interestingly, the spare truck they gave me, which is also an Ultimate, has the same issue."

Kevin0311 · July 23

Since my last post i found no “fix” some times was good most times felt vibration 65+mph. Dealer said could not duplicate so attempted to find and fix on my own, nothing found on the interweb for solution seems like was only a few inquiring about issue like this.

to sum up i replaced the following during my 33k miles with the truck

new rear rotors

new rear driveshaft

new tires roadforced balanced on 20” rims that did not vibrate on my 2019 hc

multiple swapping of 22 inch tires on the 22 inch accessory GM wheels to finally get them to road force balance well within spec.
changed diff fluid

leaf spring rubbers

retorqued u-bolts for leaf springs

removed fuse for adaptive ride control

removed tonneu cover

nothing fixed or stopped it, the 20” wheel/tire setup seemed to lessen it but still could see a bottle of water in the cupholder shaking even on perfect road.

my last thing to try was a new truck, picked up a 2024 traded in the 23 and felt it alot less but i did feel it for first hundred highway miles, second hundred did not seem to notice so conflicting results as of now. Truck has 250 miles currently.

feels like a wheel weight fell off but trust me it is NOT as my tire guy and myself sat there one day with the 22” setup swapping and flipping and moving tires to get the roadforce numbers low, in the rears at both 3 and fronts were mid teens one and other 21 i believe.

always felt it in the seat, arm rest never in the steering wheel

Edited July 24 by Kevin0311

MrLeadFoot · July 24

A couple of us took this off the public forum {because GM doesn't give a hoot, and lawsuits should be kept private) and have been discussing this privately. That said, here's my experience since starting this thread.

Summer of '23, I picked up some brand-new 20" take-offs from someone with the exact same truck as me, complete with center caps, tire monitors and factory balancing. This enabled me to swap out my stock 22s with what would have come with my truck had I not opted for one of the packages that forced me to get 22s. My factory 22s vibrated between 68 and about 80mph, even after all 4 rims were replaced and 12 different factory tires had been put on them. At first I didn't notice much of a difference with the 20s, except the ride was instantly less harsh over sharp road imperfections and cracks. I marked the position on the car where each of the 22s were, and stored them lying on their sides in my garage.

When winter came, I noticed that the tires that came on the 20s from the factory were terrible in the rain,so I put back on my 22s, and because I had marked their previous positions, I put them on as if I were rotating them. This time I marked the 20s before storing them. I noticed that the vibration between 68 and 80 mph was now gone with the 22s, but the vibration was now between 80 and 84 mph. I thought I was imagining it, because we had previously tried all kinds of combinations with no improvement.

It rained all winter, which made it hard for me to find times to regularly drive the same places at the same speeds on dry roads, and armed with this new finding, I was anxious for Spring to arrive so I could swap wheels again and compare more carefully on dry roads.

Wouldn't you know it Spring came, but I was informed I needed to have an open heart surgery right away, or else! For 3 mos. after the surgery, my wife drove me to alll my doctor appointments in the truck, while I sat in the back. I watched the speedometer, and sure enough, each time she hit 80mph it would vibrate, and when she got past 84mph the vibration went away. i suffered in silence, in more ways than one, as I was itching to get those 20s back on the truck to do more comparisons.

Well, i recently started driving again, but am not supposed to be doing any physical tasks, so a friend who's been watching this vibration saga unfold kindly offered to swap my wheels for me. No, none of you can have my friend. When he put the 20s back on, I had him put them on as if rotating them from their previous spots. I've been driving for a little over a week now, and I don't feel the vibration between 68 and 80mph, nor do I feel it between 80 and 84mph. At least, I don't think I feel it, but I need to drive more to be sure.

If the vibration is really gone with the 20s on the truck, in the positions they're in now, and the 22s vibration range changed from 68-80 to 80-84, then the problem HAS to be with the wheels and/or tires. I'm leaning toward the culprit being tires because I've had 8 different 22" rims on the truck and I know from previous experience with my Vette that sometimes some model tires just don't work with a particular vehicle. In fact, on my Vette we went through a similar thing with Firestone tires. I had a pull to the right and Firestone corporate actually pulled multiple sets of tires from different factories and different build times, and nothing they did stopped the pull. They even paid for alignments, to no avail. Finally, they told me to pick whatever other tire I wanted, and I picked Michelin. As soon as they were installed my Vette went straight down the road.

Someone else told me in the beginning to give up on the factory tires, but I didn't want to spend $1400 on new tires after spending so much on the truck, nor did I think I should have to. But, when I came across the 20" take-offs, I figured I'd get a whole new set of everything for what I would spend on tires alone.

But now that I've found what I've found, I find myself still wondering if I should try a new set of Michelins on the 22s. If they work, I can sell the 20s because they are a full set with around 5,000 miles on them. But, if they don't work then I just spent on new tires for nothing.

You know what? I shouldn't have to have to do any of this. GM should be doing all this troubleshooting. They went through the hassle of putting 8 wheels and 12 tires on my car, none of which worked. Why didn't they try a whole different set of tires at some point during all this? I suspect because they don't want to find out that didn't help, because if it doesn't help, it's the truck! Could it be that they already know that? They really suck for putting such a horrible riding truck on the market, or not taking care of all of us who have what might be a simple tire issue that makes it such a horrible riding truck out of the gate!

I don't remember the Trail Boss I drove prior to buying my Denali vibrating, but maybe that's because I drove the heck out of it and never drove it under 85mph on my freeway test drive!

Let us know how you fair once you get your truck back from the dealership.

Dsouza14 · July 24

My problem started when I felt a vibration immediately after leaving the dealership with a new truck. I returned the truck right away, and they offered to replace it with a new one because the paperwork had just been completed. However, when I tested the new truck, I felt the same issue. They mentioned that the trucks had been sitting on the patio for about three months, so the potential balance might have been lost. Therefore, they offered to rebalance the tires on the original truck. I thought it was a tire problem as I only felt the vibration when driving over 60mph. I got the truck back the next day, and as soon as I hit the road and picked up speed, I felt the vibration again (less than the first time), but it was still there. I called them and told them the issue was still present.

They asked me to bring it back, so it has been two days since I dropped it off at the dealership. I see through the app that they are testing it, and they have not yet called me back to pick it up, so I assume they are still investigating. I strongly feel it is the tires, as I don't feel the vibration at lower speeds. I'll keep you all posted as soon as I get it back.

Side note: The loaner car they gave me, which is exactly the same truck, 1500 Delnai Ultimate, has the same issue, too.

MrLeadFoot · July 24

That's exactly what happened with me, which is why they tried replacing the actual rims, too, after going through 12 tires. The difference is that I bought mine out of state and it was shipped to me, so I couldn't just go back to the dealership. Last time in my life I will ever buy a new vehicle without a thorough test drive of the exact vehicle beforehand. It's been a nightmare. It's also not fair that we have to buy ANY tires, rims, or any other part for that matter on a brand-new vehicle. This is the first time I've sever experienced such a hassle from a manufacturer who pretends to want to help, but does nothing about it, even though I opened a case with GM at 11 miles on the odometer. Begs the question as to whether Mary Barra has implemented this kind of culture at GM.

Poor @Kevin0311 has been going through even more than I am.

Edited July 24 by MrLeadFoot

Dsouza14 · August 9

Hey, here is the update on my case: I left my car at the dealership, and they kept it for over 3 weeks. At the end of the first week, they called me and said they had serviced the car and it was ready to go. I went there, took the car, and tested it on a very smooth road. However, the vibration was still present. I informed them that I would not take the car back home and would open a case with GMC if the issue was not resolved. They assured me that they would do everything possible to fix the issue. However, two weeks later (I'm not sure why there was such a delay), they called me to say that they needed to order 4 new tires because they found 3 uneven tires that couldn't be balanced and were causing the vibration.

I took the car for a road test and I can confidently say that replacing all the tires resolved the issue. I'll give the kudos here to the dealership, which took accountability and fixed it. Also, they gave me another brand-new Denali Ultimate to drive while I was waiting for mine to get fixed. It sounds like my case was not as the other ones before; I hope you all get yours fixed, too.

Dsouza14 · September 27

Latest update: Unfortunately, the issue came back, and I have visited the dealership four times now since I thought it was resolved. But no, the car is still losing balance. I opened a GMC case, and the truck is at the dealership again. However, they are so slow in just getting to touch the car. If you are in the Houston area, never use Sterling McCall to buy or service your car. One of the service managers just told me I should get used to the vibration. Unbelievable.

Back to the issue, I believe it could be something with the rims and not the tires, but let us see what they say now.

MrLeadFoot · September 27

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through EXACTLY what I've been through. Nobody should have to go through this with a vehicle that costs as much as these trucks do. It appears that GM just can't seem to make a 1500 Denali truck that doesn't vibrate. Unbelievable. Keep us updated as to your progress, or lack thereof.

Edited September 27 by MrLeadFoot

Kevin0311 · September 28

Trust me i highly doubt it is the wheels, they balance with the tires, i have been down this road with my 23 with different rim, tire combinations and spending the time getting the roadforce number in the single digits with no fix

my24 now has 4500 miles on it and does the same as my 23 with highway speed vibration 70+ mph but probably 40% plus less noticeable.

now that my 24 is similar to my 23 i do believe it is a flaw with the truck design not specific to just a handful of trucks with majority of drivers not noticing the vibration.

MrLeadFoot · September 28

I wholeheartedly agree. Maybe it's only in 6.2s or maybe only with adaptive ride control (because I've only seen complaints from Denali owners), I don't know, but from the way GM has handled this (or should I say HASN'T handled this) no more 1500 GM trucks for me after this one. Suburbans and Yukon XLs may be OK, and I don't believe my friends' 2500s do this, either, but if I ever buy another GM, you can bet my deal will be contingent upon an overnight demo where I can test drive the sh|t out of it, no matter what I buy.

FWIW, I don't recall the 5.3 Trail Boss, or the Diesel Denali I drove prior to buying doing this, but I did not cruise at normal 65-80 highway speeds during my demos. I was doing hot starts and 90+ highway speeds to see which motors had enough get up and go to tow and pass and that sort of thing, so I was driving past that normal highway cruising range during my demos. So, maybe they ALL have an issue, I don't know for sure, but like Kevin says, I bet a lot of people don't notice it, especially those that have been driving worse trucks prior to these. But, if you had a real nice riding truck or SUV prior, you definitely notice that these don't really ride all that nice, not even in Denali trims.

Edited September 28 by MrLeadFoot