2009 Silverado Highway Vibration

[greenerob]

I have a 2009 Silverado 5.3L with the 20 inch wheel package. It currently has just over 5000 miles.

 

It was days after I took delivery that I first got on the highway and noticed that it was out of alignment, steering wheel shook and the wheel/tires where out of balance. I took it in to the selling dealer and they said that it could be caused by the truck having flat spots from sitting on the lot and that I would have to bring it back after 3000 miles. This enraged me because flat spots wouldn't cause the truck to be out of alignment.

 

After about 2000 miles I started to notice that my brakes began to pulsate so I took the truck in and they aligned it. It was out of alignment as I thought. They road force balanced the tires and replaced one tire. They also resurfaced the rotors.

 

I drove it home and found that the rotors where worse then before. How this could happen is beyond me. The tires where worse too. I called them back and they refused to help. I was moving anyway so I figured that I would just wait until the next dealer.

 

I finally got a chance to take it in at 5000 miles and they balanced the tires and resurfaced the rotors. When I left, the rotors seemed great, but the tires were worse than before. The left front tire which is the worst one has 2 weights that are about 4 inched long each on the face of the wheel and a smaller one on the back of the rim.

 

Since I had it in the shop I have driven about 400 miles and the rotors are starting to pulsate again.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences with this?

 

I love the truck, but hate to drive it over 60mph and hate the way it feels when I hit the brakes.

[Stevens03]

Demand nothing short of new rotors and tires. I had GM do that re-surface crap to me. Brand new truck and the damn rotors are turned. If GM's lucky, they won't warp till after the 36,000 miles is up leaving me with the bill. I say hell no to that.

 

New rotors and your not leaving without them. Tires... well that was a poor excuse of an answer and they just didn't want to fix it. I'd be raising all kinds of hell. Question is, why didn't you turn around and give the keys to the service manager and ask him if he'd drive it. You shouldn't have left in the first place.

 

Good luck.

[cerbomark]

Don t argue and get annoyed with a dealer that won t or can t help you. There are several # s, one of them is 1-800-222-1020. I ve never had the dealer be so nice as after I called GM and told them I was unhappy with the product. I didn t bad mouth the dealer to GM , just gave them the facts on warrenty work that the dealer didn t seem too excited about doing. (This was my painted molding post from Jan/08). GM gave me a case # and called me twice a week until I was happy.

 

That s BS!

[Stevens03]

Oh I agree with the above post. You won't get anywhere throwing your arms and yelling. Keep it civil and don't settle for anything less. It took 1 phone call to GM customer service to get mine covered. The dealership was going to turn them again. They paid for the rotors, and I paid for the pads. I thought that was a good compromise. My above post was meant to be done in a professional manor, otherwise you won't get anywhere with the dealership or customer service.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Irv]

I am noticing the same thing with my truck (09 with 20's as well) Same thing, noticed it from day one and it needs to be looked after when I find the time?

Hopefully my dealer is a little more helpful than yours, if not then I won't hesitate to call the number posted above! Good Luck and keep us informed on your progress.

[shultz]

It seems to be with the 20" wheel package there is a widespread vibration issues. Mine comes in at 65 mph and above. The dealer has balanced once, replaced all tires once, took to another dealer and they rebalanced and the service manager says this is all we can do. I don't know if its tires or not but neither dealer wants to take the time to do a vibration analysis to determine were its coming from-I guess they won't get paid for the actual time performing. Mine has the complete truck shaking, passenger seat back, steering wheel, floor and if I drive more than 30mins my hand is numb from all the vibration. Truck has 3700 miles on it.

[Stevens03]

I'm not buying it.. There's millions of people with 20's and no issues at all. Mines smooth as glass Personally, I'd say it's the tires and I'd have them 180 the tire and rebalance

and see if it goes away or gets worse.

 

You could always look into Hunter road force balancing. Thats another option. Are they putting weights on both sides of the wheel?

[nbscanuck]

have them spin the rim alone to see if the rim is screwy or the tire.

[shultz]

They forced balanced, they have check rims, they just tell you its normal-it ain't normal.

[SLESierra]

have them spin the rim alone to see if the rim is screwy or the tire.

 

 

exactley my neighbor just had two (four) wheels replaced on his sierra over this very same issue. He put up with it for 9000 miles and then took it to them one last time and still had an issue. He called GM customer service and made a deal with them and took the vehicle to a tire dealer who tested the tires and wheels then just the wheels and found the wheels were almost 23 ounces heavy on one side and the other was 17 ounces heavy. It was explained to him that the wheels are counterweighted to deal with the TPMS and if the wheel is cast it can catch air and cause this and other issues. He also had brake issues but believes they were due to the wheels being screwy. He also made them replace his tires since the tire dealer said they were cupped.

 

reason he had four wheels he made GM do all four since he had to put up with multiple visits as he threatened to call the NHTSA over it being a safety issue.

[2007VictoryRed]

Maybe the drive line?

[Spurshot]

Keep good records of all visits and discussions on the phone with GM customer service. Get the customer service agent's name or employee number. Keep all your reciepts of work done. If you're serious about getting a resolution, once you get to about 3-4 visits to dealers and it hasn't been resolved, contact your local BBB and file a claim. The BBB will hold a hearing with an arbitrator, a GM rep will call in. Have all your reciepts and notes of conversations (with dates, times, names, what was discussed, etc). The arbitrator will give each party ample opportunity to provide their side of the story. Be polite, and factual. Just walk the arbitrator thru the events chronologically ("on May 1st of 2008, I took the truck to dealer X and explained the problem and here's the reciept for that visit. I noticed the problem returned a few days later.... called GM customer service on this date and spoke with ___...") The GM rep will ask for "...an opportunity to fix the issue". Your records should show they had plenty of opportunities. If so, the arbitrator will rule in your favor for some type of resolution. It may be something like "change all the tires, balance them, replace the rotors, etc. or may be as significant as a "lemon law" buy-back of the whole truck.

 

Chuck

[Spurshot]

"...and found the wheels were almost 23 ounces heavy on one side and the other was 17 ounces heavy. It was explained to him that the wheels are counterweighted to deal with the TPMS and if the wheel is cast it can catch air and cause this and other issues. "

 

That's about the biggest load of horse bisquits I've heard a dealer throw out there to get out of work.

[shultz]

Thanks for the reply spurshot, me being a service manager in a gm store for alot of years I know the system. I have everything noted, documented, t crossed, i dotted, every receipt, every time date, name, what was talked about, the lies, everything. I even already sent GM there final repair attempted 2 repair orders ago. I now can't get a customer service rep to call back probably because the dealer they sent me to says that yes the truck vibrates and we can't improve, the tires wearing on the outside edge and cupping within 1000 miles I can't improve so I have contacted the BBB autoline today. But all I really want is someone to take the time and fix the truck. It can be fixed. We will see.

Mike

[Spurshot]

Mike,

I know what you mean. You know what it takes to fix it, but nobody will listen. I had that same problem with my 98 Chevy 2500 with a simple leak of one rear axle seal. The truck would pull very quickly during a sudden braking due to oil on one drum. I took it back 4 times and they changed every part except the axle itself, even going so far as to change the complete rearend housing, but they used the guts from the original. GM bought it back on a decision by the BBB that I hadn't gotten the use for which I purchased it, since I wouldn't tow a horse trailer with it in that condition. Once they bought it back, I tried to buy it as a used truck and fix it myself. They sold it thru and auction company.