anyone have vibration issues with their 2014 silverado 1500?
 

well I just joined the long list of suckers who didn't research the new trucks before buying so I now have the seemingly common problem of a drivetrain or tire vibration only at certain speeds and conditions. mine has that slight shimmy from 65-75mph most noticeable at 68-72mph and its mainly when slightly accelerating but tends to come and go at steady speed on smooth roads.

PLEASE NO FORD VS CHEVY STUFF BECAUSE FORDS HAVE THESE ISSUES TOO SO THEY ARE NO BETTER

this thread is created i n the hopes for chevy owners to compare notes and talk about what was done to their trucks and what worked for them or still hasn't fixed the problems.

near as I can tell its a common problem on something like 75-80% of all the new trucks and even if you don't notice it right away many notice it after putting a few hundered miles on their trucks. the average person does get on the freeway to even notice it so a lot of people don't even know they have this problem.

there is a lot of info out there on the web about complaints but no sign its a common cause or solutions since a few things work as a fix for some but not others.

from my limited research over the past few days this my estimate of what the reports on the vibration issues are related to:

20% are fixed by the owner buying new tires of a different brand at their own expense (getting rid of the goodyear or bridgestones they come with)
30% are fixed by dealer rebalancing, realignment, and or replacing one or more tires from being out of round sometimes required as many as 6 trips to the dealer to finally be sorted out and owners still report a slight vibration that they say they can live with
10% are fixed by replacing the aluminum drive shafts (sometimes requires replacing it a second or third time to get a balanced one)
10% have the rear end gears replaced 2 or 3 times before its fixed
10% are fixed by reprograming the electronic power steering computer that sometimes freaks out on a smooth level road because it has no road input trying to make the wheels wobble and rapidly checks free play by wiggling the steering
20% are never fixed even after doing all of the things listed above and chevy has no clue whats wrong


I would like this to be a resource for chevy guys to help us all fix our own trucks since chevy has no clue what the problem is and wont try to solve it beyond throwing a few free tire balancing and random parts replacement repairs your way

My 2013 was slightly pulling to the right most notable at 70 mph or above. Brought back to rainbow and mech. made adjustment and test drive and came get me to test drive and took it back to fine tune adjustment so to make sure i was satisfied. Where did you buy from?

at best chevy in metairie, they claim I need 500 miles on it before they are allowed to replace the tire with the flat spot so I need to go drive in circles and burn gas for a day or two lol.

I got scared looking at all the phantom vibration issues they cant fix on the 2014 gmc and chevy trucks

look here, it goes on for 185 pages of it: http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topi...ration-issues/

No problems with mine. But it came with Mickey Thompson tires on it new. 11000 miles on it.


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I dont know how them people still in buiseness . They may be rite about the 500 miles as far as warranty though cause when i brought mine back to rainbow they told me they won't let them warranty alinement till 7500 miles to make sure everything settled in. I have never had a problem there and a few years back my wifes suv had 1 day left on the battery and they towed it in and put a new one no charge. Couldn't believe that. As for tires the guy at goodyear told me the eagles are the cheepo's . I ran wranglers before and they were good tires but my 4x4 came with eagles and i put a/t wranglers with kevlar and was hoping the allignment would stay the same and have had no problem. Usually a bad tire will start vibrating at 45 to 50. If you haven't yet check the tire pressure. They usually run low to make a smoother test drive.

Shoulda got the forc

Sorry to hear your having that problem. I purchased 2 2014 Sierras, both with Goodyear but each have different tires. One with 15,000 and the other with 10,000 and I have not experienced that problem. The only issue thus far is a spark plug wire popped off last week. Let us know when you figure it out.

well I just hope im one of the lucky ones that they can find a fix for it because its scary to read they tell some people they cant fix it and you just have to live with a $30,000 vibrating truck :pissed:

I was joking BTW. Crazy that you got stuck with this and hope it works itself out.

thanks and I know you like to clown around a lot, better to goof off on the internet then chase secretary around the desk, that leads to divorce or large expense account expenditures :spineyes:

[emoji16]

Start by getting the tires balanced. Since you only feel it during a certain speed frame it is more than likely a balance issue. Hope you get it straightened out man.
Are you feeling it more in the steering wheel or in your seat?

I bought mine 3 months ago at Ross downing in Hammond ,I had the same issue as you at 70 mph it was extreme vibration,long story short I took it to them and they did a force balance on the tires,I have no idea what force balance is but they told me a lot of the 20" tires are having that problem,that was a month ago and mine is still driving great no vibration at all ,hope this helps

hard to say, its like 50/50 so it could be front or back or maybe a little of both. good thing it is very slight so im hoping its a simple tire or rim issue.

you can really scare the hell out of yourself reading those problems with my vehicle websites when all the problems seam to be identical without much answers for it.

that's good to hear

road force balance (as I understand it) is balancing the tires with the weight of the vehicle pressing down on them, like it sounds, with road force applied to them. its a much more accurate method but im not sure exactly how its done.

I have read some stuff about how the new wheels are molded or cast and not turned from solid metal like they used to be so the center hole is not the true center and cant be used to balance wheels on a traditional wheel balancer.

as I understand it, the reason for road force balancing is that under load the tires may deform throwing the balance off.

now I don't know if road force means its done on or off of the vehicle but I saw talk about "done on the car" balancing machines or special adapters being needed for none centered rims that must be centered using the lug bolts and not the hole

Hopefully it's just a balance and or tire issue. I've run mud grips on my 07 GMC for so long I had almost forgot what it felt like when it wasn't vibrating. lol. Just put on a set of A/T's and was like WOW.....

the only thing I really don't like about my truck other then sitting too high is that when you put it in park it automatic unlocks all the doors so if you pull over in a bad area and stop it unlocks the doors to allow you to be carjacked :rolleyes:

if they want an auto lock feature then automatic lock my truck if I forget to lock it (but no it doesn't do that) but don't decide for me when im not protected from intruders just because I put it in park to check the map or something

You have the work truck package? Thats what I have. I have never tried to reprogram that feature on my truck. If I have time this week I'll put the scanner in it and see if it can be done. I think that can be changed with a tech 2 scanner. I will try to check though.

yep, I got the work truck 2WT (chrome package) regular cab short bed 1500 with 3.08 gears and the 17" steel wheels and ss hub caps and towing package

man I would love to be able to turn that feature off, my inlaws truck does it too and its a few years old so I would guess if it can be turned off someone should already know how

Have you looked in your owners manual to see if the auto unlock feature can be changed by using your control panel?

im a guy, we don't read instructions or owns manuals we just figure things out on our own :cool:

no I haven't read the 150 page manual but its worth a shot, I hadn't even thought about that because I just assumed you cant turn off safety features like the child protective auto lock feature.

I went put another 300 miles on it today so I meet their required 500 miles to fix the tires and this time I paid super extra careful attention to the vibration and its all 100% in the seat and nothing is coming from the steering wheel, the seat was shaking me so I thought the steering had a little vibration too but with a light fingertip feel I could tell the wheel is rock solid smooth so its the back end as in rear tires or drive train issue

Something to think about or try............

If you think it is the back tire problem, swap the tires and see if the vibration changes to the front or stays in the back.

update:

spent 9 hours at the dealership today :pissed:

first from 7:30 to 9 am it took for them to say GM suggested to RF balance all 4 tires. that's what I was told they were already going to do last time (Thursday) as soon as I put enough miles on it and it took them 90 minutes to rediscover this lost knowledge of what to do next?

so now its 9 am and of course their RF balance machine is broke so they have to bring it to another dealership to have it done but now im at the back of the line at the other dealership with like 12 people ahead of me.

around 12 they tell me the truck is back and all 4 tires were "way out" as they put it and so we test drive it and it wasn't bad but still had a slight vibration so I said to go ahead and put on a new set of tires since they offered to do that.

4 hours later the test drive now has vibration at 60 mph instead of 70 so the guy says "I guess we need to RF balance them. :eek:

what the heck, you put a new set of tires and don't balance them the way GM says you need to :pissed: and this after taking 4 hours to replace 4 tires.

so now its 4:30 and too late to send it out and get it back today so I was given rental to go home and they will get it RF balanced tomorrow and if that doesn't solve it they said maybe they could try a different brand or tires on it. so far not everything they mention ends up being a real option but it does seam to be a tire issue since changing things with the tires changes the circumstances and intensity of the vibration.

@ duckman1911 - the service manager reset the door lock thing for me so that's fixed but he didn't know if he could or how to set it to auto lock itself if the key isn't in the ignition and its left unlocked

Your truck would not happen to have the towing package would it?

yep, but from what I saw in the online complaints its a gambit of all of them from 2wd to 4wd and regular cab to crew cab and extended cabs all seam to have a group of vehicles doing this with or without towing packages and there are two tire brands involved, the bridgestones duelers and the goodyears.

from what I saw in the online complaints, a few people have come across details showing the tires being put on the new trucks is a much lower quality of speed, load, and temperature ratings then the ones you go buy retail so while its a guess, I think its all caused by really crappy tires and also poor quality rims being cast instead of turned which makes them harder to balance even though in my case I have the steel wheels.

IMO it also appears they don't balance the tires at the factory because this new electronic assist power steering is "suppose" to absorb vibration from out of balance tires

its also affecting trucks with steel whells or aluminum and in all sizes 17", 18" and 20"

The reason I asked is that my brother bought a crew cab a year ago or so and is some kinda po'ed about the vibration. They have switched tires, balanced em, different driveshaft, and some rear end gear parts. He bought uniroyals for it out of his pocket. Say's it's better, but still vibrating. He's been on some forum and they figured out that the ones at the time had the tow package and there are different parts in rear end assemblies. He even bought some kinda gel pad and had a shop install it in the drivers seat.

'
as far as I know its just the 2014 model years with these issues but I guess any truck could have a similar problem

did he switch rims? because the service manager told me he has seen bad rims sometimes out of round (mostly with the mags) and a regular balance machine cant catch that that's why the need to do the RF balance (road force) see if he can borrow someone elses rims and tires to try out and know for sure if its in the drive train or the tires or rims because GM is clueless to figure out
problems like this, all they know how to do is change parts til they get lucky

RF balance machine looks like a regular balancer but it has a big drum to press down on the wheel to test for being out of round or egg shaped

the only thing they could be talking about is the towing package comes with the locking diferential added that's not on regular trucks so that must be what they are talking about

the ones I read about with the drive shafts or rear ends being an issue is those who had increased vibrations when towing, some to the point of thinking a wheel was loose

update:

I got the truck back today after they were "supposed to" RF balance the four tires they said they replaced.

as it turns out, it says on the paperwork that they just swapped tires out with another truck on the lot and sent it off to southern tire to be balanced but nothing was mentioned on the paperwork about it being a RF balance.

it was raining when I picked it up so no test drive, anyway on the way home it is still vibrating but not much (about like the last time I was tempted to let it go and keep it) but when I got home I took a good look at the tires they put on just to see if they were different tires but I cant tell if they swapped them all or just one or two.

the big problem was right there in my face, my truck has steel wheels with ss hubcaps and they clamped the wheel weights right over the hub caps locking them onto the rim!

it has a center cap you take off first before you can pull the outer ring off but they removed just the center caps to balance it and hammered the weights right over the hubcap as though it was the rim.

things are definitely looking very hinky at this point so im gonna call southern tire and see if they even have a RF balance machine because at this poinnt it wouldn't surprise me to find out they don't.

I got receipts for 2 repairs on same problem and Monday will be #3 so I guess they get 2 more tries before lemon law kicks in

todays update:

dropped the truck off this morning, the guy said they put the miles on the truck test driving it and sometimes put as much as 100 miles on them for problems like this to be sure they fixed the problem. http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/images/smilies/39.gif yet they keep saying they don't feel it anymore and its fixed when its not http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/images/smilies/06.gif

as to the hubcap trim ring, the parts guy showed it to me in the computer and the rim asnd trim ring are one unit in two pieces that are bonded together at the factory so they don't come apart separately and that's why the weight was put on the outside but they will send it back and have them rebalance it with only putting weights on the back side so it doesn't show on the outside.

on the way in today I noticed a wheel hop issue at 40 mph and the service guy admitted he felt it too but he said that's just how short bed trucks do because of the suspension http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/imag...es/stunned.gif. I explained the truck did not do this before with the other set of tires they had on the truck at first and in fact all I ever owned was several new short bed trucks and they don't bounce or hop unless the road causes it and on smooth flat even roads with fresh blacktop there will not do that just because of tight suspension.

left with rental truck again and i'll see what happens this time.

repair #3 for the same vibration problem is in progress

as to the hubcap trim ring, the parts guy showed it to me in the computer and the "rim asnd trim ring are one unit in two pieces that are bonded together at the factory so they don't come apart separately and that's why the weight was put on the outside but they will send it back and have them rebalance it with only putting weights on the back side so it doesn't show on the outside."

This part is confusing to me. Shouldn't they remove the trim ring\center cap to balance the wheels?

it confused me and the parts guy at first too because you would think so but the steel wheel is made, then the ss trim ring is made they GM permabonds them together so they can never come apart.

only the center cap comes off and the outer trim ring doesn't so it is two pieces but made as one part you cant separate.

look at the wheel here any it might help you see whats going on:

you might see it at a separate piece on ebay because some companies do sell an ad-on hubcap that looks just like this to give you a new 2014 stock truck look but that's just an aftermarket immitation

Gotcha.

Been awhile since I slung any tires, but in extreme cases like this we would dismount tires then spin just the rim on the balancer to see if the problem was in the tires or rims, and if it was in the rims it would tell us which one(s) was causing the issue.

Hope they can get it figured out for you.

me too but at this point im almost 50/50 kinda hoping they can't so I can lemon law it and get out of the deal with a buy back before other problems start to come up

if it comes back with a vibration again I will demand they do just that and test the bare rims as well as start with 4 brand new tires taken off of the rack and not swapped with a set they pull from another truck on the lot like they did last time.

ok, I got the truck back and they said they felt it but they didn't do anything at all to the truck because everything was normal and is working fine, this is what the service ticket said:
so in other words, they aren't going to fix anything

just left the local dealer (different one then the first 3 repairs) for service #4 for vibration and he said its a known issue for "some" trucks and he has another truck in the shop for exactly the same issue but GM has no recommended fix for it so they will call me when they know how to fix it, otherwise they consider it "normal" to vibrate

oh well buyer beware !!!

lemon law claim has been submitted

just heard from GM today, they are processing my complaint and will start gathering the dealership records on the repair attempts as well as have a GM rep ride in the truck with me to see the problem for himself.

from what I see on forums they always deny feeling it even if he is bouncing around so I expect my experience will be the same.

luckily from what i read, the GM rep report hasn't been a cause for them to deny any claims yet but I would guess at some point that may change when it starts costing them money to buy back large numbers of these trucks. right now I think it benefits they to quiet those who are complaining so they can continue to deny there is a problem.

I will only need a lawyer to argue with them if they try to deny the claim which I don't see where they have done that in any of these cases yet but will update when I get a result one way or the other

Might have to take them on a landing strip at Lafayette regional, hard to feel anything on the roads around here!

well im lucky we have a brand new 2 mile stretch of blacktop interstate here in laplace.

that why I told them to have the rep meet me here at the local dealership for the test drive so I can show him you drift from lane to lane left and right and the vibration is constant and never changing so there is no way its from the road surface doing it.

strange thing is its kinda mild until you get about 5 miles traveled then it gets stronger so I think its when the tranny or rear end warms up.

after about 10 miles its unmistakable.

funny thing is you wouldn't go that far to notice it on a regular test drive when buying it.

update: GM mediator said flat spots on tires are not a warranty issue so they wont buy the truck back.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/imag...es/stunned.gif really, flat spots??????????

she never even read the service tickets apparently because she has no clue what has or hasn't been done to the truck and just repeated what a service manager said about it on the phone and apparently he never read any of the service tickets either because they said rioht on them in the service dept own inspection that the problem was not flat spotted tires.

it would be funny if this wasn't so serious.

anyway I did two videos to document the vibrations as I prepare to get a lawyer to take them to court and force them to buy it back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5LQYCMk_e4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSl...m-upload_owner

Another test drive you might make is to get another similar truck and make the same test video showing a smooth ride on the same road.

This would compare a good truck to your truck that vibrates.

I also drive a Silverado, but it is much older and no vibration problems. Your problems make me wonder what I might get to replace this truck someday.

well its hard to find something similar, I bought a Tacoma to be my truck now but you sit on the floor and there is no close comparison. I wish I had thought about doing a video in the loaner trucks they gave me because those would be a perfect comparison and they were smooth as butter even on rough roads.

as to you buying a truck in the near future, trust me, run don't walk but run away from any 2014 or 2015 truck you ever see for sale

wish I still had my 98 I traded in for this turd

this is the 5th new Silverado I bought and it will be the last one I EVER buy

I don't care if they fix the problems in the future but the way GM treats people over this is unforgivable in my book

as a good Christian I always forgive but I never forget and I am no longer a chevy guy for life, GM has cured me of that

If you didn't have any issues with it, would you be saying it's the best truck ever made? Every vehicle ever made has people who love them and people who hate the same vehicle. You just happen to get a lemon. It's the luck of the draw now a days with everything it seems. "they don't make em like they used to".


Cant' you correct the mediator and show the service doc say there isn't a problem with flat spots.

lol, she has the documents in her hand. I gave her copies of all 4 service tickets and she also got the same copies direct from the dealerships along with their opinions on what is or isn't wrong with the truck and why they couldn't or wont fix it. they rebalanced all 4 tires 3 times, replaced all 4 tires and rims, then rebalanced those 3 times and then decided nothing was wrong and they dont feel it vibrating at all lol.

I corrected her when she read me her decission and told here they replaced all the tires and rims and it made no difference. my correction of her was followed by 10 seconds of crickets chirping silence and then she said "well this is my decision and if you want to pursue it further we cant help you".

the trouble is they don't know whats wrong so the cant fix it but no one is willing to say that on the record and be the one held responsible for GM being forced to buy it back.

Yeah, that's a messed up situation. I hope the lemon law comes into play for you!

I came back for an update to my issue.

as of 5/18/15 GM agreed to and has been ordered by the judge in writing as part of the settlement to buy back my truck at full cost plus all insurance premiums, sales taxes, and trade in value, in short, im made completely whole by this decission.

for those who missed it I went through BBB and the GM rep which was a joke and a waste of time then I finally skipped arbitration upon the advice of my lawyer who said it would only give then a preview of your argument when then denied you at arbitration and forced you to get a lawyer anyway. now arbitration will work if you want another replacement truck but if you want your money back then the arbitration person will just tell you to go take a hike.

so to wrap up:

I bought my truck in 8/27/14 and had the bad vibration they couldn't fix and wasted two months with BBB and GM rep until finally in november I had to get a lawyer and file lemon law in civil court and here I am 6 months later finally with a resolution due in no small part to the youtube video I made that GM did not want shown to a jury in open court not to mention they had to convince the jury nothing was wrong with my truck and as soon as they saw the video there was no way they would buy GMs claim there was nothing wrong with the truck.

if you are interested the video is here: https://www.youtube....h?v=ppSl0D3AQm8

I pray no one else has to go through this but sadly there are thousands of people who bought lemons just like me and most just trade them in tby aking $8k-$10k in lost value to do it just to avoid fighting with GM about this.

My 2013 drove like a tank with a 6 inch lift and mud tires, vibration issue?? Hell yes lol traded it in for a tundra which doesnt looks as flashy or "bad ***" but definitely a lot smoother ride and much more powerful engine.

Dang, after reading this whole thread I feel your pain, man! I know how excited I was to purchase my first (and only) brand new truck and can't imagine how all of this crap has taken away from your "new truck" enjoyment.

I bought a new 2014 GMC Sierra on December 31st 2013 and (knock on wood) have not had any issues yet. I even went ride down the highway at the speeds you are having issues with and did not feel any unusual vibrations.

I sure hope that they make it right. You have much more patience than I have because if I would have been given the run around after dropping $30k + on a new truck I don't think that I would be able to treat those people with much respect.

If you are going to have to spend money on a lawyer to force them to make this right you might as well document all of your lawyer fees, time spent, mileage driven, and any other expenses and get them to reimburse you for everything. I hate to be like that but they have to realize that for most people a new truck is the second largest purchase they will ever make next to their home and they expect a quality product for the outrageous prices that they are charging for new trucks these days.

Have you considered contacting GM corporate headquarters with a formal letter written by a lawyer to see if they will get envolved?

Also, Southern151 sounds like he knows more than the average person about Lemon Laws because of his profession and is always willing to lend advice. It may be worth shooting him a PM.

Good luck and keep us updated.

I must have not read your last update before my previous post.

It sounds like aside from all of the headache you went through it turned out pretty sweet for you! You basically got to drive around a brand new truck, albeit one that shook at highway speeds, for 6 months at no cost you.

It would serve your dealership right if you paid a few bucks and took out a section in the local newspaper for a week and printed your story similar to the way you did here on saltyCajun with the name of the dealer and the names of the employees who tried to shafts you..

Also, the link you posted does not work. I would not be surprised if GM had it taken down. it may just be a typo though.

I am not sure about vibration issues, but I dang well know that I've trouble with my dashboard randomly cracking in multiple places. It is a common problem with GM trucks from 2007-2014 models.

Agreed.... I have a Tahoe that I replaced the dashboard in. Didn't take long before the replacement started cracking up.

Pisses me off.