whitedimond

I should have looked for this earlier. My truck is also vibrating and getting worse. Dealer has put new brakes on in and said that should do it. Also have put 2 new sets of tires on it with no change. I've been chasing tires because that is what I thought it was until they road force balanced my michelin ltx ms2 and all was ok. Has anyone solved this. According to the last couple posts it looks like some have had some luck. I just opened a case with GM, we will see where that leads.

I'm going to need to be admitted to a nut house if this doesn't get fixed.

Todd Sandberg

Sorry I haven't responded earlier with an update. Pearl, I don't know why you are implying what I'm saying is crap or inherently that I'm lying, but you can feel what you wish. Fortunately for me, my outcome doesn't hinge on your desire to believe someone who is trying to help. Take it for what it's worth man.

Bottom line, I've got a couple thousand miles on my truck and as stated, the vibration is better...but not resolved fully. It is much better though. I removed the tubular (round) step bars (OEM bars purchased at and installed by dealership) and replaced them with the 6" oval OEM bars. I installed them myself. The vibration is reduced substantially, but you can still tell when it's windy outside as depending on the wind direction vs. the direction I'm driving, it'll still shake abnormally. The theory was that wind turbulence (due to the body style) was catching and shaking the nerf bars. I thought it was a bunch of mularky, but it made sense as I thought about it more. I couldn't explain why it would ride smoother than silk going 1 mile south on a freeway, I turn around and then it rode like a lumber wagon.

Let me be perfectly clear here though. I still find the ride vastly inferior to my 2003 Silverado Extended cab Z71 that had 200,000 miles when I sold it. My 2011 is quieter, but not nearly as nice of a ride. Not even in the same ballpark. Still incredibly disappointed in this purchase and definitely have buyer's remorse.

marc8896

wow, reminds me of 1988 when chevy and gmc changed the front end in those trucks and all kinds of problems arose. had to replace ball joints left and right. a friend of mine bought one new went through 5 sets of ball joints. there were alot of those trucks on the lots for sale. but gm in 1989 went back to the original front end and every thing was fine. i would check those out first, then check the drive shafts in the transfer case if you can move it up and down inside the transfer case will be eggshaped that will cause a bad vibration at speeds of 30-60 m.p.h. then check the u-joints in the rear shaft see what happens. i used to be a mechanic and small engine tech picked up alot of stuff other mechanics could'nt find.

marc8896

it's a possibility that the shafts could be out of balance also will cause a vibration really need to spend the time to have these things checked out, really dangerous!!

pearl

Todd I didnt mean to imply you were a lair. This is another reason GM says the cause of the problem is Nerf Bars/ Tires/ wheels/brakes / drive shaft/bug deflector. Whatever it takes to get you out the dealership until next time. You need to take your frustration out on GM. Better yet look back in this page at my post for the Gm inter paper to see all the reasons this problem exists dated May 2010 before the 2011 was sold. Maybe we should all just drive south.

whitedimond

Well got a call from GM cust. service, and guess what? This is a normal condition, what a joke. Called the service manager with the dealer he agreed to have someone take a ride with me, but I have not received a call back from the service rep to make an appt. Maybe I'll try another dealer or just call the bbb and the local news.

spongjim5

NORMAL ! yes every one of these trucks vibrate at or around 60mph and up . But they dont have a clue how to fix it . Thats the same B.S. they tried to tell me and eveyone else here. Go drive other new trucks on the lot and you will see all of these trucks do the same thing. The dealer you bought the truck from knows about this problem and thats probably why you havent been called back. I worked for a chevy dealership and fought gm over this problem for way too long ,before I finally said the hell with it and traded it for a Toyota Tacoma .( Rides Great !) The guy who bought my old dually has had it in the dealership more than he has been able to drive it. The dealership where I used to work told him I had signed off that the truck was fixed and now they refuse to work on it for the vibration . If the truck had been fixed I would still be driving it . Liars and crooks ! Good luck trying to get ANY help from customer service .

Todd Sandberg

All good Pearl. I appreciate the clarification.

I think there are a couple things in play. I think while some things may contribute to a vibrating condition (like my nerf bars did), I also don't think that it's the sole reason as to why. In my situation with my truck, there are brief moments (and I mean brief) where it'll ride like a new truck these days should...like glass. Like my 2003 did. However, that's not long lasting. The fact that it comes and goes has my mind working OT because if it were something out of balance (tires, wheels, driveshaft, etc...) then wouldn't it be there all the time?

Also wondering when GM started using the 6 speed transmission. The 5.3L motor isn't new, but the 6 speed tranny is new to me. When did they introduce it to their lineup in their trucks? Just trying to see what the difference is between the 2003 and 2011. There are a lot, I realize that. But due to the lack of true answers as to the "why" this vibration exists, I'm trying to do my part in thinking things through. I'm no ASE mechanic (far from it) but I'm no rookie wrencher either. I won't claim that I know anything about anything, but I can't believe that that answer is so mysterious that it can't be solved. Is it an aerodynamic thing? Is it a structural/frame flex thing? Is it a suspension thing? Mechanical (tranny, bearing, differential) thing? Don't know, but I'd sure like to get to the bottom of it.

Again, in my particular situation with my particular vehicle, the vibration was greatly reduced by swapping out the nerf bars...but it didn't resolve it fully, which means something still remains.

67Motorcat

OK..I stumbled onto this thread and thought I would share my thoughts

Now,I don't own a later model truck so haven't experienced what you guys are dealing with,but have chased down lots of vibration issues with various vehicles in the past.

In my opinion the frames are just "too" stiff and transfer all the harmonics to the cab.Remember these trucks have to pass certain standards when fully loaded to FGW capacity such as braking and handling.

The fact that GM continues to state "operates as designed" at this time is probably because it does.

I would bet they are working on different cab mount bushing to further isolate.

The frame is so stiff,50% stiffer than say,my 2000 model,that I think they dropped the ball...And the longer the frame the worse it is.Haven't seen anyone here complain about a single cab short bed.

Check out this video to see how stiff it is

Sorry you guys are having issues...put a heavy load in the back and see if is smooths out the vibes...The super stiff gas shocks don't help either.

smueller

I have been following this forum for a while now as my 2011 Silverado ext cab z71 4x4 has the same issue. I had it back to the dealer and they replaced 3 tires (after I forced them to due something)! The truck still vibrates. I mainly use it to run back and forth to some out of state property (about 400 miles round trip). At times it can actually upset my stomach by the time I get to my destination. You can look at the passenger headrest and a drink in the cupholder and just watch them vibrate. It currently has about 10k miles and I am ready to get rid of it. I have been an avid Chevy truck guy since 1990. I looked at and drove a Tundra today, sadly thinking of changing my brand. I read the last entry about the frames and that makes more sense than anything else I have read. It has to be something big or someone would have corrected it.