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- Chevrolet Silverado GMT800, GMT900, K2XX Why is Truck Vibrating
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2011 Silverado Vibration = Rough Ride.
September 19th, 2012, 2:12 PM
#122
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Gang, I MIGHT have found the issue. I will preface this simply by stating that I've put on 6 miles since, and the vibration is gone. Speed was up to 70mph on a back county road so it wasn't silk. However, there's a difference between a bumpy ride from the road vs. the shimmy/vibration we've been experiencing.
After narrowing down things (ie...tires, ensuring wheels are true, road force balancing, driving with back end weighed down, etc...) it was really confusing myself and the dealer that A) you couldn't drive out of the vibration and B) it wasn't always present. Sometimes it wasn't there at all and it rode perfectly fine. The other 95% of the time, it had a shimmy/vibration in varying intensities. Then he mentioned something that made sense. He asked if I had my nerf bars (GM ones by the way, installed by the dealer) on since I got it. I told him I got them installed a week or two after I took delivery of the truck. He said that while he hasn't seen it as a widespread problem, he HAS seen it where the nerf boards (or running boards) catch turbulence and will shake like made at freeway speeds! He said to look at someone on the freeway in passing and he said sometimes you'll see them just buckin' away as if they weren't tightened down!
Now, this would explain the intermittent nature of the sensation I've had, and also why it's not present at lower speeds (30mph). If it were something that wasn't balanced right, the sensation would be there all the time (in theory).
So, I removed the nerf bars (15 minutes using a hand ratchet) and took it out for a spin. Night and day difference, but again...I'm not calling this case settled just yet. I'm waiting to see what my ride out to my parents later this afternoon yields. It will be mostly freeway and speeds will be 80mph~, but the roads will be smoother than the back country county roads.
I'll report back my findings, but it would REALLY be interesting to find out of us who have had this shimmy/vibration also have the nerf bars. It's an incredibly common accessory here in MN, so I'm wondering if we may have tripped into a solution here????
After narrowing down things (ie...tires, ensuring wheels are true, road force balancing, driving with back end weighed down, etc...) it was really confusing myself and the dealer that A) you couldn't drive out of the vibration and B) it wasn't always present. Sometimes it wasn't there at all and it rode perfectly fine. The other 95% of the time, it had a shimmy/vibration in varying intensities. Then he mentioned something that made sense. He asked if I had my nerf bars (GM ones by the way, installed by the dealer) on since I got it. I told him I got them installed a week or two after I took delivery of the truck. He said that while he hasn't seen it as a widespread problem, he HAS seen it where the nerf boards (or running boards) catch turbulence and will shake like made at freeway speeds! He said to look at someone on the freeway in passing and he said sometimes you'll see them just buckin' away as if they weren't tightened down!
Now, this would explain the intermittent nature of the sensation I've had, and also why it's not present at lower speeds (30mph). If it were something that wasn't balanced right, the sensation would be there all the time (in theory).
So, I removed the nerf bars (15 minutes using a hand ratchet) and took it out for a spin. Night and day difference, but again...I'm not calling this case settled just yet. I'm waiting to see what my ride out to my parents later this afternoon yields. It will be mostly freeway and speeds will be 80mph~, but the roads will be smoother than the back country county roads.
I'll report back my findings, but it would REALLY be interesting to find out of us who have had this shimmy/vibration also have the nerf bars. It's an incredibly common accessory here in MN, so I'm wondering if we may have tripped into a solution here????
September 19th, 2012, 2:51 PM
#123
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Location: Tennessee
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Gang, I MIGHT have found the issue. I will preface this simply by stating that I've put on 6 miles since, and the vibration is gone. Speed was up to 70mph on a back county road so it wasn't silk. However, there's a difference between a bumpy ride from the road vs. the shimmy/vibration we've been experiencing.
After narrowing down things (ie...tires, ensuring wheels are true, road force balancing, driving with back end weighed down, etc...) it was really confusing myself and the dealer that A) you couldn't drive out of the vibration and B) it wasn't always present. Sometimes it wasn't there at all and it rode perfectly fine. The other 95% of the time, it had a shimmy/vibration in varying intensities. Then he mentioned something that made sense. He asked if I had my nerf bars (GM ones by the way, installed by the dealer) on since I got it. I told him I got them installed a week or two after I took delivery of the truck. He said that while he hasn't seen it as a widespread problem, he HAS seen it where the nerf boards (or running boards) catch turbulence and will shake like made at freeway speeds! He said to look at someone on the freeway in passing and he said sometimes you'll see them just buckin' away as if they weren't tightened down!
Now, this would explain the intermittent nature of the sensation I've had, and also why it's not present at lower speeds (30mph). If it were something that wasn't balanced right, the sensation would be there all the time (in theory).
So, I removed the nerf bars (15 minutes using a hand ratchet) and took it out for a spin. Night and day difference, but again...I'm not calling this case settled just yet. I'm waiting to see what my ride out to my parents later this afternoon yields. It will be mostly freeway and speeds will be 80mph~, but the roads will be smoother than the back country county roads.
I'll report back my findings, but it would REALLY be interesting to find out of us who have had this shimmy/vibration also have the nerf bars. It's an incredibly common accessory here in MN, so I'm wondering if we may have tripped into a solution here????
After narrowing down things (ie...tires, ensuring wheels are true, road force balancing, driving with back end weighed down, etc...) it was really confusing myself and the dealer that A) you couldn't drive out of the vibration and B) it wasn't always present. Sometimes it wasn't there at all and it rode perfectly fine. The other 95% of the time, it had a shimmy/vibration in varying intensities. Then he mentioned something that made sense. He asked if I had my nerf bars (GM ones by the way, installed by the dealer) on since I got it. I told him I got them installed a week or two after I took delivery of the truck. He said that while he hasn't seen it as a widespread problem, he HAS seen it where the nerf boards (or running boards) catch turbulence and will shake like made at freeway speeds! He said to look at someone on the freeway in passing and he said sometimes you'll see them just buckin' away as if they weren't tightened down!
Now, this would explain the intermittent nature of the sensation I've had, and also why it's not present at lower speeds (30mph). If it were something that wasn't balanced right, the sensation would be there all the time (in theory).
So, I removed the nerf bars (15 minutes using a hand ratchet) and took it out for a spin. Night and day difference, but again...I'm not calling this case settled just yet. I'm waiting to see what my ride out to my parents later this afternoon yields. It will be mostly freeway and speeds will be 80mph~, but the roads will be smoother than the back country county roads.
I'll report back my findings, but it would REALLY be interesting to find out of us who have had this shimmy/vibration also have the nerf bars. It's an incredibly common accessory here in MN, so I'm wondering if we may have tripped into a solution here????
September 19th, 2012, 3:29 PM
#124
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I bought my truck without bars and it was doing the vibration straight off the lot,plus I have driven several other trucks after gm tried to pass this off as normal and none of them had nerf bars. I did put bars on my truck and didnt notice it get worse . I hope this does correct yours . Good luck . Bye the way ,I heard from the guy who bought my old truck and he is very unhappy with the vibration and was really beyond mad when I told him gm says its normal for this truck to vibrate.
September 19th, 2012, 3:54 PM
#125
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I bought my truck without bars and it was doing the vibration straight off the lot,plus I have driven several other trucks after gm tried to pass this off as normal and none of them had nerf bars. I did put bars on my truck and didnt notice it get worse . I hope this does correct yours . Good luck . Bye the way ,I heard from the guy who bought my old truck and he is very unhappy with the vibration and was really beyond mad when I told him gm says its normal for this truck to vibrate.
September 19th, 2012, 5:22 PM
#126
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I traded my dually in for a new 2012 Tacoma and havent looked back . I got some info about my case on my old truck today and glad I got rid of that shaking POS ! District rep. HA ! good luck ! I am sure some are possibly doing their job , then there are some who are going to tell you what they think you want to hear . I havent seen a honest one yet. They know its a problem and they dont have a clue how to fix it . I know I dont have a dog in this fight anymore but I am going to watch and reply to this thread until I feel better about the money I lost buying that truck ,or the 20 something years I put in working at a gm dealership fixing **** like this with no reward. Going to be here awhile boys!
September 20th, 2012, 7:06 AM
#127
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Well, I put on roughly 130 miles since my last post, nearly all freeway. The wind yesterday was really gusty and this morning it was pretty calm so I had a good contrast to go off of. I wouldn't say that the problem is FULLY solved, but I would say right now it feels as though it's 90% resolved. I would like to have the tires rebalanced as we have had a TON of construction around where I drive, so I want to ensure that's all squared away.
The truck does ride significantly smoother than before though. Even when it shimmys a bit, it's not nearly as much as before. One thing I noted today too (another clue to my personal battle with this??) is that I drive with my elbows resting on the center console and door's arm rest. If I take my elbows off that, a lot of the vibration cannot be felt. If I put them back on, I can feel it a lot more. I wonder if that speaks to body mounts?
At any rate, that is my update as promised. The flip side is that as of right now, I don't have nerf bars on the truck, and I use them quite a bit. I have some physical issues, so I really rely on those things in the winter. I don't need them, but man do I use them and they help me a lot. It's beyond just a convenience for me.
On a related note, the service manager told me he found a TSB of for the tubular nerf bars. I'll have to get more information on that. If this is part of the problem, I'd like to see GM upgrade me to the flatter oval style type bars.
The truck does ride significantly smoother than before though. Even when it shimmys a bit, it's not nearly as much as before. One thing I noted today too (another clue to my personal battle with this??) is that I drive with my elbows resting on the center console and door's arm rest. If I take my elbows off that, a lot of the vibration cannot be felt. If I put them back on, I can feel it a lot more. I wonder if that speaks to body mounts?
At any rate, that is my update as promised. The flip side is that as of right now, I don't have nerf bars on the truck, and I use them quite a bit. I have some physical issues, so I really rely on those things in the winter. I don't need them, but man do I use them and they help me a lot. It's beyond just a convenience for me.
On a related note, the service manager told me he found a TSB of for the tubular nerf bars. I'll have to get more information on that. If this is part of the problem, I'd like to see GM upgrade me to the flatter oval style type bars.
September 24th, 2012, 4:24 PM
#128
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hi guys sorry for the delay, My truck was in at my dealer for for 2 weeks again it was all ripped apart. the rebuilt the diff and the transmission. test drove it and still had the problem,
So they replaced my transmission with a refurbished one. 4 days later my wife and I were out, I started the truck and the dash lit up with errors IE service stabilitrac, service traction control. every time the truck shifted it felt as if we were being rear ended. so back in it went. apparently it had gone into safe mode...
now the periodic shudder on small inclines is back and the vibration has never gone away.
My dealer cant do anymore as I have started the CAMVAP Arbitration case.
Ill keep you posted...
By the way I have the oval step bars on mine, not the round ones.
So they replaced my transmission with a refurbished one. 4 days later my wife and I were out, I started the truck and the dash lit up with errors IE service stabilitrac, service traction control. every time the truck shifted it felt as if we were being rear ended. so back in it went. apparently it had gone into safe mode...
now the periodic shudder on small inclines is back and the vibration has never gone away.
My dealer cant do anymore as I have started the CAMVAP Arbitration case.
Ill keep you posted...
By the way I have the oval step bars on mine, not the round ones.
September 25th, 2012, 8:56 AM
#129
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Well, I put on roughly 130 miles since my last post, nearly all freeway. The wind yesterday was really gusty and this morning it was pretty calm so I had a good contrast to go off of. I wouldn't say that the problem is FULLY solved, but I would say right now it feels as though it's 90% resolved. I would like to have the tires rebalanced as we have had a TON of construction around where I drive, so I want to ensure that's all squared away.
The truck does ride significantly smoother than before though. Even when it shimmys a bit, it's not nearly as much as before. One thing I noted today too (another clue to my personal battle with this??) is that I drive with my elbows resting on the center console and door's arm rest. If I take my elbows off that, a lot of the vibration cannot be felt. If I put them back on, I can feel it a lot more. I wonder if that speaks to body mounts?
At any rate, that is my update as promised. The flip side is that as of right now, I don't have nerf bars on the truck, and I use them quite a bit. I have some physical issues, so I really rely on those things in the winter. I don't need them, but man do I use them and they help me a lot. It's beyond just a convenience for me.
On a related note, the service manager told me he found a TSB of for the tubular nerf bars. I'll have to get more information on that. If this is part of the problem, I'd like to see GM upgrade me to the flatter oval style type bars.
The truck does ride significantly smoother than before though. Even when it shimmys a bit, it's not nearly as much as before. One thing I noted today too (another clue to my personal battle with this??) is that I drive with my elbows resting on the center console and door's arm rest. If I take my elbows off that, a lot of the vibration cannot be felt. If I put them back on, I can feel it a lot more. I wonder if that speaks to body mounts?
At any rate, that is my update as promised. The flip side is that as of right now, I don't have nerf bars on the truck, and I use them quite a bit. I have some physical issues, so I really rely on those things in the winter. I don't need them, but man do I use them and they help me a lot. It's beyond just a convenience for me.
On a related note, the service manager told me he found a TSB of for the tubular nerf bars. I'll have to get more information on that. If this is part of the problem, I'd like to see GM upgrade me to the flatter oval style type bars.
ontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> Todd Sandberg,Please keep us posted. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me privately.
Louis
GM Customer Service
September 25th, 2012, 7:38 PM
#130
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Where did the nerf bar crap come from? Sounds like a lot of crap to me. My truck did this before mine where put on, somewhere I read in a gm memo that to find out about a vibration issue in the Silverado all after market parts are to be removed. Just another way gm is going to bury the issue. I seen a new ad on tv that said if you are not happy with your new truck we will take it back. Boy there ought to be a bunch of used trucks on there lots. Why dont they just give us our money back. I forsee a new Toyoto in the spring for me....