2014 chevy silverado vibration issues

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 a 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 BS BECAUSE FORDS SUCK TOO AND HAD THESE SAME PROBLEMS LAST YEAR THAT THEY COULDNT FIX EITHER SO THEY ARE NO BETTER, THEY JUST REDESIGNED A BUNCH OF STUFF THAT HAD ISSUES WHICH IM SURE CHEVY WILL DO AS WELL

this thread is created 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.

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 solvre it beyond throwing a few free tire balancing and repairs your way

I will start out with mine:

2014 Silverado 1500 2WT
regular cab short bed
5.3L v8
3.08 gear ratio
mfg date 5/14
came with 4 miles on the truck
came with bridgestone dueler ht 684II tires 255/70R17
steel rims with the "chrome look" ss hubcaps
bought 8/27/14


I first noticed it on the ride home but put 230 miles to see if it was a flat spot tire before i went to dealer when it didn't go away.

dealer confirmed they felt the vibration and stated the tires had gflat spots that needed to be worked out and chevy policy was the truck needed to have 500 miles on it before they would replace the tires. they also agreed to comp me a full tank of gas to go run the truck to reach 500 miles. I think he lied to me but he claimed they would replace all 4 tires with new ones and check the front end alignment at that time. I think he lied because from what I read they only replace one tire at a time until its decent enough to claim they no longer feel the vibration that people dsay it still has with thos dealer tires on it.

in researching I see the bridgstone dueler ht tires and the goodyear tires have many complaints about vibration issues just from buying them unrelated to the vehicle they go on so its safe to say stock tires are crap either way even if they aren't the main issue.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Webster

PLEASE NO FORD VS CHEVY BS BECAUSE FORDS SUCK TOO AND HAD THESE SAME PROBLEMS LAST YEAR THAT THEY COULDNT FIX EITHER SO THEY ARE NO BETTER, THEY JUST REDESIGNED A BUNCH OF STUFF THAT HAD ISSUES WHICH IM SURE CHEVY WILL DO AS WELL

Won't get that from me. My two favorites were a 1965 Chevy Panel Truck and a 1994 Ford Escort Wagon. Well, I actually haven't ever owned a car I didn't like. But to the point.

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

Can we argue about computer-controlled everything vs good old-fashioned mechanical links?

Originally Posted by Webster

in researching I see the bridgstone dueler ht tires and the goodyear tires have many complaints about vibration issues just from buying them unrelated to the vehicle they go on so its safe to say stock tires are crap either way even if they aren't the main issue.

Shouldn't the car manufacturer be getting the tire maker involved in this? And no, I'm not going to make a joke about one tire maker vs another.

At least not another one.

[Wolferz]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Webster.
Yeah, the factory mounted tires suck rocks.
Those are usually shipped to the factory very tightly banded to pallets which can damage the sidewalls of any tires that have the band cinched up against them. You and I both know that they are probably buying the cheapest tires they can get their hands on.
I'm afraid that your only relief may be to go the one tire at a time route until they find the culprit, which does leave the possibility of having another shipping damaged tire put on in place of the bad one or it could be an out of round rim but, balancing should fix that. There is still a whole laundry list of other items that can cause a noticeable vibration.
Do you feel it in the steering wheel or in the seat of your pants?
A good mechanic should move the tires one at a time and recheck to see if the vibration moves to narrow things down.

If all else fails, check your state for a Lemon law if you need to make more than four trips to the dealer and they still can't fix it, you may be able to force them to give you another truck and pass yours off to another sap... err...customer.

[Buddahaid]

I don't understand why if it's a wheel/tire issue they don't spin balance them. It should be plain to see if the vibration picks up at a certain speed.

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Webster.
Yeah, the factory mounted tires suck rocks.

thanks

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Do you feel it in the steering wheel or in the seat of your pants?
A good mechanic should move the tires one at a time and recheck to see if the vibration moves to narrow things down.

If all else fails, check your state for a Lemon law if you need to make more than four trips to the dealer and they still can't fix it, you may be able to force them to give you another truck and pass yours off to another sap... err...customer.

its a little bit in the steering and a little more in the seats so I would say it "feels" like both a back and front issue or an alignment thing though they swear an alignment is just if it pulls to one side which is BS because if tires both face in or both face out then it can cause tires to vibrate or shimmy and that is a viable option they shouldn't just dismiss offhand.

you can tell they are in damage control mode and just trying to do the least while waiting for "guidance" from GM on how to lie about these problems that "almost" all their trucks are having

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

I don't understand why if it's a wheel/tire issue they don't spin balance them. It should be plain to see if the vibration picks up at a certain speed.

they did and they told me they were balanced fine but its flat spots in the tire from sitting on the lot too long not moving so I need to put 500 miles on it and if the vibration was still there then and only then they would replace the tires but chevy wouldn't pay to do that until I had 500 miles on the truck



if anyone is surprised by hearing this stuff, google 2014 Silverado vibration issues and you will see this is a huge widespread problem yet nothing is said about it on the news at all

if you know anyone thinking about buying a new truck tell them NOT to buy a 2014 Silverado of any kind

if you know anyone looking to buy new truck tires tell them NOT to but goodyears or bridgestones and google them to see why everyone complains about them being crap

[Wolferz]

Gee Webster,
It sounds like you've stepped into a huge pile of Government Motors scat.

The jerks took a bailout from Obama and they still keep using parts made in China and charging retail price for them. After the ignition switch debacle and all of the denials about people getting killed in their Chinese cars, I don't think I'll ever touch another GM vehicle. My '95 Silverado has turned into a total rust bucket that is being held together by the paint. I guess they started skipping the zinc dip a long time ago in an effort to make enough money to pay the exorbitant salaries of their upper management.
But, mine still runs like a scalded dog because I'm the only one who works on it. The dealers stopped hiring mechanics in favor of cheaper part replacers. They are kind of forced into that corner because GM charges a dealership through the nose for everything. Most of it mandatory.

The dealers aren't going to cut their bottom line by making warranty repairs they might not get paid for.

If it were me, I'd be talking to a lawyer about your state Lemon Law and get my money back to go buy a Dodge Ram or a Toyota Tacoma..

[Stealhead]

The truth is in this day and age when you buy a new car/truck it is hit or miss might be good might be junk. Never have been a big fan of buying new myself. I have never owned a brand new vehicle. If you do buy new I'd avoid a "new model" year where they have made notable changes to the design best to wait a year or two if you must buy new let the bugs get worked out.

I always buy used I prefer to buy a vehicle that has between 50 and 70K on it. Honestly never been a fan of GM over the past 15 years or so.

Originally Posted by Wolferz

If it were me, I'd be talking to a lawyer about your state Lemon Law and get my money back to go buy a Dodge Ram or a Toyota Tacoma..

ford and dodge are just as bad so it would be a Tacoma for my next one, I just prefer regular cabs and they no longer make regular cab tacomas, you cant even special order one.

as to lemon law in Louisiana you need a record of 4 unsuccessful repairs for the same problem then it takes 8 months to a year to finally get resolution which is just to force them to give you a replacement vehicle with equal or greater value and equipt so the only way to get your money back is if they no longer make the vehicle or you can convince the judge they cant give you a vehicle that wont still have the same problem.

whats worse is at some point in the repair process they sent a GM representative to test and measure the vibration while you drive and no matter how bad it vibrates he will lie and say the meter didn't register anything and "all the trucks do it" so its a normal condition, and once that happens as far as GM is concerned its case closed and your SOL because unless its a road safety issue that makes it so you cant drive it then its not something the "have to" fix so just because it drives like crap and vibrates doesn't mean its not safe to drive so its not covered by warranty since its not a defect but its called "normal" for all the trucks.

long story short a design defect that makes it drive or feel like crap is not a safety issue you can sue over.

basic solution I see is let them try the list of things that work for some people and pray im one of the lucky ones and it fixes mine, if not aftyer 4 repairs file a lemon law claim and the usually offer to swap the truck out for another one and that's ok with me IF the other one doesn't vibrate.

if all of the above isn't resolving the situation then it will be this time next year so I will go trade it in on a leftover 2015 as they put em on sale to make room for the new 2016's

if you wonder how wide spread this is look at the GM forums complaints http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topi...ration-issues/ it starts when they first came out last year and goes on for 185 pages of em to get caught up to recent posts like today. its amazing what these guys have gone through and how some were treated by GM

but look on the bright side, chevy has some super great deals on the remaining 2014 silverados still in stock so you can get one real cheap right now

[Wolferz]

but look on the bright side, chevy has some super great deals on the remaining 2014 silverados still in stock so you can get one real cheap right now

Still too rich for my blood. I won't give my money to a company that has basically become a Chinese automaker.

In their quest to meet EPA fuel usage guidelines, the new vehicles are being stripped of the tried and true technologies like hydraulic steering.
Just like always, our government has stuck their finger in our pie and swirled it into mush.

yep, in fact im thinking in the end this will turn out to be a combination of cheap crappy tires and a problem with the electronic power steering but then im also thinking it could turn out to be a driveshaft alignment thing too.

im a little surprised not to hear others here mentioning this problem as well but maybe we just don't have any other members who own the 2014 silverados

[Buddahaid]

Not a truck person as I have very little need for one and I like getting 40 mpg combined.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Not a truck person as I have very little need for one and I like getting 40 mpg combined.

Did your car come filled with saltine crackers?

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Did your car come filled with saltine crackers?

A bit more fun than that and I have a 40.1 mpg average over the 45,000 miles I've logged. Admittedly mostly highway but also at 70mph. I love the manual transmission. Light clutch pedal and great gear selector. I like how just pushing forward from neutral selects 3rd and back selects fourth. Third is the gear you need when making right angle turns from a street and she'll cruise along at 30mph in top if the ground is level.
http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-z/ex...-360-view.aspx

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

A bit more fun than that and I have a 40.1 mpg average over the 45,000 miles I've logged. Admittedly mostly highway but also at 70mph. I love the manual transmission. Light clutch pedal and great gear selector. I like how just pushing forward from neutral selects 3rd and back selects fourth. Third is the gear you need when making right angle turns from a street and she'll cruise along at 30mph in top if the ground is level.
http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-z/ex...-360-view.aspx

I hear ya. Honda does make good cars. They'll last a long time too, as long as you don't abuse them. The first GM dealer I worked for also sold Hondas and back then their Accords couldn't be produced fast enough to meet the demand for them. Many owners had to get on a waiting list for as long as six months.

I digress, back to Webster's troubles...

Without physically taking your truck for a test drive I can't really diagnose the problem with any degree of accuracy. I can spit out a laundry list as long as my arm of possible causes, but that won't help you much.

Hopefully you never see a problem like the one I found on a customer's new Caprice. He complained of a banging noise coming from the back of the car every time he made a turn. He wasted his time at six different dealers before bringing it to me. I took her out for a spin and sure enough there was a banging noise coming from the right quarter panel sail area. I pulled the car straight into the body shop and had them cut that section open with an air chisel and we found a glass Coke bottle dangling on a string tied to a nut in there. The bottle had been heated just enough to shove the nut down the neck. There was also a little note in there that read; "HA HA HA You finally found me!"

Assembly line work gets a tad boring I guess.