Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Owners Complain Of Shaking At Highway Speeds
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“The seats start vibrating, the floorboard vibrates – it feels like a wheel’s out of balance”. That’s how Mike Hollingsworth describes driving his 2016 Chevrolet Silverado, reports KSHB.
The retired Kansas resident spends most of his time traveling in his truck, and says he gets nervous when driving on the highway since the vehicle rattles, making him wonder if the truck is going to break down The condition earned it the “Chevy Shakerado” nickname.
Hollingsworth bought the Silverado new and states that the shaking began within weeks of driving it off the lot. Since he bought it new, he didn’t take it for a test drive, which he now regrets not doing.
Hollingsworth took his Silverado to the dealership where he purchased it. The store’s service department tested the truck, and the technicians said that the amount of shaking was within an acceptable range for the vehicle.
“I get to drive a truck that shakes,” says Hollingsworth. He told KSHB that he recently took his truck back to the dealership, at which point an employee drove with him on the highway and recognized that the truck does, in fact, shake. It isn’t clear what will be done to fix the issue.
The GMC Sierra is also report to have shaking issues at highway speeds
Other owners of GM’s trucks on the GMT-K2 platform — model year 2014 and newer Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra — report having the same experience as Hollingsworth. Various publicly-available videos show the trucks exhibiting similar behavior. One such customer is Bill Burdette, whose YouTube video shows him driving his truck on the highway while his keys rattle and water visibly vibrates in the cupholder.
There have also been various complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). One customer states that his truck has been at the dealer for over two weeks with no tangible outcome.
Another owner wrote, “This truck has vibrated since day one. It has been at the dealer for over 17 days. The tires were balanced and the dealer informs me at this point that the truck falls into what GM finds acceptable.”
Another owner reports having his truck at the dealer nearly a dozen times without any results.
“I’ve been dealing with the same vibration issue since November 2015, it is now March 2017. It has been in the shop 10 times without any results.”
It is unclear whether the issues are limited to models with certain engines, transmissions, axles or other configurations. GM has so far been mum on the matter.
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I can still remember the “old days” when GM remembered how to build a vehicle, even the new 2019’s are having major issues, this shaking should be a fixable problem but it just may be a problem GM thinks will go away with the new platform. I think the problem lies with the torque converter, this new chassis is much tighter and more susceptible to vibration, just my take on this issue.
Anyone still having issue with the ride vibration?? I have a 2017 GMC Denali 1500…bought it with 5,000 miles, now just up to 30,000 miles. Took it to dealer last week to have a towing code fixed…said a broken wire caused it. Also did some retune on the computer for a brake pedal issue?? Anyway…had it home a week & last night I got the vibration I’ve read about in this forum. Happens from 55mph up to 75 mph ( all the faster I dared to go). Feels like going over rumble strips on the side lines…but not. Truck was always a little weird on the take off shift from 1st to 2nd…kind of late & unpredictable…but nice & crisp in all other gears up to overdrive. Has been a great truck otherwise. I have driven a hundred different kind of cars/trucks over the past 50 years…never experienced this issue. But kind of feels like transmission is shuddering?? Have not contacted the dealership about this yet. Just looking for ideas & comments before I make the call.
I now have 10k miles on it since I ‘fixed’ the problem. I think it was a separated tire.
99.9% of the time a separation will cause a bulge in the tire. Not so in my case. I called GM to find that my VIN was not part of the vibration recall. I pulled the driveshaft and had it balanced. It was super close, but not perfect. A couple hammer tings and it was ‘perfect’.
The problem remained.
Well, I owned the truck now so I was committed. On goes a lift and level, 285 AT tires, alignment and wheel spacers. Pick up the truck post work and…..smooth😂 Well, smooth as a pick up truck with a solid rear gets anyway😎
I can only think it was a separated tire somewhere that we never diagnosed. Vibration free and happy now with the truck. Just had a rotate, balance and align re-done and all is the same.
Good luck with your trucks though🙏🏾
Good morning Greg – Thank you for sharing. I am very sorry to hear this about your new purchase. I will say that after all the money I have spent to get the vibration issue fixed, I have found out that the drive shaft is what goes out of balance and causes the vibration. Chevy is not taking any responsibility to it. They know it’s an issue and cannot seem to get it right. I hope you can get your truck fixed. I will by a Toyota Truck not time! All the best.
My Sierra has picked up the vibration at 70k miles. I don’t believe the majority of instances of this problem are related to the drive shaft. The vibration seems most prevalent at highway speeds and in the 1200 to 1800rpm range but occurs ar lower speeds if in that band and steady. The trans also has to be warm. If you manually shift into a lower gear and get out of that rpm band or shift into neutral the shake goes away. An out of balance driveshaft would vibrate continually at a given speed and not be tied to engine rpm. This issue is related to the transmission.
My 2016 silverado had a shutter shake at around 13,000 mi on it between 50 & 70 mph so I took it to koon chevy in md and they flush out the transmission fluid and the issue went away also so check it out with the dealer in your town
I brought my 2018 Sierra to the dealer who was not helpful once he found out my truck was out of warranty and that I had not purchased it there. Went to a different dealer who was super helpful. Explained what they had seen in other trucks and that the latest service bulletin with the Mobil 1 flush seemed to be doing the trick most of the time. He said once in a while they end up having to replace the torque converter if the moisture got the better of it. So far the flush has cured mine.
I would also add that the problem is much more prevalent when its higher humidity outside. Once the weather turned colder and the air dried out the problem almost went away prior to getting into the dealer.
I have a 2017 Chevrolet High Country 6.2 with the 8 speed Transmission. It was smooth for the first 40,000 miles and then started to shake like I was on a bad road. The dealer replaced the torque converter to no avail and now did a transmission flush and fill with a new type of fluid. They say it will take 400-500 miles to smooth out and so far its no better. At 70mph or higher it shakes so bad the passenger seat is visibly moving. They have also said “the tires are a factor” as they say they will need replacement soon. I’m going to wait the 400-500 miles and bring it back. Disappointed with my $50,000 truck.
So it’s been some time since my post, 2018 Silverado Crew cab 1500 Shaking.
Too bad I can’t post a pict to give you a better idea. The Rare orange version came with a DEALER installed 3″ lift kit and American Racing wheels 305/65/17 . Shook from 90 to 120 kmh like not driveable. Dealer tested and tested but in the end issue was passed off to GMC. LOL their opinion is that it falls within acceptable tolerances. YEAH lets all buy American made LOL.
In the end I removed the lift kit ( FRONT ONLY ) NO MORE SHAKING. Actual cause ?
Not built like my 2012 2500 HD , will never sell.
The End !
Has anyone ever gotten this repaired by GM for free?
No – In fact the shake continues to cost me money. Just had the driveshaft re-balanced ($425.00) The shake has tweak the transfer case and the torque converter ($1500.00) and I just had my tires re-balanced again and I still have the shake at 70 mph! Don’t know what I can do next to eliminate the “Chevy Shake”!! Discouraging. On another forum, I was contact by a gentleman who just bought a 2021 Chevy Silverado and after two (2) weeks of owning it he has the “Chevy Shake” at 70 mph! Waiting to hear back as to what GM is doing about it. I was told to replace my driveshaft with a custom built steel shaft.Help me out !!
3 months after fluid swap, 5000 miles and no issues. Will see once the outside temp starts climbing and the humidity returns if the cure is complete. GM did kick in some and the dealer discounted some. My out of pocket was $100 on a truck with 70000 miles on it.
What fluid swap was done? Transmission? I am around 65,000 miles now on a 2017 and I was going to change filter and fluid.
It was Mobil 1 transmission fluid. It was in the latest service bulletin to get rid of the shudder from the torque converter. Free change under warranty. You can negotiate a discount if out of warranty if you are experiencing the problem. Trans fluid change isnt even in GM’s recommended service at that mileage. The original fluid had an issue attracting water.
Ok, I thought it was recommended around 75,000 and I was going to do it early to try to save the transmission life, and I also plan on towing my boat. I live in Southeast Ohio, hopefully I can negotiate with my dealer that I have the warranty with.
Unfortunately I am still having the “SHAKE”!! Spent so much trying to figure it out. Local Mechanic thinks it could be linked to me having a leveling kit on the truck. Thoughts? So far I have balanced the driveshaft, new tires, new shocks/struts, new torque converter and tires balanced and checked 3 times. I was told to have a custom steel driveshaft made that helped another Chevy owner fix the shake but i’m at odds. Any new updates would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Rotate the tires front to back. Feel very carefully as you approach 70mph. If that effects the steering wheel shake at all, you will know it’s in the tires.
Thank you rajeevx7 – I appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately I did that as well. I was also told that the leveling kit for the front of the truck may have caused the rear to not function properly. The shake is definitely coming from the rear. Has anyone experienced anything like this due to a leveling kit? I may start with having a custom steel shaft made.
During what ever cured my shake, I put a 2” lift on the front and 1” lift on the rear…..+ several other things all at once. So, I don’t know exactly what solved the shake but it is gone.
Can u attach a gopro down there to film what the axle, axle mounts, diff, ujoint are doing before and after 70mph? You may be able to see something excessively vibrating….
Not a bad idea. At this point I am desperate to get this corrected
I have driven 4 Silverado’s from 2014 to 2018 and all have a bad shake. I have a 2014 Z71 at 74 miles per hour you better not have a drink in the center counsel without a lid on it.
Wow Kurt. Have you been able to pinpoint the issue? What things have you done to stop it? I’m running out of possible causes & MONEY!
I have all-terrain 285 tires, spacers and a lift. The truck does no where near a shake anymore to spill a drink, but there is slight vibration in that range, say 67-77mph. It’s not my wife’s odyssey’s butter smooth ride, but it’s well within the comfort territory.
If I went totally stock again, there is no doubt in my mind that the slight vibration would be really minimized.
I’m almost to 70k so I’m looking forward to the trans/transaxle and diff flush with the newest synthetic fluids.
Thanks rajjeevx7 – I did the flush and all including a new torque converter – No go!! Still the shake. I may put a spacer in the rear end to make the driveshaft more level. I may also just try having a steel driveshaft made. I think the GM Aluminum shaft is too light and the reason so many GM truck owners are complaining about the shake. Stay in touch – I appreciate the support!
2018 Chevy Shake, It’s a known issue to GM. They have a factory bulletin about it, as of July 2021. It’s like riding over rumble strips. They said they need to change the oil in the “converter” (torque converter.) ” May have to be done numerous times before it goes away.”
Bob Steele, Are you the Chevy dealer in Cocoa Florida? Got a TSB number for us?
I just had my trans, transaxle, diff and front diff flushed or drain/filled.
Yes, it helped. But, I don’t think my vin was in the mobile1 tsb, i think I just got regular delco all around.
I think the guys who have changed their suspension geometry are experiencing a different issue. My stock 2018 GMC SLT picked up the shake at 70k miles. Primarily in warmer temps once the trans was up to temp and only in gear in an rpm band. Fluid change at dealer to Mobil 1 resolved the issue. Have put 15k miles on truck since the change.
I’m no dealer. Just a Chevy owner. So far the oil change (Differential) has worked. Only drove it 20 miles so far.