| Author | Message | ||
     Toona |
Here's the skinny... My dad bought a new 2011 Chevy xcab 2wd, 5.3/auto when he was in Florida this past spring. He's complained about it having some kind of vibration/resonance in the cab at 60-70 mph. He's taken it to our local Pennsylvania dealer 3 times and the dealer can recreate the noise but can't seem to figure out what is causing it. GM has a service bulletin out (don't know the number sorry) about the problem. Supposedly there is some kind of new cab mounts that they have come up with to reduce the noise. Problem is, according to the local dealer tech, dad's truck already has the revised cab mounts installed from the assembly line. The local dealer/tech has been great in trying to rectify the problem, but now they are stumped and have started to write the required paperwork to initiate a buy back under the lemon law. My question is, what's the process and has anyone else been thru it? Is the truck prorated for mileage or are there any other things that he/we should be aware of? Thanks! | ||
| Blks1l |
My dad went through a smiliiar situation with a 2001 Ford F350 and a vibration, they eventually bought it back, it was jsut a bit time consuming as far as I remember, I don't know much more details. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I hope this issue gets resolved quickly, and it's good to hear that the dealer is helping... BUT, how does a vibration make it a lemon? Is it a very severe vibration that makes driving unbearable? | ||
| Etennuly |
I went through a six month process with GM in 1997 on a buy back. The Florida Lemon Law(where I was) procedure will essentially make them scrap the truck. So, GM will fight/postpone/draw out the program until the last day of the lemon law and then voluntarily buy it back. At that time it had to be in for the same problem three times and still unfixed or deemed unfixable. Mine had three major problems that they had addressed at least three times. The engine knocked, eventually replaced and the replacement began knocking, the brake system would intermittently go dead, and during one of the engine attempts they ruined the air conditioning system and never could make it work again. They wrote a check for exactly everything it cost me, the original cost, taxes, trade balance, etc., less a charge for mileage. I think mine was started a $1 per mile, at 7,000 miles I argued it down to about $.40 per mile. They wrote me a check, took the Suburban into the service department, fixed a few of the problems and it was out on the used car lot in a couple of days. If it had actually finished out by the Lemon Law, it would not have been able to have been resold. An interesting game with newer used vehicles on dealer sales lots. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Toona, have they checked wheel runout or swapped wheels with another truck on the lot? Driveshaft balance/bend? | ||
| Toona |
It's not a "wheel thing". The steering wheel actually vibrates while the engine is running and the truck is sitting still. But the vibration isn't there thru the steering wheel while moving. The noise is like sitting inside a steel drum and someones beating on it while going down the road. The dealer has already deemed it unrepairable, so I'm not trying to find out the source of the problem anymore, just want to know if anyone else has been thru the GM buyback for a lemon. Thanks for the insight Vern, I passed along your bit of info to my dad. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Way back when, before lemon laws a friend bought a new Dodge Dart 340 (the tri-power version). It had an engine vibration that could not be cured. They changed the clutch and flywheel several times, the harmonic balancer and all the pulleys a couple of times. The problem was in the engine, but they wouldn't do anything with it. Out of frustration one day, he took the car and drove 10 miles with it in first gear, wide open. The motor did not blow up. His dad asked to borrow the car and within a couple of blocks, the motor seized. They called the dealer and had the car towed in. The dealer said the warranty would not cover it because it had been "hot rodded". My friend's dad spoke up and told them that it quit while he and his wife were headed to the supermarket...(his dad was a well known and respected minister  ). Guess what? After they replaced the engine, the vibration went away. And that was a scary fast little car  . | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I'll bet that dart sounded pretty cool for those 10 miles! | ||
| Tomst9 |
I have seen a couple of these with driveshaft imbalance issues. Did they try swapping driveshafts with another vehicle? It may be hard because we don't sell many 2wd in PA. Is the vehicle equipped with AFM?(active fuel management) If so, does it only do it in V4 mode? If it does it might be a "characteristic" of the vehicle. The resonance of the engine and exhaust changes significantly when changing between v4 and v8 mode. Does the vibration go away with weight in the bed? Try putting a couple hundred pounds in the bed and drive it. If that fixes it the problem is caused by "beam shake". Thats normal also. Make sure nothing is hitting the body or firewall or hoses that could transfer vibrations into the cab. Ensure the engine sight shield is installed correctly (heater hoses on top of the cover). I've seen some terrible rattles caused by someone not installing that shield correctly Does it have a bug deflector? They sometimes cause the windshield garnish moldings to vibrate. There is a bulletin on that. My guess would be its the driveshaft, but without hearing or seeing it for myself its difficult to say. The dealer should have gone through all these checks and it sounds like they did, but it doesn't hurt to recheck. Thanks, Tom | ||
| Toona |
I don't know that that dealer changed drive shafts, but that still wouldn't cause a vibration sitting still. I don't believe he has AFM, my wife's Yukon does and it doesn't really bother me. He just moved a bunch of stuff from FLA to PA and had more than the 200 lbs of load in the bed, still did it-for 17 hours....the dealer did try loading the bed as well. I don't know about the engine sight shield, I'll look at it and compare it, although I have the 6.0 in my GMC. He doesn't have the bug deflector. I do and the garnish molding rattle bugged me, so I just put a strip of black electrical tape down the edge. I have a black truck, so it doesn't stand out. What's the factory "fix" for that? I'd be interested. I was just going to run a bead of clear silicone under the edge, but I never seem to remember to do anything about it while I'm at my shop. The tape "repair" was a truck stop "fix". One of my father's previous trucks did that, so I knew what to look for/fix. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I hope they get it ironed out. Is it a high frequency buzz? What about something more solid (ie. fuel line) rattling or rubbing? Interesting story from a buddy who works at a Dodge dealer as a tech, former Nascar tech, and owner/builder of a 10 sec Dodge Caliber. Around the time of the bailout and dealer consolidations, a Customer came in with a 3500 Dodge that had a rolling sound on acceleration and stopping. They checked everything on the truck and it was about to be bought back. He pulled the bumper off an found a ping pong ball in the frame with a love note written on it. "How long did it take?" | ||
| Tomst9 |
sorry, I was going off the first post where it says that you get a vibration at 60-70 mph | ||
| Toona |
I'm not totally sure what the "noise" is, whether its a vibration or a knock or ?. Dad got a call from a GM rep today stating that his case will be reviewed by the next tier higher in service-regional rep? |
