2016 Yukon XL Denali - buffeting/excessive vibration - follow along

[yahtzee]

9/15/15 - I took delivery of my 2016 Yukon XL Denali around noon. This truck was DX'd from another dealership approximately 100 miles away and was driven here on Monday (9/14/15). I took a quick test drive and was focused on the buffeting issue. It was definitely there but didn't seem to be as bad as previous vehicles that I had driven. On my way home I noticed some severed vibrations above 70mph all the way up to about 80mph. I called the service department yesterday afternoon and made an appt for this morning. We needed the room that this vehicle provides fairly quickly (lots of travel with soccer, aging parents, etc. - my wife, two young daughters and two puppies less than a year old). Some say why didn't you just swap it out with another one? This configuration was exactly what I wanted and, unlike White Diamond, the Summit White's are hard to locate, especially a 2016.

9/16/15 - took car in and described in detail what i had experienced (the buffeting and the vibration). 3 hrs later they informed me that a GM representative happened to be onsite and that they found 3 of the 4 tires to be significantly out of balance (via road force balancing). They have 20-30 (I don't recall which exact number) tires in stock of the same exact model that's on my Yukon XL (22"). They are having to put a tire on a rim to get them all matched which should solve the vibration problem. I was put into a Chevy Impala from Enterprise (there is world championship bike race in town for the next week so all larger rentals are gone, apparently). Stay tuned.

 

[undertaker]

uhm........24 hours to void the contract?

 

[yahtzee]

uhm........24 hours to void the contract?

'

....and drive what?

 

[ktpinnacle]

If it's just a tire balancing issue, I'd say that was a narrow escape. I was concerned to see a 2016 still connected to this pressure/buffeting issue. I hope the tire change out resolves it for you.

 

[yahtzee]

If it's just a tire balancing issue, I'd say that was a narrow escape. I was concerned to see a 2016 still connected to this pressure/buffeting issue. I hope the tire change out resolves it for you.

Ha! No kidding...I hope that's the case. My first GM experience hasn't started out as planned.

 

[fiatdale]

Sounds like just a balancing issue. Doesnt sound too serious. They should be able to get you all set pretty quick.

 

[Got-Boost?]

'

....and drive what?

Have them find another or order what you want. Hell, tell them to let you drive another inventory vehicle until they fix yours or get you another one..

 

[rad-man]

what's "road force balancing"?

Honestly, I havent even driven above 75, so now i'm scared to try.
I also have the 22's, so hopefully this isnt linked to the 2015 problems....

 

[yahtzee]

Have them find another or order what you want. Hell, tell them to let you drive another inventory vehicle until they fix yours or get you another one..

I went back and said an Impala wasn't going to cut it. 16 Acadia Denali until today (hopefully).

---------- Post added at 08:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 AM ----------

what's "road force balancing"?

Honestly, I havent even driven above 75, so now i'm scared to try.
I also have the 22's, so hopefully this isnt linked to the 2015 problems....

Here is a quick video on it. 3 of the 4 tires on my Yukon were pretty far out of spec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQxVAssnbp8

 

[mastertony]

I experienced the same thing and it was definitely a tire balancing issue. It's very easy to fix.

 

[yahtzee]

I experienced the same thing and it was definitely a tire balancing issue. It's very easy to fix.

Did you experience the buffeting issue? That has nothing to do with tire balancing.

 

[rad-man]

Here is a quick video on it. 3 of the 4 tires on my Yukon were pretty far out of spec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQxVAssnbp8

Interesting. I assume most Discount Tire shops use regular balancing machines and the dealer may have the more fancy Road Force?

 

[yahtzee]

Interesting. I assume most Discount Tire shops use regular balancing machines and the dealer may have the more fancy Road Force?

Good question. I have no idea if it simply comes down to a shop wanting to spend the money on it or what. It's definitely more work for each tire and each vehicle. Maybe they road force balance if they can't nail down an issue using standard balancing.

 

[yahtzee]

I just received a call from the service department. They said that they have replaced 2 of the 4 tires and that has eliminated the vibration issue as well as the buffeting issue. They want me to provide a thorough test drive before leaving with it. They also said that the PI/bulletin did not apply to 2016's if the noise had remained. We shall see how this plays out.

 

[yahtzee]

9/18/15 - I picked up the truck a little while ago and it is dramatically different, in a good way. The vibration is completely gone. The buffeting is better but it definitely still exists. I had a tech take a 30+ ride with me. He was fantastic in his professionalism, his knowledge and overall representation of the GM brand (George, if you are reading, thanks for your efforts). He was telling me how the road force balancing took car of the vibration and some of the buffeting but that in all reality these trucks are built way different than they used to be. Especially on 22" wheels, the feedback that is sent through the vehicle from the road is felt much more in these trucks. I am not sure how a 2016 model year truck could start production on a Monday after 2015 production ended the previous Friday yet the PI not apply to it. That said, I am thankful at this point they didn't pull the headliner. If it gets to that point, fine, but day 5 of ownership? I have 250 miles on it and am going to give it another 250 to see if things improve at all. I think there are varying levels of sensitivity across owners of this truck. My bet is that this buffeting occurs in EVERY 2015 and 2016 vehicle but some deal with it, some are used to worse noises/feelings and some simply speak up.

Is anyone aware of one single truck having this problem, doing through various troubleshooting/PI's and walking away with a quiet truck?

 

[yahtzee]

9/19/15 - Go outside to head to a day of soccer games and truck starts up...after 5 seconds of idling it sounds like it is running out of gas (over half full). I turn it off and try to start it again with no luck. It's putting out a serious rotten egg smell but will not start. Have a call into service this morning. Happy week one (not even a week) of GM ownership.

 

[yahtzee]

Onstar call for diagnostic - codes P0506 P0106 - air intake control system is not operating as expected. Monitors air flowing into the engine. Experience lack of power, rough idle, etc.*

Truck got towed to dealership but won't get looked at until Monday. Gave me a 15 Yukon XL SLE (which also has buffeting issue).

 

[undertaker]

sadly I've been on the fence about picking up a truck for the wife for when I knock her up and she starts popping lil terrors. I love my GM trucks but these stories have me hesitating. Maybe I should just order a blower and then I'll have to force myself to buy a truck to put it on.

hopefully this sorts itself out but first week I'd be flipping my isht. I would be expecting some sort of payoff for pain and suffering as well.

75k this isn't what I expect, my suburban I hooked a 8k trailer on when it was a day old 130k ago and never a driveline problem, my CTSV I tripled the speed limit on the way home from the dealer and 4 years no problems other than front wheel clicking which they all do. But the recurring problems on the new trucks have me worried, to me they are the best stuff GM makes besides the CTSV and Vettes.

 

[yahtzee]

Why did this get moved to the engine forum? I am trying to keep folks aware of my experiences overall with this new truck.

 

[rad-man]

9/19/15 - Go outside to head to a day of soccer games and truck starts up...after 5 seconds of idling it sounds like it is running out of gas (over half full). I turn it off and try to start it again with no luck. It's putting out a serious rotten egg smell but will not start. Have a call into service this morning. Happy week one (not even a week) of GM ownership.

Dang!!

now i'm starting to get worried about my '16.....