Center stack/console noises

[Reyetwinger]

I'm curious how many if any here have squeaking, creaking, or rattling coming from their consoles and center stack areas of the dash. I had a 2019 Tahoe which had some but not too bad. My 2020 has quite a few. The console wasn't in correctly from the factory so I removed it and put it back the way it's supposed to go which eliminated some of it but a hard bump brings all kinds of plastic noises. If I touch any of the plastic trim around the screen or audio/climate controls with any sort of pressure everything squeaks and groans. I am thinking it'***** or miss with the assembly, materials, and design of the dash as to whether you get a quiet one.

 

[Sarah_279]

There's something on mine in the center stack that occasionally "pops" ... like an expanding or contracting plastic noise. I haven't figured out exactly what's doing it. My steering column creaks when turning at very low speeds, like when pulling into a parking spot.
I'm choosing to ignore it for now because I don't want to gamble that the dealership won't screw something else up bad if I ask them to rip it apart and find the noise. (been burned on that before)

No rattles anywhere though. It's actually much more quiet than my Cadillac was.

 

[OR VietVet]

My brother works for Ford Motor Company at the assembly plant in KC, Mo. He told me that the worst days for assembly line builds are Monday, when the workers are still hung over from the weekend and Friday, when the same people can't wait to get off and party all weekend. Their minds are not all in, so to speak.

A friend of mine that ran shops too once told me about a tapping noise a customer brought to his shop to locate on his Dodge car, can't remember which one but was a car and not a truck. The noise was behind the rear seat and on the passenger side. They gained access as best they could and found an empty Coke can hanging on a string that would lean left or right in turns or curves and impact inside that wall there. They fished it out and showed the owner of the car. It was all traced back to being done on the assembly line by some ******* line worker.

 

[Reyetwinger]

Well mine was built right after the strike ended. I don't know whether that's good or bad. I can't take it to the dealership as they did some work to mine as soon as it came off the carrier (grill, emblems, and running boards swap) and gouged my front bumper and scratched everything they touched. I'll have to track it down on my own.

 

[OR VietVet]

Hopefully you documented all the damage they did and talked to them about it. I would still take to them for the noise problems and make sure all is documented because you know they are going to say they cannot duplicate the problem. Make someone from there go for a road test with you to let them hear it.

 

[Big Mama]

Well mine was built right after the strike ended. I don't know whether that's good or bad. I can't take it to the dealership as they did some work to mine as soon as it came off the carrier (grill, emblems, and running
boards swap) and gouged my front bumper and scratched everything they touched. I'll have to track it down on my own.

can’t take it to another dealer?

 

[Reyetwinger]

I think I'm kind of hesitant to let anyone touch it at this point considering the amount of damage it took already. I even tipped them before they did the work. I know there are good mechanics at some dealers but it really is a crap shoot. The dealer offered to get me a new bumper and have it repainted but I don't want them anywhere near it at this point. They even dented and scratched the roof putting the cross rails on. I went over everything beforehand about not scratching anything, not just putting the bumper on the ground and stuff like that...that's exactly what they did. They are giving me a new grill emblem (that I supplied new) that got all messed up when they must have laid the bumper on the ground face down that I'll put on myself. They also are going to give me new clips for the radiator shroud cover as it's just flopping around under the hood. I think the bumper clips are played out too as it sticks out too far on one side. I can't bring myself to let them start taking the interior apart lol. I took the console apart and the lower dash and got a few noises fixed so I have to think about letting anyone near it for now. Maybe after the shock of what they did wears off...but I doubt it. I will have to find these noises myself and carefully take the rest of the dash apart. It just seems like there is a lot of plastic going on and this particular vehicle might just have tolerance stacking or something that's making it all make noise. I was just curious if a lot of others are having the same type of noises. Like I said my 2019 was much quieter.

 

[tbonetxaz]

I have a can of silicone spray with the long red tube that I spray into the cracks on the dash and doors where plastic and plastic touch. Works really well to cut down creaks and pops around the radio and center console on my 19 Premier. Been chasing rattles in cars for years this way.

 

[gat0r]

no sounds like that from my console or dash area.


guess mine was a midweek build

 

[Reyetwinger]

I have the 3M Dry Silicone spray that I was applying with a tiny paint brush in between spots I thought would contact each other. I was tempted to spray it in between all the tight fitting plastic surrounding the screen and controls but I am afraid it will mess up the electrical components and the touch screen if I just douse it back there.

 

[tbonetxaz]

I didn’t spray it around the screen but I did spray it every where else with no issues. In my experience it needs a respray every so often.

 

[Big Mama]

Man, I’m sorry you’ve been through all of this with a brand new rig. It might be time to reach out to GM. My only worry about DIY is later on they may not honor your warranty at this dealership. Especially the scratches.

 

[Reyetwinger]

Thanks. I compounded and polished out the light stuff....you still see it though. On the front of the bumper some scratches went through the color. You can still see it when the light hits it but what's done is done. They also must have been leaning on the sides kind of heavy when they put the roof cross rails on because the clear coat has all marks on the tops of the doors. The gouges on top of the bumper and scratches on the front I'm just gonna put out of my mind. I figure it will get rock chips and stuff eventually anyway. The dent and scratches on the roof you can't see unless you are up there waxing it. The bumper gap sticking out on one side I'm also just gonna live with it. They probably needed to use new clips being they took the bumper off twice because they put the wrong grill on it the first time. The second time they put the right grill on they must have just jammed it in there dragging it across the top of the painted bumper. Asking them to fix that is just looking for more trouble. They just can't touch it again under any circumstances. I have a loose window applique too but there is no way I have confidence they will be able to remove that without scratching it in some way. I can just about guarantee they will screw up the interior if they take the dash apart. I also told them in writing no Armorall on anything. Pretty simple request. The truck was covered in it, even under the hood. I washed it off and it made an oil slick in my driveway which got on my shoes and when I walk around my house my shoes are squeaking all over the place even after washing the floors twice. What a disaster these people are! It's a shame, I traded in a perfect truck and got back a brand new mess. On top of that I am afraid to use my warranty because they obviously aren't trained how not to damage vehicles. Or they just don't care if they do. I've had dealers mess up other cars in the past but it was just usually getting oil all over the place. I will just have to carefully take this dash apart and see if I can quiet it down myself. The only thing they seem worried about is how I will answer my GM survey lol. It does seem build quality might be all over the place with these trucks. It seems most people have no issues and some have rattles, squeaks, and all sorts of other noises. I can attest to that, my 19 was nice and tight and this one had stuff making noise everywhere. They have smooth roads for the most part around here so my test drive wasn't bad, just a little creak here and there. When I finally went down a road with some messed up pavement a few days later all hell broke loose! The thing that scares me is the silver trim around the screen, that looks real fragile to be pulling off. Some of those clips hold on pretty tight. Anyway, that's my experience.

 

[Big Mama]

Man, you’re one patient forgiving guy. That’s a lot of stuff to just deal with. The survey might be a good chance to get some answers/results. If there was another GMC or Chevy dealer around I’d reach out to GM customer service and let them make things right. Dealers pride themselves on “factory certified” techs. These clearly are not.

 

[sealandsky]

I'm curious how many if any here have squeaking, creaking, or rattling coming from their consoles and center stack areas of the dash. I had a 2019 Tahoe which had some but not too bad. My 2020 has quite a few. The console wasn't in correctly from the factory so I removed it and put it back the way it's supposed to go which eliminated some of it but a hard bump brings all kinds of plastic noises. If I touch any of the plastic trim around the screen or audio/climate controls with any sort of pressure everything squeaks and groans. I am thinking it'***** or miss with the assembly, materials, and design of the dash as to whether you get a quiet one.

My 2019 Denali has a "buzz" from the radio stack area, but only under light acceleration between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm. The dealer ordered a whole new radio stack assembly for me and it's going to be installed as soon as i can arrange the time for it. Will update.

 

[Reyetwinger]

Man, you’re one patient forgiving guy. That’s a lot of stuff to just deal with. The survey might be a good chance to get some answers/results. If there was another GMC or Chevy dealer around I’d reach out to GM customer service and let them make things right. Dealers pride themselves on “factory certified” techs. These clearly are not.

Well I'm not really forgiving in this instance but kind of between a rock and a hard place. They switched a lot of stuff from my 19 to my 20 so my other option would have been to walk away and have it all switched back and who knows what they would have messed up doing that. I got a lot of the squeaks out of the dash yesterday...not all. There is also something rolling around deep inside the dash, a screw or some other foreign object that intermittently rolls around on turns and hard stops. God only knows what they either left in there or didn't tighten up at the factory. I would have really had to disassemble way too much to even have a chance of finding it. So today I get out of the truck and shut the door and I hear a rattle coming from the front. So I tap on the bumper right above the air deflector and it sounds like the whole undercarriage is loose. This is LOUD. I crawl under there and the two 10MM bolts on each side that hold the bottom of the bumper to another piece that secures it to the truck are just hanging half way in the threaded clips. I guess they figured there was no need to tighten those lol. The whole assembly was rattling all over the place. I tightened them up. This service dept is a freaking circus. At this point I wouldn't trust them to put ketchup on my burger.

 

[Big Mama]

My goodness and no other GM dealers in your area? That or contacting GM so you can take it to your mechanic on their dime. Tell them all the crap your dealer did to your rig and they won’t send you back there but they’ll want a chance to fix it. Obviously you’re a great customer if you traded a 2019 for a 2020. Don’t allow them to trash you or the next guy’s rig without GM knowing.

 

[Reyetwinger]

The day I went to pick up the truck and discovered just the damage to the front bumper I was thinking about what to do for like a half hour. The salesman offered to get me a new emblem, new bumper and have it painted or give me back some money. That day I finally said screw it get me the new bumper. After thinking about it overnight and discovering all the other damage I called him and said forget the bumper, I didn't want them touching the truck anymore. I also really didn't want my brand new truck having a repainted bumper fresh off the car carrier. I'm not an expert on body/paint work but the paint that goes over the bumper is different from what goes on metal. I figured I don't know what kind of job would be done, how it would hold up over time, and I just wanted my factory paint on my brand new truck. So I thought it's a bumper, it's probably going to get abuse anyway as it's my daily driver and maybe I would be best off to quit while I'm behind before they can screw something else up lol. Tomorrow I'm going down there to pick up my emblem, I called him today and told him they need to compensate me financially for the disaster they have caused so far. I don't even want the money, I want my truck to be in mint original condition but that isn't possible. It's only factory fresh once and that can't be undone. So I'll see what kind of pittance they offer me but whatever it is it can't fix the ruination of the joy I usually feel bringing home a new car. I have a friend that just bought a new Vette. Dealer did his first oil change and didn't tighten the filter. He was on the highway, got home and found a puddle of oil under his car. I had another friend with a Caddy, dealer did an oil change. His wife was driving the car home, oil light is on. They never put any oil in the engine, it was bone dry. These were 3 different dealers in 2 states. Sadly it's a crap shoot wherever you go. It's a sad state of affairs these days. PS, the Caddy ran probably about 5 miles to my buddy's house with no oil in it. It wasn't making any noise and seemed fine afterwards, but he sold it soon after that and I don't blame him.

 

[Big Mama]

That stinks. Hopefully they’ll give you enough to fix what’s ailing if you decide to. I’m with you on the new rig feeling being gone. There are some GM techs on this site if you want to talk to them about this mess.

 

[Reyetwinger]

Thanks. I'm sure there are dedicated professional techs out there, the problem is how do you know where? I mean if you ask the service dept if they have dedicated professional guys working back there you know they're going to say of course. My best friends son is a Chrysler tech, I obviously would trust him working on my car. After all of my own experiences and friends experiences, and the horror stories I've read online as I said it's just a roll of the dice what you're gonna get. Maybe at Joe's garage you take your chances but at a dealership you shouldn't have to cross your fingers every time you need service. These vehicles are crazy expensive and part of that price is your warranty and prep. Sadly it's not just cars, it seems a vast portion of people providing all kinds of services these days just don't give a crap. But most things aren't as expensive as new Tahoes.