Chevy Colorado Vibration

I purchased a Chevy Colorado Truck, 5 Cylinder engine. It has about 250 miles. At around 50 mph, I notice a vibration. It feels like the wheels are not balanced. I'm getting the wheels checked out tomorrow at the Chevy garage. If it's not the wheels being out of balance, does anyone have any ideas what else this could be? Thanks.

I purchased a Chevy Colorado Truck, 5 Cylinder engine. It has about 250 miles. At around 50 mph, I notice a vibration. It feels like the wheels are not balanced. I'm getting the wheels checked out tomorrow at the Chevy garage. If it's not the wheels being out of balance, does anyone have any ideas what else this could be? Thanks.

I had the same problem with my Colorado. After 3 trips to the dealer, they finally replaced the drive shaft and all vibaration is gone. The original drive shaft was out of round.

That's a great tip I have exactly the same problem.

I also have vibration at around 50 mph in my 04 Colorado. How hard was it for you to get them to check the drive shaft?

I just got mine back from the dealer it had a vibration at about 50MPH and the xmission was loosing fluid from the rear seal. this is what they said "4689 wrong driveshaft to short not riding in bushing st 1.1 replace extension housing & driveshaft & speed sensor" my vibration is gone :screwy:

I took mine to the dealer and they said that the rear tires were mounted on the rim backwards and they flipped them. I still have a vibration and will be taking it back again.

What suspension packages are giving problems to all of you?

I have the Colorado Sport (ZQ8) extended cab. I haven't noticed any vibration but just wondering if I should check more closely for drips from the rear end maybe.

I smell a recall.

Mine is the Z85 LS Reg. Cab. I really don't like complaining about this vibration, but you spend that kind of money on a vehicle and you shouldn't notice the passenger seat jiggling all over the place. I've heard its the tires or the driveshaft but it doesn't vibrate badly all of the time.

I also have a z85 2wd reg cab 5cyl with the save vibration problems, its really noticeable on rough interstate and city roads, no matter what the speed. Dealer balanced tires, swapped with different tires but it still rides rough. I took another colorado for a test ride and I noticed the same vibration problem. The Dealer has been delaying me and told me GM does'nt have a service bulletin fix out on the problem yet. Great gas milage and power if you can stand riding ontop of a bronco. I always wondered where they got the term horsepower.

I have the 2wd long bed with the sport package it does not seem to have harsh a ride to me. Now that they fixed the cat and xmission :-)

I also have a Z85 regular cab with the same vibration problem everyone else is talking about, I have had it to the dealer twice and yesterday filed a complaint with Chevrolet (GM) and they asked me if I wanted another dealer to look at it. I said yes. My dealer is telling me some vibration is a characteristic of the vehicle. I could handle a slight vibration but this is extreme, I also didn't purchase a brand new vehicle to feel it shimmy as I drive it down the road. The service manager at my dealership said he thinks the problem is deep within the suspension, he had me drive another one and it had a similar vibration but not as bad as my truck. Supposedly this is not an issue with the extended or crew cab models.

So far they claim to have done the following with mine:

Balanced the tires

Rotated the prop shaft (drive shaft) 180 degrees (I guess that means they swapped it from the trans to the rear).

Swapped drive shafts with another vehicle from their inventory.

Tried lowering the air pressure in the tires.

Contacted GM for engineering support

I really like the truck but needless to say I'm very disappointed with the shimmy, I urge the rest of you who are having a problem to contact the Chevrolet customer care center, you will spend some time on hold but unless we bombard them with complaints they aren't going to put any engineers on it to see what's going on. The other side to it is the dealer doesn't want to invest any real effort into the problem because GM doesn't pay them much, a mechanic told me they get under an hours labor for a vibration type problem.

Sorry for the lenghty post I'll post again when I get it back from the other dealer. Maybe they will have some insight on the problem.

Please contact GM remember their is strength in numbers and the squeeky wheel gets the oil.

Made my complaint known to chevy monday after two months of getting the run around from my dealer, the number is 800-222-1020. But I still haven't gotten any real answers yet as of thursday.
Most states have lemon laws on the books if the seller or manufacturer can't fix the problem. That's the next thing I am looking into.

Sounds like CHEVY is droping the ball again.
1st the piston slap/Then 03 drive train..

Hey >? how far did you guys drive one of these Pickups before you bought>??Diff sounds like a driveshat problem..The TIRE stroy flop the the tires..
I just can't buy that one..

Just wondering at about what Millage it started..
My Bud bought one .He has had it for about 3 weeks..

I took mine to the dealer the second time for vibration, along with a printout of this thread. They decided to take a look at the driveshaft and called me to say "It really is the driveshaft!". They ordered a new driveshaft but said it is on a national backorder. I suggest anyone with a regular cab Colorado to print out this thread and give it to the service manager and get your truck fixed. If they still don't want to check out the driveshaft, there is always the customer satisfaction survey they send you that gets their attention.

Found another place where it might be helpful to lodge a complaint. WWW.NHTSA.GOV. (National Highway Transportation and Safety agency) It's a pretty cool site. You can search and read complaints filed with them on any year, make and model vehicle as well as leaving your own complaint. You can also seach for service bulletin info the manufacturer has put out on the vehicle.
Noticed my vibration from the very first mile. I test drove two extended cabs at the dealership, cause they didn't have any reg cabs. They both drove excellant. I had the dealer locate mine, reg cab. It was late when I went to pick it up and sign the papers so I didn't have a chance to test drive it. Boy was I stupid! :slap:

I first noticed the shimmy in mine at about 800 miles, although the dealer is telling me all of them do this, they had me drive another regular cab which only had 22 miles on it and it did it but not as bad as mine. I told them that I would have turned right around if I felt it doing it when i took delivery.

Indysmith - Do you know what they did to determine it was the drive shaft? It sounds Chevy may have gotten a bunch of bad drive shafts from their supplier.

Thanks for the information I'll print this thread as well for use when I go to the dealer this Friday.

The dealer didn't let me know how they found out the drive shaft was bad but they seemed surprised. I expect GM is keeping this problem to themselves hoping it will go away and not even letting the dealers know that it exist. Since the dealer told me that this part is on national backorder, GM knows that they have alot of bad drive shafts for the regular cab truck.

Found this clip on the NHTSA's web site. Looks like the Colorado's cousin (GMC Canyon) also has the problem. No suprise there since they are the same.

"PURCHASED 2004 CANYON CREW CAB WITH 2.8L 4 CYLINDER, AUTOMATIC AND 1SC SLE OPTION PACKAGE. TRUCK APPEARS TO HAVE VIBRATION IN BODY THAT OCCURS AT DIFFERENT SPEED WHEN A STEADY SPEED IS HELD. USUALLY SHAKES/VIBRATION IS MOST NOTICEABLE AT 50~60 RANGE. HAVE HAS TIRES REPLACED TWICE, WHEELS CHECKED AND DEALER HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIND SOURCE OF PROBLEM AFTER OVER 5,000 MILES. PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE DESIGN FLAW IN CANYON SUSPENSION DESIGN. CURRENTLY IN DEALER FOR THIRD VISIT TO TRY AND CORRECT. TRUCK HAS HAD PROBLEM SINCE DAY ONE AND PER DEALER SERVICE MANAGER ALL OF HIS TRUCKS ON LOT HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS. *JB "

Got my colorado back from another dealer after Chevy suggested getting a second opinion. They did not resolve the problem. I called Chevy again today so we'll see what happens next.

I noticed that this thread is getting a lot of views so I can only assume that a lot of people have this problem and are hitting this thread when doing a web search. If you are reading this and have the same problem I urge you to go to your dealer and if they can't fix it call Chevrolet at 800-222-1020 and open a case with them.

I took mine to the dealer the second time for vibration, along with a printout of this thread. They decided to take a look at the driveshaft and called me to say "It really is the driveshaft!". They ordered a new driveshaft but said it is on a national backorder. I suggest anyone with a regular cab Colorado to print out this thread and give it to the service manager and get your truck fixed. If they still don't want to check out the driveshaft, there is always the customer satisfaction survey they send you that gets their attention.

I have an extended cab and it ran fine for 17000 miles and then I noticed the left front tire on the inside was wearing off. Took it to the dealer and they told me there was a service bulletin on it and it seems that the tires are defective! GM has to decide what new tires to put on these trucks and when they do they'll replace em all! Never had any vibration at all. So now i'm waiting for 4 new tires. GM doesn't have a fix and I guess they'll just keep replacing tires eh? Defective tires..he told me that the rubber heats up and then bubbles and wears off..they say its the tires problem......

I got the same story last week from the service manager where I brought my truck from. I called to ask him if he had found out anything from GM on this vibration problem. He told me GM will be broadening its service bulletin, from a previous tire problem with certain Z71 models, to include all Colorados. He said the rubber material in the existing tires is to hard, and GM engineers are scrambling to find a suitable tire for the truck. After showing him this thread, I asked him why he couldn't just order me a new drive shaft since other dealerships in the automotive forum thread were doing that. He told me that the drive shaft was an expensive item and GM would be ticked if he ordered one. I wonder why I brought the expensive extended warrenty, they will take your money but don't want to spend any money trying to fix the problem.

I got the same story last week from the service manager where I brought my truck from. I called to ask him if he had found out anything from GM on this vibration problem. He told me GM will be broadening its service bulletin, from a previous tire problem with certain Z71 models, to include all Colorados. He said the rubber material in the existing tires is to hard, and GM engineers are scrambling to find a suitable tire for the truck. After showing him this thread, I asked him why he couldn't just order me a new drive shaft since other dealerships in the automotive forum thread were doing that. He told me that the drive shaft was an expensive item and GM would be ticked if he ordered one. I wonder why I brought the expensive extended warrenty, they will take your money but don't want to spend any money trying to fix the problem.

A vibration problem is just one of many on my 2004 Chevy Colorado. I printed this thread, and took it to my local dealer and they said I was jumping on the bandwagon. Good Times! Both front shocks went out at 525 miles. I had oil all over my garage floor. The fuel gauge stopped working at 525 miles. Both front tires are cupping. I have a vibration at 45 -55mph . But I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Service bulliten 8/17 says GM knows there is a problem with the tires. The problem is, they don't know how to fix it. They are going to replace two of my tires, people what sense does that make? They won't replace the driveshaft, because GM says it's not a problem. Good Times!!I

Last month I also bought a new Colorado. On the way home from the dealer I had this wierd vibration at 55-60. I took it back two days later, and they said they couldn't find anything, but balanced all the tires. It still does it. But thanks to all of the posts on this, I can now go back and tell them to install a new driveshaft! Thanks!!

We bought a 2004 Colorado over Labor Day.... and so far the dealership has had it for 21 days fot he vibration problem. Ours is so bad it feels like a vibrating chair at the mall.

Our dealership has given us 4 new tires & done a radial balance. No help so far. They claim the drive shaft is ok.

We have gotten a claim in with GM, who actually tried to tell us we needed to wait for a recall.

Um, no, I dont think so. We ended up talking to a manager of a manager, who is supposedely talking to their tech people, as our dealership has no clue how to fix the problem.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

I feel your pain: I haven't seen my truck for 14 days now! The lastest problem is a water leak under the wiper blades. They forgot to caulk the seem on the body, so now the entire floor of my truck is completely saturated in water. [B] Since purchasing my truck in May 2004:
Both front shocks have been replaced- Leaking Oil
The fuel tank has been dropped twice, to fix a fuel guage problem, and hesitation problem
Front wheel alignment- tires still wearing
Door handle replaced- just came off?
All four tires have been replaced and balanced- to eliminate vibration
One wheel - Paint coming off
Still has a vibration at 45-55 mph!
New body caulk under wipers!
Waiting on new flooring! 14 days and waiting!
The oil is still good, because I don't even have 3000 miles on the truck yet! I'm just thankful that my other vehicle is a Toyota!
I hope to let everyone know how bad these trucks really are!!!

it seems like this is a factory problem, you guys are better of conplaining to gm motors

Update on my Colorado. When the dealer went to replace the flooring in my Colorado, they noticed a problem with the passenger seat belt. The main bolt holding the belt to the floor was two turns from coming out. After two turns, they noticed that it was broken off at the factory. The dealer could have possibly saved the life of my wife or son. GM must not care about the safety of my family! I have this problem in writing from the dealer!

We finally got a GM rep to come see our truck at the dealership.

Just as a recap, we have had the truck since 09/08/04. Truck has been at dealership for 21 days... bad vibration issues. They have replaced all 4 tires & done radial balance & tests. The dealerhsip was refusing to do anything else, because they didnt know how to fix it.

After at least a dozen calls to GM, speaking to 5 different reps at GM, they finally sent someone to see the truck.

The GM rep has ordered the dealership to give us new tires by a different company before the end of the week, and if that doesnt fix it (which I doubt it will) she will come again.

GM really made us mad.... they wouldnt do ANYTHING at first... they actually tried to say that all trucks vibrate, and then they claimed that we needed to wait for a recall or service bulletin. We had to threaten them with the lawyer/lemon law for us to get somewhere.

So, everyone with vibration issues... take note... they KNOW there is an issue... but are not willing to fix it unless you really push them.

Here you see one of the best arguements about not buying the first model year of a new vehicle.

I guess I must be one of the lucky ones, I have owned my Colorado since 12-31-03 it has over 15,000 miles on it and not one problem at all. I have a Reg. cab 4 wheel drive z71 ls

My only complaint is with the design of the doors you can not open the passsenger side from the outside if it is locked. It would be nice to be able to unlock the door with key instead of opening the drivers door reaching across the seat unlocking the door going back out and putting groceries back in from the passenger side.

I guess I must be one of the lucky ones, I have owned my Colorado since 12-31-03 it has over 15,000 miles on it and not one problem at all. I have a Reg. cab 4 wheel drive z71 ls

My only complaint is with the design of the doors you can not open the passsenger side from the outside if it is locked. It would be nice to be able to unlock the door with key instead of opening the drivers door reaching across the seat unlocking the door going back out and putting groceries back in from the passenger side.

From what I have heard the vibration occurs only on the Reg. Cab 2 Wheel Drive models. I agree with you that the door design is a real hassle. I think they like us to be frustrated so we will buy the extra options like power door locks and keyless entry.

From what I have heard the vibration occurs only on the Reg. Cab 2 Wheel Drive models. I agree with you that the door design is a real hassle. I think they like us to be frustrated so we will buy the extra options like power door locks and keyless entry.

Actually I have a 2004 Colorado 4WD Ext Cab and my truck shakes when I'm going 30MPH and then again at about 50 - 60MPH. It's very annoying and the dealer has given me a new set of tires and rebalanced my tires twice. I'm really getting frustrated. What is the most effective number to contact Chevy's customer service? Thanks.

I had the same problem with my Colorado. After 3 trips to the dealer, they finally replaced the drive shaft and all vibaration is gone. The original drive shaft was out of round.

How do you get them to replace the drive shaft? I had my truck back four times and every time they either re-balanced the tires or once they gave me four new tires. They claim that the other Colorados shake. My Colorado is a 2004 Ext Cab 4WD 5 cylinder automatic. It shakes at different speeds but especially at 30 MPH and again at 55 - 60 MPH. Thanks.

The Chevy number is 1-800-222-1020~~ call them ASAP. Get a service number from them.

We have a crew cab, and GM has told us we are SOL, until we really pushed them into our other options. On a side note, keep all your invoices, lemon law says 3 failed attempts to fix or 30 days ...... we have hit that and sent our lemon law letter... will keep you updated.

The Chevy number is 1-800-222-1020~~ call them ASAP. Get a service number from them.

We have a crew cab, and GM has told us we are SOL, until we really pushed them into our other options. On a side note, keep all your invoices, lemon law says 3 failed attempts to fix or 30 days ...... we have hit that and sent our lemon law letter... will keep you updated.

Thank you very much for your input. I am going to try the dealer one more time with this new information about the driveshaft. If I don't get satisfaction, I will start the Lemon Law procedure. I've already registered a complaint with the NHTSA. I hope Chevy doesn't let me down. Thanks again.

Thank you very much for your input. I am going to try the dealer one more time with this new information about the driveshaft. If I don't get satisfaction, I will start the Lemon Law procedure. I've already registered a complaint with the NHTSA. I hope Chevy doesn't let me down. Thanks again.

Just an added note: I requested an appointment at my dealer to check the drive shaft. They had it all of half an hour including a test drive and a visual of the drive shaft. They found nothing. Still vibrates. They did give me a bulletin that stated "Vibration at all speeds; Damaged Transmission Tailshaft Bushing; Cracked Exhaust at Catalytic Converter - dw 2.8 3.5 4L60E broken crack GMT355 leak L52 noise pipe propshaft shake seal short #PIP3197 - (Oct 19, 2004). Apparently the propshaft is too short on some models. This appears to be only for 2WD regular cabs. Since mine is a 4WD ext. cab, the dealer was not concerned about it. I called Chevrolet today and filed a complaint and got a service number. Anybody else making progress? Thanks.

Sounds like Colorado is a good one...to NOT buy...

From what I have heard the vibration occurs only on the Reg. Cab 2 Wheel Drive models. I agree with you that the door design is a real hassle. I think they like us to be frustrated so we will buy the extra options like power door locks and keyless entry.

I have a 4WD Regular cab and have the same vibration. GM doesn't care. All of my previous vehicles (7 of them) were GM's but I guarantee you this will be the LAST!
They humor you with their customer care line and then wonder why they aren't moving any vehicles off of their lots.

I've changed tires at my own expense. I've had the truckin 5 or 6 times. The wheels have been balanced and rebalanced, i've complained to every 800 number person and 2 dealerships. The truck shakes and is miserable to drive. No one can fix it.

I took mine to the dealer the second time for vibration, along with a printout of this thread. They decided to take a look at the driveshaft and called me to say "It really is the driveshaft!". They ordered a new driveshaft but said it is on a national backorder. I suggest anyone with a regular cab Colorado to print out this thread and give it to the service manager and get your truck fixed. If they still don't want to check out the driveshaft, there is always the customer satisfaction survey they send you that gets their attention.
I don't know if anyone out there is reading this website anymore however I took the printout to daler and had them switch driveshafts with a truck on the lot. It did not improve the vibration at all. I guess they and Gm customer assistance are at the end of the line . They dpon't know what to do to make it stop vibrating. I have new tires put on, balanced over and over again, alignment and a driveshaft switch. Still miserable to drive. Really a shame I love the truck other than the vibration. I guess dealer and I are at a point of buy back or lemon law or somethng. By the way mine is a 4 cylinder extend cab so the vibration is not model selective.

Well, in our case nothing helped until we sent the lemon law letter. Then suddenly GM was singing a different tune.

We went through the Better Business Bureau, which is free (www.bbb.com) rahter than thru an attorney. In that case, you go thru arbitration. The process is simple & easy. Ours never got far, as GM rather quickly offered us a new vehicle - and we picked a Silverado as we were afraid of the Colorados.

We also went through a different dealership, as the one we bought from gave us nothing but grief.

We test drove new trucks at a 3rd dealership who told us "off the record" that there is a bunch of Colorados that vibrate & GM hasnt got a clue why, nor do they know how to fix them. That either the truck is great or it vibrates.

If anyone is interested in details, send us a message & we will be happy to help!

I am in the process of trying to get GM take the truck back. I've forwarded letters and records to a lawyer for review and I am still waiting for some factory district rep to contact me. Everyone else has like thrown up their arms and gave up. Please forward any detalis information that may help

what is up everyone! I was lookin on the web for pics of a colorado with 20's on it cus thats what im wanting for my reg cab z85 2004 colorado and i wanted to check out how the 20's looked on colorado such as mine. Yo i love the colorado and to tell u the truth i have noticed that when no one is in the passanger seat it rattles. I really didnt think to much of it but when someone is sitting there and they r talkin, u can hear the rattle in the voice of my passanger. So i guess that aint normal huh. i aslo noticed i have to take turns slowly so i wont skid off of the road but that may be my fault for burning out the tread on my tires. Ne ways im going to go for a drive and check out the vibration and see if it is bad as everyone says it is. Yo i love the colorado and i have big plans for it, now i need to decide if its worth taking it in to a dealership for a check. im not very mechanically inclined so if ne one thinks that i should IMMEDIATLEY take my colorado to the dealership for safty reasons or w/e let me know. I gladly take the advice from ne one who offers.


Peace,
Crazy D

I purchased a Chevy Colorado Truck, 5 Cylinder engine. It has about 250 miles. At around 50 mph, I notice a vibration. It feels like the wheels are not balanced. I'm getting the wheels checked out tomorrow at the Chevy garage. If it's not the wheels being out of balance, does anyone have any ideas what else this could be? Thanks.
21 June 2007, how are the vibration problems now, mine still seems to vibrate after many trips to the dealer they now have installed 2 new tires, 2wd club cab sport seems also to have high fuel consumption, 13,000 kms my passenger seat rattles as well, Steve

My 2005 Chevy Colorado LS crewcab, 44,000mi, just had the vibration problem - I could feel it even at low speeds of 30mph, but it was unmistakeable at 45mph and above, and more pronounced on acceleration. This was solved by replacing the front U joint on the driveshaft (propeller shaft). This vehicle has 3 joints because it has 2 shaft sections.

The vibration started slowly and at first I suspected the tires. I rotated them and nothing changed, then over a few days it got worse every day. I also heard some metallic screeching occasionally when accelerating. The joint was binding and causing the noise and the vibration. The multi-section shaft is also easier to vibrate; there is a rubber damper with bearing midway back which could easily be damaged by excessive vibration. I'd recommend quickly solving this to avoid secondary damage.

I have a 2004 Ext cab Colorado w/ 5 cyl engine. From day 1 it has vibrated from 73 to 78 mph and just today I found out the drive shaft is shaped like an egg! This is a manufacturing problem, I spent so much time looking for it in the tires and wheels that now the $600 expense to get both the front and rear shafts and the hanging bearing replaced is going to be on me. I just found this thread or I would have had the drive shaft checked 5 years ago. Arg.

I am driving my sons 2007 Colorado--I have replaced all 4 tires trying to stop an annoying vibration---it didn't help. Truck starts shaking at 30 and gets worse as speed increases. The steering wheel does not shake, but the seats and truck bed shake badly.

Could it be driveshaft or U-joint?

I just solved the mystery of the vibration in my 2006 crewcab. My carrier bearing just went out and ripped its mounting bracket off of the frame. Dealership says the only way for them to repair it is to replace frame. No one seems to have an answer as to how the bracket could break the way it did.

Well, I can see u am a bit late. Anyway, I have a 2005 Colorado Z71 4x4 3.5. Same thing as everyone else in here. The annoying vibration in the rear passenger wheel. I've had countless mechanics look at it only to tell me they can't find anything wrong with it. Also, I've noticed I can't drive too fast on off/on ramps because the truck will practically jump lanes of I hit a small bump in the road.
All and all, I wouldn't trade her for the world. I live in Chicago and she hasn't failed me through any of the snow storms we've had. I've helped more people than I can count by towing people from ditches , snowbanks, and up bridges that were iced over.
I wish I had found this site earlier , I wouldn't have wasted thousands of dollars on trying to figure out what the vibration is.