Help diagnosing vibrations and this buzzing sound (video)

[fp115]

I have been loving the past 4.5 years of ownership of my Camaro SS. However I am now starting to run into issues and getting fed up. The latest issue I've had is one I've probably spent over $1000 trying to fix and is still as bad, if not worse.

I have an intermittent vibration. The vibration only starts at highway speeds. The entire car is shaking, as if I am driving over rough roads. It gets violent at times. If I pull my car over and start up again, the car drives smoothly again. Often it never comes back in the same trip. In the past month, the vibration has happened on 8 of my 60 or so trips on the highway.

The dealer(s) have been useless so far. The first time I brought it in, they said it was the brakes. After spending $450 getting them fixed, the next day the shaking happened on two separate trips. I bring my car in and leave it overnight. The next day, they service manager said nothing was felt, therefore they didn't fix anything. The next day after getting my car back, I got the death shake again. Sent a video to them, nothing they could do unless THEY felt it.

Fed up with that dealer, I went to another. This time, I am told the culprit is the front tires, because it had a hop. I didn't buy that logic, otherwise the vibration would have been constant or at certain speeds. After a few days, I decided to do the front tires. I had the fronts since I got the car and they were getting loud.

Now with the new tires, the car felt smooth and was quiet (apart from the engine ) again. Over the past few days though, the vibrations started coming back. The past 2-3 days it was a slight vibration. However this morning I got the death shake once again. Today it happened twice on my drive to work.

This shake feels quite bad. It feels as though the entire car is being thrown around. It isn't just the steering that is shaking. I press down on the clutch, it still shakes. When I slow down and speed up, it shakes at all speeds. I need to pull over, wait 15 seconds and then drive off again for the shaking to be gone. I don't hear any sounds when the shaking occurs, other than what seems like a normal sound for a car bouncing around.

I really have no clue what is causing this. The dealers have been entirely useless so far and would rather I spend money rather than trying to diagnose the issue. Would anyone have suggestions? I cannot keep throwing money at the issue, especially if it won't fix it.

[slakjak1215]

Let's see If I can help, have you noticed if it starts to shake when your wheel is turned or only when you are going in a straight line? Try to be at a stop, turn the wheel hard to one side and start driving in a circle, does it hop and make any popping noises? also try the other way. One thing I could think of is that the rear axle might have a lubricant leak where the constant velocity joint is, in other words, if there is an open boot you might be getting debris in the joint itself causing it to vibrate until you stop or slow letting something fall out? Not sure unless you yourself can get under the car, maybe take some pictures. You mention that you have to turn your car off and on to stop the shaking? Is it a front to back shaking? does it feel like the motor is jerking you forward and back? or does it feel like you are being lifted and then slammed back down on the ground? is your steering wheel rotating and vibrating? is the car pitching from left to right and vice versa?

[EDFHOBBIES]

I can't see why if its a mechanical problem why it goes away after a restart! The only time I got a shaking was when the car was running on a few cylinders on engine power loss mode.

But if it is caused by mechanical things look at stuff that rotates.. drive shafts, wheel bearings, rims, and brake rotors... maybe a bad shock absorber but you'd notice unusual wearing like an alligators back wear on the tires cuffing.. u all seen the car on the highway with the bad absorber that bouncing up and dwn.. I'm like how can u not feel that! I guess check all the bushings and tie rods.. get that thing jacked up and see if there any play tires.. or axels, bearings..

if its a engine problem look at the balancer and motor mounts

[thahemp]

Log it.

[SubSonic]

Originally Posted by EDFHOBBIES

I can't see why if its a mechanical problem why it goes away after a restart! The only time I got a shaking was when the car was running on a few cylinders on engine power loss mode.

But if it is caused by mechanical things look at stuff that rotates.. drive shafts, wheel bearings, rims, and brake rotors... maybe a bad shock absorber but you'd notice unusual wearing like an alligators back wear on the tires cuffing.. u all seen the car on the highway with the bad absorber that bouncing up and dwn.. I'm like how can u not feel that! I guess check all the bushings and tie rods.. get that thing jacked up and see if there any play tires.. or axels, bearings..

if its a engine problem look at the balancer and motor mounts

In Jeeps we have a certain phenomena called 'death wobble.'

Essentially, when components (bushings, rubber, ball joints, steering dampner) get worn they will allow for play. At certain inopportune moments with worn components, a certain bump or road condition can cause a harmonic frequency in which they all move on the worn components in such a way that the problem keeps getting worse (shaking) until you come to a complete stop. Replacing any one of the worn components can change the harmonic resonance and make these symptoms go away.

Have you checked all suspension components/bushings for wear?

Edit: Just to make it clear, this is like comparing apples to oranges, as the suspension is vastly different on both vehicles. Solid axle, etc. However, certain frequencies can still create resonance when there is a point or points that allow for excess play.

[Childs Play]

I had an issue along these lines too. After escalating it all the way up to corporate GM still wasn't interested in fixing it and made me feel like a horrible person for even daring to claim that their car was messed up.

I finally just sold it after bringing it to the dealership 8+ times.

Was a 2012 Camaro SS

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by SubSonic

In Jeeps we have a certain phenomena called 'death wobble.'

Essentially, when components (bushings, rubber, ball joints, steering dampner) get worn they will allow for play. At certain inopportune moments with worn components, a certain bump or road condition can cause a harmonic frequency in which they all move on the worn components in such a way that the problem keeps getting worse (shaking) until you come to a complete stop. Replacing any one of the worn components can change the harmonic resonance and make these symptoms go away.

Have you checked all suspension components/bushings for wear?

Edit: Just to make it clear, this is like comparing apples to oranges, as the suspension is vastly different on both vehicles. Solid axle, etc. However, certain frequencies can still create resonance when there is a point or points that allow for excess play.

I had this problem with a couple of old cars. In one case, the steering damper was blown, in another, there was no steering damper and one was added.

Next time you get the vibration, come to a full stop but do not turn off the engine. Also, try to notice whether the vibration starts right after you hit a bump (could even be a very small one).

[Abundant Meat]

This has been an issue I've been chasing for almost a year now. Blamed on tires...have now gone through three entire sets both front and rear with no change whatsoever. Blamed on balance...had road force balanced numerous times. Blamed on brakes, had the rotors cut etc. Now they are back to blaming the tires.

Thing is I FINALLY today figured out when the vibration gets worse. I used to think it was sporadic and mainly at highway speeds but noticed some days it wasn't as bad as others. I now notice that on certain roads that don't have a smooth pavement is when the vibration gets as the OP stated "violent". I've actually described it exactly like him before. On smooth roads it can be felt at highway speeds but not as bad on roads that aren't super smooth. So it isn't that some days it does it and others not as bad. It is that some days I'm on roads that exacerbate the vibration whereas some days I'm on roads that don't.

Seeing that others are having the same issue at least lets me know I'm not nuts. The dealerships have been ZERO help in solving the issue and they flat out said they CAN feel it. It's hard for them to say they can't when their hand is shaking back and forth on the steering wheel and the whole car is shaking. Only issue is no matter what they keep blaming tires...after three sets that excuse doesn't fly anymore.

Chevrolet customer service of course did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! They were rude, unprofessional and essentially told me they don't control their dealerships so they can't make them fix my car even though I'm still under bumper to bumper warranty.

OP I feel your pain. If any resolution comes my way I'll post up so you can try and see if my solution works. Please do the same for me. If enough of these issues start coming to light Chevrolet may have to do a serious recall and fix whatever is causing these issues.

[fp115]

Today I've noticed some very odd squeaks coming from my steering when I turn at very low speeds. I'll try out a few things in this thread. I am out of ideas on how to chase down this problem to have the dealer fix it. I had to bring it in again last week and all they told me was "there is no issue with your car".

I often feel basic shaking near highway speeds, though it is faint. Most won't know unless they have been driving the car for as long as I have.

What I hate is that in the near 5 years I've had this car, no problems. Now I am chasing down potentially 5 separate issues. This may be one of them (perhaps 2 if the steering squeaks are related to this vibration).

Hopefully I can figure it out for others who have had this issue. But some good ideas in this thread. Thank you!

[bkscott]

Are you use centering rings? reason I ask is that I had a intermittent vibe that I chased for months. And it was finally traced back to bad centering rings. The tech also tightened my wheels with the car off the ground. Eliminated the vibes.

[Abundant Meat]

fp115: Does your shake your hand on your steering wheel back and forth a good 1/2" along with shaking in the gas pedal and the rest of the car?

That's when mine is doing, and I have stock 20" RS wheels with Pirelli P-zero stock (but newly replaced) tires.

I've eliminated tires as my culprit. What have you eliminated thus far?

I saw you mentioned you notice it on the highway. Try to see if different highway roads produce the same level of vibration or different. Mine multiplies a ton when the road isn't perfectly smooth and is barely noticeable when the road is freshly paved.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by Abundant Meat

fp115: Does your shake your hand on your steering wheel back and forth a good 1/2" along with shaking in the gas pedal and the rest of the car?

That's when mine is doing, and I have stock 20" RS wheels with Pirelli P-zero stock (but newly replaced) tires.

I've eliminated tires as my culprit. What have you eliminated thus far?

I saw you mentioned you notice it on the highway. Try to see if different highway roads produce the same level of vibration or different. Mine multiplies a ton when the road isn't perfectly smooth and is barely noticeable when the road is freshly paved.

I've eliminated wheels, tires, brakes, and wheel hubs. I've had the shakes on 4 different highways. So it is the car, not the road. Oddly enough though, I haven't had the crazy death shake for at least a week now.

Originally Posted by bkscott

Are you use centering rings? reason I ask is that I had a intermittent vibe that I chased for months. And it was finally traced back to bad centering rings. The tech also tightened my wheels with the car off the ground. Eliminated the vibes.

The Foose rims I have were a perfect fit and matched the stock rims. No need for anything like that. I had the wheels on and off 6 times in the past month, if it was that I would have noticed a difference each time. Sadly, it was always bad each time. I am almost certain it has something to do with the drivetrain.


ANYWAY.......

I got fed up with all of this. While I think I got used to the vibration. It all became overwhelming to me. I sold the car today. It is something I have a hard time swallowing, I've had this car for 4.5 years and pour a lot of time and some money into it. I hate how I upgraded all the lighting on it in June also. But also happy that I am moving on to something potentially better in the long term. A Convertible Spring Edition.

I am curious though. Here is a sound clip of what I am hearing. This is usually at 1500-2000 rpm.
http://youtu.be/MwXjNz2z_wI