The million dollar question...what the heck is going on. Not sure, fully.
......

well, I hope our friends at GM would notice all this excitement here and start investigating at some point in near future...

So far the rate of this problem has been somewhat stable at 18-20% mark, which is significant. Doesn't seem to go down that much with new votes coming in.

well, I hope our friends at GM would notice all this excitement here and start investigating at some point in near future...

So far the rate of this problem has been somewhat stable at 18-20% mark, which is significant. Doesn't seem to go down that much with new votes coming in.

Agreed. We'll see.

Has anyone had a non GM mechanic look at this? How much to replace a torque converter? Maybe we can pool come cash together and find a solution ourselves.

Has anyone had a non GM mechanic look at this? How much to replace a torque converter? Maybe we can pool come cash together and find a solution ourselves.

It depends, but is neither cheap nor excessively difficult, as it requires the trans to be dropped--along with all the other stuff before it. Then re-assembly.

I still think this is the problem for some of us, or part of it, but also still can't explain the random intermittence.

Taking it to a non dealer could be a good idea, but it all depends. If someone did get a solution to their specific issue, we'd at least then know more but it would have zero effect on GM's official response to such warranty claims, as they and the dealers would have to see and do it themselves.

The whole 'take it to an independent guy' route would have to be video taped and documented,as evidence....Kind of like you did with your G6,beach....From going in with the shakes to it having been resolved(hopefully)...Then presented to the big fish.

No actual vibration It is like a growling noise while accelerating at a low speed. It has done it 4 times. the first time I noticed it was while driving on a snow covered road, as I accelerated to climb a overpass I gradually accelerated about 150 feet out cruising around 30 mph I heard the growl so I turned the fan and radio off, then it became very noticeable. if I let up off the gas peddle it would fade away, hit the peddle and it would come back. I thought it may be the road condition and and overlooked it.the next time it came I was on dry pavement at 30 mph and it started doing it again. It only seems to happen between 30-40 mph and not all the time. Hope this helps. I have not taken it to the Chevy garage yet but I may run it by them. I'll keep you posted.

The whole 'take it to an independent guy' route would have to be video taped and documented,as evidence....Kind of like you did with your G6,beach....From going in with the shakes to it having been resolved(hopefully)...Then presented to the big fish.

Right. And in our case with barely used new cars under warranty, no "fix" can be taken as valid in regards to GM unless the dealers or they themselves are responsible for it.

Oh if only it was as easy to capture on videotape as the insane roof creaking and gas cap light warnings used to be on my Pontiac. I also made shudder videos with my G6--I still don't know what was going on with that car--but, of course, as my GM rep told me, the videos are great but it's hard to capture anything like that. Still, the ones we've made so far here help with a visual description of then when, where, and how, so they remain useful.

No actual vibration It is like a growling noise while accelerating at a low speed. It has done it 4 times. the first time I noticed it was while driving on a snow covered road, as I accelerated to climb a overpass I gradually accelerated about 150 feet out cruising around 30 mph I heard the growl so I turned the fan and radio off, then it became very noticeable. if I let up off the gas peddle it would fade away, hit the peddle and it would come back. I thought it may be the road condition and and overlooked it.the next time it came I was on dry pavement at 30 mph and it started doing it again. It only seems to happen between 30-40 mph and not all the time. Hope this helps. I have not taken it to the Chevy garage yet but I may run it by them. I'll keep you posted.

Hmm, interesting. I can get a different, "growlier" tone when my car is shuddering the worst, but it's not the more obvious of the issues. As the sound yours is making seems to change, and nothing is vibrating, something may be up but as usual, it's hard to tell what. Post a new thread about it, outside of this vibration/shudder one, and see what kind of response you get from others here.

I'm taking it into the dealer next week, and just for fun I'll get a trade in value.

I'm taking it into the dealer next week, and just for fun I'll get a trade in value.

Sounds good on both accounts. I've actually done both, too, myself but in different locations;)

Have to take mine back for a Bluetooth issue and have been debating whether or not to even bring up the shudder again, as it's the same/my main dealer and we know that answer from last time.

Here's to hoping maybe YOU could be the lucky one to have such an issue not only duplicated but dug into further than "it's normal". So far we're, hmm, 0 for 4 or 5 in this thread?

Here's to hoping maybe YOU could be the lucky one to have such an issue not only duplicated but dug into further than "it's normal". So far we're, hmm, 0 for 4 or 5 in this thread?

If they can't fix this, I will ask myself how much is it worth to make the problem go away. I have 3K in gmcard bonus, so I might drive home in a different malibu or a cheap cobalt. I don't think I would care if a 12K car has some issues.

If they can't fix this, I will ask myself how much is it worth to make the problem go away. I have 3K in gmcard bonus, so I might drive home in a different malibu or a cheap cobalt. I don't think I would care if a 12K car has some issues.

Will they let you use the whole 3k though? In Canada they only accept either 1500$ or 1000$ (can't remember exactly) for a Malibu. I doubt Cobalt is different. 3k is allowed for much more expensive vehicles.

EDIT: Sorry for offtopic.

Will they let you use the whole 3k though? In Canada they only accept either 1500$ or 1000$ (can't remember exactly) for a Malibu. I doubt Cobalt is different. 3k is allowed for much more expensive vehicles.


I asked the same question to GM and they said I could use 3K on this offer on most cars.

Unless all four tires are road-force balanced there is basically no way to eliminate an out of round tire as the root cause of any vibration.

Regular computer balancing will never completely identify a tire with an out of round condition.

Hunter Engineering Company
http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/index.htm

I asked the same question to GM and they said I could use 3K on this offer on most cars.

Correct, this is typically how they work it. The GM card earnings have redemption limits generally, but when there's a bonus earnings offer you can use up to that new total if you got the bonus on anything. Last year, for instance, despite a $1000 limit we got $2000 total bonus earnings and put it all on the '08 'Bu. Back on topic:

If they can't fix this, I will ask myself how much is it worth to make the problem go away. I have 3K in gmcard bonus, so I might drive home in a different malibu or a cheap cobalt. I don't think I would care if a 12K car has some issues.

Aye, yes, I understand that, very, very much so;)

I'm pulling for you still to be one or have a dealer who can recognize it, even speak to GM, and actually do something. It's possible, at least. My best recommendation is to explain it simply and clearly, and if you think it would help--I did this, and it did--make a brief but more detailed list of the symptoms and when/where/how and the response. The 40-50 and deceleration shudder made it on the receipt, and the short lists of "this does this when..." that the tech could have as cliff notes rather than just an undetailed one liner on the work order. It helped, even if nothing was done as a remedy.

I didn't add to the vote as I have a theory I haven't yet tested but here's my deal:

Just got our 09 LTZ v6 Red Jewel on 1/3/09 from a local dealer, in stock.
I bought a set of Blizzaks on 16" alloy wheels from TireRack dot com and ordered them with the wheel sensors, metal valve stems, mounted and balanced. Installed the tires just last week but since it's my wifes car all I did was drive it down a short stretch of road to test the tires on the icy conditions and see how they worked. Two days later, my wife told me that the car was shaking. After I had a chance to drive it, I too noticed the shudder/vibration. It was reminiscent of an out of balance wheel, just a noticeable shake that a passenger may not notice or might notice depending on how keen they are but was definitely not there when we bought the car.

So I called the guys at Tirerack to see if they had any ideas and their very first question was if I had removed the stud clips. I didn't even know about the clips, saw them but didn't remove them and installed the new wheels. Anyhow, this guy told me that they've seen this problem before and to remove the clips and call them back if it didn't fix the problem. I haven't yet had a chance to remove the clips but as he explained it to me, the wheel absolutely cannot sit perfectly flush to the hub as a result of the clips. This forces the tire to be touching the hub opposite of the clips and not quite touching on the side with the clip. If you picture this, the wheel/tire would have an ever-so-slight wobble effect as the tire is rotating. Now, add to this the fact that all four tires are doing this, as you drive down the road, you're going to feel it once you get a little bit of speed built up.

I haven't tested this by removing the clips yet, (this weekend job for sure) but I will certainly post the results good or bad when I get this done.

Lastly, the factory wheels have a recessed area on my wheels that allow for the clip to not interfere w/ the flush mounting to the hub. Not every factory wheel has a recessed area as I understand it so for those that have not changed their tires, you may pop the tires off and take a look to see if there are any clips and if there are, do the wheels have a recessed area or not?

Like I said, I don't want to make anyone think that I've discovered the problem, just a potential.

Sorry for the long post but hope it helps.
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/tiretech/install_photo_c.jpg

^^^^Interesting post actually...Maybe it's wheel specific, which might explain why Aura owners don't experience this. They have different wheels, don't they?

It may also explain why 3 distinctly different drivetrains suffer from the same problem at similar rates as our poll indicates.....Hopefully :)

Interesting post, indeed.

I have an '08 LTZ with the 18" wheels and don't experience the problem. Could it be that the LTZ is exempt of this issue? Do any LTZ owners have this complaint? Lee has an LTZ and I know he has no vibration.

It can also be that those clips are somehow imporper as wasillaguy indicated :confused:....I have 3rd party wheels and all is fine (as it also was with the stock 2LT 18s), I think the guy at the shop just looked up the size and the bolt pattern.

Interesting post, indeed.

I have an '08 LTZ with the 18" wheels and don't experience the problem. Could it be that the LTZ is exempt of this issue? Do any LTZ owners have this complaint? Lee has an LTZ and I know he has no vibration.

I should have added that as the driver you can feel more than a passenger can and one other thing I had noticed but only for a brief moment was the shudder through the steering column. It was barely there but was there. I really hope this stud clip helps w/ the issue. Had there been a clip on each stud I probably wouldn't have posted at all.

Interesting post, indeed.

I have an '08 LTZ with the 18" wheels and don't experience the problem. Could it be that the LTZ is exempt of this issue? Do any LTZ owners have this complaint? Lee has an LTZ and I know he has no vibration.

Unfortunately no, the original posts started out with Rob J and myself having this problem; both LTZ's.

^^^^Interesting post actually...Maybe it's wheel specific, which might explain why Aura owners don't experience this. They have different wheels, don't they?

It may also explain why 3 distinctly different drivetrains suffer from the same problem at similar rates as our poll indicates.....Hopefully :)

I have the 18" stock wheels for the summer and 17" alloy Sport wheels for winter and there is no difference in the vibration/shudder intensity. I believe in the case of the Auras it had to do with a set of bad steel wheels.

I have the 18" stock wheels for the summer and 17" alloy Sport wheels for winter and there is no difference in the vibration/shudder intensity. I believe in the case of the Auras it had to do with a set of bad steel wheels.

maybe the issue is with the clips then? I.e. - yours vibrate with different wheels, mine doesn't vibrate with different wheels therefore the clips on yours are different/bad/should not be present...? Something like that.

What are the clips for?

What are the clips for?

The clips were designed to be put in place during manufacturing to help hold the hubs in-place while on the assembly line. They serve no use whatsoever once the car has a wheel on it. So, in short, they really should have been removed by the gm worker that was installing the wheels as they were undeeded as of that very moment.

Since I'm new here, I'm not sure what the rules are for posting URL's on this forum. If it's ok to post the URL that talks about these clips just say so and I'll post it.

BTW, in case I can't post the URL, it states that large bolts holding Hyundai rotors to the hubs should leave the clips on. Don't want anyone yanking those clips on a Hyundai I guess.

I would like to add two things here, 1st/ Don t anyone with this issue just trade in your car. Why should you lose money. That s what the Lemon Law was written for.
2nd/ I had a Cobolt with the stud clip issue. I had different aftermarket wheels and got a bad shudder. Brought it back and the wheels guy took the wheels off and knew right away that the stud clips were making the hub not sit flush on the back of the rim. Problem gone! In the pic someone posted it doesnt look like that clip would be in the way but I d try it. The clip looks recessed in that photo. I haven t had the wheels off mine to see them. BTW I have a 08 LTZ with no problem.

I would like to add two things here, 1st/ Don t anyone with this issue just trade in your car. Why should you lose money. That s what the Lemon Law was written for.
2nd/ I had a Cobolt with the stud clip issue. I had different aftermarket wheels and got a bad shudder. Brought it back and the wheels guy took the wheels off and knew right away that the stud clips were making the hub not sit flush on the back of the rim. Problem gone! In the pic someone posted it doesnt look like that clip would be in the way but I d try it. The clip looks recessed in that photo. I haven t had the wheels off mine to see them. BTW I have a 08 LTZ with no problem.

I'm the one that posted the clip pic and I got a first hand look at the clips when I changed out the tires. They were definitely protruding out from the face of the hub and you have now given me more incentive to get these darned clips off tonight rather than waiting for the weekend. I will post tomorrow what the results are to that point.

The Cobalt had clips that sat right on the hub and this looks different but I can t see it well enough. It won t hurt anything so I would remove them. Good Luck!

I have re plied to the poll and have no problem with an 08 v6, 6 spd,,,7000 miles but after reading thru the posts it would seem (To some at least) that it is not the tires. Posts have said that after different tires have been put on the same condition exsists.. My thoughts would be something in the trans or torque converter..or ECM with shifting, Sorry for the troubles some are having... I suggest you all call GM customer Service too ( if you haven t already)>>They will sometimes light a fire under the dealers....

Another thought: If you know what a ECM aftermarket tune is and want to do this in person maybe it will find a problem in that area. I had one done on a Silverado and while I was driving the tuner sat in the passengers seat with his laptop plugged into the truck and can read and change any of the engine and transmission parameters. Maybe in reading it he will see what the ECM is do ing when the problem is happening. I understand this may not be an option for most but maybe someone with the problem can do this. And a ECM tune will do wonders for the performance of your car.

Interesting development with that one issue, but I can tell you that is NOT the case with mine, nor do I believe it is that for others with the same thing.

When this car is shuddering, it is distinctly throttle, speed, etc. related and coming directly from the powertrain. Sometimes it runs differently than others, is colder or warmer than other times, etc. and can range from really silky and strong with crisp shifts to boggy and shaky with a slightly different engine tone. The boggy/growly thing doesn't happen all the time, and the shudder changes slightly from drive to drive sometimes, within minutes or days of one another. If and when it is a wheel issue, it's there pretty consistently and does not change with acceleration, deceleration, etc. in most cases.

This at times can FEEL like a wobbly wheel, slightly or severely, but can be varied with throttle, gear, etc. Some people may have a wheel issue, and this is good info, but that's not "this". Again, given the shudder as it naturally "lugs" between 40 and 50 with the TCC locking up and RPM's generally not screaming teamed with the--at least in mine and some other's cases--light to obnoxious "kicking" shudder decelerating in the same speed range, it still feels very much like what a torque converter issue if often presented as. Doesn't mean it is, but that's what it acts like at least on past experience. My dealer specifically also backed up my complaint by calling it a "transmission shudder", but were told by GM it's normal, at least from their description--from our poll, clearly not.

Wheel/tire issues are frequent on a lot of new vehicles, particularly with more sophisticated suspensions and lower profile, higher performance tires, but they're just one cause.

Another thought: If you know what a ECM aftermarket tune is and want to do this in person maybe it will find a problem in that area. I had one done on a Silverado and while I was driving the tuner sat in the passengers seat with his laptop plugged into the truck and can read and change any of the engine and transmission parameters. Maybe in reading it he will see what the ECM is do ing when the problem is happening. I understand this may not be an option for most but maybe someone with the problem can do this. And a ECM tune will do wonders for the performance of your car.

Something along these lines is exactly what has been suggested to me before as a method of diagnosis, but not as a retune, rather as logging live readouts of engine RPM, throttle position, torque converter action, etc. vs. "spec".

This very clearly feels and acts like a transmission issue of some form, whether it be or not, but as we have cars from the same lines, the same times, with the same PCM/TCM's and programming, etc. and some shudder and some don't, it could be an actual physical/mechanical issue and/or an electronic interaction glitch with those parts.

I would venture to say a reprogram with revisions would be one answer IF almost everyone reported the same things, under the same conditions, and programming was the issue. That doesn't seem to be so here. Seems more like a limited intermittent batch of something being defective, in some form.

wasillaguy mentioned to me that his symptoms closely resemble what all of you described. Maybe we can ask him to confirm here: is your problem specific to 40-50 mph range and low rpm?

beach, I hear what you are saying, but still I would give this theory a benefit of the doubt.

Ok Yury, I'll try to answer your speed/rpm question. Because of the sections of road I remember complaining about the vibration/shudder, I know I was not more than 50mph but could have been as low as 35mph. Also, most of those times I was at a low throttle, meaning I wasn't accelerating much if any. You also have to keep in mind that I don't drive this car daily but my wife does.

Now, a little more information about those clips. When my wife got home tonight, I asked her if the car was vibrating again and she said it does every time she drives home from work or to work from home. So, I pulled the car in the garage and one tire at a time I dismounted the tire, pulled the clips off. (There were two clips per wheel btw, that still put an offset to one side of the tire having more gap between the hub and wheel than the other side.) Anyhow, I did each wheel the same way, and I properly torqued each wheel down to the 100 ft pounds that my car manual spec'd out.

I took the car for a drive down our road and then down the highway for about a mile or two with my wife and kids and I have to honestly say that I couldn't feel the vibration myself. I turned around in a driveway and parked, Lisa drove back home and said that she definitely did not feel the vibration.

Two things to keep in mind that require a little more driving for us to be sure... one is the wind is howling tonight around 50 to 70 knot gusts (very common for my house to see at least two or three storms a winter that hit 70-100knot gusts.) And the section of road I chose to do the short drive had a lot of frostbreaks in the road.

After dinner I took the car by myself on a ten mile drive down the exact same stretch of road I'd always noticed the shudder before and this time felt nothing. The entire drive I was paying super close attention to the car and didn't notice the shudder at all.

Tomorrow Lisa will drive the car to work and then into Palmer tomorrow evening before coming home, so she will get a good test drive and I will post her thoughts on the car at that time.

I don't want to say we found the golden egg here but at this point w/ what I'm thinking, I would have to say our car is vibration free w/ the current wheels that were previously causing a shudder.

I would suggest as easy as the tire removal and remount is that anyone else that thinks their problem resembles my descriptions, try taking the tires off and see if those clips are on there. If they are, remove the clips (easy to do) and remount the tires to 100ft pounds and drive it. Hopefully others will have the same results. Till then, I'm off for the night.

beach, I hear what you are saying, but still I would give this theory a benefit of the doubt.

Absolutely. I'd even venture to check it or suggest others do, even just to cross it off the list further. As long as further tire/wheel discussion doesn't divert us off the main course of what is, in most cases, a powertrain issue of some variety.

It is very good info, especially if and when we get members who have actual rolling stock vibration problems and/or for some of us to further check.

I just talked w/ Lisa about her drive into work and she said it was night and day different. No vibration/shudder at all that was so evident prior to removing those darned stud clips.

Looking at those clips last night, I would have sworn that they were too thin to make a difference but apparently not, I'm a happy camper now. Still hoping to hear from others that have pulled their wheels and checked on the removal of the clips and see how their results go.

Clips? Sounds odd that parts would be left on cars without reason. Anyone have links to more info on this? I hope I'm wrong and this is the fix for the vibrations. I do suspect that the vibration and shudder are 2 different issues. On my car the vibration was there from day 1, but the shudder started at 1500 miles and is worse when car is cold. Vibrations are worse when warm.

I just talked w/ Lisa about her drive into work and she said it was night and day different. No vibration/shudder at all that was so evident prior to removing those darned stud clips.

Looking at those clips last night, I would have sworn that they were too thin to make a difference but apparently not, I'm a happy camper now. Still hoping to hear from others that have pulled their wheels and checked on the removal of the clips and see how their results go.

Even if that's not in relation to our cars, thanks for being so thorough and well detailed with this issue on your car and a shake! I know it will be invaluable to some of us, at one point or another.

And welcome;)

Looking at those clips last night, I would have sworn that they were too thin to make a difference but apparently not, I'm a happy camper now.
My fingers are crossed hoping this problem can be reduced to such a simple solution. :cool::)

I too am skeptical as Beach is, but I am game for anything! I am bringing "Jewel" in for an oil change on Monday and will have them remove the clips if they are still there.

As others have said, if this were tire/wheel related I would expect a consistent vibration and to get worse at higher speeds. I drove to work this morning and the vibration was awful until I hit the interstate. Got up to 65 and 70 and it turned very smooth. When I came home today almost the entire drive was smooth.

I'm going to the dealer next week, what exactly do I tell them?

If I say remove any tire clips, will they know what I'm talking about?

I'm going to the dealer next week, what exactly do I tell them?

If I say remove any tire clips, will they know what I'm talking about?

One of my prior posts had a little more detail but I've attached the small picture again here so you don't have to dig. I'm also going to attach the full URL to the tirerack website where it talks about the clips and hope that I'm not violating any forum rules about URL's, after all, the point here is to help others.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=39
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/tiretech/install_photo_c.jpg

Lisa said that she never noticed the vibration/shudder above 60mph when it would happen so consistantly at 35-50mph even a little above 50.

Again, this is still certainly good info for at least some kind of wobble.

Seems to cause an oddly similar vibration at times, except for not correlating to bogged power and shaky, wada-dada-dada resonance from the powertrain as it runs through the revs and shifts gears, at times. Basically, not my "transmission shudder" but I'll check this regardless. The latter was oh so pleasantly bad today--again--may as well add it to the list of "maybe's".

The clips were designed to be put in place during manufacturing to help hold the hubs in-place while on the assembly line. They serve no use whatsoever once the car has a wheel on it. So, in short, they really should have been removed by the gm worker that was installing the wheels as they were undeeded as of that very moment.


Ok, you think the GM worker should've removed those clips. No, GM has done this for a long time and those clips are used to keep the rotor on the hub assembly as the car is assembled, before the calipers and the wheels are installed. Now I can understand that these clips might affect SOME aftermarket wheels but if you look at the backside of the factory wheels they are not completely flat around the lugnut holes so the clips won't affect how the rim sits against the hub. Now usually by the time the first brake job is being done these clips get removed and never replaced. Also every manufacturer uses clips like that to keep the rotor in place as the vehicle goes down the assembly line.

As the first ones who've been talking about their problem as a powertrain issue, your issue is totally different than that.

As the first ones who've been talking about their problem as a powertrain issue, your issue is totally different than that.

Agreed, and mine again acts nothing like a wheel or tire issue, but as I also said...I'll check anything. Apparently this is a common "thing" in wheel swapping but otherwise, not sure. More of an added suggestion of sorts here, based on the shakes the poster has had.

Has anyone else with a shudder bug been back at their dealer or called GM recently? I think I'll finally get mine in again within the next week if to do nothing other than complain and beg them to drive, note it as duplicated, and make a call again. I'll also be sending off current responses and such of our poll soon, hoping for a response or review of some sort.

Maybe this 'Clip solution' relates to the oddly high number of 4cyl/4spds in the poll.

Can someone who does not have the problem check for clips?

Anyone else remove them?

Maybe this 'Clip solution' relates to the oddly high number of 4cyl/4spds in the poll.

I don't think that, either. It may be a cause of some vibration, somewhere but if this were that common, it is too obvious to not have been picked up on before.

That, or for instance, our 4-cyl/4-spd car seems to have developed a more prominent--at least from nothing to noticeable--shudder but it's 100% driveline, for sure. Unlike my '09 V6/6-spd car, it only does it if you let off and/or get back on while at speed, and has a momentary judder that's pretty noticeable--kind of like exacerbated TCC locking/unlocking confusion. However, unlike mine too, it's glass smooth and shifts crisply pretty much 100% of the time except for that, and always has been, so it's just not a worry.

This clip thing may be something, and I'd venture to say take a look at it just for the sake of crossing something else off the list, but don't bet on it too highly. Shakes and shimmies can be perplexing, but it's pretty apparent if you have something going on in the powertrain that's also causing strange running conditions and shifting, vs. having a rolling stock issue but otherwise power delivery and such that feels A-ok. But we'll see. Someone with a case of the lugging, growling shudders can look for such clips and play, and see what happens. I've yet to get to it.

Ok, you think the GM worker should've removed those clips. No, GM has done this for a long time and those clips are used to keep the rotor on the hub assembly as the car is assembled, before the calipers and the wheels are installed. Now I can understand that these clips might affect SOME aftermarket wheels but if you look at the backside of the factory wheels they are not completely flat around the lugnut holes so the clips won't affect how the rim sits against the hub. Now usually by the time the first brake job is being done these clips get removed and never replaced. Also every manufacturer uses clips like that to keep the rotor in place as the vehicle goes down the assembly line. --snip--

Hello 'Glow', I guess that these clips are sorta common for new vehicles. I've just never seen them on a vehicle before but I've only owned 12 vehicles so haven't really had as much experience w/ cars and trucks as some of you have. Oh, and all but one other vehicle have been used rigs so that's also why I haven't seen the clips before. I will say I've owned a set of winter tires on their own rims for all my vehicles and have always changed out my own tires every year, and even the other new vehicle I had did not have the clips on it.

As for whether the GM guy should've removed the clips before putting the wheel on that's probably not necessary. When I saw the clips, I should have researched them and gotten rid of them before putting the new wheels on so I'll assume responsibility for not properly removing them before putting on a non-GM wheel.

I have worked on dozens and dozens and dozens of outboard motors though but that's another topic. :)

Hello 'Glow', I guess that these clips are sorta common for new vehicles. I've just never seen them on a vehicle before but I've only owned 12 vehicles so haven't really had as much experience w/ cars and trucks as some of you have. Oh, and all but one other vehicle have been used rigs so that's also why I haven't seen the clips before. I will say I've owned a set of winter tires on their own rims for all my vehicles and have always changed out my own tires every year, and even the other new vehicle I had did not have the clips on it.

As for whether the GM guy should've removed the clips before putting the wheel on that's probably not necessary. When I saw the clips, I should have researched them and gotten rid of them before putting the new wheels on so I'll assume responsibility for not properly removing them before putting on a non-GM wheel.

I have worked on dozens and dozens and dozens of outboard motors though but that's another topic. :)


Yeah those clips are only used in new production of all vehicles and by the time the first brake job is done those clips are removed by the technician working on the vehicle and never does anyone bother putting new clips back on.

I was just about to bump this thread with an update...

chevy_malibu_23 - Did your '09 ever make it into the service department for the shudder? Any results?

Otherwise...

Last Sunday night, I sent off pretty detailed emails describing not only what my car is doing specifically, but our forum, the POLL (http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1663) we had established in reference to the issue and what our most recent numbers were, the experiences I and others had received in reference to the issue from both our dealers and GM, etc. to a few different GM contacts, general and otherwise, asking that the forum and poll be reviewed, the issue escalated for review, and that something had to be done or those of us effected would start pursuing--rightfully so, and after my G6, I absolutely will do it again--the BBB, lemon law, etc.

By Monday afternoon, I received a call/voicemail from the GM Executive office in reference to the complaint saying that it had been turned over to "the engineering department" and an engineer specifically was working on it and would soon be directly in touch with me. Through Thursday I had daily call updates from the Exec office rep who first called me, saying the engineer was working on setting something up to review my issue, and we were just waiting on specifics as to how this was going to work. She was to be forwarding my contact info directly to the engineer and he/she contacting me directly, but rather than that happening, late yesterday after close my dealer's service manager called and--apparently after it was set up without me via the engineer/GM--said that the engineer is coming Tuesday in reference to my transmission/shudder concern, and just to confirm if that worked for me.

I'll be in touch with them Monday, but this is our update. I've been pushing the fact that this is not just me, as on our forum we have enough of a handful to run this thread and the poll, so whatever applies to my case is likely universal. I'm still slightly up in the air as to who the "engineer" is, but at least we're getting somewhere...I just hope it's something more than a field rep, etc. They've seemed very serious since the 1 day response call on Monday, and I hope so.

SO, guys, for those of you dealing with this just like I am, from a little to severe (I'm having more and more of "these" days lately), stay tuned. I really hope something can be found and the day this happens next week, nothing is faint or even questionable, and we can go from there. Whatever applies to mine likely applies to everyone else's here, so I certainly hope we reach some kind of success with whoever it is that's coming--and no more denials or normals.

Also, aside from what's already been posted in this thread and elsewhere--which I'll probably print, just to have--if there's any specific info from those of you that are effected that you'd like asked or passed on when I get this chance, post or PM and I will see what I can do further.

I was just about to bump this thread with an update...

chevy_malibu_23 - Did your '09 ever make it into the service department for the shudder? Any results?

Otherwise...


Took it in last week for this issue and to fix the seat. They could not duplicate, was thier response. I don't think they tried. In and out mileage was the same on the receipt. I traded the car, 2009 v6 2lt, for a Jetta TDI, got 18K on trade, and a good deal on the Jetta. The DSG trans on the VW is very smooth and a blast to drive in sport mode.

Good luck to all.

Attention:Anyone shopping used 2009 Malibus, V6 2LT....

Took it in last week for this issue and to fix the seat. They could not duplicate, was thier response. I don't think they tried. In and out mileage was the same on the receipt. I traded the car, 2009 v6 2lt, for a Jetta TDI, got 18K on trade, and a good deal on the Jetta. The DSG trans on the VW is very smooth and a blast to drive in sport mode.

Good luck to all.

That's a shame, but I hope the new one works out for you!

That trade value is pretty much dead in line with offers I've gotten on mine, when dabbling with a few ideas. So, no fix, but you did make a different kind of one...car regardless, the DSG is killer.

Attention:Anyone shopping used 2009 Malibus, V6 2LT....

Yeah, really;)

Hopefully something is figured out with mine next week, and I'll go from there, either way.

Okay, shuddering guys, new question or clarification.

I was driving all around today partly for errands and partly to see--because it likes to change--what my car was doing today, in prep for this week and the review.

My acceleration/cruising shudder wasn't as obnoxious today as it sometimes is, but there was a constant aggravating rumble most of the time--typical. Otherwise, what is still just as noticeable is the same kind of shudder and/or obnoxious judder as the car slows/downshifts/unlocks the TCC in the 50-40 range largely. Below that, the deceleration is generally smoother, but particularly in the 45-40 range slowing by whatever means, it often kicks harshly doing so. But what's also strange is, on those off days where even the acceleration/cruising bog/shudder somehow mostly vanishes, the downshifting/deceleration is similarly smooth...without the thuds and such.

For all of you with the waddle, how is yours on deceleration or what do you notice--if anything--here too?

It's been a busy week, so I haven't had time to chime in. My car was in Monday for an oil change; I mentioned that the brake pedal vibrates at high speeds and to check for the stud clips. At the same time I asked them to look for any new TCM program updates.

They ended up resurfacing all 4 brake rotors, removed the stud clips and found what they called an OS software update which they believed affected the TCM as well. For the most part the low speed vibration 20 - 30 mph range that existed is gone, probably the stud clip and after market wheel combination. I still have original problem that started this thread with the shudder between 40 and about 55. I was hoping the software update would fix the problem. Interestingly I used to feel this vibration through the accelerator and I no longer feel it at any speed. The vibration is now only noticeable in the seat.

Unfortunately I am not currently travelling the road/drive that makes this issue most noticeable; It is the off season for a musical group that I accompany for... I need to find some time and drive out there to really test this issue. This past week has been very snowy here in VT as well therefore it is hard to pinpoint vibrations.

Downshifts are sometimes hard but not always, and the deceleration especially using manual mode makes the shudder more apparent. Good luck Beach and if you need any more information or someone else for GM to talk to, I would be happy to volunteer.

I tried keeping a log of the outside temperature where I drove the car, whether I started it with the key or RS, and whether I used manual mode, but was finding that it was hard to keep up with...

I tried keeping a log of the outside temperature where I drove the car, whether I started it with the key or RS, and whether I used manual mode, but was finding that it was hard to keep up with...

Same here...I've wanted to do that, but I just never get to recording every little thing, whether it would be helpful or not.

Regardless, GREAT info to have as an update. Interesting as far as the flash update, too, and differences you've noticed...wonder how/what made the change there.

I'm still in the clouds as to what's going to happen with mine, or who is really coming, but I hope to at least find out tomorrow. The "engineer" is supposed to be in Tuesday but that also happens to be the one day of the week with snow/rain/etc. and I'd rather not have my car driven, checked out, climbed through, etc. on a nasty day...but I also don't want to delay. We'll see.

Hi everybody, haven't logged on to this site in a while, so I'm late to the party with this thread. I'm REALLY glad to see that others have FINALLY owned up to reporting this problem. I think I was the first person on this board to report the problem back in July of 08 on our 08' V6 LTZ. Here is the original thread http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=501 Note how some people thought it was in my mind. Well, it's not!!!

I've had the car to the dealer several times before, and all they ever tell me is, it's normal, blah, blah, blah. Frankly, I'm so sick of the piss poor service from them, I don't even bother any longer. My wife drives the Malibu mainly, as everytime I drive it, it pisses me off. After 8k miles on the odo, the car behaves the same as I reported a while back. I guess we'll keep the car a while longer, then trade it in for some thing else. Unfortunately with two small kids, a struggling business in this bad ecomomy, I just don't have the time to deal with it. All I know is, my 05 F150 with 51k miles on the clock is silky smooth, so I drive it 95% of the time.

I really want to like the Malibu, as beach said earlier, this is a great car, less the powertrain.

The only thing I want to add, is that my car has this shudder, hesitation, vibration on light throttle input at all speeds, not just the 40-50 mph range. I also feel the hesitation on de-acceleration. And NO, it is NOT a Wheel/Tire related issue. I know the difference. As an engineer, and a car guy, I've been around, built enough cars to know the difference.

Rob.

BTW, beach, Thanks for your efforts in this ongoing issue with our cars. It's people like you who actually take the bull by the horns that make the difference. Keep it up, and let me know if I can help any. I would really like to see a fix to this VERY annoying problem in the Shake, Rattle and Roll Mobile. This is what the wife and I call it now.:eek:

BTW, beach, Thanks for your efforts in this ongoing issue with our cars. It's people like you who actually take the bull by the horns that make the difference. Keep it up, and let me know if I can help any. I would really like to see a fix to this VERY annoying problem in the Shake, Rattle and Roll Mobile. This is what the wife and I call it now.:eek:

You're certainly not crazy, and I'm glad these threads finally gave you some vindication after reporting this a while back...again, if ONLY it were as simple as a wobbling wheel. Hah!

I'm trying everything I can to get this recognized and dealt with, without just having to cut my losses and call it a day, so hoping for the best.

Rob J...I'm in Miami also.Which dealer are you doing business with...So I can steer clear of them.

Rob J...I'm in Miami also.Which dealer are you doing business with...So I can steer clear of them.

Took it to service at Grand Prize Chevrolet. They suck!!!

Has anyone had the trans fluid levels checked as brought up a while ago? Too much was causing problems in the trucks in 07.

Has anyone had the trans fluid levels checked as brought up a while ago? Too much was causing problems in the trucks in 07.

I at least looked at the cap the other day;)

But otherwise, no. As a "regional service engineer" is supposed to be reviewing my car tomorrow at the dealer, perhaps I'll suggest it to them...or just let them see what they think. Now I just hope it (strange...) that it's up for being as boggy, shuddery, and vibrating as ever tomorrow. Shouldn't be an issue, but you never know.

I at least looked at the cap the other day;)

But otherwise, no. As a "regional service engineer" is supposed to be reviewing my car tomorrow at the dealer, perhaps I'll suggest it to them...or just let them see what they think. Now I just hope it (strange...) that it's up for being as boggy, shuddery, and vibrating as ever tomorrow. Shouldn't be an issue, but you never know.

beach, good luck with it today.

Okay guys, an update on today's happenings.

Quick version...
I spent 6+ hours at the dealer today, mostly just sitting & waiting, but also doing a test run, etc. with the engineers--and yes, they were engineers and it was a pair of them. The car refused to act up, but the situation is VERY well known now and my car is now set up to datalog whenever I do experience the "issue", and we'll go from there.

Long version...
First the bad, err, the expected bad. The car did absolutely nothing today, or at least so little that nothing abnormal was detected. Of course. Just like most car issues, the day of reckoning, tada, A-ok. Yesterday it was iffy but not too bad, and today was a smooth day from start to finish.

But the more important good, the engineers were AWESOME, and worked for all of the hours they were there trying, testing, trying, asking me what happens, datalogging, checking for computer updates, testing another lot car themselves with their equipment, etc. From what I described today and what they had heard beforehand, they came in with ideas and most of what we did was datalogging and playing with parameters of the engine and transmission. Of course the issue was, uh, it not doing anything that they--or I--could either feel or get any kind of trouble readings from, but we worked and we worked on it for a while.

And, for sure, these two concurred that what I was describing--and what I repeated a handful of us are describing--would not be normal, and they are very serious about getting substantiated data and determining what IS wrong. The best part was our drive with me in control and both datalogging and talking--at my request as an engineer myself--in the greatest technical detail possible about every little thing in relation to this powertrain, why it was doing what it was when it was, etc. Interesting to be driving down the road and have someone changing things like the torque converter operation at the same time...odd sensations, but all for testing. Gave me a much improved background on this engine/trans and the why/what/where/how--and what was intended.

SO, though we found no solution today as nothing would show up, 2 things:
1) They felt, at least from what I was describing, that my dealer--despite duplicating the "shudder"--probably didn't experience it as I (and we) do fully at times and then translated that to TAC, hence why we got the "normal" moniker thus far. At least it's likely.
2) It is suspected there is a peculiar something going on in the trans, but without seeing the live readouts of what was going on in the engine/trans etc. at the exact times that it is so obnoxious or abnormal, it's really a shot in the dark. There are too many components, actions, parameters, etc. just to guess at one and keep guessing.

The result is I am now driving around with a data recorder--it looks like, and we described it as, a Family Feud big red button--that takes a snapshot of the powertrain parameters at the instant a symptom is happening and I hit the button to record it as such. I can do this 4 times and then it resets, so it's just deciding when and tapping it--when the shudder is obvious and/or it is just acting abnormal. Now that it's been re-affirmed what "normal" really is, in every detail, this shouldn't be hard.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c101/caddycruiser/My%20Cars%20Stuff/09%20Malibu/February%203%202009/Image00001.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c101/caddycruiser/My%20Cars%20Stuff/09%20Malibu/February%203%202009/Image00005.jpg

So...we're getting somewhere. Shame today, of course, had to be a good day, but the guys worked almost endlessly, were awesome to deal with and very concerned with the situation and what's going on--whatever it may be--and really want to figure it out and find a resolve.

At least I also now have working Bluetooth again,hah, thanks to a flash update...otherwise, datalogging I go, it'll be sent off to these guys by the dealer and on their review being able to see when & where, they'll have a suggestion as to what they think it is and to try.

Also, of course, the powers that be are aware this isn't a one person issue--not common, but not just me--and hopefully if we can figure mine out, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you others. Stay tuned.

Wow Beach that is great information! Thanks again for going into this detail; We're going to owe you big time if you are able to come up with a solution!!

Figures that the car wasn't acting up... I'm glad to hear that they installed a data recorder so the engineers don't need to physically be in the car 24/7.

My car was so smooth today; I come to cherish these rare instances but look forward to a solution that allows me to enjoy it this way everyday!

Do you have to send them the device when you are done, or are they meeting you in a week to disconnect it and analyze the data?

My car was so smooth today; I come to cherish these rare instances but look forward to a solution that allows me to enjoy it this way everyday!

Do you have to send them the device when you are done, or are they meeting you in a week to disconnect it and analyze the data?

Tell me about it...just driving to work earlier yesterday morning, as I expected from my previous G6 dealings, it was clear little of anything would show up. I discussed this random intermittence with them, and like whatever is going on, that could mean a lot of different things too, but we're not sure yet. I think they do have a better idea of at least what parameters to look at and even possible components, but giving them the snapshot readouts of what was going on in the system when I say the shudder/vibration/growl is happening is what we need.

I knew about these devices from reading about others with weird cases where things would only show up intermittently, and apparently it is something my dealer--and most--already have. They just generally don't go so far as to ever use them, except in cases like this and upon specific request.

That said, this device takes 4 readings and then erases & starts over with a 5th, so once I get 4 I just have to take it back to the dealer, they plug the module into their computer and will send the data back directly to the engineers.

It's really an interesting little piece, especially how it's made to sit in a cupholder...I don't know what I was expecting, except maybe for more wires and a box or such. I'm hoping it starts acting up again--you know, as it always does for me otherwise--so I can get 4 in and have it uploaded & sent ASAP.

Great stuff, beach, sounds like real progress.
Nice device :)

Excellent work, Derek. Maybe, there will be a GM engineering position in your future. :cool:

Excellent work, Derek. Maybe, there will be a GM engineering position in your future. :cool:

I did ask about that, well, in an indirect way. "So, how do you get to be a regional service engineer?" Didn't want to go too far off topic, as I already was, and being as Malibu focused as possible.

Oddly, I'm finding it hard to use the datalogger...well, hitting the button is easy and I've done it once, but deciding WHEN to do it, if the symptom is bad enough, etc. is the kicker. If I don't think I've gotten 4 solid enough runs with an issue, I guess I can always just start over with #5. I'll get it done before long...just don't want to jump the gun & have a more obnoxious version of the issue arise the day after turning it back in.

Great work Derek. I too, will owe you big time, if we can find a resolution to the problem.

On a side note, my car does the shake, rattle and roll shudder ALL THE TIME. I would like to contact these engineers to look at my car. It NEVER fails to Shudder, EVERY TIME you drive it. It is NEVER SMOOTH!!!!

One thing I want to add, and I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it before. At times, the exhaust on my car has a very strong sulfuric smell. Like rotten eggs. It's a smell that you commonly associate with bad cat. converters. But, my car doesn't drop any codes, and how could the cats be bad at 8k miles. Dealer is aware of this issue, and states nothing is wrong. You commonly notice it after a drive to your destination, you put the car in park, open the door, and you smell it. It's so strong at times, even several passengers have noticed it upon exiting the car, and brought it to my attention. Luckily, you don't smell it inside the car.

I'm sorry, but there is something up with my car.

Rob.

Hey Beach, how goes the data recording?

Hey Beach, how goes the data recording?

Sorry about the lack of update...I'll get a little synopsis up later, I hope. Short and sweet, no answer yet but I got a few--I think--decent recordings on the monitor and turned it in Tuesday for things to be sent off. Otherwise, not much...but I'll detail more later.

Thanks again Beach for the hard work on this. I am waiting patiently on this, and am hoping a resolution will become of it.

On a side note, I'm taking the car to the dealer again this coming weak. They are going to finally replace a bad speaker, and I'm also going to complain again about the shuddering issue.

Thanks again Beach for the hard work on this. I am waiting patiently on this, and am hoping a resolution will become of it.

On a side note, I'm taking the car to the dealer again this coming weak. They are going to finally replace a bad speaker, and I'm also going to complain again about the shuddering issue.

Any news back from this?
-----------------------------------------
Okay guys...otherwise, where have I been? :rolleyes:

First, the related stuff. I took multiple runs on the data logger, in many different situations, from the shuddering under acceleration from 40+ to the shaky, RPM surging downshifts and decel, to just rumbling steadily and strangely. I had trouble narrowing it down to just 4 so I restarted the meter more than once, lost track, and then ended up turning it in on 2/10 with whatever was on it. Some solid data, regardless.

I do not know what is showed, if anything, but it was sent off to GM and the engineers and I never heard a thing back from them, at least for the next week. In that time, and just like when the engineers were actually in for the day to test drive, log, drive with me, etc. there really wasn't a whole lot of TOO objectionable stuff...either that, or I just grew so accustomed to rumbling and shuddering, it felt normal. But I think the former.

That all said...and the reason I've been MIA for a while, in the midst of waiting for an answer and a continuation of the process of "ideas", I got rid of the car. It wasn't just because of the issue, for as said, there were some times but not constantly in the time following the "official" day that things happened and were record worthy, but it wasn't an everyday, every drive thing. There were other reasons, both because I always wanted something else and because--even if it wasn't currently bothering me--I was tired of going through the process of problem finding yet again, whatever it might me.

So, that said, the beautiful white/cocoa 2LT left me the day it rolled over 4k...but I stayed within GM, got a happy trade value, and left with another (I've lost track myself at this point) new car and the dealer has a great Malibu with next to no miles. GM February incentives, another new car, etc. and I'm happy. We just never resolved or continued with that process, regarding the same thing that's happening to others here...the bad part.

I still feel horrible about this, as I got SO close to, well, at least getting an idea of something vs. the data logger readings, but no cigar. But, that said, as I did get so far in the process and there are clearly others dealing with the same issue, sometimes even worse, I'm still going to stay around, informed who I was dealing with again that I wasn't the only one by any means, and will soon be getting in touch and/or posting with everyone who has this problem as to what should be done now, who should be contacted, etc. GM is still concerned about this problem, whatever it may be, and wants to figure it out and resolve it so there definitely is still an open door...and I'm going to keep working on pushing everything and everyone through it that I can.

Wow Derek, I'm shocked to see that you got rid of the car in such a short time, but on the flip side, I do understand your frustration. I too, think about getting rid of it, but with times as tough as they are, I'm sure we would take a bath on the car. So, I doubt I'll be getting rid of it at this point in time. Besides my wife mainly drives the car, and she doesn't really complain about it anymore. I drive the car maybe once or twice a week for a short jaunt.

That would be great however, if you could hang around here, and give the rest of us some assistance in dealing with this mind numbing issue.

So, what vehicle did you end up getting?

Regards, Rob.

Im now starting to notice this shaking about the 45mph mark.. I just rolled to 5K on mine

I've decided to wait until the 2010 Malibu comes out in the spring to finally make my purchase...That deal is pending on whether or not I've started to hear on this forum, that the cars talked about in this thread are being tended to by GM.

Wow Derek, I'm shocked to see that you got rid of the car in such a short time, but on the flip side, I do understand your frustration. I too, think about getting rid of it, but with times as tough as they are, I'm sure we would take a bath on the car. So, I doubt I'll be getting rid of it at this point in time. Besides my wife mainly drives the car, and she doesn't really complain about it anymore. I drive the car maybe once or twice a week for a short jaunt.

That would be great however, if you could hang around here, and give the rest of us some assistance in dealing with this mind numbing issue.

So, what vehicle did you end up getting?

Regards, Rob.

Thanks...it was another shockingly short time with another new car, but wasn't just because of the issue, as I said. Certainly still a factor, but not necessarily the main one.

Unlike others, I stuck with GM yet again and now have an '09 Pontiac G8 GT. Quite a bit different, with RWD, 6.0L V8 and a 6-spd auto, but quite the beast and, despite the power and such, not exactly a gas guzzler either. I'm enjoying it. So far, so good, 2 weeks in.

Im now starting to notice this shaking about the 45mph mark.. I just rolled to 5K on mine

Does it feel drivetrain related? Like, under power, light or heavy, a rumble in that form? Any effect felt regarding the actual power output and/or shift action?

I've decided to wait until the 2010 Malibu comes out in the spring to finally make my purchase...That deal is pending on whether or not I've started to hear on this forum, that the cars talked about in this thread are being tended to by GM.

I still don't think it's exactly a huge issue, otherwise at least the few people I was working with from GM who were quite aware of any and all issues there have been with new products would have had substantiated data or ideas on it already. But, things happen, and even though I threw the towel in at the 95% mark of possibly figuring something out (which I still feel bad about), the investigation and such here will hopefully continue.

I have to send you guys who appear to be affected a PM/email with more info, as I said, soon.

Heck, the G8 is a nice car. Funny you bought that car, as I was seriously looking at a G8 before I decided on the Malibu. I test drove one several times, and thought real hard about it. In the end, I went with the Malibu, as mainly it was to be my wifes car, and the Malibu ended up being less money than a G8.

If it were to have been my Daily Driver, I would of certainly gone with the G8. I think you made a great choice, and keep hearing good things about the G8.

Unfortunately, however, it seems as if GM is pulling the plug on Pontiac. I wonder if they will continue to import the G8 (Holden) from Aussie once Pontiac is dead???

Keep in touch,

Rob.

beach,

It feels like its under your feet, im guessing drivetrain. Power still seems to be ok. I can punch it and after a slight delay and gear change it speeds off just fine.

beach,

It feels like its under your feet, im guessing drivetrain. Power still seems to be ok. I can punch it and after a slight delay and gear change it speeds off just fine.

Hmm. Feel it "come on" right about 40, if you accelerate light to moderately? Otherwise, essentially a rumble, of sorts, that you feel pretty consistently?

Hmm. Feel it "come on" right about 40, if you accelerate light to moderately? Otherwise, essentially a rumble, of sorts, that you feel pretty consistently?

Yup if I hold steady around that speed range you can feel it until you get out of that band, It did it up hill and on flat road today coming home

I didnt notice it at first but noticing it more and more now

Welcome to the club Malibudragon, that's the same feeling we all have with these cars. Guess I should of bought an import instead. Jeez, I hate to say that, and I don't want to come across as a troll.:(

Welcome to the club Malibudragon, that's the same feeling we all have with these cars. Guess I should of bought an import instead. Jeez, I hate to say that, and I don't want to come across as a troll.:(

Sad thing is I was actually very close to buying a Camry, I love the outside of them with the lip kit on them.. Very sporty but the inside is just so drab and boring.. I still love my Malibu though

Camry's transmissions are not great either...Statistically perhaps even worse than in our cars, I have read a lot of complaints for the current gen.

Well, we compared the Camry and the Accord. While I like both of those cars, the Malibu had a nicer interior, was quiter, and I got a better deal on our Bu with only 2k miles on it.

Drove it a bit this weekend, and it wasn't acting up as much. We've got almost 9k miles on it now. Hopefully this issue will resolve itself as the car breaks in further. (Wishful thinking):eek:

Welcome to the club Malibudragon, that's the same feeling we all have with these cars. Guess I should of bought an import instead. Jeez, I hate to say that, and I don't want to come across as a troll.:(

You're not a troll by any means...this is a legitimate problem, and however strange, again definitely not at all normal. No car, new or even with considerable miles, would have a drivetrain vibration and shudder, and even one that seems to come on and off at times, that is considered normal.

No need to buy an import, and if you read the pretty visible and vocal reviews and stories from Camry owners about their transmissions, rattles, cheap parts, and other problems, Accord owners complaining about vibrations, shudders, and other unpleasant sensations and sounds from their V6 with cylinder cutoff, rattles to go with the road noise, flickering lights, etc. Everything has something.

Given that I seemingly got further than anyone else with this issue, at least in regards to GM, it's a shame I ducked out right when I did, but that's how it goes. Having dealt with GM in the past including with my lemon G6, as a whole they generally are very concerned with what is going on real world with their vehicles, and especially as I saw with the engineers who came to inspect, drive, and ask about mine, they want to know what's going on when something is clearly going on--but the response is never as quick or direct as you'd like, due to the corporate chains, approvals, etc.

I am glad I'm out of that car and don't have to be an R&D engineer when I drive my car each day, but really still am concerned about what's going on for you guys and others. As I turned in that datalogger then traded the car off before I ever got any update back, I never did get information as to if there was any "strange" readings shown and, if so, what they were--I'll try what I can on that regard. And I will be sending a PM to everyone here and in the poll that I've kept a list of as "affected", as to who, what, and where you should contact...best case scenario to get to the point I did, with engineers, a datalogger, and such.

Drove it a bit this weekend, and it wasn't acting up as much. We've got almost 9k miles on it now. Hopefully this issue will resolve itself as the car breaks in further. (Wishful thinking):eek:

Oh, THOSE days. Sometimes it was even morning vs. evening. Smooth as could be, crisp shifting, and strong power, then shuddering, vibration, a boggy feel, and other weirdness the next drive. All, of course, varied depending on whatever it depended on...the mystery that no one seems to yet understand.

I have been quiet lately, patiently waiting for a resolution to this issue. Last week I notice an intensity increase in the vibration / shudder and thought that maybe this time I had thrown a wheel weight. I took my car to the dealership for a tire balance and they said one wheel was out half an ounce. I figured that it would return to the same normal vibration, but it didn't! I proceeded to call the dealership right back and told him that the tire balance didn't help and that it was obvious that my situation has gotten worse.

I brought the vehicle in today and we went for a drive together. The service manager took shotgun while I drove and felt the vibration, he then took over and drove and shut off the car while coasting at 50 mph. The vibration almost went away completely! I mentioned that a group of us thought it was the torque converter or some other drive train issue. From what he just experienced he thought it was a good possibility. He proceeded to drop me off at work and took the car back to the dealership. I got called later in the day and was told that they tried a series of tests including disengaging the torque converter (which did not solve the problem). He also mentioned that they could reproduce the problem in the parking lot by putting one foot on the brake and the other on the accelerator. They even put it on the lift doing the same thing to see if anything was vibrating against the chassis.

In the end, the service manager called his GM rep and convinced him to come down tomorrow afternoon to evaluate the situation. The dealer still has the same LTZ that I drove 4 months ago on the lot, which has the same problem as my car. They are going to attempt further diagnostics on that vehicle. Hopefully this issue gets escalated and I can pick up where beach left off. As I told my service manager, I love the car put this vibration/shudder makes me sick to stomache for long trips.

Beach, have you received any info from the engineers you worked with? Still hoping for a PM with additional info!

I have a new 2009 Lt with just 75 km on it. The second day I was cruising just under 50 km/hr when I lightly pressed the accelerator the engine breifly revved like it was in neutral then went hard into gear.
Not sure what going on but I'm going to try and duplicate it so I can show it to the dealer. I don't what to go there and they say its ok.
I hope this is not going to be one of those " thats normal " bull, I'm already a bit disappointed with ride.

Well, that's good to see that your dealer is actually taking an interest in the issues with the car, unlike mine.

Keep us posted of your progress.

Rob.

Sorry to keep all of you waiting for so long... I have some bad news and some good news to share. The bad news is there is still no fix for this reported problem. The good news is, that my service manager kept on GM and told them I wasn't happy. To make a long story short, the last five weeks worked up to a repurchase of my Malibu, and I am now driving an awesome Silverado LT Crew Cab. It was a long process but kudos to GM and my dealership for working hard to make me happy. I was hoping that I could get to the bottom of this for everyone (the Malibu is a great car!), but when they laid out the terms I had to jump at what I felt was a once in a lifetime opportunity; It almost seemed to good to be true. I went with a Silverado because I love my Chevy / Cadillac dealer and I couldn't downsize. The Impala had no appeal; the Traverse siblings have proven to have similar problems as reported here and I have always wanted a pickup truck.

It has been great talking with all of you and thanks for all of the help along the way!

Did they even attempt to determine what the problem was?

I'm sort of in the same boat at the moment with my Malibu and this problem. The field engineer drove the car with a data logger attached and felt the shaking and then recorded drivetrain parameters for later analysis. I'm hoping they at least attempt to try and fix it but have not heard back yet with their plan. It will be a dissappointment for me if this turns into a buy back deal but I guess that would be better than them saying I have to live with it.

My dealer's GM rep came and drove the car and asked questions but did not attach a data logger. He then told the service manager that he would let him know whether he would send out engineers or repurchase the vehicle. Two days later, they offered to work on the repurchase route. They did not give any reason for why they chose the repurchase route.

Well, as with me walking away from mine after the same kind of situation but just trading it (it was already weird that my Malibu was the replacement for a repurchased G6, as it was) off because I was done with datalogging, researching, etc...it happens and hopefully now you're happy. I've certainly been thrilled with my G8 now, problem free and all. But, also, at the same time do often wish the Malibu never had the issue, and was just like our '08 that is 1.5 years in and still terrific, and I might still have it. Might. There were other reasons for getting rid of it, as I've said before, but it's still a great car and I still respect them a lot. Something is wrong, here, however, and needs to be fixed.

As for the repurchase coming easily, it's not uncommon anymore. It was about a month long process with my G6 back in August-September, but still fairly easy at the end, and anymore with the current situation at GM, they're more and more apt to do whatever they can to keep current GM owners in a GM vehicle and happy with it--even if that means a repurchase/trade. Not that it's something anyone can now request because they have an ongoing dash rattle or other goofy thing, but it happens and GM customer assistance is trying.

SO...again not great that a resolve/answer has yet to be found with another one now gone, but the awareness, data collection, etc. is continuing, so let's hope.

I have a LTZ V6 and for a while have been noticing a vibration in the floor and seat when cruising between 40 and 50 MPH (It usually goes away a few MPH above 50). At first I thought it was due to rear tire balance, but that has been rectified and the problem still exists. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this? A friend of mine suggested it may just be the "resonance" of the car; thought this was plausible but wanted to receive some feedback from other drivers of V6 Malibus. I am anxious to see if it goes away when I put on my smaller rims and winter tires in a couple of weeks...

Thanks in advance!

hi; i have 08 and am having the same issue , i think it's a tire, we'll se what the dealer say's. tend's to get annoying.

hi; i have 08 and am having the same issue , i think it's a tire, we'll se what the dealer say's. tend's to get annoying.

If you've read through this and other threads, like our poll, it very likely is something much more than basic tire balance, in the form of a drivetrain shudder. But, see what is thought at the dealer, and go from there.

Just an update on my dealings with Chevy on this problem. News isn't good for a fix anytime soon. Even though my dealerships shop foreman and a Chevy field service rep can duplicate the problem of vibration between 45 and 50 mph, nothing has been proposed by Chevy Engineering to fix it. I also test drove 2 new V6 Malibus on the lot and sadly both had the exact same problem of a constant shake/vibration sensation under light load at between 40 and 50 mph. All were very consistent. It feels just like an out of balance tire but it's not. MFG dates of the cars were 10/08, 11/08, and 02/09 so that is a pretty good spread of build dates. I'm now wondering if all of these V6 cars do it and some owners just don't notice it or don't care. If you mostly drive slower or faster, it could go un noticed.

To duplicate this problem, you need a smooth stretch of road and vary speed of the car between 40 to 50 mph with about 48 mph being the peak vibration on my car. Vibration is felt in the floor and the seat and not much in the steering. More than about 52 mph and the vibration goes away with freeway speeds being smooth. If others can detect this and complain to their Chevy dealer, perhaps Chevy Engineering would give it higher priority. I don't think they are getting many complaints about it.

I'm bummed because I don't want a buy back on this car although I did get to sit in a new Camaro today and it was pretty nice. :cool:

To duplicate this problem, you need a smooth stretch of road and vary speed of the car between 40 to 50 mph with about 48 mph being the peak vibration on my car. Vibration is felt in the floor and the seat and not much in the steering. More than about 52 mph and the vibration goes away with freeway speeds being smooth. If others can detect this and complain to their Chevy dealer, perhaps Chevy Engineering would give it higher priority. I don't think they are getting many complaints about it.


I guess I need to check out mine - I haven't noticed it but I guess I could be driving right through it ?:eek:

I'm now wondering if all of these V6 cars do it and some owners just don't notice it or don't care. If you mostly drive slower or faster, it could go un noticed.

I used to wonder the same thing, but have been in too many of them in too many different driving conditions and not experienced anything for the shake of my ex '09 to be normal. As happened on the days the engineers checked my car out, any faintest of faint flutter they actually might have noticed and that could be repeated dead on in another new '09 off the lot was "normal". For my car, that would have been a so-called "good" or "smooth" day--weird, but it would change, sometimes drastically.

The light to moderate to heavy lugging shudder from 40-55'ish while accelerating or cruising always stuck out. I've been in a friend's '08 G6 GXP with the same drivetrain, both when new and now at 15k or so miles, and it doesn't have the faintest of any vibe or shake. Test drove another matching GXP myself last year, loved it, and it absolutely was smooth as glass, pulled like silk, etc. Same for another '09 Malibu LTZ V6 I drove. Some may have a slight, slight, slight "something" that would be normal, as problem-free car owners here may report, but the true shudder/vibration others have had is not. There's quite a difference as I could show from day to day. My '09 2LT V6 just never felt like any of the others I had driven before, except on it's "good" days.

It's still weird. Especially because despite real data and noting it first hand, the real cause is a mystery, whatever the heck it is.

I am with beach on this.
In short, no, they do not "all do it". I tried and tried and tried and can't fault the way my car drives. If you come at it with a microscope you will notice a difference in feel in that range, but quite minor. I think that what is supposed to be a slight change in the feel (like in my car) as expected from this particular design and generally not prominent, has been amplified to the extent of a legitimate problem in affected cars.

After all, according the poll, most 3.6s do not exhibit that. I don't think car-forum-posting type of people would consistently overlook something like that.

ok well I have an 09 mailibu v6 and it feels as if it is missing or shuddering when I take my foot off the gas. It has gotten worse in the last couple of weeks. the car only has 1,700 miles on it. Also, my miles per gallon is steadily decreasing. I took it to the dealer and when I called to check on it, they said they drove it for a 30 minutes and didn't find anything. I went the next day and the tech drove with me and could tell, but he thought it was the tires. He rotated and balanced the tires and it is still doing the same thing. Also he he said he put it on the computer and it did not throw any codes. I love the car, but am concerned.

To be honest, I didn't read the whole thread. So let me know if you've done these already.

My suggestions to you are:

1.) check the rear tires to see if there is even tread wear.
2.) perhaps you should have an alignment done.
3.) if it were the resonator it would probably rattle as well.

I would think that if you had a bad bushing or engine mount it would rattle pretty much all the time. Not necessarily though. I wouldn't begin digging through all of that just yet.

To be honest, I didn't read the whole thread. So let me know if you've done these already.

My suggestions to you are:

1.) check the rear tires to see if there is even tread wear.
2.) perhaps you should have an alignment done.
3.) if it were the resonator it would probably rattle as well.

I would think that if you had a bad bushing or engine mount it would rattle pretty much all the time. Not necessarily though. I wouldn't begin digging through all of that just yet.

Good "check out" points to remember, at least for other vibration issues.

This is a lugging shudder from the powertrain, to the extent that the car--as in my case and some others--even seems to run and shift "differently" at times when it is more severe. This is NOT a wheel, tire, or suspension issue, but at least from feel, something strange going on in the powertrain.

Funny that a lot of people started with tire, wheel, more tires, more wheels, etc. work (that's just stupidity on a service tech and GM TAC's part) only to finally decide the shuddering wasn't related to that at all, did exist, but no one knew how or why. In my case the GM engineers didn't detect anything on the day they came to review the car, but absolutely believed me and we discussed it at great length and detail, to the extent that they were able to hypothesize a few things but really needed to see data to back it up. Having a datalogger in the car for 2 weeks, I definitely got some decent recordings, but turned that in and traded the car off before I ever found out what the results were.

Think about a very noticeable, sometimes obnoxious boggy shudder when cruising from the 40mph range up, and similarly--this seems to affect the same cars in the same way (did mine)--really shaky, sputtery sensations during deceleration from a cruise. Essentially, rough, hesitant downshifting as speed dropped too, and shaky shuddering vibration when on the gas while accelerating. Well, all with the also weird circumstance of coming and going at will from time to time...I'd have smooth days and shaky days, or even smooth mornings and shuddering afternoons. Bizarre. I've now read of the same or very similar thing on a GMC Acadia forum, albeit with a limited number of drivers, with identical symptoms with their 3.6L/6-spd combo, 1 or 2 on an Enclave forum, next to nothing other than a few general boggy 6-spd complaints on an Aura board, and then our whole shudder poll here.

It's still amazing at this point no one has been able to get any kind of diagnosis, even with some of us past the point of GM engineering review, mobile datalogging in the car, formal complaints, trade-ins, and even buybacks now. Thankfully, despite the forum numbers, it isn't exactly common, but it'd be nice to some day know what was up, even without the car itself anymore.

I would have to drive it in order to be really accurate. Is it only on the driver side?

Sorry about the suggestions. I didn't know that it was a powertrain issue. Does it bog down or anything? Does it still accelerate just as fast?

On my car, the vibration is mostly felt by the front passengers so I assume it is in the drivetrain or an interaction of drivetrain and front suspension. Not sure if it is different on the driver or passenger side. The car matches everything Beach describes for symptoms but one thing that has me perplexed as to diagnosing this is that I can still feel a lower level vibration with the transmission in neutral and coasting. I found a long down hill grade and was able to maintain a fairly constant speed of 50 to 60mph and even shutting the engine off and coasting, was able to feel the same vibration as during acceleration or deceleration but at a reduced intensity. One thing that seems to stay constant is the frequency of the vibration at about 10hz. This was measured by the Chevy field engineer that drove it just before he was layed off as part of the work force reduction GM is going through now. He had a handy mechanical frequency meter that was placed on the dash and when the vibration would start up, the 10hz channel would peg. To me, it seems like some sort of mechanical resonace gets excited or it could something in the transmission too. My car is now going to another dealerships shop where they are going to start all over trying to diagnose it.

Sounds like something I would really have to see myself to help with.

Not to point out the obvious or challenge anyone's smarts, but is the passenger seat tighten down securely? It may not be the issue, but the based on what I have to go from its the only thing I can think of that you haven't exactly checked. I know it's stupid, but sometimes it's something as ridiculous as that.

Does the vibration come back at any other speed and does it do it at idle?

Have you checked to make sure the tires are worn evenly, done an alignment and checked the mounts for the exhaust. The mounts should be rubber. Perhaps one came look or has cracked.

I'm rather good at figuring stuff out like this, but for something like this I'd probably have to be there to witness it myself.

The new dealer has determined there is a programming issue in the transmission. With a Tech II attached and monitoring transmission oil pressure in the torque convertor, they could see the TCC pressure modulate in step with the vibration. Their guess at this point is that there is a tolerance stackup in the transmission that is not being accommodated for by the software. They drove another car on the lot and this time, the other car did not have this problem. It's back with the Chevy Enginners now for a determination.

It's still amazing at this point no one has been able to get any kind of diagnosis, even with some of us past the point of GM engineering review, mobile datalogging in the car, formal complaints, trade-ins, and even buybacks now. Thankfully, despite the forum numbers, it isn't exactly common, but it'd be nice to some day know what was up, even without the car itself anymore.

You have to remember too that these 6 speed autos are not very old design wise. If there is a fundamental flaw in the programming, it could take months to sort out.

The new dealer has determined there is a programming issue in the transmission. With a Tech II attached and monitoring transmission oil pressure in the torque convertor, they could see the TCC pressure modulate in step with the vibration. Their guess at this point is that there is a tolerance stackup in the transmission that is not being accommodated for by the software. They drove another car on the lot and this time, the other car did not have this problem. It's back with the Chevy Enginners now for a determination.

GOOD to hear...not a nice thing, but finally someone is getting somewhere.

When I had the 2 GM engineers testing my car and then riding along with a Tech II connected as I drove, they hypothesized a variety of things like this, but nothing was showing up that day, of course. Hope, hope, hope they find something with yours.

Btw, there was a post at saturnfans today about the seemingly the same issue in an 09 Aura.

You go on saturnfans? What kind of car do you drive?

You go on saturnfans? What kind of car do you drive?

I drive a Malibu as per my sig. I visit staturnfans once in a while because being the same platform Auras tend to have the same issues as Malibus.

Ah. It's just a coincidence because there is a Yuri that came on there back in the day. He had a turbo Sc2 but he recently sold it. However he was from Delaware and was on his way to Iraq.

Ah. It's just a coincidence because there is a Yuri that came on there back in the day. He had a turbo Sc2 but he recently sold it. However he was from Delaware and was on his way to Iraq.

Definitely not me :)

Well if you've ever wandered outside of the aura forum to the s-series for anything, I'm sure you've seen a lot of me. :D

Hello,

I finally got my car into the 3rd dealership for this problem. They did reflash the trans with the new software - nothing for the vibration, but it did smooth out some of the jerkyness in the shifting.

The dealership stated that the transmission was designed like this in order to improve fuel economy.

If possible, I still would like to raise the shift points with some hand programmer someday.

I let you know what my next step is....:)

Has anyone nailed down the source of this vibration issue?
Is there a specific post that lists the symptoms?
Just a few thoughts. I did a search a few months back on this tranny. It is designed to accomadate a wide range of engines/power. The only internal difference is supposedly the number of clutch plates used, more for more power. Maybe some sort of spacer is used to fill the space on low power applications. The rest is done by computer programming.
Also the test stand for new builds was somewhat basic according to that pdf file. Although it was very high tech capable, computer run with lots of data, there was a foot note that there was some fine tuning as such yet to be done that would be done as field data rolled in. That might be read as owner experience or dealer input.
And likely what the updates are about.

But is it the tranny?
I do see it called drive train which encompasses many things. I did have a vibration related to drive train, and noticeable in the speed range mentioned. It changed slowly over a few thousand miles. It first showed up on some road surfaces, intermittant. Then only when vehicle was pulling, let off gas it went away. Then it changed to showing up when decelerating. Again intermittant. On a trip, it had no effect until I got into rolling hills. It would show up going upgrade, pulling harder, and then going down. I thought it was coming from right front until I rode as passenger and then realized it was coming from center, likely at the output of tranny. I realized I had similar with a new vehicle years before and the end result was inner shaft joints causing wear on output bearings on transmission output.
It does seem to have quit, or I have just not driven conditions bringing it noticeable. It is pretty common that what is used as inner joint is known as tripod joint. And likely what is used here. Depending upon how much angle is at this joint, each of those three contact points are going through an acceleration and deceleration with each full revolution because of angular velocities. And because this is the point that absorbs the changes in shaft length as the wheel bounces over terrain it has a range of motion with in the cup on the horizontal plane.
If you ever disassembled one of these joints you will see a wear pattern. I have not in a few years so there may be some technological advances. They may have tighter tolerances or harder metals. But I strongly suspect that these tight tolerances are not exact and the shafts may go through a breakin period that is longer than many other componenets on the vehicle.
I can tell you how shaft repair shops worked. I will use the ball and cage as is on outer joint and also used in some high end vehicles for the inner joint. In the outer part, the housing, there are grooves that the balls work in and the wear is over a small range. They will grind the rest of the groove down to match the wear spot in each groove. They have containers of many different sized ball bearings, so close you can't eyeball the size difference. They replace the original with slightly larger balls to take up the wear. Major rebuilders likely have precise sizing equipment, or more precise.
It is unlikely that every piece is ground to the same spec when just changing the diameter of bearings will stop most scrap loss.
Not treated like rocket science and maybe just one of the possibilities.

Everyone should keep tires properly inflated but I see some have experimented with higher and lower pressures. Do any of they see a change in the vibration issue?
Has anyone seen a change if different tires are installed?
Has anyone tried a RFB, road force balance done on special balancing machines that does a far better job of alleviating tire imbalance.
With the engines turning so slowly at these speeds, I could see where a harmonic imbalance might happen. A 4 cylinder only has two firings per revolution. A 6 has only three. Note the RPM range of trouble. Is it different for 4 cylinder versus 6?
Note the upper speed of vibration and then try a manual downshift maintaining speed if it will allow you. Does it change? If not then not likely related to engine in any way.
Just a few thoughts.

"Everyone should keep tires properly inflated but I see some have experimented with higher and lower pressures. Do any of they see a change in the vibration issue?
Has anyone seen a change if different tires are installed?
Has anyone tried a RFB, road force balance done on special balancing machines that does a far better job of alleviating tire imbalance."

All that has been tried for sure.

"Note the upper speed of vibration and then try a manual downshift maintaining speed if it will allow you"

People have played with that too. Can't remember now, but those things has been looked at. On this site, there's probably even a video or two of the manual mode operation made specifically in the context of this issue ...

Anyway, this issue is probably 2 years old now, and it's been looked at in all ways possible by a number of people. It's GM's turn now.

As I have said before. It IS fixable, at least in my case. They did the reflash and the more and more I drove it the better it got. It has been a good 1500 miles and it is nearly vibration free. And that is with my 20's to boot.

As I have said before. It IS fixable, at least in my case. They did the reflash and the more and more I drove it the better it got. It has been a good 1500 miles and it is nearly vibration free. And that is with my 20's to boot.

Your situation sounds a lot like mine where it seems to have quit for the most part and I do believe it was the inner CV joints.

A couple of more thoughts. I don't remember why at this moment, but I started looking at parts over at Rock Auto and GMDirect. It became apparent that springs, struts, and some other parts such as rotors vary. It was not always clear what went with a vehicle as it was not always by model. Sometimes it called for the code. And just on springs, they apparently take a batch of springs and run them across a computer test and match them that way for a particular vehicle. That would mean if you broke a spring, went to junk yard and found exact same vehicle as yours you still would have a high chance of mismatch if you changed only that one spring.
Also it would seem there would be different groups of springs that fall within different ranges according to build of vehicle. It might depend upon which engine, heavier engine, heavier springs. And the LTZ might have different springs again. The same could be true for struts, shocks, sway bars, etc.
Just thought I'd throw that out because it appears what data you have been collecting so far has not flagged the devil. Good Luck. I wish you all safe vehicles.

The problem is definitely not fixed in the 2010 model. I have a 2010 LTZ V-6 and it has this problem. I feel stupid because I felt it on my test drive and I thought it was just the road that I was not familiar with. Had I known I would never have bought it.

When I brought it to the dealer they reflashed the PCM but that did not change anything. Then I opened a case with Chevrolet Customer Service. They have been very helpful and available but the issue remains. I brought it back to the same dealer again and took the shop foreman for a drive. It shook like crazy and he told me with a straight face that it was the road, not the car. I insisted he was wrong and he said to take him back to the dealership and take the car somewhere else. (I let Chevy know about this and they also escalated my case to a District Specialist)

I took it to the dealership where I bought it and took their shop foreman for a drive. He felt the problem immediately and confirmed that it should not be like that. They RoadForce Balanced the tires. 3 of them came back as bad and were replaced. One of the new tires had a strong radial pull and was replaced again. That means four out of the 8 tires that have been mounted on his car were bad. (Goodyear LS2's) The funny thing is that the vibration is still there but it does not appear to be as bad now. I never thought it was a tire problem, but if it's not, why is it better after replacing the tires. I tried to get Chevy to give me an allowance to get some tires that I could feel confident with, but they will not do that. (I would have paid the price difference from the LS2's) I spoke to the District Specialist today and I am going to drive it for another week and see how it feels. She said in no uncertain terms that they wanted me to be 100% satisfied with my new car, anything else was unacceptable to her. The thing is, the only way I will be 100% satisfied is if the problem is completely gone. Otherwise it is all I think about while I am in the car. This is the only problem with the car. I love it otherwise.

There is no way I will trade it in to solve the problem. If it cannot be fixed then they will have to buy it back or replace it with another car that does not have the problem.

After the dealer replaced all of the tires my Malibu is still shaking/shuddering. I did some more testing. While the car was shaking I shifted gears and/or put the tranny in neutral. I found that the shaking did not change when I did either of these things. I always thought it might be a TCC or tranny problem, but if it was, it should disappear when it is in neutral. The problem seems slightly different after the new tires were installed so I wonder if they may be the problem. I asked Chevrolet to put a different brand of tires on the car but they won't do that. I'd like to find out for sure but I'm not willing to buy the tires myself.

To all,

This problem is NOT the tires or wheels! I have been pursuing this issue for almost a year now. I have gotten 3 sets of tires, the last one Michelin Primacy MXMR W-rated. (great tires) The problem remains. I initiaited a Lemon Law claim and reached a settlement. I settled for the Michelin tires and $2,000. I wanted them to buy it back, but I live in Arizona and the consumer protections here are very weak. I would have had to take them to court and pay the lawyers myself, so I settled. I would encourage all of you that are having the problem to file lemon law claims. If enough people file claims they may have to finally fix the problem. Right now it is just cheaper and easier for them to pay off the complainers. It appears to me that at this point the really don't know what is wrong. When my dealership was working on it they had a lot of support from the Tech Center in Michigan, but still no luck. I hope that someday they find out what is wrong. I will continue to monitor this thread in case they do. Good Luck to you all!

To all,

This problem is NOT the tires or wheels! I have been pursuing this issue for almost a year now. I have gotten 3 sets of tires, the last one Michelin Primacy MXMR W-rated. (great tires) The problem remains. I initiaited a Lemon Law claim and reached a settlement. I settled for the Michelin tires and $2,000. I wanted them to buy it back, but I live in Arizona and the consumer protections here are very weak. I would have had to take them to court and pay the lawyers myself, so I settled. I would encourage all of you that are having the problem to file lemon law claims. If enough people file claims they may have to finally fix the problem. Right now it is just cheaper and easier for them to pay off the complainers. It appears to me that at this point the really don't know what is wrong. When my dealership was working on it they had a lot of support from the Tech Center in Michigan, but still no luck. I hope that someday they find out what is wrong. I will continue to monitor this thread in case they do. Good Luck to you all!

Well glad you got something at least. I have said many times that it was not the wheel or tires. I am gonna close this one and link the sticky thread since it might start to get confusing to some.

Any further discussion on this please see here: http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3834&page=9