2014 Chevy Equinox 2.4L - Severe Intermittent Shudder/Vibration Mystery

[jimsears]

2014 Chevy Equinox 2.4L - Severe Intermittent Shudder/Vibration Mystery

I'm hoping someone has seen this before because this issue has been driving me crazy for months.

Vehicle: 2014 Chevy Equinox 2.4L FWD

Symptoms:

• Severe shudder/vibration that comes and goes.
• Sometimes the vehicle drives perfectly fine for days or even weeks.
• Other times it becomes almost undriveable.
• The vibration seems to be tied to vehicle speed or wheel rotation rather than engine RPM.
• At times it feels like a rhythmic "clunk, clunk, clunk" that speeds up and slows down with vehicle speed.
• It is often worse at lower speeds, while slowing down, and when approaching stops.
• Occasionally it smooths out when driving 75+ mph on the highway.
• The problem seems noticeably worse during warmer weather and almost non-existent during cold weather.
• The vibration feels like it is coming from underneath the center console or passenger side area.

Things I've already checked/tried:

• Added Lubegard Shudder Fixx because I originally suspected torque converter shudder.
• No meaningful improvement.
• Tried shifting into Neutral while the vibration was occurring.
• The rhythmic clunking/vibration continued even while coasting in Neutral.
• Front passenger hub assembly was diagnosed as bad and replaced.
• The hub replacement made absolutely no difference. The symptom is identical before and after the repair.

Additional clue:

During one particularly bad episode, I smelled something burning and noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the passenger side front wheel area after stopping.

What I'm trying to determine:

Could this still be an inner CV joint or axle issue even if the axle didn't show obvious play during inspection?

Has anyone experienced a bad CV axle, intermediate shaft, transmission issue, brake issue, or something else that produced these exact symptoms?

At this point I'm looking for ideas before I continue throwing parts at it.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Hey Vern!]

Have you serviced the trans? Maybe it needs a flush and fill. Trans and motor mounts?

 

[PoManNox]

...During one particularly bad episode, I smelled something burning and noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the passenger side front wheel area after stopping.

This sounds like a brake caliper is hanging up, and/or the brake pads are hopelessly hung up in their caliper brackets.

I see you live in KY, so rust/corrosion issues shouldn't be much of a concern.

 

[Bojin]

I had similar issue with my 2005 equinox. It turned out to be the CV Axel, So i replaced bot

 

[wilamowski3]

2014 Chevy Equinox 2.4L - Severe Intermittent Shudder/Vibration Mystery

I'm hoping someone has seen this before because this issue has been driving me crazy for months.

Vehicle: 2014 Chevy Equinox 2.4L FWD

Symptoms:

• Severe shudder/vibration that comes and goes.
• Sometimes the vehicle drives perfectly fine for days or even weeks.
• Other times it becomes almost undriveable.
• The vibration seems to be tied to vehicle speed or wheel rotation rather than engine RPM.
• At times it feels like a rhythmic "clunk, clunk, clunk" that speeds up and slows down with vehicle speed.
• It is often worse at lower speeds, while slowing down, and when approaching stops.
• Occasionally it smooths out when driving 75+ mph on the highway.
• The problem seems noticeably worse during warmer weather and almost non-existent during cold weather.
• The vibration feels like it is coming from underneath the center console or passenger side area.

Things I've already checked/tried:

• Added Lubegard Shudder Fixx because I originally suspected torque converter shudder.
• No meaningful improvement.
• Tried shifting into Neutral while the vibration was occurring.
• The rhythmic clunking/vibration continued even while coasting in Neutral.
• Front passenger hub assembly was diagnosed as bad and replaced.
• The hub replacement made absolutely no difference. The symptom is identical before and after the repair.

Additional clue:

During one particularly bad episode, I smelled something burning and noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the passenger side front wheel area after stopping.

What I'm trying to determine:

Could this still be an inner CV joint or axle issue even if the axle didn't show obvious play during inspection?

Has anyone experienced a bad CV axle, intermediate shaft, transmission issue, brake issue, or something else that produced these exact symptoms?

At this point I'm looking for ideas before I continue throwing parts at it.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I've been chasing an issue with my 2013 Equinox for a couple of months. While driving it would develop a severe vibration from the front end into the steering wheel. Let the vehicle sit overnight and it would go away, only to come back again later. I replaced control arms, engine mounts, wheel bearings, calipers and drive axles. Still kept coming back! I finally did some queries with Copilot AI. Apparently, in the timeframe my vehicle was built there were issues with brake hoses. Not a collapse issue however. It's an internal failure of the hose with aging. A portion of the rubber will brake off in kind of a flap. Step on the brake when cold and pressure is applied to the caliper piston. But, after you release the brake the pressure doesn't go away because the flap of rubber is sealing the hose off. Ater sitting overnight the fluid leaks past the flap releasing the pressure until it all starts all over again. Apparently not just an issue with Equinox. More vehicles affected in that time frame.

 

[cavell]

So, ur attributing the vibration to overheated rotors/brakes due to dragging brakes due to bad flex hose? Plausible
I got a nox to fix recently and it had a stuck caliper which I replaced and then I found flex hose to be issue as well.
It had been sitting 1 yr so rotors were crusty.

 

[wilamowski3]

I'm just passing along info. But, not exactly as you describe. The vibration occurs when the piston can't retract due to the pressure captures between the hose blockage and the piston. As the wheel spins, the rotor tries to push the piston back causing a pulsation. I, too, thought that I had a stuck caliper piston. The test is when you crack the bleeder valve, the pressure is released and the issue disappears (at least temporarily). If that's what was happening to you, you may have purchased a caliper that you didn't need to (just as I did).