# PI1455 Bulletin rattle or clunk from rear of vehicle



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Can your dealership lift your car by the body lift points instead of the tires? The suspension is installed with the car body hanging from the four jack points. It's possible the only way to track the source is to hang the wheels.

Also, hold onto this receipt. That way if your car is out of the B2B warranty when this is resolved you have documentation showing you took the car in for this issue and that GM did not have a resolution to apply while the B2B warranty. This way the dealership can get GM to cover the repair as a warranty item.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Some good points. Thank You. One thing I did notice is that after I had the oil changed the rattling went away for maybe 20 miles or so then it came back. When it was on the hoist the wheels were hanging. Kind of goes along with your thoughts.


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## LizzieCruze (Feb 17, 2014)

I had the right rear rattle as well. dealer replaced the right rear shock and since then, no rattle. Maybe inadvertently, they tightened whatever was really rattling? It has been about 3 months with not rattling.... so far, so good. I went to Hurd Chevrolet in Johnston, RI.


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## Clausses (Sep 8, 2014)

I have a rattle, but, mine sounds like it's in the exhaust. I have the rear-muffler deleted. I was driving home, took a turn, decided, "let's have some fun", so I double-clutch down shifted to first, went to second, and came to the turn right before my road, so, I rev-matched for second gear and I heard a strange rattle, so I pulled into my garage and sat by the exhaust and had my grandfather give my car a little gas and it sounds like a rock stuck in the resonator, somehow.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

I was hoping replacing the shock would take care of it. Actually I think there were 2 noises. One went away(noise on the right) after replacing the shock. The rattle still remains. I can't really say it is the right or left side. Actually sounds like someone is tapping it in the center with a hammer. Glad you got yours taken care of.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Thinking maybe bushings were not made to the correct tolerance. It does it in both the winter and summer.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Can anyone from GM give me some insight into this problem?


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

My Dealer overnighted a new 200 pound rear Trailing arm, this did no good. I had a rattle and a POP unlike any car I have ever owned. They then admitted it for 7 days, put on the mouse ears, heard the noise and re torqued the wheels. All noise was gone!


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

fixmycruze said:


> I purchased a new 2014 Cruze about 9 months ago. One of the several issues I have had with the vehicle is the constant rattling under the car in or by the rear axle. I have addressed it with my dealership to no avail. They did replace the right shock but the noise remains. When I took it in for another issue I told them the rattle was still there . They handed me this bulletin and said when GM figures it out someone will contact me. According to the bulletin it has been an issue starting in 2011. GM has cameras along with sound devices they can attach to determine where a noise is coming from. The problem that I have is exactly as the bulletin states. can someone help me get this fixed?
> View attachment 150842


Took my 2012 LTZ in today for a second water pump leak (!) and the same REALLY irritating trunk rattle described in this topic. I took everything out of the trunk and put down the back seats and insisted that someone ride along so they could be sure to hear it. They did and the guy said "Wow, that noise is REALLY annoying!" NO KIDDING!!!!???????? Well, AT LEAST HE HEARD IT! YEAH!!!!!! The result was reference to the same bulletin referenced above PI1455 and I was told that GM is working on a fix. My service advisor told me that GM is likely re-designing a part as replacing the rear shocks on others has not fixed it and shocks are being replaced unnecessarily and not solving the issue. Note on the bulletin that GM instructs the dealer: "Important: Do *NOT *replace the rear shock absorber for this issue." The bulletin was dated April 1, 2015. It is now July 1, 2015. They should have to drive this car with this unbelieveably annoying noise! That would get them moving a bit faster toward a resolution!!!


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Thanks for the update. If you hear anything more please let me know and I will do the same.My dealer just said that GM said to pass out the bulletin to anyone that has the clunking noise.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

fixmycruze said:


> Thanks for the update. If you hear anything more please let me know and I will do the same.My dealer just said that GM said to pass out the bulletin to anyone that has the clunking noise.


Will do! You too if you should be notified before I am. I just don't want GM to forget to notify us and let this drag on for months and months. I love my car but find myself taking the other car just so I don't have to listen to it rattle. Drives me ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!!!!


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## kyle2829 (Jul 11, 2015)

Joining the party on Cruze owners stuck with this issue! Got the bulletin yesterday from my mechanic and somehow none of the dealerships I've called in Austin, TX seemed to even have PI1455 on file. Wonderful. Anyway, let's all keep each other updated and hope they resolve it soon!


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Just for kicks and grins, you might want to pull the trunk interior and make sure the rattle isn't on the inside. Maybe take a drive with the interior out and the seat folded down to see if the sound changes at all.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Thought I read some kind of TSB about having your Cruze checked at the dealer for missing welds. Ha, they say robots don't have to take breaks, but maybe they have one that is more intelligent and goes out to have a smoke.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Gave that a try early on but no luck. Definitely around in the suspension area. Thanks


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

All, I just emailed GM about this bulletin asking if there is a fix or an estimated date when GM Engineering will have one. I'll let you know if they respond


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

For the heck of it today I made a call to GM customer care and she did not know anything about the bulletin. Will keep kicking tires until I get an answer. Thanks to everyone for your input.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Thanks* 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE for checking on this for us. Hope you get an answer.*


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

I have a 2013 LTZ, has had the rattle in the rear since about 17,000 miles. Kinda got used to it. Just curious if it is only on models with 4 wheel disc. Reason I ask is because the rattle on mine will stop if I depress the brake pedal. Seems as if it might be the brake pads in the rear calipers on mine causing the rattle. I will continue to diagnose this, but I truly believe that is where my rattle is coming from since I can make it stop by depressing the pedal, and as soon as I release the pedal it will begin to rattle again.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

GM called me yesterday in response to my email following up on our suspension noise PI issue and the customer service person knew absolutely nothing about what a "PI" was or what I was asking for. I had to tell her that a "P.I." is a "problem investigation" and directed her to my repair order which references the number and describes the issue. She was going to elevate my issue to her manager and said I will be getting a call back from them in a day or two. I'm not holding my breath. Disappointing. I'll keep you advised. If we keep on them, maybe they will talk the right person in Engineering and put a fix in place.


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## little-john (Dec 23, 2014)

Thanks for the update. I have the same problem and I'm looking forward to their solution. Thanks for your persistence.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Got this from my dealer yesterday:
I had one of
our service technicians look it up and the bulletin on it is still the
same. Apparently they haven't decided what they are going to do to fix
the issue yet. I'm sorry. I wish I had better news. I would keep
checking every month or so to see if it has changed.

I asked the dealership if they new what was causing the issue and he said they did not. 

Will keep checking and sending emails Thanks to all for your help.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

Just an update - GM called me again yesterday to advise that they are still working on a fix for this issue. She assured me that my dealer would contact me when a fix is developed. (CONTINUING to hold my breath........) :dazed002:


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

How many engineers does it take to fix a clunk? :question:


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

An awful lot more complex than you'd think. Especially given legislation, regulation and litigation. 

As a manufacturer you just can't take a piece on or off because of a rattle. The whole ignition switch thing is a good example of what can be involved to effect a change.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Tomko said:


> An awful lot more complex than you'd think. Especially given legislation, regulation and litigation.
> 
> As a manufacturer you just can't take a piece on or off because of a rattle. The whole ignition switch thing is a good example of what can be involved to effect a change.


They may be "aware" of the issue, but I'm not seeing any signs that they know what's going on.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

Tomko said:


> An awful lot more complex than you'd think. Especially given legislation, regulation and litigation.
> 
> As a manufacturer you just can't take a piece on or off because of a rattle. The whole ignition switch thing is a good example of what can be involved to effect a change.


Very true! Plus, once the design is made, the vendor has to make a prototype then prove it out, get it approved and then develop the tooling to make them on the shop floor, etc., etc. 

All that being said, the bulletin came out in April, so we are at the 5 month mark........(CONTINUING to hold my breath!..........:grin: )


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

Does anyone know WHAT years are involved with this clunk?


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

Well, after all the time we have spent waiting for a fix to this PI1455, here's what GM has come out with:

"Per document 4245225, INSPECT REAR SHOCKS & BUMPER and tighten all"

I got mine done today and that is "the fix". It's hard to tell if it worked as my unbelievably loud rattle quit completely over the summer. Today was our first cool day and I did not hear the noise on the way to the dealership. If anyone is able to locate a copy of "Document 4245225", PLEASE post it. My service guy said it just told them to torque the 2 bolts on the shocks and they did both sides of mine. We will see.....


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

I thought my PopPop Picture below would be the problem for others yet I'm not hearing exact complaints of what I had heard. The mechanic was going to attempt to craft his own part(s) at first


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

As an engineer, use to call the engineering department and discuss the problem with another real engineer, they would send me the parts I needed to correct the problem. Add this to your history books, not only attorneys in the middle now, in particular with GM, then if dealing with a vendor, won't give you that information, someplace in China today.

Are we talking about this piece?










Ha, when you read the vast majority of technical service bullets, if a screw is loose, they tell you to tighten it and may even give you the torque specifications. 

Ha, in working with mechanical engineers for years, they all just look up torque specifications in this book.










So I wouldn't have to bother them, just got my own.

Its a no brainer to check to see if those upper flange bolts are tight on this shock absorber, the lower nut can be loosened to check for play in that bushing, should be none.

Or maybe the shock itself. Really not that much to the rear suspension, this is all you get.










When I replace and exhaust system, just put my hand on it and shake it. But I don't have to be told not to do this when its red hot, but some dingbat wants to tell me this a zillion times making the shop manual thicker than ten New York City telephone books.

Whatever happened to common sense?


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Also was some kind of recall on missed welds in the back, mechanics can't do this, the body shop does this. Wasn't aware that robots took a coffee break. 

Ha, as a kid with had country doctors that could do everything, now all these specialists, this way they can shift us around to lay out another 500 bucks for each two minute visit. Must be spreading into automotive industry as well, but maybe not, a guy that is good at replacing a muffler, doesn't know a darn thing about electronics.

But at least we have a warranty, sure don't have this with doctors, prescribe the wrong medication, want to try something else and already laid out a small fortune.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Eddy Cruze said:


> I thought my PopPop Picture below would be the problem for others


Interesting. This appears to have been the fix: "Loosened all rear suspension bolts, lowered vehicle and tighten rear suspension bolts."


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Sounds a bit suspicious that loosening all the bolts, lowering the vehicle than tightening them would take up any play. Certainly wouldn't cure shock absorber, spring insulator, trailing arm, or rear axle bushing problems, they all have give.

See that photo from rockauto is long, my shocks have a ball at the end and clamped in by a bracket. Just looked at it, that ball sure needs grease. I think my 2LT has sports suspension, said something about this, but one of those deals where I would have to show the part before ordering one. 

Had rear end knocks in other vehicle due to worn spring insulators, made out of some kind of plastic, but in high mileage. And since most of the Cruze problems have been related to the huge number of different parts vendors, maybe yours are made of cheap foam rubber. Only way to tell this is to look at the insulators, that require to remove the springs.

But this is too much work, far easier to say, dey all do dis. Relieving the spring pressure in any front or rear suspension in vehicles, reveals all kinds of sins. Found ball joints ready to fall apart, but under the weight of the vehicle, very hard to tell when under severe load, even with a four foot pry bar.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

Well, the clunk in the trunk (that rhymes!) turns out not to have been the struts or anything UNDER the car. When the noise returned after GM's "disappointing" fix of having the tech. tighten the shocks....BIG SURPRISE THERE!...I took it in again yesterday. We have a 
G-R-E-A-T and persistent tech and he jumped in the back seat with the other side of the seat down so he could hear in the trunk. The rattle clanked and banged as I drove over bumps in the road UNTIL HE REACHED BACK AND GRABBED THE trunk tension rods and THE NOISE STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He explained that he would put something like a rubber hose around or between them to stop them from banging against the trunk wall or themselves. So far, it's QUIET. Hallelujah. Fingers crossed!!!!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

NickD said:


> Sounds a bit suspicious that loosening all the bolts, lowering the vehicle than tightening them would take up any play. Certainly wouldn't cure shock absorber, spring insulator, trailing arm, or rear axle bushing problems, they all have give.
> 
> See that photo from rockauto is long, my shocks have a ball at the end and clamped in by a bracket. Just looked at it, that ball sure needs grease. I think my 2LT has sports suspension, said something about this, but one of those deals where I would have to show the part before ordering one.
> 
> ...


Actually this might fix this issue. When the car is assembled the suspension and wheels are hanging from the chassis. It's possible that something didn't seat quite right and by putting the suspension under pressure (car body sitting on it) the parts will seat just slightly differently. Remember, it only takes a quarter turn in most bolts to get a loose part.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Been a while since I started this thread. Apologize dealing with health issues. Soooo The car had been into the shop many times with shocks being replaced , rubber shock mounts- bolts tightened etc. last week they replaced the axle assy along with the shocks and hardware and you guessed it --still clunks. so they unhooked the shocks and drove it and no noise!! Kind of think they would have tried that before replacing the whole axle assy but oh well. So now GM customer care says that I have to go out and have a set of aftermarket shocks installed to resolve the problem--however-that voids the warranty as least as far as this issue is concerned.I have been working with GM customer care for several months and they are as involved with not repairing the vehicle as per the warranty as the dealer is. GM and the dealership Martin Chevrolet here in Saginaw Michigan have had a meeting in regards to the issue and as far as they are both concerned - the case is closed. If I leave the shocks on I listen to the clunk If I go out and have aftermarket shocks installed I void the warranty on the issue-whatever that means- and If the aftermarket shocks don't fix the problem it's not their fault because I put the aftermarket shocks on. So they backed me into a corner on whatever works best for them and not for the customer. So I am pissed. new car 20000 miles on it now noise started at 3000 miles countless hours of sitting in a waiting room at this stealership and this is the results. Any suggestions of where I go from here is appreciated. Might file with the Attorney General and see where that goes. GM customer care has been useless in rectifying this issue.


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## fixmycruze (Feb 4, 2015)

Well no thanks to GM CUSTOMER DON"T CARE after 2 years I have resolved the ongoing clunking issue.It is the OEM GM shocks are at fault. After dealer put on 3 sets of GM shocks and replacing the whole rear axle assy and after fighting with GM Customer don't care and the dealer that they have faulty shocks they finally put on a set of aftermarket shocks and guess what--noise is gone!!Monroe shock part# 5663 resolved the issue. the shock is actually longer that the GM shock.By driving the car with the shocks disconnected is how it was determined that the shocks were at fault. This may not be the case on all cars put it sure is the case on a lot of them.


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## 2012LTZPRETTYLIGHTBLUE (Dec 13, 2011)

So glad you have a quiet car to drive now. I know when my shock was replaced, it was wonderful to not hear that nagging clanking. Sounded like a "hooptie" from the inside. It has been quiet ever since the shock was changed. Sorry you had to go through all that to get it fixed. GM can and needs to do better. No wonder customers run to foreign manufacturers. Sad and disappointing to hear stories like yours. 



fixmycruze said:


> Well no thanks to GM CUSTOMER DON"T CARE after 2 years I have resolved the ongoing clunking issue.It is the OEM GM shocks are at fault. After dealer put on 3 sets of GM shocks and replacing the whole rear axle assy and after fighting with GM Customer don't care and the dealer that they have faulty shocks they finally put on a set of aftermarket shocks and guess what--noise is gone!!Monroe shock part# 5663 resolved the issue. the shock is actually longer that the GM shock.By driving the car with the shocks disconnected is how it was determined that the shocks were at fault. This may not be the case on all cars put it sure is the case on a lot of them.


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