What Causes Severe Vibration in the 2020 Verano Three-Cylinder Engine?
2 Answers
The primary reason for severe vibration in the Verano three-cylinder engine is severe engine carbon buildup. Below are the relevant explanations and solutions: Engine carbon buildup: The most common cause of car vibration is a dirty throttle body or excessive carbon buildup in the fuel injectors. When there is too much carbon buildup inside the engine, the gasoline sprayed by the cold-start injector is largely absorbed by the carbon deposits, resulting in an overly lean air-fuel mixture during cold starts, making the engine difficult to start and causing severe vibration. Solution: Clean the fuel system and check the idle control valve for carbon buildup, addressing it promptly. Ignition system malfunction: Poor performance of the ignition system or suboptimal spark plug firing can also lead to three-cylinder engine vibration. Solution: Check if the spark plugs have excessive carbon buildup and replace them if necessary. Unstable oil pressure: Abnormal fuel pump pressure or incorrect readings and poor performance of the intake pressure sensor can also cause body vibration. Solution: Check the fuel supply pressure and the intake pressure sensor to ensure they are functioning properly.
Regarding the issue of three-cylinder engine vibration, I've studied it in automotive design. Structurally, three-cylinder engines are inherently unbalanced due to the superposition of vibrations caused by crankshaft rotation and cylinder firing order. The 2020 Buick Verano's three-cylinder engine might have poorly optimized balance shafts or aging materials weakening vibration damping. Particularly during cold starts or idling, vibrations can easily amplify throughout the vehicle body. If the engine mounts are fatigued, their buffering capacity decreases, making the shaking more noticeable. Additionally, improper ECU tuning can cause unstable operation. I recommend checking the original design report—sometimes a software update can alleviate the issue. For daily driving, avoid prolonged idling; driving at higher speeds to fully warm up the engine can reduce carbon buildup that exacerbates the problem. Regularly perform powertrain diagnostics, such as using an OBD scanner to check for trouble codes, and don't delay until the transmission is affected.
