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Chevy Express/GMC Savana
I own a '99 Chevy Express and am interested in
finding out what repairs to expect at it gets
older. I'm very interested in hearing from anyone
with a '96 or newer full size GM van.
I recently replaced a bad alternator (5.7L engine)
under warranty at 16,500 miles- my only non
maintenance repair to date.
finding out what repairs to expect at it gets
older. I'm very interested in hearing from anyone
with a '96 or newer full size GM van.
I recently replaced a bad alternator (5.7L engine)
under warranty at 16,500 miles- my only non
maintenance repair to date.
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The only defects so far have been: a blown cigarette-lighter fuse (apparently caused by a defective 12V coffeemaker), a sticky power window switch, and poor workmanship with all the velcro tabs for both the shoulder belts and the carpet flaps covering where the removable bench seats lock/unlock to the floor.
Sorry to hear about your alternator - we have the same engine, so I hope we don't have the same problem - at least not after our warranty runs out! We did purchase an extended warranty, which was really out-of-character for us (we're generally not fans of extended warranties, and we didn't get one for our Subaru), but we had no idea how reliable the van was going to be, and decided that an extended warranty gave us a bit more piece of mind.
I noticed your post that you are a relatively new owner of a 12-passenger Savana. Are
the benches removable, and if so how? Do they pop with the push of a lever (like most
minivans) or do you have to undo those allen-wrench-looking bolts?? A friend with a
Ford Club Wagon says his just pop out. But I like the Savana better, but the ability to
quickly create more space with 6 kids will affect my purchasing decision.
Thanks if you have a chance to respond.
Donn Ghaile
Why they don't apply all the marvels of miraculous seat-folding from minivan-land to these full-sized vans is beyond me!
We have 6 kids, too! :-)
BTW, just curious - why do you like the Savana over the Ford?
Thanks for taking the time to respond. The answer to the Ford v. GM? Purely looks. My better half thinks -- and I can't disagree -- that the Ford, despite the windows on the sides, still looks like work van no matter what. We like the spiffy look of the GM.
Guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
We have had both a Ford Aerostar and Econoline 250 and I will not buy another Ford due to the terrible reliability of both.
By the way, we also have 6 kids... must be in the water...
Yup, six kids... and with a 12-seater, nobody has to sit next to anyone else. ;-)
To my relief, our Savana still has 60% on both the fronts and the rears, and the dealer assured me that its brakes are wearing at a normal rate. The parking brake cable was a adjusted, and all is well.
I sure hope yours is an isolated problem... but I'm sure it doesn't feel that way when you're the one having the problem.
It seems that all vehicles have their share of major problems. The makers will not make them better as long as we cosntantly pay big bucks for them and accept the inferior workmanship.
Thanks, RoadRanger for the info on DRL.
The van is an Imperial Conversion mid level value.
It has a Vortec 5000 engine.
I do not tow anything and I live out in the country SW of Chicago, Ill.
I use 10W30 oil and it is serviced by a GM dealer every 3,000 to 3,500 miles.
The van is used for normal every day driving and we take 3 or 4 2,000 miles trips every year.
The thing that really puzzles me is that all of the leaks started at the same time. Bummer!!
paujpow
My questions are:
1. Is replacement o fmy brake far
behind?
2. Is this going to happen
every 19,000
3. Any GM recalls?
1. overheating (i.e. riding brakes, not downshifting on long steep downhill grades, towing with inadequate trailer brakes, frequent hard stops, especially with heavy loads, etc.)
2. Rapid cooling of hot rotors. This is caused when hot rotors (not necessarily overheated) are splashed or submerged in water puddles.
Of course there is also the possability that the rotors were defective in some way.
The only thing that would cause your brake pads to wear would be the scenerios described in #1. If you typically brake "normally", brake pads should last between 20K-40K miles, depending on driving environment (city vs. hwy. mountains vs plains, etc.)
I was having some warranty issues looked at. I carefully checking off the box to have it LUBED. I didn't check off the other boxes for "oil change", "filter", etc. I called to see if the warranty work was done. The service writer proudly said, "No but we've changed the oil!".
When I picked up the van, I checked the dipstick. (a previous experience at a Honda dealer had trained me to check to see if they put any oil in). This time the dipstick showed they had overfilled it with too much oil. After idling for a few minutes. It still had too much oil. I drained 2 quarts out before I got the oil level into the acceptable range on the stick.
If I were to have driven enough with too much oil, I might have ended up with your situation. Others can fill in the technical explanation. For now my basic description is that with too much oil, the oil gets whipped up into a foam. That foam takes up more volume than can be contained. The result is you end up with oil leaking from all sorts of places.
Just one of the possibilities for you to consider.
Thanks.
As for fluff, neither has fluff. Both are fairly plain even at the upper trim group level.
For durability, I suggest you investigate the power and drive train combinations. The 1/2 ton or 1500 series has a softer ride but has lighter weight features. Consider the 3/4 ton or 2500 series you may find that you get larger brakes, larger transmission, and larger differential.
So far, after 6 months, I am enjoying mine. I hope you find a van that works well for you.
PS - Our van is a beeyootiful shade of plumber's white (well, GM calls it "Summit White"). ;-)
Theoretically, the more heavily-loaded the vehicle, the better the ride. (I've been keeping a couple of cases of bottled water in the cargo area for added weight over the drive wheels for winter driving.)
I've never driven or ridden in a 1500, but last summer we did meet some fellow "Edmunds" Savana owners (Hi, Ariel, if you're reading this!) on our cross-country trip. Theirs was a 1500 8-seater with 60/40 swing-out side doors; our 2500 has a sliding side door. The first thing we noticed when we parked our vans side-by-side was how much taller our 2500 is - that's because of the heavier-duty suspension and larger wheels.
Another point that may interest you was that the step-in height in our van was further increased by having the sliding door: the inside tread is raised because the sliding-door track goes below it. So if you want a 2500 but wish to minimize the climbing-in height for the kiddies, you might prefer to get 60/40 doors (we preferred the slider because there are no visible hinges and we wanted easy enter/exit when parked close to other vehicles). Alternatively, you might consider adding a running board.
Anyway, I'm very pleased with the ride in our 2500, at least up front! :-)
I concur with Midasgold that the ride up front is rather pleasant for these vans. I have the longer wheelbase and that seems to help smooth out the ride.
The ride/handling out back is different from the front. I know you aren't shopping for the 3500 but to give you a reference point: The rear of my beast doesn't seem to budge when I step my 180 lbs onto it.
When I carry 12 people, the ride/handling is super and I have better confidence in the drive trains of the 2500 and 3500's.
I suppose it all comes down to how you plan to use the van and your priorities. You will need to weigh the priorities of a softer ride against the versatility of the 2500.
PS. I was amused by Midasgold's post about the water--because I too carry a case of bottled water in the back! When I don't tow or haul a load and to get a better car "feel", I believe I really need about 800lbs of water!
I believe I found the greatest accessory for these vans. I am in the midst of installing this incredibly simple ultrasonic distance detector (Poron). After I saw it demonstrated, I thought this beats those unsightly frensel lenses. Now when backing up, I can tell within 1" how far away the wall is behind me! The device has passed the masking tape temporary install test so I'll spend a bit more time routing the wires this weekend. I'll be able to give a better opinion after I have more than 1 afternoon trying it.
P.S. I prefer your spelling of Excur$ion.
My brakes were checked at 24K and appear to be wearing fine, with plenty of pad left.
I am very disgusted with the poor quality of my Van, the unreliability of it, the poor Chevrolet Dealership Service provided to me, and the poor Chevrolet Customer Service Complaint System. They will be happy to take your complaint, but will they stand behind their product? I would never recommend anyone to purchase a similar Van, much less a Chevrolet.
Sorry about your troubles. Makes me want to go out and get an extended warranty right away.
I am curious about some of the details of your problems. In particular:
Electrical: what is wrong?
Loss of power was temporary or chronic?
Sensors: which ones went bad?
Rear air conditioning: What went wrong?
Brakes: What kind of problem?
Thanks.
Electrical problems - battery cable, battery plus other problems.
Noisy fuel pump - Which Chevy won't replace
Fuel Injector problems
Dead cylinder
Rear passenger door hinge (recall)
Must change front brake pads every year
Leaks oil and something else.
Door panels coming alose
Rattles and sqeeks
My 35 gallon gas tank (sticker) only seems to hold 29 gallons (wonder were the other 7 gals are at?).
Starting to idle poorly now (here we go again)
Now this vehicle gets routine maintance and oil changes. Never has towed anything, has 66,000 miles and is used as a daily transporter of the family with a bi-annual trip to one coast or another. The Chevy dealer never seems to fix the problems correctly the first time so we must often return it several times to get the problems resolved. If it were not for the warranty and extended warranty I would have spent well over $5,000.00 in repair work. Even with the extended warranty I was often stuck with bills exceeding $500.00. The Chevy dealer will listen to your problems but getting them to properly fix them is another story.
This lifelong GM consumer is currently searching for a new van and trust me it won't be a GM product.
Not that this is any consolation, but '96 *is* the first model year of the van's new design, and GM is notorious for lots of bugs in their first-year models.
I also have long been concerned with the fact that many conversion companies use 1500 vans instead of 2500 or higher. The conversion stuff adds a lot of weight to the van, which has to take its toll somehow or other.
Our 31-gal tank also appears empty and will then take only about 24 gallons. That may be intentional on the part of the manufacturer to prevent running out of gas. Last summer, we were on a long cross-country trip, and stupidly left a town without refilling our tank. We found ourselves out in the middle of nowhere, with the needle on empty, praying that maybe the next tiny dot on the map would have a gas station, then the next one. We kept going like that for something like 40 miles, I think, until we were finally relieved to find a gas station. So I think there's plenty of reserve in the tank.
to bargain for a full gas of tank and had to fill
up right away. I ended up putting in 29 gallons
after the 15 mile trip home.
There was a coolant leak due to a hose not being tightened properly. When ABS kicks in, the steering wheel ( and van ) goes left.
The ride and noise level are very satisfactory. If
the mechanic can eventually repair the brakes , I'll be satisfied.
Could the person posting about the distance detector, please keep us up to date about his installation.
A nice security system is the GM VSS-150. It works
with original GM remote control.
I was leery about buying sight unseen and fortunately work near their Gardena California office. The poron rep offered to visit me at my work and demonstrated the unit in his car.
I was impressed, temporarily installed it with masking tape, and then plunged in for the clean installation.
I have been actually ENJOYING backing up ever since.
Unlike the $700 BMW option, this unit actually displays the distance in feet and tenths of feet (metric if you flip the switch). Accuracy is excellent.
The installation was a fun project. Anyone who can install a fog lamp can do this.
Installation. 2 wires get spliced onto the wires going to the back up light. 1 power and 1 ground. I had previously located these wires behind the interior trim panel (which just pops off) at the back right corner of the van. I opted to solder splice the wires to avoid potential with the quick splice connectors that were supplied.
The control unit is about the size of a cigar. I used the supplied double stick tape and attached it onto the rear post (underneath the trim panel).
The three detectors mounted to supplied brackets and then under the bumper with supplied double stick tape. It seems possible that in this position, they may one day be knocked off by rocks. So next time I will use pieces of angle aluminum instead of the plastic brackets to give them greater protection.
I overachieved at routing the detector wires. Instead of routing them the easy way--up into the doorway and under the black trim along the back bottom of the van, I removed the drain plug from the back right post and installed a grommet. Through this entry I ran a coat hanger down and then taped the detector connectors (modular phone plugs) to the coat hanger. I pulled the wires up and connected them to the control unit.
One glitch was having to get an extension for the far left detector so it would reach the control unit. My van is w i d e.
I ran the cord for the display up the post. I used the supplied bracket to suspend the display from the headliner/back trim piece by just wedging into place. (The install manual shows the display under the rear view mirror but I prefer the mounting to be where I can see it when I am looking backwards)
All my friends think its great. They get out the tape measure, check the distance and are amazed.
Because of the additional secure feeling, I don't want a van/truck without one.
The dealers want $180 to do the first alignment as they must pull and replace a ring. I've been told by the converter who mfg my van to have it done. Most alignment shops will only do a light duty alignment and will not pull the ring.
If you feel that your van is pulling and you are within the GM warranty coverage for alignments take it in and ask them to align it under warranty.
I was told by a tire dealer to do that but never did because I was not experiencing the problem. I now have a slight pull and must pay the big $$. Once the ring is replaced regular alignments are all that are needed.
I agree and I would NOT take it to a dealer--this is out of their specialty.
KEY TO SUCCESS: find a person who can take their time (even a talented teen). If it takes as long as 2 hours, then the installer took lunch or was REALLY careful.
The job is really easy if you just run the sensor wires up into the door and under the "threshold" piece.
Tips:
clean mounting surfaces with rubbing alcohol and let dry before using double stick tape.
order a sensor cable extension when you buy the kit.
PS: Anyone with power steering or brake fluid wetting the outside of the clear/beige colored reservoir?
I HAVE HAD COUNTLESS PROBLEMS AND I MAINTAIN THESE VEHICLES REGULARLY IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID THIS. THE FACTORY BRAKES HAVE BEEN GOING ON ME IN VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE VEHICLES AFTER ABOUT 30000 KM (20000 MILES). THE SIDE HINGES HAVE SIEZED ON 50% OF THE VANS AND GM IS SAYING USER FAULT. LAST WEEK I REPLACED A TRANSMISSION AND A SPEEDOMETER CLUSTER ON ONE VAN FOR $2900.00 CDN (62000MILES) AND TODAY ANOTHER VANS' TRANSMISSION WENT AFTER 40000 MILES.
IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD SEND A DETAILED LIST BUT IT IS A LONG ONE.
I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS AND WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER GM/CHEVY PRODUCT FOR A LONG TIME. MAYBE IT DOES HAVE A SMOOTH RIDE LIKE A CAR BUT I NEED A DURABLE WORK TRUCK AND NOT A CADILLAC.
Please let us know:
1) What model years gave you the most trouble?
2) What model number vans have given you the brake trouble (1500, 2500, or 3500)?
3) What model gave you the transmission trouble?
4) What hinges gave you trouble (front driver/passenger, side cargo, rear cargo?
Thanks.
We all know that towing takes a toll on the drivetrain components. For what it is worth and to minimize towing related damage, I use the following formula to determine my "no worries" tow capacity:
Manufacturer's rated capability divided by 2.
Under no circumstances would I suggest anyone exceed 80% of the listed capacity.
If you plan to tow, I recommended we carefully seek out the 3/4 ton or greater vans. In those vans, the brakes and drivetrains are larger than with the 1/2 ton models.
How we drive also significantly impacts the towing load upon the drivetrain. For what it is worth, I believe you cannot accelerate at too slow a rate when towing.
I'll be careful to heed gunsnroses1's good tip to check out what axle is supplied.
3/4th ton passenger express van, 135 inch wheel
base with the Vortec 5.7 V8, automatic, using the
3.73 axle as opposed to the 3.42?