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3rd door 'creaking' in 1996-98 chevy pickups
franzenwyo
Member Posts: 2
I purchased a 1996 Z71 ext cab 1500 with the 3rd
door option in May 1996. From the day I bought it
whenever I drove on an unlevel surface the 3RD door
would start creaking. After numerous attempts to
get this fixed at the dealership it was never
repaired, the only response I get is 'We will
notify you if the General Motors sends us a service
update'
Now I have just grown accustomed to it.
Help a guy out here!
door option in May 1996. From the day I bought it
whenever I drove on an unlevel surface the 3RD door
would start creaking. After numerous attempts to
get this fixed at the dealership it was never
repaired, the only response I get is 'We will
notify you if the General Motors sends us a service
update'
Now I have just grown accustomed to it.
Help a guy out here!
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
If you use some "white lube" on all the hinges on the doors the noise is less and may even go away for a while.
Bob
purchased a little over 6 months ago a new 1998
Chevrolet Ext Cab 3rd door Silverado. I actually
had to trade it in for a another 1998 exact same
model but with Z71 since the third door was to unbearable for me to listen to anymore. Now, my newer 1998 has the
same problem with the third door. I think I will
eventually get rid of this for just that same
reason if the new 1999 pickups come out. I have
contacted numerous Chevrolet dealerships and have
tried many times with different dealerships to fix the creaking, popping, flexing third door. To no aveil, sometimes they have lessoned the noise, but it is still there. One dealership after three unsuccessful attempts told me: "Go find another dealership, we can't help you". Talk about loyal GM dealerships. I don't think there are any out there. That dealership even told me that they are aware of the problem and cannot do anything about it unless GM issues a recall on third doors (highly unlikely since it is a strong selling feature). All they care about is making money. I should know, I had to work with GM dealerships for six years and finally got sick of kissing up, so I quit. Anyway, then I contacted GM Customer Assistance and talked to one of there so-called trained staff and they told me the third door noises were what they call "design characteristics". To me, that means they are suppose to flex and make all kinds of noises. If you ask me, that is [non-permissible content removed]. Make all third doors structurally sound and silent. End of story. If anyone out there disagrees, to bad, I am right. If anyone finally gets there third door noises resolved, please do not hesitate to e-mail me and find out what the dealership has done to resolve this very annoying defect in the third doors.
Tom
anything you can do thru your dealership to tell
GM directly that they have a MAJOR defect/recall on their hands? I don't think they will listen, but at this point, nothing can hurt. I'm going to sell my truck again if nothing can be done about this in the next few visits to a GM Dealership.
I'm a loyal Chevrolet owner, but have become less and less satisified with the quality they are putting into their new vehicles nowadays. My best car owned to this date has still been a 1978 Buick Skylark when they actually put metal into the dash and not plastic, among other things.
Are your salesmen actually telling customers about this before they buy? If so, I am impressed. I have never heard of the sales team be up front about problems that could cost a sale.
My guess about all the creaks and rattles you folks are talking about are due to the way these doors initially designed. Not that I know what was put into the preproduction engineering, but it appears as though the cab stiffness was sacrificed. This is based on the "after the fact" data. The structural regidity of the cab was initially designed with a solid box at the rear of the cab, then they removed the side(s). A convertible has the same situation when the roof is removed. Extra stiffeners are added to restore the stiffness lost by removing the roof. Do any of you notice any added stiffeners or structures that are not on the models without doors? I am not posative, but I don't think any of the manufacturer's that have extra doors launched this with a redesigned body, but added them to existing designs.
To answer a few questions here: yes most of our salesmen do tell the customer of the complants only the new ones don't, they just don't know about it, I tell them. My service manager(and MANY others) have called GM about it, but they are more perplexed then we are. They just design the truck they don't drive'em, I'm not sure if they even care. I know this is a sad fact, but for the most part they just want to make money like everybody else.
My 2 cents
Tom
When has the rattle showed up and under what circumstances? My truck was built at the Oshawa plant in Canada. In which plant were your trucks built?
The truck performed great and remains very quiet and rattle free in the cab. No squeaks or rattles from the third door. Either I just got lucky and got a good one or the rattles are yet to come.
Have any of the trucks with rattles been built in Canada? I would also be curious to know if Chevy uses more than one plant or supplier for the parts for the third door. Have the design specs changed from 1997 to 1998?
Also I am unable to keep the side windows open, because the latch is not strong enough on highway speeds.
Bob
There are no B-pillars to hinder loading. They did not want to extend the cab length by adding another set of pillars. They used a hidden hinge to provide maximum door opening. They added extra strength by using vertical beams with a cross brace where the front and rear doors meet. The vertical beam makes the door more rigid, which improves the structural integrity of the cab. This should sharply reduce the possibility of wind noise, water leaks, and squeaks and rattels that might normally occur when the two doors come together.
Remember this is what the Ford boys said about the Superduty Supercab, so take with whatever grain of salt you feel is appropriate.
to be gone forever, unless the dealer did a really
good job adjusting the hinges. If they will be
gone permanently, congratulations. You might be
one of the few lucky ones. Has anyone else called
up Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center and
complained? I have and all they do is set up
a case # for you and that's all. They just say
they have to rely on their certified GM Dealers
to diagnose and repair the problem/s. Looks like
my case# might be on their books indefinitely
about the third door!
Tom
P.S. I have to deal with a;most four or five of these problems a week as a GM bodytech.
Are most of the third door trucks you have to try to fix built in Canada or
in the U.S.? Both of my new 1998's I have had with
the faulty third doors were built in Oshawa Ontario Canada. The vin of the vehicle starts with a 2 not a 1. 2=Canada and 1=U.S. built
Tom
people call in, maybe GM will start listening? I doubt it though!!!!!!!!!!
The third door does not rattle after the dealer reinstalled the top striker. The window does not rattle either. That appears to have been the problem with the rattles. Eleven times back to five different dealers for this problem. Only after the stiker fell out onto the ground did they appear to fix the problem. By the way, did I mention that the lever on the drivers seat,that operates the back of the seat so you can recline or push the back forward, came off in mind hand last week. After that, I contacted the BBB about this truck. I have a case opened. I contacted a Chevy dealer close to my home about this lever and after he finished laughing, he said that he would order the part. He also said that this was a common problem with S-10's. After I got home a message was on my answering machine from this dealer. I returned the call and he told me that his area manager told him to tell me to take it back to the dealer that I bought it from. I was told that,since I contacted the BBB, they will not touch the truck. That is the second Chevy dealer that told me this. I can understand why Chevy is losing customers. Not only do they make inferior products, they either can't fix or won't fix the ones that they sell. And just think, in the back of the owners manuel, they tell you to call the BBB if you cannot resolve a problem. I believe that they speak out of both sides of thier mouths.
I would agree with most of your remarks. I am still waiting for a simple little left side plastic armrest for my 1998 Extended Cab pickup. They ordered the correct side two weeks ago and when it came in last week when I was in to have it replaced, it was the RIGHT side back-seat armrest. So, I am still waiting for the correct sided armrest from GM. The dealership did not even bother to check to make sure it was the right side. Also, I have problems with my reclining handle on the driver's seat. It did not fall off, but when fully reclined back, I could not make the lever work to get the seat back fully upright. Also, my power driver's bench driver's seat shifts side to side creating creaks/movement in the entire seat mechanism. I am taking this to them soon also when they finally get the correct armrest in. Good luck, for I will be awhile at GM dealerships for a long time to come for repairs on a 5 month old vehicle.
After 3,000 some odd miles since the top striker was replaced on my third door (it fell out onto the ground one day that I opened the door), the door still does not squeak nor does the window in the door. It appears that the striker was the problem. After eleven trips back to five different dealers to fix the rattles and squeaks in the third door, the striker had to fall out of the truck before a dealer would correct the problem.
I still have parts falling off of this truck, but at least they don't squeak or rattle.
It looks like Chevy's rock is falling apart.
Too bad.
I recently bought a '99 S-10 ZR2 and after 1600 miles so far I have no rattles and no squeaks from either the 3rd door or the one jump seat I have in the cab. I guess your complaints have been answered...just not when you ordered your make and models. Hope this puts some trust back into the Chevy name.
J
Unfortunately, I have been a culprit of all my
trucks (total of 8 since 1994) full size
Silverados being built in Oshawa Ontario Canada.
Everyone one has had major quality control
problems! Namely third door looseness, cruise
control inoperative, horn did not work from
factory, loose seat tracks, and the list goes
on and on and on!!!!!!!!!! My question to anyone
out there is can you specify at time of ordering
to specifically have your truck built in the USA
either in Fort Wayne IND or Janesville, WI?
Anywhere but Canada and Mexico! I'm listening
to anyone who could help clarify my question.
Thanks.
'd appreciate just how far the ride/quality of these vehicles has improved.
My 2 cents-JRM
There comes a point when you have to get rid of a vehicle in order to be happy driving it. So, I bought a 1999 Silverado Ext. Cab and have yet other, less annoying, complaints. The third door is not one of those problems so far thank god.I guess when I spend over $26,000 on a new vehicle, I expect near perfection. So far, Chevy has disappointed me!
I did have one of my 4 trucks fixed with the third
door at a GM dealer and they re-aligned the hinges and entry and exit latches, etc. and greased everything up and the noise did go away. For how long, who knows? - I sold it soon after the noise was fixed.