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Chevy Silverado: Problems & Solutions

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Comments

  • professor1professor1 Member Posts: 5
    Similar problems w/ 2003 SS, <15,000 m. The dealer has told me that the A/C is within GM specs. That's fine, but when the ambient is 85 w/high r.h., the cab of this black truck (and, yes, a GM field engineer gave me the heat transport phenomena dissertation) is too warm. Nevertheless, the dealer has installed a fan to help cool the compressor and, most recently, a new temp. door actuator. Those changes, along w/ tweaking the charge, have helped somewhat. I have owned several GM trucks, and the A/C operation has never been an issue. Also, I have driven other 2003 and 2004 Silverados with duct air temp. 10 degrees colder than mine. Off line, the technician and service mgr. agree that I have what appears to be okay w/GM, but it sucks w/ me. BBB next for me. Good luck w/ yours.
  • 05silveradoz7105silveradoz71 Member Posts: 4
    I was told that transmission whine is caused by in-proper break-in of the new vehicle. In your 500 miles of use, did you exceed 3500rpms, floor it, or accelerate fast??? The fluid is new, and when worn in fast can cause whine. Change the fluid and filter.
  • 05silveradoz7105silveradoz71 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 05 silverado, love it. The clunking noise you hear is the a/c clutch kicking on. ALL a/c clutches clunk when they are turned on, bigger the motor, bigger the a/c compressor, bigger the a/c clutch, bigger the a/c clutch will clunk when turned on. Its not a problem and there is nothing to do about it, its normal. The toyota is no match to a fully equipped silverado.
  • 05silveradoz7105silveradoz71 Member Posts: 4
    I would ask for a new transmission. NEW not REBUILT
  • 05silveradoz7105silveradoz71 Member Posts: 4
    This is why Chevy offers a PTO switch x 2 t raise rpms in 500 increments
  • duramaxedduramaxed Member Posts: 1
    My 2003 HD Duramax is on again and off all the time, I have had problems for a while and a traffic ticket to boot before I realized it was messed up. Did you get yours repaired and what was the fix?
  • billyraybillyray Member Posts: 1
    I put some 20" wheels with 285-50-20 tires on my new 2005 Chevy 1/2 ton 2wd Crew Cab with only 1300 miles on it. When you press the brake it feels like the front end is going to shake off, but the steering wheel doesn't move nor does it pull to the left or right. It appears to be the brakes. The wheels got pretty hot and you could smell the brakes. Is there anything I can do to stop this? Do I need to take it to the dealer? I figure they will tell me that the problem is because I put aftermarket wheels on it. Brake upgrade? how much?
  • jjtjjjtj Member Posts: 80
    285's on 20's is alot more weight than stock wheels (16?), and Chevy might have not designed the stock rotors to handle that load. Plus you have a crew cab which is adding to the extra front end weight. I'd look into some bigger aftermarket rotors.. look at maybe some performance type brakes such as Wilwood or similar. Those big wheels will cause a drastically lower life on other front end parts such as ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc as well.
  • 2jnelvis2jnelvis Member Posts: 7
    everone thinks the hard start when warm is the fuel pressure regulator but this is not always the case. on mine after weeks of headaches and a truck that ran very rich when it did start then suffered poor mpg. it was discovered the temp sensor was bad and was telling the computer it was -40 deg. this was a suprise to me with the temp gauge working on the dash.
  • jerrywimerjerrywimer Member Posts: 588
    If you buy GM aftermarket 20's GM's recommended tires are Goodyear Eagle LS 275/55/20's, and this is without any brake changes. So the 285's shouldn't be that much more weight.
  • bigabebigabe Member Posts: 2
    I had a similar problem with my 1999. Finally when the service engine light start coming on I checked this web site and found out that someone fixed a similar problem by replacing the Fuel Pressure Regulator. I took my truck to the dealer and sure it was. Now the truck runs good no problem. Good luck.
  • me4me4 Member Posts: 3
    does anyone have a problem with the tranny shifting hard into 2nd?
  • jhendrix3jhendrix3 Member Posts: 2
    I have 1500 Chevy Silverado 2001

    Mine died on me coming back from North Carolina.
    Had it towed to the dealer. It was smelling bad too!
    Like you said burning oil. Would crank but not start.
    This is what they told me. The AC line in the back of
    the motor above the distributor was not wrapped with
    foam insulator water from the AC was dripping on my
    Distributor. And inside it. It was all corroded inside.
    They replaced the Distributor and cap rotor and wires
    plugs were fouled also. My cost 500 dollars. Also they wrapped the AC line
    with insulator. If you have a 2001 silverado 1500 ext cab check yours....
    Thought i would get my money back after i called customer service and told them.
    They Denied my claim....
  • jhendrix3jhendrix3 Member Posts: 2
    My Truck would start on 2 tries and run fine and start the rest of the day.
    Then in the morning same thing. Then it took 8 tries and would be fine.
    Then was on my way to work going 65 and it would not reach 70 it was like it was in
    neutral So i backed off the gas and made it to work. Same thing on the way home.
    I Drove it to the Dealer they ran there checks on it. Said it was the converter
    It was plugged they said. Left it there and they put a new Dual Converter on it.
    971 dollars. Picked it up they said it was fine. On the way home it bogged and
    dogged all the way home. Don't think it was the converter at all. Taking it back
    monday will let you all know what i find out.... You think they would know there
    job and get it right the first time.
  • hdryderhdryder Member Posts: 1
    My 3/4 ton Chevy Silverado truck has 6 liter engine and a tow/haul transmission. I have about 5000 miles on it. I have had tranmission problems but they seem intermittent. Once the transmission up-shifted through all 4 gears very hard. This continued until I shut off the truck and restarted it after warm up. The problem was gone. I tend to think this was a computer glitch that caused the torque converter to lock up. It has not happened again but I keep thinking it will again any time. More recently, I started my truck and put it in reverse. It began rolling but I felt as though the transmission was only lightly connected to the drivetrain. It actually felt like it was partially in neutral. I stepped on the gas and the engine revved but the truck was barely moving. It did finally take hold but this has happened before but not to this extreme. I know the dealer must fix this but I need some advice about how to approach the service writer. They like to tell me that they can't fix a problem they can't reproduce. Please advise.
  • 197071camaro197071camaro Member Posts: 1
    have a 2005 5.3 chevy pu looking for some info on cold air intakes pros ,cons,brands to use!
  • park11park11 Member Posts: 4
    My truck is 2002 2500 6.0 automatic. I've only had this truck for a couple of weeks. There's a ticking noise that appears to be coming from within the inside of my dashboard when the truck starts. This ticking noise sounds like a speedometer cable. It happens when I start off rather slow. It goes away once the truck shifts into 2nd gear. The truck runs fine otherwise.

    Any helps or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
  • pc59pc59 Member Posts: 2
    my trans makes a clunk sound shifting into 2nd at low speeds.
  • me4me4 Member Posts: 3
    I've got an '02. I was told the clunking was the reversing gear going out. This gear will take out 2nd gear and reverse. Have you heard anything.
  • petel2404petel2404 Member Posts: 2
    Hi im trying to take off my catalitic coverters so i can get better gas milage but i was told it would screw up the o2 sensers and was wondering if anyone knew how to get around that?? because it has a senser before and after each converter all suggestions wanted thanks
  • scocksscocks Member Posts: 4
    Not sure this is the right place to post this, but I bought a 2005 Silverado 2500 HD out of State and tried to register it in California. Am told it is Federally certified but not California certified emissions standard. Didn't even know emissions were an issue for diesels. Help! Please. Is there a way to make it California compliant?
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    Only way to make it California legal at this point is to put 7500 miles on it while registered in another state. Without a factory certification label, it is not a Cal-spec truck, even though the engine is 50-state legal.

    kcram - Pickups Host
  • pc59pc59 Member Posts: 2
    I have the same problem with my 1500 Z71 crew cab. My dealer rotated and alined the tires at 6,000 miles. By 7,500 miles I could already see that the front tires which used to be the back tires were starting to chop. I took it back to the dealership and they told me they had never seen anything like it. They had an other tire shop do an alinement because they thought theirs may be off. I now have over 9,000 miles and it seems to be getting worse. I notice it the most on the concrete freeway. It feels like I'm on a bad dirt road that has been washed boarded. Do you think it's the tires or something wrong with the front end? I also have problems with the brakes pulsating.
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Park............There is NO speedo cable in the new GM trucks.
    Could it be a relay clicking?
  • scocksscocks Member Posts: 4
    Unfortunately, the DMV won't let us EVER register it - even if we put 7500 miles on it as an out-of-state vehicle - because we were California residents when we purchased it out of state. There must be a way to make it a Cal-spec trust AND get a factory certification label.
  • jjtjjjtj Member Posts: 80
    You can buy O2 simulators.. a company called Curtis makes them.. not sure if they have them for the Silverado but they basically plug into the O2 bung & factory wiring harness to fool the computer, and will prevent your check engine light from coming on. However, late model cats aren't that restrictive, and you will probably get better performance & mileage out of your truck by leaving the cats & O2 sensors in place. O2 sensors will allow the engine computer to adjust the fuel/air ratio accordingly, so it won't run too lean or rich.. no O2 sensors will most likely mean lower fuel mileage.

    Plus I believe it's against federal law to remove the cats, and if you have a local inspection or emissions check, no catalytic converter will fail your truck.
  • park11park11 Member Posts: 4
    I just took the truck to get inspected at a GM dealership. The service advisor went with me on a test drive (he drove). He spent a good 15mins listening to it.He said the noise is coming up from the transmission. It only happens in first gear. He said this was normal and even some new trucks make this noise. He mentioned something about how the first gear meshes.. or something like that and that is the noise I'm hearing. I must admit the slight clicking/popping/scratching noise in first gear is tolerable, but I just needed to know that it wasn't a defect or problem that would destroy my transmission.
  • shiftless1shiftless1 Member Posts: 9
    Perform a serious check of your front shocks. Probably defective from the factory!

    Ed
  • me4me4 Member Posts: 3
    I have on '02 4.8 automatic. I've started experiencing a clunk shifting to second gear. I've also asked around and others have the same problem. I was told by two transmission shops that the problem with the trans is, they weren't designed properly (under engineered), and don't fail in the same way every time so no recall.
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    I think you're out of luck then. The GM database will always show that truck as a federal emissions vehicle, not a Cali. If DMV runs the VIN, it will come up as a federal.

    kcram - Pickups Host
  • wade23wade23 Member Posts: 1
    i have a 2000 silverado 1500 that has 54,000 miles on it, and it is havein trouble starting after it is warm.. but starts right up in the morning... i see you said somethin about maybe its the temp sensor, did that fix your problem?
    if so where is the sensor so i can change mine as well.. thanks..
    wade
  • 2jnelvis2jnelvis Member Posts: 7
    mine is a 98 with a 5.7 vortec. when it first started I only had a little problem getting it started but kept getting harder. my fuel mileage dropped and had black smoke from running rich. the temp sensor is located on top in the front just below the thermostat. to check this unhook the connector and check voltage between the two wires. you should have 5volts. if this is good check the ohms on the sensor when the engine is cold reconnect the sensor start the truck and let it warm up then check the ohms again. at 68 deg the ohms should be about 3520 at 86 they should be 2238 at 140 they should be 668 and at 194 deg they should be 240 ohms. I suggest you check this out before buying the sensor.
  • jwselbyjwselby Member Posts: 1
    Take it to the dealer and have the computer reprogrammed. They will charge you about $40 and it doesn't make a lot of sense but it works. The way it was explained to me was that the computer doesn't tell the compressor to turn on when it is suppose to.
  • kelly_00kelly_00 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2000 Silverado 1500. 4.3 liter V6. Right now when I start it in the morning it starts fine but when I try and accelerate it doens't want to move. The entire truck shakes and sometimes it will die completely. If I put it in reverse about 50% of the time it will die also. I have had it put on a diagnostic but nothing showed up even though the service engine soon light was on. This problem only happens when it's been sitting for a long time and after it warms up it runs like a champ. Any ideas on what the problem could be? A friend of mine said it could be the spark plugs but I am thinking that's not the problem. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
  • petel2404petel2404 Member Posts: 2
    hey you will have to find out what makes it compliant from a dealership in your area and have them run an emmisssions check and it sould tell you what you have to change to make it compliant. Most liky youl need a new cadalitic converter
  • kelly_00kelly_00 Member Posts: 2
    To override the parking lights simply pump the dome override button a few times until the dash beeps at you. It will allow you to control all of your lights. In order to reverse this simply repeat the process. Good luck and I hope this helps.
  • jake357jake357 Member Posts: 3
    just wondering if any one could recommend the best way to level my 00 extended cab 1500 2wd. the front end sags about 2.5 inches lower than the rear. took it to a shop, but they said i would need a whole new front suspension, and that it would really cost me. i would like it to have the lift of a Z71 but not cost me a small fortune. any help would be appreciated
  • rayt2rayt2 Member Posts: 1,208
    I don't know of any adjustment to raise the front end on the 2wd models, the 4x4's have been done quite often by posters on this site however but it's a whole different set-up over the 2wd trucks. The pitch of the truck is intended so with the rated load the truck is not dragging it's tailend on the road. Were it may not look "cool" it has an intended purpose. I suggest a lift kit if you just can't stand the "look" but you will not need " a whole new front suspension" as suggested by the shop you took it to.

    Ray T. :shades:
  • rolandtrolandt Member Posts: 1
    Need some help with brake problems on my 2004 chevy 1500 silverado. Having problems with peddle going to the floor board with no brakes unless I pump the peddle. No ABS light comes on and I don't here the unit come on either. Has happened at least 12 times since new 12/20/03. Chevy service says that brakes are normal and they find nothing wrong every time I have been into dealer. My problem is that I pull a 21 ft. boat with surge brakes on the trailer that only work when the towing vehicles brakes work. I have 19,000 miles on it and have been lucky so far. I have been towing the boat with my 78 chevy wagon with good brakes. The problem seems to occur when temp. is below 50 degrees outside.The problem is very intermittant. Any serviceman or owner with answer to this problem would greatly be appreciated. I am thinking something wrong with master cylinder like bad "O" rings. Chevy customer service pretty much told me, "IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT. Pretty good for a $33.000 vehicle. Won't be buying any more GM products. Thanks for any come backs.
  • lhesslhess Member Posts: 379
    too often. About the speedometer, dealer ordered one, national backorder, finally got it after nearly 45 days (fun driving with no speedo) and they replaced it.
  • jjuarezjjuarez Member Posts: 3
    Hope you guys can help here. My truck randomly refuses to start and the security light on the dash flashes. Called Chevy roadside, said it will always reset if given time. That was comforting. Does it a lot. If I had a dime for every time,I could finance my next tank of gas. Hate it at the pumps or when I need to get to work!
    Note that when the blessed light burns steady on the dash, the truck will start but the system is disabled, also comforting. I live in the sticks and don't mind the disable thing, but this refusing to start isn't working well for me.(It's a long way to work from here) Apparently the system, when enabled, cuts the fuel to the engine. Any way I can just keep the *#$^ thing in the "disable mode" ? I tried to pull the fuse, since it seems to work with other problems,temporarily. No dice. Engine won't even click!
    Some of these solutions above are amazing. Can anyone fascinate me on this one? :confuse:
  • radio4radio4 Member Posts: 2
    I drive a 2001 Silverado 4.8 size of engine. With 26Km on the engine.Recently while driving the "battery display" will stay on for a few seconds then go off. The cycle repeats every 4-7 seconds but never stays constantly on. A check with my FLUKE VOM while the engine is operating shows the alternator reads 14.25 volts at the battery terminals with minor changes of +.2 volts.
    The OEM battery "green" eye indicator is green with 12.4Vdc open curcuit and raises to 14.26 vdc when the truck engine is operating.The meter shows a good DC with next to nothing AC from the alternator P lead to the batterey
    Any ideas on how to fix.
  • edmundsuseredmundsuser Member Posts: 1
    This just started for me this weekend, twice..brake pedal goes to the floor, truck seems to keep rolling, I have to pump the pedal to get it to stop. 2002 silverado with 35k on it. Warm day, about 78 degrees. Had been driving around awhile.
  • rayt2rayt2 Member Posts: 1,208
    Try the "Maitenanace & Repair" board with these problems (copy and paste the question from here to that board) Put the question out to user named "Opatience" he seems to be pretty good with helping out on problems. He does not visit this board though.

    Copy and paste his response once you get it to this board.

    Good Luck

    Ray T. :shades:
  • roughneckroughneck Member Posts: 21
    ihess

    I had my speedo replaced too free of charge. When I had mine done in march the dealer told me of many people with the same problem and it was taking months to get the parts. Maybee Chevy should send out a recall.
  • paintedpainted Member Posts: 1
    I have a 96 Chevy p/u with Vortec 8. Over past 3 months, sometimes I go out the truck will start and sometimes it just keeps turning but won't crank. A year ago, the check engine lite came on and they told me it was the crank shaft position sensor, put a new one in but we never could get the check engine lite to go out. Over the past 3 months, we have put a new fuel pump on the truck, a new ignition module, another crank shaft position sensor and today again it has decided not to crank. Has anybody had this problem or have any suggestions. I can't afford to keep taking it to the repair shop, the mechanic finally said he was experimenting by swapping out parts until the truck cranked. I have talked to several other automotive repair shops and most of them don't want to touch the truck.
  • 2jnelvis2jnelvis Member Posts: 7
    Does this always happen with the same key and did you have this key cut? The security system takes a reading from the key and this could be giving some problems. When I put in my remote start I had to bye and install a device that copies the key signature to start it without a key.
  • silverado2001silverado2001 Member Posts: 2
    The dealer says it is the EBCM (electronic break control module) which I believe it most likely is, but they also said it was leaking coolant, and it is not. To have the dealer fix it would cost about $1K. I have been looking into doing it myself. There are people who rebuild the modules, and from what I understand, you do not have to open the hydraulics to do it. It is in a tight place on top of the ABS pump. The low coolant light was due to slightly low fluid level (my fault). The fuel gage will have to wait.
  • bigzt88bigzt88 Member Posts: 4
    Hi all....

    Well, I figured out what the "odd" sounds were coming from my truck. It turns out that I had an exhaust leak. I got a glass pack (on my 89 silverado...v8) hooked to a y pipe with duals. It sounds pretty good. It isnt to loud, but it has a nice compressed growl. It was what I was looking for. Anyway, I am wondering what I should do next.

    I am wanting to make this a racing truck. The only problem is that I have an automatic transmission, and am afraid of putting on things like super chargers and what not. I dont want to screw anything up, ya know?

    As far as looks go, I was wanting to scoop my hood. I was told that this was very stupid to do unless you had something to fit in there....Because it would slow the performance of your truck down.

    So what can I do to make my truck a racing truck...It is basically stock, and it can haul. I killed a v6 cheyenne the other night....It really surprised everyone, and was told with just a few mods, my truck could be an awesome truck to take to the strip.

    Any suggestions?
  • rayt2rayt2 Member Posts: 1,208
    Go here http://www.absfixer.com/
    If your mechanically adapt you can do this yourself. The ABS module is under the truck on drivers side frame rail. D.I.Y instructions are on the website also.

    Ray T. :shades:
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