2014 Chevrolet Silverado 15 Total Issues & One Bad Dealership

cpedrow13 · April 4, 2015

In regards to my 2014 Chevrolet Silverado which was purchased from Silver Star Chevrolet in Thousand Oaks, CA in March of 2014. I have experienced many issues with this vehicle since the time of purchase, many of which still exist despite it’s many visits to Silver Star. My Silverado was lifted by Silver Star Chevrolet through DSI (Dealer Services International) through whom an additional warranty was provided to cover any part of the GM warranty which would be considered void because of the lift. However at the time of purchase none of this was explained to me. In fact I was told that in addition to the GM warranty which was still in place DSI was warranting the aftermarket parts installed on my vehicle. Time and time again I have brought my truck back to Silver Star to try and resolve some of the outstanding issues. However each time I have returned I am told that the issues are being caused by aftermarket parts which have been installed on the truck and that I should deal with 4 Wheel Parts to get it fixed. After becoming fed up with Silver Star and their business practices I chose to take my truck to Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, CA who was extremely customer oriented and I truly believe that they had a desire to fix my truck however they were not able to recreate every issue and codes weren’t being thrown to tell them where to look. Because of Silver Star Chevrolet’s incompetence and their unwillingness to fix my truck I turned to GM customer care in Detroit, Michigan. I was assigned a customer service representative by the name of Michael (who can be reached at (866) 790-5700 – ext 21442) he is polite and courteous however, he’s also ineffective. I’ve now been dealing with GM customer care since February 24, 2014 with many phone calls but no results. As a result of my communications with GM customer care I have come to understand that GM has no authority over individual dealerships based on their own statements. In addition GM customer care has refused to implement any written communication with me and will not copy me on any correspondence regarding my case despite my numerous request. As you can imagine I am extremely frustrated at the whole situation and I simply want an acceptable resolution to my case. The total purchase price of my truck was just over 55,000.00, for this price I should have a truck that works well with no issues after all it is a new truck.

So in regards to the issues I have experienced with my truck since the time of purchase.

When I purchased the truck the installed tire calibrator would not allow the truck to shift under full acceleration. This has been fixed.
From time to time I have experienced unintended acceleration. Fortunately I’m quick on the peddle and have been able to break each time. This issue was duplicated at Silver Star Chevrolet however it was not addressed.
Since I have purchased the truck I have experienced a vibration in the rear differential under half to full acceleration. It feels like there’s a jack hammer in my rear differential and at times it’s so bad that I’m confident that the entire rear differential is going to break off from under the truck. This is sporadic. This issue was duplicated at Silver Star Chevrolet however it was not addressed.
On one occasion Silver Star readjusted my rear leaf springs claiming that this was causing the problem in the rear differential however this only caused the leaf springs to squeak all the time. In addition the rear differential continued to act up as it has since the purchase of the truck. Since then Silver Star addressed the squeaking however it still happens from time to time.
Recently the motor has begun to shake as if it has a misfire or a broken mount somewhere. At times the vibrations are minimal and or even appear to be nonexistent however at other times the truck will shake so bad that its as if I have a vibrator under my seat. This issue was duplicated at Silver Star Chevrolet however it was not addressed.
The blower motor on the air conditioning system acts up from time to time and will not blow at full blast. Silver Star claims that they performed a recall on this and that it should be fixed however this is not the case. In addition to that issue I have experienced issues with the temperature sensors in the system. From time to time the air conditioner has read out at 70 degrees while the system is blowing much closer to 85 degrees. Keyes claimed that they preformed a recall on this as well however this too is still happening. On Tuesday 02/31/14 my climate control knobs were reading out at 70 degrees however the temperature was much closer to 90. When I pressed the power button the screen read off however the system continued to blow full blast, this happened 4 times before the system powered off.
On Friday 02/27/15 my trucks ambient temperature gauge read out at 32 degrees however I happen to know that outside temperature that day in Newbury Park, CA was around 88 degrees. This has happened about 5 times since I purchased the truck.
Since the purchase of the truck the traction control and ABS systems have been a constant annoyance going off all of the time. However I believe that Keyes has fixed this for good. : )
I believe that the motor in my seat is going out, on several occasions I have been able to adjust my seat down however it has either refused to come back up or moved extremely slowly. This issue was duplicated at Silver Star Chevrolet however it was not addressed.
On one occasion my screen in my truck green screened and afterwards my camera was very blurry for about a week and from time to time I still experience sporadic blurriness.
On one occasion I parked my truck and locked my steering wheel in place. When I returned to my truck and tried to unlock my steering wheel by applying slight pressure and turning my key the entire steering column turned 90 degrees! This issue was addressed by Silver Star however I’m not confident that it has been fixed.
On many occasions I have experienced transmission slippage when applying slight pressure on the accelerator in both forward and reverse.
Frequently the headlights dim when changing from forward to reverse or from reverse to forward.
While accelerating, turning or any time the truck is in motion the drivers seat appears to be lose. A recall was performed on this and it appears to be fixed.
On many occasions my stereos volume jumps around. For example I will be listening to a song and turn the volume up to max however I only get half volume. And a few songs later the system starts working properly again and ill get full volume. It could be a bad amplifier.

In conclusion this is my first Chevrolet Silverado and my second Chevrolet all together. Before purchasing my truck I owned a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS which I loved and had zero issues with. My experience with my Chevrolet Silverado has been miserable at best. I have told anyone and everyone that would lend ear of my experience with this truck and what to expect from Silver Star. At this point I have determined to peruse the lemon law given that my truck has so many issues that are unresolved. However because of the lift I beginning to find out that this too will be an up hill battle. My hope is that Chevrolet would to what I believe to be right and replace my truck with an unmodified vehicle that I can expect to work properly.

Any thoughts email me at [email protected]

JoeyM · April 4, 2015

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-consumers/motor-vehicles/got-a-problem/faulty-or-defective-vehicles#steps

Hope this link helps. May have to copy and paste.

pm26 · April 4, 2015

This link is from New Zealand. While the overall strategy may be applicable, their car consumer laws are probably different.

Ron.s · April 5, 2015

Wow, I thought mine was bad. I had the same experience with Detroit Exec Referral dept. Ultimately they communicate with the District Manager for your region and he/she calls the shots.

Suggestions: 1. Better Business Bureau-file a complaint. Google BBB auto complaint. 2. State Attorney General's Office-most states have a Lemon Law. 3. Attorney.

I've been expecting some pi$$ed off attorney with one of these trucks to start a class action....

cpedrow13 · April 5, 2015

Thank you Ron.S I will be addressing this in those avenues as well. I'm actually really surprised that anyon took the time to read my entire post. In addition I have been consulting with a lemon law attorney however the process is complicated do to the lift. But as I understand it they intend to sue the Silver Star directly for fraud.

cpedrow13 · April 5, 2015

In addition that very same dealership was sued by an attorney who bought one of their lifted trucks and he won. So I know it's possible it will just take some time and research.