poconojoe

After further research I've found that basically we would have to replace that whole HVAC panel. I've read that the panel costs about $130. Some say it was not a difficult job. For me, I'll just live with it. Everything does work. Only one button is not back-lit.

2019 Silverado LD, legacy body. Basically it's the same as a 2018. My defrost button began flickering at night and now it doesn't light up at all. The defrost works fine and the little yellow light showing the defrost is on works fine, but the defrost symbol on the button just doesn't light up at night. Everything else on the panel is lit. Is there an (old school) light bulb behind that button? If so, how do I get to it? Or maybe the button itself needs to be replaced? Does the button just pop out or do I have to pull the face of the HVAC instrument cluster? Thanks, Joe

Someone dropped off some huge chunks of tree trunks at my daughter's house. These things had a diameter of like 4 feet! They were tremendous. Her friend cut them up with his tiny electric chainsaw, a few wedges and a sledge hammer! I couldn't believe it. It took him a long time, but he eventually got them cut up to fit in the wood splitter.

I'm sure your 12" chainsaw is super lightweight due to it's size and the fact that it's electric. You'd be surprised what you can do with a 12" chainsaw. I had a 16" (gas) that I needed to replace. I made the mistake by replacing it with a 20" (gas) thinking I should go bigger. I kind of regret it because the 20" is much heavier.

Thanks for the great replies. I'm gonna have to go there and see what the octane is. I might have been mistaken that it was 88. From what you guys are saying, it's more likely higher. I'm seriously thinking about using it in my 5.3L Silverado. It's only 53 cents more a gallon. The handle for the ethanol free is blue and it's next to the green diesel handle on the left side of the pump. The normal ethanol handles (87, 89, 93 octane) are on the right side of the pump.

@rav3 Thanks for the quuck reply. When you say most ethanol gas where you live is high test, did mean to say most ethanol FREE is high test? Or no? Because we have ethanol in most of our gas. 87, 89, 93. It's very rare to see ethanol free here in Pennsylvania. Now that it's available, I will definitely be using ethanol free in my boat this coming season. It has a GM 4.3L V6 from 2003.

2019 Silverado LD (Legacy body), 4x4, 5.3L There's a new Wawa by me that sells ethanol free gas. I don't recall the octane, but I think its 88. It's 53 cents more a gallon compared to 87 octane regular E10. What are everyone's thoughts on using this in my 5.3L? Pluses? minuses? I've read that it won't hurt my engine. It's said that it might even produce slightly better gas mileage. I basically more concerned with the moisture attraction that ethanol is known for. I don't drive as much as I used to. My truck is 3 years old and only has 16,000+ miles on the clock.

Everything seems fine do far.

Hope this is in the right section. I didn't see an electrical section. Just replaced the battery in my 2019 1500 LD 4x4 5.3L. K2 legacy body, basically same as 2014-2018. I reset all the obvious stuff like the clock to sync with my cellphone, my DIC pages, some settings in the infotainment center, etc. However, I was watching a scotty video online and he said some vehicle computers may still think your old battery was there and will charge your new battery as if it was the old one. He said this could overcharge your new battery and shorten it's life. Is this true? Or more so is it true for our trucks? Thanks! Joe

Is my original battery covered under the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty? I have less than a month left! I'll have to call the dealer tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply. I know...I shouldn't procrastinate. As soon as we get a dry day, I'll hook up a charger. Its snowing out right now. I'm just surprised this battery is having issues already. I have to look for the build date of my truck. I think it may be on the door jamb, but I'm not sure. And since it's a 2019 LD, it was probably built in 2018. So it's coming up on 5 years, so that's not really unheard of for the end life of a battery, I guess. Thank goodness for the email warning from GM though. That was a surprising plus. And I'm not even paying for any onstar plans. It's just the standard maintenance you get when you buy the truck.

I got an email stating my battery was in a "low state of charge". That I should drive it or use a battery charger. Truck is 2019 Silverado LD 4x4 double cab with 5.3L. Has 15,000 miles on the clock. I bought it new in January 2020. I drove it a few times after the warning and it seemed fine. When I start it the volt meter in the dash is slightly past the center (center is 14 volts) and after driving for 10-15 minutes the needle centers to 14 volts. Does this seem normal? Is my battery dying already? Should I get a new battery and not take a chance with winter already here in Pennsylvania?

Every socket I beat on it just sheared off when turning it. Easily too. The metal was just crap. I'm sure it would have grabbed if it was made of actual steel. I even thought about welding a nut onto it, but it was just really crap metal. Good point about the salt getting in them. We get our share of salted roads. Combine that with an overzealous "mechanic" with an impact gun and you get a nightmare.

Thanks for the info! I did try exactly what you said. I beat a few different types of sockets onto it. Even tried 6 point vs 12 point. Standard sockets, impact sockets. I picked up a set of those bolt removal sockets. Nothing worked. What type of socket do you think would work best?

Oh, and if you have the old school clicker type torque wrench, be sure to turn it down to it's lowest setting before putting it away.

A friend of mine recently had a problem with a lug nut on his Jeep Liberty. Some shop overtorqued it. When attempting to loosen it, the head of the lug nut was basically soft chrome and it just shredded. Of course, the rest of it was seized in there. It didn't help that Chrysler made crappy lug nuts. They are steel inside, but the nut part itself was just a peeling chrome cap. A lot of manufacturers have this now. They care more about shiny chrome than strength. Three people gave their best to get it out to no avail. We tried those backward easy-out things for rounded nuts. We tried heat and penetrating oil. We tried everything. One of his friends took an acetylene torch to it. He got it off, but the wheel was destroyed. Moral if the story....if they had used a torque wrench, he wouldn't have had this nightmare to deal with.

I'd rather do the time consuming thing (torque to spec) than worry about compromising the integrity of any component. Safety is always paramount. The torque value on some of those bolts for the brakes are only 20-30 ft. Pounds, if that. One can easily overtighten them, especially when not knowing the proper torque value. Manufacturers specify torque values for a reason. It's not supposed to be guesswork. Threads, metals, etc. have stretching and breaking points. Am I being over cautious? I don't think so. It's just the proper thing to do.

And...tighten the lug nuts in increments and rotate with opposing sides to make sure even torque is applied. I start by snugging them by hand, then torque them all with my torque wrench at half the value. Again, doing one, then do the opposite one, continuing around. Then, after that I go to the full torque value.

Torquing lug nuts is absolutely necessary for many reasons. If you go to shop and notice they don't use a torque wrench, say something and find another shop. And that also goes for 99% of all bolts, nuts, etc. on any vehicle!!! Doing a brake job? Grab that torque wrench! Torque values are given for several reasons. You don't want to overtighten, undertighten, unevenly tighten, strip threads, break bolts......

Are you sure you are not interpreting the law incorrectly? 2+ means two or more occupants. I could be wrong, but I don't think it means every seatbelt needs an occupant. Signs should be posted, clearly explaining the requirements. Every HOV lane I've come across clearly posted the requirements. I've never seen one that requires more than 2, but I don't doubt that some do require 3. I doubt the amount of seatbelts has anything to do with it. It's all about the occupants. I wouldn't remove any seatbelts. That sounds like it would violate safety laws.

Thanks for the reply. Everything illuminates. I'm still here, just haven't had a chance to mess with it. When I do, i will update.

Maybe I'm messing it up some how by playing around with it too much. Some good ideas here.

Thanks for the replies guys! Nothing blocking the sensor. I'm adamant about clutter in my vehicles. There's zero clutter....anywhere. So, your saying if I mess with it during the day, it won't dim later. I'm assuming if the truck is turned off, it will reset. I thought maybe there was a setting buried in the menu somewhere, but I couldn't find anything. Maybe a choice of manual or auto dash dimming. Funny.....I noticed during my search that there are a lot of people that hate the auto dimming dash! I think it depends on where you drive. I'm guessing city folks don't need the dash dimmed at night since there are street lights everywhere. But us rural folks are in complete darkness, so the dash can be blinding if too bright.

This is a 2019 Silverado LD with LT trim. Basically a K2, since it's an LD. The dash is blinding at night. I have to lower the level with the thumb knob near the light switch. My 2016 Colorado automatically dimmed the dash at night, but this truck is not auto dimming the dash. I looked through the infotainment menus and can't find anything related to this. Am I missing something? Or doesn't this truck do that? Thanks!

You only need the brake controller if you are pulling a trailer that has either straight out electric brakes or electric over hydraulic brakes. A lot of trailers have self activating hydraulic surge brakes in which you don't need a brake controller. You could buy an aftermarket brake controller if you ever need it. I don't know about our trucks, but my daughter's Ram had a jack under the dash by the steering wheel to connect an aftermarket controller. So, it was pretty much plug and play. We did have to order the correct harness to match the truck model.