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John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 5-8-2018 Our friends at CarComplaints provide a unique service. The site acts as a place where owners with problems can report those problems in detail to the site, thus alerting other shoppers and owners. Having now logged owner complaints since 1983, the site has created a very useful database of glitches, goof-ups, and SNAFUs that owner can turn to in order to see if the problem they are experiencing is unique to them, and a one-off issue, or a known problem, hopefully with a known remedy. We looked closely at the data posted by the site for the Chevrolet Silverado to see which year Silverado since the year 2000 has had the most problems and the least. Before we draw our conclusions, there are a few things to know about how CarComplaints ranks the years and their issues. First, the year with the most overall complaints is noted. Next, the year that the site feels is the “worst” due to the nature and duration of the problem, and finally, the site also specifically names the single worst problem. We are going to run through all three. In the case of the Silverado, which we now call the “1500”, there are two sets of data, due to the way Chevy named the truck in the past. Without further qualifications, here we go: Worst Silverado Year Since 2000 – 2004 & 2008 The ’04 Silverado had the most complaints. The top three categories for problems with the ’04 were Interior Accessories, Steering Issues, and Electrical Issues. Broken speedometers and messed up gauge clusters were among the most common issues. The speedometers broke most often at around 64,000 miles and the average repair cost was about $440. Which truck is the “worst year” is somewhat subjective. Here are some facts that are not subjective about the 2004 Silverado: 615 TSBs, 15 Recalls, 1 NHTSA Investigation. The ’04 Silverado earns CarComplaints’ “Beware Of the Clunker” stamp. Worst Individual Problem since 2000 – Excessive Oil Consumption, 2007 The Worst single problem reported by Silverado owners occurred in 2007. In that year excessive oil consumption was reported frequently. It typically occurred at about 66,000 miles, and the problem’s repair costs averaged over $3,500. Overall, CarComplaints named the 2008 Silverado worst overall due to the compilation of problems and associated repair costs. Worst Year Since 2012 – 2014 In 2014, the Silverado had the most complaints. AC problems and interior accessories were the most commonly-reported issues. However, over the full span of the 2012-present day Silverado, CarComplaints names Transmission Problems as the vehicle’s top problem. The ’14 Silverado had 17 recalls and 1,942 TSBs. Worst Problem Since 2012 – 2017 Silverado 1500 For Surges and Jerks This problem typically happened around 3,500 miles. Owner Mark B. summed up the problems best, saying, “Same as others, new 2017 1500 Silverado, jerks, surges, during acceleration. Now and then I get a loud thud in the rear like I got rear-ended. Dealer first acted like they never heard of this issue but I confronted them with TSB bulletins and multiple complaints online. Then they took the approach of “we are aware but there is no fix” they say they are waiting on a GM tune to fix the issue but have no idea when. RIDICULOUS.” Which Silverado Had The Least Complaints? This is somewhat driven by data collection and popularity of the truck as time passed, but the 2012 and 2016 both look like the years with the least complaints relative to the rest of the years the truck was made.