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I own a 2014 Chevy Silverado Double Cab 4x4 Z71 and wanted to share my experience as I approach 30K. When I first bought this truck it was great. I like the features, the ride, very smooth driving characteristics and overall design. Then the recalls started and so far I have had four performed that I know of. I also started noticing some issues that made me feel as if the 10K off MSRP I received was not enough of a discount. Below is recap and assessment of some issues I have seen in the last year and a half of ownership. 1. Paint- too thin and the appearance is blotchy, I am currently having some issues with adhesion as I watch the paint peel off the lower driver and passenger door, this will be covered under the warranty according to the body shop. 2. Recalls- mostly minor but I am sure as time goes on these recalls will increase in severity and inconvenience. GM should extend the bumper to bumper warranty, by a certain amount of time/milage, per recall. 3. Vibrations- there are several issues in this area. Tires are number one in my experience, then the v4 AFM mode and lastly the drivetrain are all sources for these vibrations. But if you look at the numbers on this site and do the math this seems to be an issue that only effects .5%-1% of trucks out there. Even with these statistics in some cases the vibrations have been eleminated. 4. Interior- nice to look at and touch but quality is a C+. Constant snap, crackle, pop, sounds heard mostly caused by thermo expansion and contraction. Then there are the rattles that are caused from cheap clips and loose components. One solution is to take everything apart and use dampening materials (carpet padding/expanding foam/electrical tape) to fill in void spaces and eleminate rattles. 5. Electrical- there are inconsistencies in the way the electronics perform. The radio sometimes emits a static/buzz sound through the speakers when I open the driver door. The bluetooth is temperamental, and the security locking feature sometimes has a delay. 6. Powertrain- GM has some work to do here. From the slip yolk clunk to the G80 rearend backlash knock, this area of the truck needs to be refined and shored up. There was also a leafspring knock that I had to deal with for awhile that I resolved by properly torquing the u-bolts. Even with all this I give this truck a "B-" grade. The 5.3 ecotec MGP along with HP/Torque numbers, the 100k powertrain warranty/36k three year bumper to bumper, and overall performance including towing/hauling make up for some of these issues. I would recommend this vehicle to others but if you are looking take your time and test drive this for a weekend and look for these issues. There are some that are better than others and this is the number one thing when looking at MSRP/resale value.

I'm into hypermiling. Most times, my gas mileage is better than EPA's. Rarely, it's not. My 2004 Audi A4's EPA had 30 mpg highway and my average was 36 after over 1,000 miles despite 20% being city. Then it was a new 2008 Benz C300 that supposedly got 26 mpg according to EPA but I could barely get 24 out of it. Tires were properly inflated, but other owners said that it was common. A lousy 177-hp V6! The Audi had 170-hp. I learned not to trust the EPA numbers. I suspect they use soccer moms who keep both feet on both pedals simultaneously. Then I had the new 2012 Ford F-150 4x4 with a 365-hp V8 that got me 22 mpg on the highway, not too bad since EPA's estimate was 19 mpg highway. When I got a new 2016 with the same V-8, with the power slightly increased at 385-hp, my gas mileage average was initially 20, but dropped to 17 after I added a shell on it. I thought a shell would help but a lot of forums didn't agree. I didn't use the computer, I measured the gas since Ford's tend to be around 5% to 8% optimistic while Chevrolet's is usually spot-on (that was what I read and have been told). The 2019 Silverado supposedly has the lowest wind resistance of all the pick-up trucks. EPA numbers show 22 mpg on the highway. My last trip was 28 mpg, not bad for a 355-hp V8. I don't think the engine revs at over 1,500 whilst going 60 mph. I am almost sure I can do better than 28 mpg because about 10 to 20% of that was in stop and go traffic. I am not adding a shell for sure, don't want to mess it up. I thought the Z71 package would make the gas mileage worse with the slightly more aggressive tires since wind resistance is a big factor. Getting 28 surprised me, I'm very happy with the fuel economy. I am old school, am still leery towards small quad-turbo charged engines. I read about owners disabling the troublesome active fuel management which resulted in almost no difference in gas mileage, but since Chevrolet did a lot of quality control on the 2019 dynamic fuel management, I don't expect that to be a problem. Has anybody achieved better gas mileage? No going downhill, just on a flat surface going 60. Just about everybody who doesn't own one or doesn't watch the gas mileage would say a tonneau cover helps, but Mythbusters disagreed, along with several who own trucks with tonneau covers.