Search the Community

Anyone else with a new 2014 Sierra having an issue with the frame rusting and paint/wax flaking off? I have 3000 kms and it looks horrible. I also own a 2011 Canyon service truck with 105kms and the frame looks like new. So irriating as my Sierra is a beautiful truck aside

Zane Merva Executive Editor / Publisher, GM-Trucks.com April 12th, 2019 A few months ago we started to notice something on our 2019 Silverado that no owner of a brand new vehicle wants to see. Rust. Specifically on our rear bumper, just around the plastic step. It wasn't huge and didn't spread very far from the edge... but we couldn't stop noticing it. There was no excuse for rust on a 8 month old vehicle with less than 10,000 miles. The photo above shows the minimal but noticeable rust patch. It was even happening on both sides and in the same place. The issue seemed odd. Unfortunately, we've just been too busy to bring it by to our local dealership for them to look at. Lucky for us, our procrastination has paid off, because in the time between us first noticing the problem and getting off our lazy asses to drive to our dealer, GM has released a TSB about this very issue. It appears that on most of the early trucks, production of the bumper was completed incorrectly. The steel assemblies should be bent into shape then chrome plated. But that didn't happen in a small part of the early bumpers. The supplier bent the area around the side step after the bumper was chromed. The new folds in the steel damaged the chrome, cracking it and making the truck susceptible to rusting. What's the fix? If your bumper is rusting already, Chevy and GMC will replace it. If it has not yet started to rust, they will apply an automotive grade wax/sealant to prevent rust in the future. If you're unsure if your 2019 has this issue we suggest doing the following: 1. Give your truck a bath for heavens sake! 2. Clean the rear bumper step area with a hose or pressure washer. Front and back! We find lots of dirt collects behind our step in the bumper assembly. 3. Inspect around the foot step area and behind the foot step area. We found rust in both areas! 4. If in doubt, wait for it to rust and kindly ask for a new rear bumper. Our dealership, Banks Chevrolet in Concord, NH has been great getting our rust issue fixed. Our service adviser Justin has kept us in the loop during the repair and gave us a loaner Silverado LT while they have our truck. He even made sure any other outstanding service updates are also applied to our LTZ while it was in the shop. As it turned out, there were six open issues that needed addressed. Here's the official Service Update you can print out and bring to your dealer when you take your Silverado or Sierra in for service.

Tale of woe with my Chevy Silverado, If you don’t want to read this entire tale of woe then let me sum it up here. Your Chevy truck may rust out to the point of being pulled off the road because of rust in as little as 84,000 miles making it a loss for resale or trade in. I’ve had a Chevrolet Silverado since 2003. I purchased it new. It is an automatic V8 Z71. The off road sport model. This story isn’t about the multitude of issues that it has had regarding brakes, brake lines, rotors, wheel hubs, and bearings. No, that’s another story. Back in 2003 I worked out a price, with trade in of about $23,000. Since then, and as of this writing 2014, I’ve put in about $7000 of non maintenance work and parts into it. Yes, it’s going on 11 years old now but it’s only got 84,000 miles on it and it pretty much looks near new from about ten feet away. The other day I took it to my service station for an oil change and inspection. It seems that the frame is rusted out so much that an inspection sticker is impossible. The recommendation is to get rid of it as repair of the frame would be expensive as the rust is widespread and affects cross members that are pivot points. So, I’m stuck with a truck that looks great on the outside but has a rusted frame that makes it ‘junk’ status in a trade-in and unsellable privately as it’s not inspected.The vehicle has what I figure as half of it’s mileage. I’d expect to get at least 160,000 miles instead of the 84,000 it currently has. Why? Because even though I do live in the snow belt in Maine where road salt is used. I have a Tahoe that is 14 years old, has 164,000 miles on it (double the mileage), has been driven in the same area and housed in the same garage and has a frame that has a few years left in it. I called GM. All I’ll say is that I got a case number and promise of being called back. That never happened. I called and got another case number as there was no record of the first with the promise of a call back. That didn’t happen. I took it to a chevy dealer, on my own, who lifted it and documented the issue. They called GM and I was promised a call from them. That didn’t happen. I called again. My case number was classified as ‘issue resolved’. My last tussle with GM was a flat “you’re over warranty so there’s nothing we can do”. Two weeks to get that final answer. So what was I hoping for? A deal on a new vehicle? Some repair funding? An apology? Anything would have been okay. In looking for a new truck last week I did find out that Toyota had a horrendous frame rusting issue in some trucks from 2001-2004. What did they do about it? Up until 2012 they volunteered owners of these vehicles a new frame installed at Toyota’s expense or 150% blue book value of the vehicle. Thousands of truck owners were contacted and restitution was made. What about after 2012? They will still come to some restitution on a case by case basis as long as you own the vehicle. So, a warning. If you’ve got a GM vehicle and have been happy with it like I have with my older tahoe, well that’s wonderful. But, the next GM vehicle you purchase could be great or it could be a disaster that will drain your bank account and cause you to have to purchase a new vehicle before you’re ready. With GM, It’s a crap shoot. Other notes: Notice driving/headlights out on cars as they pass. Most are GM. (my truck loses them all the time. Look for used trucks on Craigslist. You’ll see a bunch. 2/3 of them a Chevys. When I see someone in a parking lot with a Silverado truck that is about the same year as mine I ask about it. I hear the same tale of woe.

Hey everyone I have abit of a issue with a Sierra I bought, I found some rust under the weather stripping at the bottom of the driver side door.. does anyone have any knowledge on how to fix this? Or how much it would cost to fix in a shop?? thanks

Hello all, I was cleaning my truck out this spring and noticed I was missing a few plugs for the holes that are located on the inside of the fenders (wheel wells) above the rear wheels. Any idea where I can buy these? Is there a part number? See pictures

Whats the best undercoating or rust prevetor in your opinion?

Hey All! New to the site and new Chevrolet owner. I have a 17' Silverado in the Scar'e blue (or deep ocean metallic) Anyway its new to me but only has 30000kms (18700 miles) on it and I seem to notice the paint is weak! I have a ton of scratches on the rockers where the pervious owner must of dragged his feet to get it and even on my box right after the mud guard where its rocker guarded, i;ve noticed chips. Now its cold here in northern Ontario, but I bought a paint pen and spring is around the corner anyways! Do any of you have this issue of weak paint? and if so do any of you know about the strength of the primer (like will it take a while to rust?) Thanks !!!

This post was about preventing rust on fenders. I did not get much response so will be reposting in another thread.

Hi all, I have seen several threads in the past where people asked about repairing the wax coating on their frame. This may be nice for others to know. I recently took my ride in to have a good once over before my 36 month warranty expired. No real issues with the truck at all. My frame had rust on it, but I didn't think it was that excessive for living in WI. But I asked about it when I was there. To my shock, they volunteered to repair the rust spots and re-coat it under warranty. Here's some before photos of my frame: