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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.