Interior Fit And Finish Questions

[wayland1985]

I went to the New England Auto Show today (and I'll be going back on Sunday... Didn't want to overwhelm the girlfriend too much on Sunday so I went by myself for a "preview"), and played around with the Silverado and Tundra (top two trucks on my shopping list).

 

 

I'm a little concerned about the interior fit and finish, especially on the LTZ models.

 

1: There seems to be a lot of the plastic panels that are quite thin. They have a lot of give to them, and it seems like they may creak, rattle, or fall off at some point in time. Are you guys hearing a lot of creaking/squeaking from the dash (My 99 had an annoying squeak that drove me bonkers)???

 

Some areas of concern were the areas around the passenger airbag, and the "wood" trim above the radio.

 

 

2: The center console felt like it was glued in! There was no rigidity to it at all! Any problems with it getting looser or breaking off???

 

3: This one killed me: I like the soft-touch door panel arm rests, but the rubber seems poorly installed. One of the models (an LT) actually had the rubber around the horizontal door handle peeled off. I pick at things a lot, so it concerns me that the Rubber may eventually come off. Anybody have any issues with the rubber on the door panels coming off?

 

4: The switches for 4WD and the headlights feel great in the hand... But they look flimsy. There's a lot of play in them when you wiggle them a little. And when you move the selector to the DRL Off (I think) position, there's all kinds of play.

 

 

5: If you squeeze the inner and outer door panel (with the window down) there's a lot of movement and give.

 

 

 

I think those are the major points I noticed when prodding and picking away at the interior. I'm hoping you can address my concerns regarding the overall quality. I was very upset with the center floor console in the LTZ, and the play in the dash was concerning as well.

 

The toyota seemed more sturdy overall (Albeit with harder plastics). But I do love how the Silverado drives, and I love how you can actually see the limits of your hood. Plus, the little silverado gimmicks, like the 4 cylinder mode, sound great (although I've never heard any feedback about the fuel saver mode, or any info about how owners like it).

 

Anyways, comment away, so I know what to look for when I go back!

[cerbomark]

I have a SLE/GMC with leather. I think the fit and finish is pretty good and I m picky too. Stay away from GM s cloth seats unless you love lint. Don t have many miles on mine yet but had a New Body Style 07 LT and the cloth was my only complaint with the inside. Lots of guys here including myself have the 4/8 cyl AFM that you mentioned turned off. It doesn t do much for mileage and many don t like the feel. Although others are not bother by this. If you are looking for BMW/ Mercedes finish you may find GM a little sub- stanard.

I like the feel of the switches but again they don t feel MB s switches. I never had the wood trim so I can t comment on that althought if one did break they are easy to replace. As far as things peeling off the truck is sitting at an auto show with everyone picking and poking at things. I think you got the idea that you need to drive the two trucks you are considering and I bet you have no trouble making up your mind then. Good Luck

[RyanbabZ71]

Autoshow vehicles usually have been played with pretty good and are not a good measure of overall quality. People grabbing knobs pulling on things they shouldnt etc.

 

My 08 and 2010 are way above in interior fit and finish over my 2000.

[wayland1985]

I have a SLE/GMC with leather. I think the fit and finish is pretty good and I m picky too. Stay away from GM s cloth seats unless you love lint. Don t have many miles on mine yet but had a New Body Style 07 LT and the cloth was my only complaint with the inside. Lots of guys here including myself have the 4/8 cyl AFM that you mentioned turned off. It doesn t do much for mileage and many don t like the feel. Although others are not bother by this. If you are looking for BMW/ Mercedes finish you may find GM a little sub- stanard.

I like the feel of the switches but again they don t feel MB s switches. I never had the wood trim so I can t comment on that althought if one did break they are easy to replace. As far as things peeling off the truck is sitting at an auto show with everyone picking and poking at things. I think you got the idea that you need to drive the two trucks you are considering and I bet you have no trouble making up your mind then. Good Luck

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for german fit and finish, but something like Honda would be nice. My Jeep's is horrible... I drove down a rough road the other day, and now EVERYTHING squeaks and creaks. It ticks me off...

 

 

I know the truck is at an auto show, and prone to getting damaged. But, it should be a good indicator as to how it handles the abuse. Also, the Tundra was at the same show and it seemed to be faring well... Although I can't comment on how many shows each truck have been to.

 

I'm curious about the AFM being turned off. It's making me raise an eyebrow, as I aim to keep my next truck stock.

 

 

 

I'll tell you what else I liked about the silvy: Bose... Styling that probably wont age... And a great looking GM soft tonneau cover

[RyanbabZ71]

it should be a good indicator as to how it handles the abuse

 

Have you seen what people do to vehicles at car shows? I have seen people try to rip parts of radios out of cars. It is ridculous. You would not do half the abuse people do at the shows.

[Bowtie2Sierra]

The fit/finish of my '08 is much better than the '02 I had. For what it is, I'm happy with it. That being said, it is no where near the quality of our BMW but that really isn't a fair comparison either. However, the fit/finish of our last Lexus was horrible so I wouldn't get to excited about the Tundra's fit/finish aging well.

 

You mentioned Bose...don't waste your money on the Bose upgrade. The sound of the Bose in my truck is no better than entry level stereo systems in many other vehicles. I found the Bose a big dissappointment.

 

Good luck in your search.

[Tklei14]

My G37 has a much better looking interior than my truck (09 slt) but as far as noise and rattles the truck is much quieter. The only thing I really do not like it the quality of the plastic on the doors and lower center console. It looks cheap and I feel that it will not wear well with the truck. The door panels on the Denali are much nicer they come with leather.

 

As far as the lower center console cupholder you didn't like I'm guessing it was the big black plastic one mine had? You can switch it out for the one the tahoe has, or the brushed aluminum that comes with the all terrain pack. See my threads for pics of that.

 

Tom

[P71_CrownVic]

The fit on my truck is fantastic...but the finish leaves a lot to be desired. I like "soft touch" materials......not hard plastic. To me, hard plastic = cheap.

 

Which is why I was disappointed by the new Malibu and 2010 Equinox. Looks good...but the materials NEED to be better.

[amtz.zero]

Didn't you want the Tacoma a little while ago for "city-driving"? The Tundra is huge! Anyways, I'm happy with the fit and finish of my Sierra (even though it's an '04). Don't believe all the hype about Toyota's being better or lasting longer. I've had Toyota's and even though the old ones were pretty reliable, Toyota's quality has been slipping big time. If you look at 1999-2003ish Corolla's, you won't find one without this weird glue thing coming out from the door panels, the seats are not nearly as comfortable as GM's in my experience, and the plastic stuff around the doors peels off after a couple of years. I have pictures if you want to see them.

[66nova]

I absolutely love my 07. I have had to deal with a couple rattles, but all have been fixed and most were related to a group of wires that have been pushed up against a panel.

 

Is the fit and finish anywhere near the quality of my father inlaws 750i? NO, but I would rather drive my truck on a daily basis and cost me about a 1/4 of what his BMW did.

 

I am one of the ones that actually don't mind AFM. I do think it saves gas for a driver that wants to pay attention to fuel mileage. That being said, I am think about having mine turned off because I tow a lot and since I have had my truck tuned it wants to kick in when I am towing then immediately kick out. That drives me nuts.

 

If I were buying new right now though, AFM would not be an issue because the only engine that would be on my shopping list is the 6.2. I am a firm believer that you can never have too much motor.

 

My best friend has a new Tundra and his truck cost more than mine, has fewer options and you could not force me to trade my truck for his.

 

If I currently was in the market for trucks, Tundra would be number 4 on my list. GM, Ram, Ford, Toy

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

Overall I give the fit and finish of my 07 an "average" rating not impressive, but not horrible. So far 25,000 miles and other then squeaky/noisy windows when going up and down, it's a very quiet and solid truck. It's more quiet then my 99 was.

[C. Charles Hahn]

If you're seriously looking at a Tundra and the word "durability" pops into your head, you are NOT truck-owner material. Sorry, that's just how it is.

[wayland1985]

Didn't you want the Tacoma a little while ago for "city-driving"? The Tundra is huge! Anyways, I'm happy with the fit and finish of my Sierra (even though it's an '04). Don't believe all the hype about Toyota's being better or lasting longer. I've had Toyota's and even though the old ones were pretty reliable, Toyota's quality has been slipping big time. If you look at 1999-2003ish Corolla's, you won't find one without this weird glue thing coming out from the door panels, the seats are not nearly as comfortable as GM's in my experience, and the plastic stuff around the doors peels off after a couple of years. I have pictures if you want to see them.

 

 

Haha... Yep, that's me. Since then I've been doing a bit o' reading, and Full size is for me. The tacoma is nice and all, but it's really not THAT much more cost effective than full size. Plus I was able to live and park in boston for over a year with my silverado. I just need to get used to driving a full size again.

 

The Tundra is large, but the turning circle is quite amazing.... The only issue seems to be the bigger blind spots...

[wayland1985]

If you're seriously looking at a Tundra and the word "durability" pops into your head, you are NOT truck-owner material. Sorry, that's just how it is.

 

I've owned trucks before. Do I use them for work? Nope. I could get by with a car, but I don't want one.

 

I want to be able to throw my bike and snowboard in the back of my truck. I want to be able to tow some small toys (Jetski, jet boat, quad).... I also prefer 4wd with some ground clearance for the snow out here.

 

 

Maybe you're a contractor and you use your truck hard. Good for you. I'm not, so a Toyota will do what I need it to do and more. I don't know what's not durable about the tundra. Maybe the problem is it's marketed by a foreign company?

 

But, from what I saw today, everything seemed beefier, at least interior-wise. You could prod at the dash and there was no give. You could squeeze the inner and outer door panels and there wasn't much flex. You could wiggle the switches, and they didn't have much give. You could put the rear-seat cupholders down, and it didn't feel like it was going to snap-off. You could elbow the floor-mounted center console, and it didn't twist.

 

Overall, it seemed like a more durable truck. Does the toyota lineup have issues with the frame rusting? Maybe... And it's something I've really considered. But when they hand over a brand new truck for pennies on the dollar, admitting their mistake, it's hard to fault them...

[RyanbabZ71]

If you're seriously looking at a Tundra and the word "durability" pops into your head, you are NOT truck-owner material. Sorry, that's just how it is.

 

I've owned trucks before. Do I use them for work? Nope. I could get by with a car, but I don't want one.

 

I want to be able to throw my bike and snowboard in the back of my truck. I want to be able to tow some small toys (Jetski, jet boat, quad).... I also prefer 4wd with some ground clearance for the snow out here.

 

 

Maybe you're a contractor and you use your truck hard. Good for you. I'm not, so a Toyota will do what I need it to do and more. I don't know what's not durable about the tundra. Maybe the problem is it's marketed by a foreign company?

 

But, from what I saw today, everything seemed beefier, at least interior-wise. You could prod at the dash and there was no give. You could squeeze the inner and outer door panels and there wasn't much flex. You could wiggle the switches, and they didn't have much give. You could put the rear-seat cupholders down, and it didn't feel like it was going to snap-off. You could elbow the floor-mounted center console, and it didn't twist.

 

Overall, it seemed like a more durable truck. Does the toyota lineup have issues with the frame rusting? Maybe... And it's something I've really considered. But when they hand over a brand new truck for pennies on the dollar, admitting their mistake, it's hard to fault them...

 

 

Be done with the decision and go buy a Tundra then, problem solved.