Thinking about buying a 2014, but..

Cordovakid · February 22, 2014

Hey All - longtime reader, first time post...I own a real dinosaur - 1998 Chev C1500 Cheyenne 305. Had it since brand new and has about 335000 km (or, about 225000 miles) on her and starting to show signs of its age. I'm looking at getting into a 2014 Silverado LTZ and love EVERYTHING about the look and drive of this truck. The one thing that's sticking in my head is about the AM/FM reception on the new units. I've read here that over 50% of them had / have problems so far with no TSB / recall in sight (as of yet).

I would be very interested to hear from some of the new truck owners if this is still a problem for them, or if it's something that may be slowly being put behind us with changes on the fly down at the factory level...Like I said - love the truck look and feel, but am just stuck on that one problem, since GM doesn't seem to be doing anything so far about it. $50,000 for a truck with a garbage radio - not what I had in mind. I'm sure there's bigger things to worry about going forward, but like I said, would be interested to hear from the new owners (ie. in the past couple of weeks or so).

Thanks - learning a ton of info on this board - keep the updates comin'!

diannabill · February 22, 2014

I live close to Portland, Oregon and haven't had an issue (but that's because I'm so close I guess). When I get too far away, I just use Sirius or USB music, so it hasn't bothered me away from the area too much.

And by the way - nothing good ever came from thinking - so just do it! (And I didn't pay anywhere near $50,000 - not even close), but I don't have the top of the line with all the bells and whistles. Just got what I needed, but it has plenty.

haider320 · February 23, 2014

Truck built in 10/13. Perfect radio reception.....

fondupot · February 23, 2014

There just seems to be a very concentrated amount of "whiners" on this board that makes the issues seem more prominent. But if looked at in the grand scheme. Of the total launch of this new truck, the problems being reported are really not that bad.

Cordovakid · February 23, 2014

Thanks for the responses so far, folks - much appreciated.

Believe me - I'm the first one to admit and realize the internet and especially bulletin boards don't have the final say in how well a product works. I have been a GM guy my whole life and this truck I have now owes me absolutely nothing. That is why I am committed to buying GM again. I live in Oshawa, Ontario - original home of GM, and headquarters of GM of Canada. Believe me - I've seen a lot of great and not so great GM products come and go that were built here, including the Silverados / Sierras from approx. 1985 - 2011. I'm not the type of person to whine over little insignificant things. I have read through a large portion of the pros and cons with the updated trucks, on this board and others, and I couldn't come up with really any reason not to buy the truck. I am just hoping that GM will see fit to modify and replace what has been reported (on this board) to be a $5 coax cable running from the antenna lead to the head unit, and integrate this into the new build going forward. I am also hoping that this board is the place to discuss our experiences, both good and bad, and tell others about the enjoyment we are getting out of our trucks.

Thanks again for the feedback so far.

Northside · February 23, 2014

I haven't been too far from town but the FM HD sounds great through my Bose system in my LTZ with the subwoofer. Now the Sirius XM is what I listen to most and it's been great except coming into my garage and the antenna is under the steel door. When I'm in further it comes back again. But for a few feet under a steel door it cuts out. Now there are those here who would call the whole truck a pos for such a serious flaw, but I guess I just a chump. I can live with it. Considering all the other options Pandora etc. less than optimum reception, and I don't think that's really the case, would still be less annoying than in an old AM/FM Cassette equipped truck. I even tried the CD player and it sounded great.

TxTruckMan · February 23, 2014

You are allowed to test drive the truck and radio before purchasing - at least you are in th US.

OhmMega · February 23, 2014

I removed my antenna immediately on receipt. Have a 32gb SD card to keep me occupied. The Bluetooth streaming works really well too.

Blazing Saddles · February 23, 2014

I'd like to pull the trigger and order a 2LZ 6.2L, but I'm waaaaaay more concerned about the tranny issues, i.e. shifting in & out of 2nd gear, seems like b.s. you'd have to pay $300 for a tune to fix this issue

CorvetteOJ · February 23, 2014

I live in Montgomery, Alabama, and I have been out of town 4or 5 times. My radio consistently loses the local FM station between 50 and 60 miles out. Otherwise it plays like any FM I have ever owned. When I do lose it around 60 miles out, I simply switch to "XM" Sirius and keep on trucking. Actually, I see no difference in the reception of my truck's FM from all the other vehicles I have owned recently. My wife has a new E-Class and we lose her's at the same distance, about 60 miles.

mcnwil · February 23, 2014

I live in a rural area and have traveled a few states with my 14 and it is the best FM reception I have had in a vehicle. I was actually shocked the first week as was picking up quality signals from stations that could not even scan on the F150 I had. Maybe there are some defective coax cables or connections on some trucks during assembly? XM was a requirement for me and now I could actually drop it.

RobDarden · February 23, 2014

No trouble here either. Always take those type of comments with a grain of salt. Not to say the poster is not having a legit issue, but it may not be widespread. If the problem was widespread the forum would be blown up with posts.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

steig · February 23, 2014

My 2014 Silverado has FM radio reception issues, also the HD radio constanly goes in and out. I have been working with with dealer and GM on this issue. Truck goes in again this week, hopefully this issue can be resolved. Not sure if issue is widespread or not, GM claims there are no other reports of this issue and my vehcle is an isolated issue. This is the only issue I have with my truck, other than this truck is great.

Before you buy new truck, take it for a test drive and make sure radio works like you would expect it.

klrrdr · February 23, 2014

GM is full of CRP. The company that makes the radios said this problem effects 50% of the radios,GM is certainly aware and is dragging its feet because of cost. I have spoken twice to the Director of Ibiquity about this, They swear they are trying to move this along because this hurts their brand as well. Even though my dealer says there have been no complaints I have spoken to many in this area that go to this dealer, they have all reported it. The dealer lies as much as the parent company.

bearman95 · February 23, 2014

I have two 2014 Silverado's. FM works great in both trucks. I tested one truck for a hundred miles out from my home in Ft. Worth at which time FM HD cut out but FM continued to work for another 20 miles.