Why I hate my 2014 Sierra

[jgedde]

After 20+ years of being a loyal GM car and truck owner, it pains me to write this. The problem is I hate my 2014 Sierra and I can't wait to get rid of it. The truck is a 5.3L SLT with 3.42 rear. Call this a rant and flame me if you will, but it makes me feel better to get this out. I'm stuck with a $50k truck I despise.

 

Last January my 10 year old Avalanche with 135,000 miles was starting to have problems. A whole bunch of minor things that I kept fixing. No big deal. Then she started throwing tranny codes about "slipping components" so I figured it was time to replace it. Now mind you after 10 years I still loved the truck - I wish I had kept it.

 

So why do I hate my truck? It hasn't been unreliable and has only been back to the dealer for recalls and firmware updates.It just has a lot of issues that make it less than a joy to own:

 

1) The headlights are a disgrace. Nothing more to say there.

 

2) The infotainment controls and touch screen are slow and unresponsive. Just trying to change the station, I find I always overshoot the channel I want because of the delay before the screen updates. Also, having to swipe to get to the next bank of memory presets sucks. Unless you press firmly, and move slowly, it doesn't swipe. GM's software engineers have a lot to learn about making a snappy user interface. They need to learn from Apple or Android. We're used to our responsive smart phones but when I get in my truck I feel like I'm using a touch screen cash machine from 10 years ago. They updated the firmware and it got better, but it still sucks. Oh, and one more thing - FM reception is crummy.

 

3) This one is minor, but it still counts... When I start thre truck, if the radio is on and I want it off, the truck ignores my off button press for quite some time. This is just plain annoying.

 

4) The one is minor too: the tenmperature adjustment controls on the climate control are scratchy feeling and unresponsive.

 

5) This one is one of the show stoppers. The truck has absolutely horrendous throttle response - there is a delay before anyhting happens. I noticed this within seconds after taking my test drive and hated it from the start. The dealer told me it was because the truck was in "transportation mode". Imagine my dissapointment when I picked the truck up and it still did it.

 

The throttle position vs throttle opening calibration also sucks. It takes way too much pedal to get the truck moving. Several friends and family member have bought new trucks this year - none were GM, they all bought Rams. Interestingly enough, all test drove either the Silverado or Sierra and didn't buy them. The main reason was the Ram felt much more powerful. They told me the GMs felt sluggish or slow. I recently drove a 2015 Hemi and It doesn't have the throttle response issues anywhere near as bad. Part throttle was night and day different than my Sierra. At wide open throttle the Ram was faster, but not substantially so. I can see why my friends and family rejected the GM.

 

I have a theory why GM used this throttle strategy which I'll talk about below. The GM dealer claims it's because the vehicle is drive by wire. I know this isn't the case. My Avalanche was drive by wire and it was WAY snappier than the Sierra. My wife's old 2009 3.6L Malibu was also drive by wire and it was crazy snappy!

 

5) The accelerator pedal placement vs the brake pedal. The gas pedal is a long reach heightwise with respect to the brake pedal. This makes the poor throttle response feel even worse! It also requires the driver to pick up their foot to move it to the brake pedal.

 

6) The flimsy accelerator pedal. My truck has adjustable pedals. The gas pedal moves all over the place. The whole assembly deflects when you step on it. This makes the truck feel even more sluggish.

 

7) Gutless engine below 2000 RPM. This wouldn;t be so bad if the transmission didn't force the engine to be there 99% of the time.

 

8) Now for the worst issue: the transmission. All in all it's obsessed with getting into the highest gear possible as soon as possible. You take your foot off the gas because traffic is slowing and it immediately upshifts. Now, when traffic starts to move again, it has to downshift. This is VERY annoying in slow traffic. It also does this when turning a corner. The truck is never in the right gear after you turn. It is gutless when trying to accelerate out of a corner unless you step harder on the gas. That results in, you guessed it, a downshift! Why did it upshift in the first place? Isn't there enough technology on board to know I'm turning a corner?

 

Getting back to transmission issues, the shifts don't happen instantaneously. That compounded with the sluggish throttle response means that the truck doesn't do much for a second or two after you step on the gas. Of course a downshift can't be completely seamless, so that slight lurch becomes annoying at times. In traffic it's upshift, hesitate, downshift over and over again on my 20 mile ride to/from work in traffic.

 

There's a hesitation or lurch whenever the engine comes out of V4 mode, especially when it transitions from V4 to V8 mode during a downshift. You'd think I'd put this in an engine issue category, but I'm not on purpose. It's all tranny related - read on.

 

I complained to the dealer about this and asked them if there was any revised calibration they could load. He said I had the latest calibration after reflashing the truck twice: once for abrupt shifts, the other for potential exhaust overheating. He then went on to say the transmission works like a manual tranny. I didn't ask what he meant by this, but after a few weeks of thinking about it, I figured it out...

 

Unlike the older GM transmissions, the torque converter doesn't just lockup at cruise. That thing is locked up most of the time! OK, so what you might ask? Well, let's talk about what a torque converter does. First, it allows slip between the engine and transmission. When it's slipping, overall efficiency goes down, but torque multiplication occurs. The latter is a good thing. Secondly, the torque converter acts as an effective cushion against driveline shock. It looks like, in an attempt to get every MPG out of thre truck, GM chose to lock the converter during acceleration. OK fine.

 

The EPA is making the car manufacturers do a lot of half baked things to get their CAFE results up. But, my Sierra is a truck not an econobox. Give me the V8 power I asked for!

 

Now it all began to make sense. Since the converter is locked, slip can't occur. This means the engine is forced to lug itself on acceleration at low speeds because it's not being allowed to rev up. This also eliminates driveline cushioning. Now you see why I say the V4 to V8 transition issue is tranny related. It also explains why GM went with such a sluggish throttle response!

 

Overall, in traffic the truck feels like my first car which has flat spots and hesitation. Problem is, that car was built 41 years ago and had a crummy carburetor!

 

Remember how automatics used to be? You stepped on the gas and the engine revved up? Try this in your 2014 truck. When it's warmed up, step on the gas. But enough to cause a downshift though. Do the RPMs jump? Nope. It's just like stepping on the gas in a manual transmission car.

 

I'm really hoping and praying GM's engineering team comes to their senses and releases a new calibration for this truck that can fix this. I don't care if I lose MPG around town!!!! I wonder if the aftermarket can fix this? Blackbear, Diablew, etc? I'm willing to give up my powertrain warranty to have a truck I can stand!!!! PM me if you can help...

 

I've always noticed that the truck drives great when it's first started on a cold day. A few days ago I realized that the converter WASN'T being locked until the tranny warmed up. Slip was occuring, the truck felt more responsive, part throttle acceleration was better, etc.

 

9) Brakes are mediocre. They're suffieicnt, but it takes too much pedal force to slow down. This seems like a "GM thing" since I've felt that way about every GM vehicle I've had.

 

10) Engine sound. OK, so now I'm nit picking. Much like my Avalanche, the stock 5.3, doesn't much sound like a V8 unless you really get into it. The part throttle sound, while certainly quiet, really doesn't have a pleasing sound. It sounds more like a groan than a powerful V8. I'm not sure what I'm hearing. The tranny? The brake's engine driven vacuum pump? Whatever, it doesn;t have a sweet sound.

 

11) The heated seats are weak at best.

 

OK, I'm sure there are a few more things I can add, but I'll call it a night.

 

Cheers!

John

[RyanbabZ71]

 

The dealer told me it was because the truck was in "transportation mode".

 

Best thing I have heard in some time. Not sure if I could keep a straight face with the salesman

[M J]

Seems like a lot of issues are firmware issues for the touchscreen things. As far as the issues with throttle, brakes, etc, these aren't issues I feel whatsoever, even with higher stress on the brakes and throttle response (massive tires).
As far as the headlights, why wouldnt you have bought the Silverado if you dont like the GMC clip?
My truck, stock and with the multiple lifts and tire sizes, is butter smooth with the 4-8 cylinder transitions.

Honestly sounds like your truck has some bugs and issues, but I recommend you find a friend with the same truck and drive, and see if you have the same issues. If not, then lemon law your truck. My best friend successfully did it with his 2014 Silverado due to a seat issue, and has another SIlverado and couldnt be happier.

[jgedde]

RyanbabZ71, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:03 PM, said:RyanbabZ71, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:03 PM, said:RyanbabZ71, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:03 PM, said:

 

Best thing I have heard in some time. Not sure if I could keep a straight face with the salesman

Yeah, I guess it retrospect it was funny. But the truck was indeed in "transport mode" because it said just that on the instrument display and a few things didn't work. Also, the battery light was flashing.

 

It is indeed a real function:

It supposedly has something to do with keeping the battery charged while the vehicle is being transported to the dealer.

 

John

[jgedde]

mikemjohnson, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:10 PM, said:mikemjohnson, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:10 PM, said:mikemjohnson, on 23 Jan 2015 - 9:10 PM, said:

Seems like a lot of issues are firmware issues for the touchscreen things. As far as the issues with throttle, brakes, etc, these aren't issues I feel whatsoever, even with higher stress on the brakes and throttle response (massive tires).

As far as the headlights, why wouldnt you have bought the Silverado if you dont like the GMC clip?

My truck, stock and with the multiple lifts and tire sizes, is butter smooth with the 4-8 cylinder transitions.

 

Honestly sounds like your truck has some bugs and issues, but I recommend you find a friend with the same truck and drive, and see if you have the same issues. If not, then lemon law your truck. My best friend successfully did it with his 2014 Silverado due to a seat issue, and has another SIlverado and couldnt be happier.

All good questions... Well first of all, I don't like the Silverado clip. To me, the GMC is much more aggressive looking up front. I test drove it in the daytime, so I never got to test the headlights. I figured , new projector lights with HIR technology would be much better than they actually are. :-(

 

I have since upgraded to HIDs (FX-Rs) and the lights are much better. But FM reception has suffered quite a bit.

 

I did drive another Sierra and it was the same way... Maybe I'm just sensitive to it?

 

John

[Coppertone]

First things first. The "dealer", I'm assuming you're talking about the sales dept. know little to nothing about these vehicles compared to what the average joe can learn in a few hours research on the net.

[scooby5121]

Transmission Tune, and Engine tune.... Like I did when I bought my truck new in 2008. Never regretted it and still never had a problem.

Voids warranty but I hated how it drove off the line and transmission down shifting 3 gears when you got on the throttle.

 

It now drives like a truck with no throttle delay whatsoever, and stays in the gear with good rpms, no bogging or gear surfing.

[jgedde]

First things first. The "dealer", I'm assuming you're talking about the sales dept. know little to nothing about these vehicles compared to what the average joe can learn in a few hours research on the net.

Yep.. For sure you're right.

 

John

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

The throttle response is because the transmission is in learn mode. It's also a drive by wire, not a cable. Those 2 make it feel gutless, but the 5.3 has great power. I don't have adjustable pedals so mine feel fine, but I think the bracket is flimsy which causes the slower acceleration also.

 

The brakes on my '14 are great, even after over 9,200 miles. Before they broke in I had to almost lightly tough the brake pedal. So you need to get that checked out.

 

You also need to get the infotainment looked at, mine isn't slow at all, not even in the cold.

 

The temp controls turn smooth, but they have stopsnotches at each click I guess you could say so you don't have the problem of going too far which I like. I think of it as the wheel on my computer mouse. It has 2 setting, free spin which will make me go to far wheel scrolling or with the notches so you can be more preciseand not overshoot the temp. Not sure if that's what you're talking about or not.

 

As for the sound, I know it's like a Prius, but I had the stock muffler on back taken out and replaced with a Flowmaster Super 44 and it's loud and awesome. So it's not the engine, it's just the exhaust and probably for the people that don't like hearing the engine. They probably also figured that if you want a nice sounding exhaust you would modify it anyways.

[SlavO]

Should've stayed with a Chevy; )

[Spurshot]

[SMiller]

Yeah, I guess it retrospect it was funny. But the truck was indeed in "transport mode" because it said just that on the instrument display and a few things didn't work. Also, the battery light was flashing.

 

It is indeed a real function:

It supposedly has something to do with keeping the battery charged while the vehicle is being transported to the dealer.

 

John

That system is only installed outside the US and has NOTHING to do with drive train.

[SMiller]

You need to sell the truck or install HID lights and a Blackbear tune, I would also do the paint stick throttle mod, all that should at least make you hate the truck less.

 

The torque converter being locked is not your problem, torque management is.

[f8l vnm]

Sorry to hear about your issues ..some of us have had them , some worst then others. I do agree the transmission,or tune Is awful. Worst drivability ever felt. Like a small cam. Lol.

Good luck mate , you should be happy it's your hard earned money

[Coppertone]

The throttle response is because the transmission is in learn mode. It's also a drive by wire, not a cable. Those 2 make it feel gutless.

 

 

 

Corvettes are drive by wire; i don't think they would be considered gutless. Matter of fact, 95% of new vehicles are drive by wire.