Why I hate my 2014 Sierra

[pasty]

Dear GM, please add a button labeled sport next to the traction control button on the center console. You will earn mad street cred if we can adjust the sport settings such as AFM and throttle response on the information screen. Sincerely, your customers and magazine reviewers.

[MikeNH]

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.

 

I'd bet it's near 100%. Electronic throttle came about due to the feds mandating stability control.

[haider320]

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.

My rpms jump every time I floor the gas pedal. Nothing like what you're describing.

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

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.

 

Well he said gutless. The 2 things I said I meant were for the hesitated throttle response, but it's mostly the trans being in learn mode. Maybe I'm wrong, but in my truck I know the 3.08 gears make my 5.3 feel a little gutless at the start, but he has the 3.42. Maybe it's nothing to do with drive by wire, I was mainly guessing on that one. I also forgot to mention that it's TQ management.

[GuyGene]

Tell ye wha' John, I'll take that piece o' junque off ye hands for, let's just say an even $30k.

[j-ten-ner]

Maybe that's the compromize we have to take to drive a half ton V8 truck.

 

Ford and RAM are going different ways. The Ecodiesel is a little to small for my taste. Not a half and not a whole thing. The 2.7L scooter....

 

Since I'm driving like a grandpa I have no (not so much) trouble with the transmission. My truck made me to adapt to his hick ups. Going off the throttle at the right moment or avoiding light throttle at a shifting point and so on. It's getting more and more automatically.

 

GM just follows the old stereotype: GM trucks are for old folks.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[02suburbanZ71]

New is not always better. I can afford a 2014 but would i ever consider buying one? NO.

[EaZ8]

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.

 

Cheers!

John

how long have you had your new sierra?

i noticed the transmission completely changes after about 10,000km. it smooths out the light clunking is almost completely gone, shifts more to my driving style.

ive also noticed when cold it does shift better as well, maybe the transmission needs some thicker ATF, but im not going to be the one to put the non spec fluids in.

 

the sierra i took for a drive that was a demo had horrible throttle response but the one i bought feels way more responsive. i do also hate hos much lower the gas pedal is in comparison to the brake. in the summer im going to see if there is a way to lift the gas pedal a little.

 

as for the headlights, i feel like they are getting worse, when i first got the truck i read some complaints about them so i took it out on a pitch black road and thought they were just fine, then i was on a pitch black road again a couple weeks ago and felt like my lights were doing absolutely nothing. im going to put in a HID kit and re aim the projectors and get some LED fogs. im not swapping out the projectors yet because im waiting for some aftermarket headlight housings to be released.

[Horacio]

If you think Sierra owners have issues, I was perusing the Escalade forum and those guys are dropping $80-90k for their rigs and have most if not all of the issues we have and then some!

I guess that saying...More money, more problems def applies to those owners.

It's sad what we get these days for our hard earned dollar.

[tanner709]

I agree on a lot of issues covered but some are being picky and you have the wrong angle on some issues.

 

The throttle response I agree is weird - yet when I adjust the pedal up to it's "higher" point the throttle response is overwhelming. I havent felt any deflection in my pedals though.

 

The headlights are not great - HIDs fixed this for me. Cheap and simple fix which I would of done on any vehicle with a projector.

 

The touchscreen is very laggy and has multiple(endless?) errors. Needs a total re-vamp.

 

The space in a double cab is useless unless you never put a full size person in the backseats - ever.

 

I find the accelerator pedal position is good yet the brake is WAY too far offset from the gas pedal - therefore I have to actually lift my whole leg to get to the brake as opposed to just moving my foot. Again I think this is for safety reasons to you can't be on both pedals at the same time but it is just a little excessive.

 

Transmission issues are very present. 2nd gear slams on downshift and upshift isnt smooth either. I also have a drivetrain squeek which has been looked at by several GM technicians on 4 different occaisons and still persists to this day.

 

My V4/V8 mode transition is as smooth as I would ever expect. You feel it but ever so slightly just to feel the power again.

 

Brakes are fine in my truck.

 

One thing you didn't mention was the overall ride and suspension...

I find my truck rides a little rough, granted I do have 10ply BFK AT KO's, the suspension should react better on the front end, and the @ss end of the truck dances too much for my liking. With absolutely no weight I can hit a small pothole and I will get a large sway in the truck, especially in the tail section.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would have made the purchase knowing these things. I honestly don't know what truck I would choose if I had to do it again...

[austingta]

>>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.<<

 

Seems to me that tow/haul mode would make it drive more like you want it to.

[Coppertone]

 

 

One thing you didn't mention was the overall ride and suspension...

I find my truck rides a little rough, granted I do have 10ply BFK AT KO's, the suspension should react better on the front end, and the @ss end of the truck dances too much for my liking. With absolutely no weight I can hit a small pothole and I will get a large sway in the truck, especially in the tail section.

You have an all-terrain, so it isn't going to ride like a vehicle made specifically for on-road use. Add in the 10 ply tires and you got yourself a jeep-like ride.

[Horacio]

I actually considered a Raptor before my purchase, but I have a friend that owns one and it seemed like it was always at the dealer for one thing or another.

No matter what the truck, there's going to be issues. You just have to choose the one that you can live with best, then dump some money to fix its shortcomings...where possible.

[07Softail]

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.

Ok explain the paint stick throttle mod....that's a new one to me.

 

edit: I found it...it's throttle peddle assembly flex I will def check this mod out as I have noticed this when driving mine.

 

RT

[Ventilator]

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

You forgot the cheap ass thin water coloring they call paint. That is a whitewashing of a different color. The new normal, unfortunately.