A few problems with my 2015

Scruggs · February 7, 2016

I traded in my 2014 2wd 1500 because I just "had" to have a 4x4. I am not familiar with 4wd chevys, so I was hoping I could get some advice from some of you guys that are. This particular truck was manufactured in October 2014, shipped to the dealership the same month, and sat until I bought it in November 2015. It had around 700 miles on it when I bought it "new." (Dealing with that particular dealership was a rough process, and I was in the middle of signing paperwork when I discovered the mileage and said heck with it, as I just wanted to get out of the dealership... I'll never mistake not checking the mileage again) This particular truck is 2015 Z71 4x4 5.3 EcoTech.

Here are my issues:

Rusting interior brackets: I noticed that the seat brackets were full of surface rust. I was BEYOND upset, as I jumped to the conclusion that I had purchased a "flood" truck, seeing that my city in SC endured a historical flood the month before. I checked for other signs of flooding, found none, so I brought it to a few proffesionals to make sure, and we came to the conclusion that it was not flooded, and that possibly the windows may have been left down during a storm or that a cleaner was used on the brackets that caused the rust. I brought it to the dealership, and they stripped the interior to sand and repaint the brackets, along with fixing a few other issues. (issue #2 included, which is still unresolved) While the brackets were out, they also took out the carpet and looked for holes/leaks that would cause moisture to be present in the cab. They said they found none. I got the truck back, and lo and behold, the brackets are rusting again. So, I am taking it back, and they are taking some different measures. However, I am the type to not wait for answers or trust that others will solve the problem. Therefore I ask, have any of you had this problem before? What are you hypotheses of the cause?
Squeaking/knocking rear end: The rear end on this truck is terribly noisy. The 2014 2wd never squeaked or knocked. When I start the truck from cold, (for example, sitting over night) and put the truck in motion, every minor bump and turn causes a loud squeaking and knocking from the rear end, more towards the right side. I think it may be the leaf springs, however I am not sure. After driving for a few minutes and the truck has warmed up, the noise stops. Its almost as if something in the suspension isn't sitting right, and corrects itself as the truck warms up. It squeaks and knocks sometimes after first starting it up in the middle of the day, but not as bad. However, most of the time after starting it during the day when it has already been driven, there is no squeaking or knocking. I took it to the dealer, and they "could not recreate the noise." I'm sure they didn't keep all of the variables the same (i.e. checking for the noise from cold start up), because it is loud and blatant and can't be missed. Suggestions? Comments?
Inconsistent chirping/tapping noise from engine bay: To my surprise, I found another problem a few days ago. I was riding with the windows down, and heard what sounded like the head of a screw hitting the concrete imbedded in my front right tire. However, I listened more carfefully, and I realized that the frequency of the head of the screw hitting the concrete would be directly related to how fast my tire was rotating. However, this chirping/tapping noise was not consistent or steady. The frequency was more erratic and inconsistent. For example (I'll try to explain this the best I can), the head of a screw hitting the concrete would go : tap, tap, tap, tap, tap....... at a steady rate. This sound that I am hearing is inconsistent, as it goes: tap.....tap tap.........tap...tap......... tap...............taptaptap...tap.... etc... THAT BEING SAID, the faster the mph, the higher the frequency of the tapping noise. I checked the tires, no nail or screw. I put the truck in neutral, lifted the hood, and had my wife press on the gas, and heard the chirping noise go faster as she accelerated the rpms, so I concluded it is coming from the engine bay, I am just not exactly sure where. I hear a chirp that is much louder coming from what sounds like the gears underneath my feet as well. This particular high pitched chirp/squeak occurs when I let off of the gas from the top of a gear (for example to coast to a stop light), and then press on the gas again when I am towards the bottom of that same gear. In scenarios as such, there is sometimes a "dead band" in the rpm acceleration and the transmission engaging the gear, meaning that the egnine will accelerate in rpms for a split second but will not accelerate until a split second after the gas is pressed as the transmission engaging the gear will not be instantaneous. It is in that between time, that I hear a high pitched squeak/chirp come from underneath the floor board near my feet, sounding similar to the chirp/squeaking while I am driving, however much louder. Now, this next sound I am hearing, I am not sure has anything to do with the tapping/chirping noise, but I noticed in the driver through today that at idle, the engine has yet another noticeable high pitched squeak/chirp that is continuous. I'm not sure if that this noise at idle is me "looking" for things that are wrong and that it is just the way chevys sound, or if I really am hearing an issue. Since I have found so much already, its difficult to try to not over analyze things.

THANK YOU, for taking the time to read this. If you have ANY suggestions or comments, PLEASE share!

Brianibew · February 7, 2016

The high chirp/squeak is probably your water pump bearing failing. Mine did the exact same thing. The rear end creak noise is most likely your leaf springs and when the dealer replaced mine, the noise was gone. I'm not sure what the tap sound would be.

diyer2 · February 7, 2016

Did you test drive it? The rusted brackets you missed?

Sounds to me like the truck sat for a year for a reason, so I hope you got a hell of a deal.

Good Luck

Scruggs · February 7, 2016

Did you test drive it? The rusted brackets you missed?

Sounds to me like the truck sat for a year for a reason, so I hope you got a hell of a deal.

Good Luck

The truck made no noises when test driven, these issues occurred within the past two weeks, minus the brackets. It being a new vehicle, I would expect it to not have a rusty interior, so no, i didnt even look. It is for this reason that GM is fixing the issues under warranty. I just hope the truck is not a lemon. I am young and not the most experienced at car buying, so I made some mistakes. Live and learn. I did get the truck 13000 off msrp, and i brought it up to them that, like you said, they sold me the truck for a great deal because of these reasons. Since I have said that they have been quite cooperative, go figure.

Scruggs · February 7, 2016

The high chirp/squeak is probably your water pump bearing failing. Mine did the exact same thing. The rear end creak noise is most likely your leaf springs and when the dealer replaced mine, the noise was gone. I'm not sure what the tap sound would be.

Thanks, I will check out the water pump today