Need to replace my 2014 GMC Sierra and need advice.

[cordejc]

Hello,

First off please note it is not my intent whatsoever to start a flame war, but my experience with my new GMC truck has truly been horrible and I need to advice for something better and can't help but wonder if anyone here has dealt with getting a replacement and can tell me of their experiences.

Where to start...

I bought my truck - a new 2014 Sierra 1500 - and paid cash for it about a year and a half ago from H**** Buick/GMC in southwest Fort Worth off loop 820. As it turned out from day one there have been issues with it. The first issue appeared when I washed my truck for the first time (Not even twenty miles on it!) and found dents on the roof and had to take it back. The dealer claimed it happened when the auto/truck carrier was unloading it. The dealer used a dentless repair process and it turned out pretty good, but the drivers door interior frame was scratched during the repair. Small potatoes so far. Bought some touch up paint and put it out of my mind as long as the truck was reliable. The only other thing that happened was a flat tire. So good to go for almost the next year.

Then the bottom dropped out.

Near the end of the first year my oil change came due (15,000 miles) and I made a appointment with the dealer where I bought it. Up to that day the truck seemed mechanically fine. On the morning of the oil change I climbed into my truck and started off to the dealer, but on the leaving my neighborhood the truck started acting funny with the transmission refusing to shift into the higher gears. I wound up taking backroads to the dealership and after arriving there I explained the problem and waited for them to tell my what was wrong. When the rep came back I was told the transmission was toast and would need to be rebuilt. This made no sense to me as the truck was strictly a highway use - never hauled cargo - personal use vehicle. Anyhow, much later I got my truck back and was told all was well.

Literally the next day after the repair - only the second time I drove it after the repair - I left home to run a few local errands and after waiting for traffic I pulled onto the road from a parking lot and the transmission acted up again. This time the engine reved like crazy, but the truck did not pull/accelerate at all and seemed to be stuck in neutral and stayed that way until I would up getting hit from behind. The damage was minor - a bent lower rear fender and bumper. Once more the truck went back to the same dealer.

At this point the story becomes pure hell and I will cut this portion of the story out to save my blood pressure exploding. Suffice it to say I dealt with the dealer - pointless, I dealt with the body shop - dismal, and I dealt with GMC Customer Service - Ineffectual, and after almost three months wound up getting my truck back only to take it immediately to another dealership to repair my truck again - not only from the original debacle, but then again out of my own efforts ordering parts and paying for a third shop to repair the original dealer's damage caused by their body shop.

Oh well, I have only put on 2,000 miles on my truck since I got it back and now it pretty much just sits idle. No one trusts it enough to do much of anything except maybe go to the local stores down the road since they are within walking distance (this is NOT A JOKE!) Traveling longer distances is done only when there is no other choice and only if arrangements are made for a backup ride. (The tranny still acts strange at times.)

Anyway, the point of this post is I am looking hard at another truck. I looked at Fords, Toyotas, and others and at this point the only one that has my serious attention is a truck that has not been released yet - a Honda. I understand Honda is suppose to offer their truck later this year and with reliability being at the very top of my list it may be the one worth waiting for. My second choice is a Tundra, but I have a problem with the older design and the lousy MPG. The third is the Ford, and while the truck is very good mechanically, the electronics are not top tier yet; also the aluminum while lighter is still tougher/more expensive to deal with. Sorry to say, but GM is a definite no go.

With all the truck experience here I hope there is some good advice. Not to harp, but this GMC product was my first GM product I bought in over thirty years. The last was a Oldsmobile (yea, I know... the brand is now dead and gone) Cutlass Calais with the Quad-4 engine. Had problems with it too and replaced it with a Honda Accord and never looked back. If I had not needed a truck I would have likely bought a Honda Pilot or something else, but so it goes.

So in a nutshell the question is: "What is the best truck for reliability based on personal experience and why do you feel this way?"

and lastly: "Has anyone had similar problems with GM service and in particular any transmission related issues?"

Thanks for your time reading this and take care guys and gals...

[Victory14red]

Personally I would stay away from the ford. Local police departments here have the Taurus ecoboost cruisers and they have problems with burning oil from bad turbo seals. Not to mention a turbo on a gas truck can only be expected to last around 100k miles, so if you are one to keep vehicles a long time you are looking at about 1500 to 2500 per turbo to replace.

 

I have no input on any of the others.

[Showtime417]

Have you looked into your states Lemon law for your truck?

[Northside]

I've been driving Chevy Pickups for 40 years. They've all served me very well. The worst was my '74. In 121,000 miles I had to replace the starter. They've all been really reliable. My '14 LTZ is the best vehicle I've ever owned. You got a lemon. It happens. I understand your frustration. Still, if it happened to me, I'd just get another GM truck. I've just had so much good luck with them.

[Stevens03]

Yep, there's a lemon in everyone of them. I've been driving GM trucks for more than 20 years and I've never gotten a bad one.

[JerryCanada]

Understand your frustration. Had a 2010 Silverado that had its own reserved parking spot at the service department. I've never been a big fan of ford but that's just personal opinions. I went to a Ram after that and liked it but after awhile decided to come back to GM and give them another chance and didn't regret it so far.

[BIGDOGx]

Sounds to me like you have already made your mind up, you will be hard pressed though to find anyone on here that will endorse a Honda as a truck seeing as it's a Accord with a truck body on top of it. Good luck with what ever you decide but imo if you truly want a truck then you will have to stick with Dodge,Toyota, GM, Nissan and Ford.

[conundrum]

The last Honda was rated for about the same mileage as a real truck, despite all of its fuel saving measures. And it cost more.

Hopefully they've done something about the fuel economy this time, because the price still screams "Just get a real truck".

 

How about the new Taco? Too small?

[Waterfowler41]

Came from a ford and have nothing bad to say. Yes the ecoboost has some potential direct injection issues with carbon build up, but take a look at the 5.0. That engine has been around forever so I would assume most of the kinks have been ironed out. F150forum.com would be a great place to start.

 

I would've stayed in a ford but my price range put me in a 14 Sierra instead of an F150.

 

Regarding the lemon you have, I had a buddy in a similar case with his Jeep Grand Cherokee ecodiesel. It was in the shop every week for something else (first gen issues). He contacted a lemon law attorney, reviewed the service records, and went to Chysler/Fiat with their claims. He didn't loose his ass too much on the deal, I think they ended up buying the truck back from him for what he had paid or some amount slightly less. The issues he had were all regarding the same pieces of equipment the def injection assembly which is likely why his was quickly taken back. Good luck

 

 

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[BigBadSierra]

I would say the dealer causes 90% of your issues.

 

Have you taken it to another dealer?

 

You guys have Lemon laws over there so that's good.

[diyer2]

You have a choice, deal with it through the lemon laws or dump it.

Me, I would make GM stand behind the product, it has a warranty and the lemon laws are there to help.

If you dump it some poor sucker will be the next victim IMO.

[jamin87ss]

Your on the wrong forum, your mind is made up, if anyone here knows about 1 of the others there probably here for a reason,

[m3n00b]

Sounds like you don't want any trucks. There's only a few brands out there. Good luck!

[tnchevy]

You can get a bad one from any of the truck companies. I work for a company where we beat the crap out of our work trucks and get a new one every 3-4 years. We have got lemons out of all of them, yes, even a tundra. One guy I work with got a new 2500 silverado as his work truck and 20 miles from the dealership the transmission literally fell out of the truck! We had a 2006 F150 where the rear end went out the first week the guy had it. I can go on and on about some of our problem trucks but on the flip side I can go on and on about the good ones we've had. My current work truck is a 2012 F150 with 70k miles on it and it has been a pretty good vehicle so far. Not perfect but neither is my personal 2014 silvy.