Silverado G218 Problem

Carissa · June 15, 2020

Hey everyone,

I have a 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500.

I bought it in April of last year and it has been miserable.

I visited the dealership more times than i can count and some problems still are happening.

The main problem is my truck shutting off.

In Early September, I noticed as i was driving my radio would go black, then as i would tap my breaks everything would shut off and turn back on. As this happens, the stabilitrak light comes on, my truck stalls (sometimes) steering wheel locks and starts shaking. Now this happens everyday when i drive it. Go to the dealership they say it is a corroded wire, they take care of it and send me on my way.

December of 2019 my truck starts doing the EXACT same thing, except now i can't even do anything but shift my truck into park and restart it, every small touch on the brake shuts my truck off. Now i live in the mountains, and we have a lot of hills. Imagine driving a blacked out truck in the middle of the night on a hilly road with no lights and your truck completely cuts out. It was sketchy. I go to the dealership, ONCE again. They replaced a WHEEL BEARING. Saying it caused the issue. tf... To my surprise the truck has been fine.

Fast track to June, present day. Drive my truck for a half hour or more, the problem is back. Now i am pissed. My boyfriend and myself do research and we found a youtube video about GM trucks and problems with G218. All the exact problems to a T! i brought it to the dealership this morning, they refuse to do anything until the truck signals any of these problems. Instead of popping open the dashboard to even just look. It has been 6 hours and now they are keeping it overnight. 40 minutes from where i live..

I am pissed. I did my homework and presented it to them, thought they had listened but apparently not.

From how it seems, i am not the only problem having this issue with 2014+ older GM trucks. Everyone keeps saying this needs to be a recall but the dealerships WILL NOT listen. I know people on this forum who have spent thousands on diagnosis's for their trucks to just have them messed around with.

Anyone else having this issue? I would love for my boyfriend to just fix it but then it voids my warranty.

How the hell do we get GM to acknowledge this and make it a recall. I am by far not the only person having this issue.

carnau · June 16, 2020

3 hours ago, Carissa said:

Hey everyone,

I have a 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500.

I bought it in April of last year and it has been miserable.

I visited the dealership more times than i can count and some problems still are happening.

The main problem is my truck shutting off.

In Early September, I noticed as i was driving my radio would go black, then as i would tap my breaks everything would shut off and turn back on. As this happens, the stabilitrak light comes on, my truck stalls (sometimes) steering wheel locks and starts shaking. Now this happens everyday when i drive it. Go to the dealership they say it is a corroded wire, they take care of it and send me on my way.

December of 2019 my truck starts doing the EXACT same thing, except now i can't even do anything but shift my truck into park and restart it, every small touch on the brake shuts my truck off. Now i live in the mountains, and we have a lot of hills. Imagine driving a blacked out truck in the middle of the night on a hilly road with no lights and your truck completely cuts out. It was sketchy. I go to the dealership, ONCE again. They replaced a WHEEL BEARING. Saying it caused the issue. tf... To my surprise the truck has been fine.

Fast track to June, present day. Drive my truck for a half hour or more, the problem is back. Now i am pissed. My boyfriend and myself do research and we found a youtube video about GM trucks and problems with G218. All the exact problems to a T! i brought it to the dealership this morning, they refuse to do anything until the truck signals any of these problems. Instead of popping open the dashboard to even just look. It has been 6 hours and now they are keeping it overnight. 40 minutes from where i live..

I am pissed. I did my homework and presented it to them, thought they had listened but apparently not.

From how it seems, i am not the only problem having this issue with 2014+ older GM trucks. Everyone keeps saying this needs to be a recall but the dealerships WILL NOT listen. I know people on this forum who have spent thousands on diagnosis's for their trucks to just have them messed around with.

Anyone else having this issue? I would love for my boyfriend to just fix it but then it voids my warranty.

How the hell do we get GM to acknowledge this and make it a recall. I am by far not the only person having this issue.

I am actually a tech at a GM dealership and I can tell you I have never run into this problem before. Not saying that you are not having an issue, But maybe it isn't as common of a problem as you think. You can contact the GM support staff using the number at the end of your owners manual, But I really don't think that will do you any good getting this to become a recall. What it will do is let GM know you are having an ongoing problem with this vehicle and they may extend your warranty or give you some assistance (POSSIBLY).

Recalls, special coverage's, customer satisfaction policy's are not created just because someone has a failure with a vehicle. Every vehicle is capable of having a failure, it's why I have a job. lol

They take in account how many vehicles were made with this concern, how much it will cost, and a whole lot of other things and then if it is cost efficient, they roll the recall out.

What you are having is an intermittent failure. These failures are very hard to figure out and take time. The best thing to do is be patient. Let the Tech's figure out what it going on with the vehicle and get it fixed for you. Being pissed that they are not fixing it fast enough is just going to make you upset and possibly not get the repair done correctly since they feel they are being rushed.

I know you did your homework, and you feel like G218 may be the failure. Would you be willing to pay for the repair if it does not fix it? This is what you are asking the Tech and the Dealership to do. If the tech repairs the ground or replaces the harness and it doesn't fix it, The Tech/The dealership are responsible for the repair and the cost of an incorrect repair. While this is not your fault, this is also not the techs (who is making pennies on the repair) or the dealerships. Neither one of these people made your vehicle. They are just trying to help you fix the failure.

Again, The best thing to do is let them fix your problem and give them ample time to do so. If you don't think they are capable of fixing it, don't take it to them. Find a different dealership. If the vehicle is under warranty they should have put you in a courtesy vehicle to drive while you are without your vehicle. Also contact GM about the problem so they know you have been having an issue with this for a long time.

Also, G218 is in the passenger compartment, under the left front instrument panel defroster deflector, near the left A-pillar

Here is a video of someone repairing G218. It isn't hard to get to if you would like to check it yourself.

Carissa · June 16, 2020

@carnau I totally understand what you are saying. However, I’ve had multiple visits to the dealership about this and other things wrong with my truck. My vehicle was practically a lemon, but because I loved it so much I let them keep it for a month to fix everything.

i was never asking that they fix it without checking it but i at least thought they would look into it within the day they’ve had

my truck and not tell me at 4:30 I won’t be getting my truck back but instead they are waiting for my truck to throw a code that will never happen before they even do anything. I have no problem fixing it myself, however I am not sure if it will void my warranty and that is why i took it to the dealership. After all, I paid for my warranty for a reason. My point is they never even attempted to look into it. I’ve taken multiple days off of work, paid months of truck payments on times I didn’t even have my truck. Maybe where you work isn’t the same but i haven’t had the best luck which is mainly my fault for buying from them.

Just because you haven’t run into the issue doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem. I’ve come across many people who are having the same issues. May not be hundreds of thousands of trucks like normal recalls but it is still a problem that is happening but thanks for your input.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Carissa

carnau · June 16, 2020

28 minutes ago, Carissa said:

@carnau I totally understand what you are saying. However, I’ve had multiple visits to the dealership about this and other things wrong with my truck. My vehicle was practically a lemon, but because I loved it so much I let them keep it for a month to fix everything. Every time they have my truck they tell me they have nothing to give me.

i was never asking that they fix it without checking it but i at least thought they would look into it within the day they’ve had

my truck and not tell me at 4:30 I won’t be getting my truck back but instead they are waiting for my truck to throw a code that will never happen before they even do anything. I have no problem fixing it myself, however I am not sure if it will void my warranty and that is why i took it to the dealership. After all, I paid for my warranty for a reason. My point is they never even attempted to look into it. I’ve taken multiple days off of work, paid months of truck payments on times I didn’t even have my truck. Maybe where you work isn’t the same but i haven’t had the best luck which is mainly my fault for buying from them.

Just because you haven’t run into the issue doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem. I’ve come across many people who are having the same issues. May not be hundreds of thousands of trucks like normal recalls but it is still a problem that is happening but thanks for your input.

I agree. It sounds like maybe you're not getting everything you are entitled to. If they don't have a vehicle there, I am sure there is a rental company close buy they has plenty of vehicles. Tell them to get you a vehicle to drive. It is part of the warranty.

I understand what you're saying. They definitely should check there. If it is a decent tech looking at it I can assure you that it has been inspected.

But just like you said. You paid for a warranty. Sit back, Relax. Let them do their jobs. That's the point of the warranty. To take the stress off of you. They also have higher echelons they can reach out to. Technical assistance and even field engineers.

Get them to give you something to drive and tell them not to return the vehicle to you until it is fixed. This is your right as a customer with warranty.

I am more worried about your experience with the brand then the repair to be honest with you. When you say you got "Pissed" makes me more upset than anything. This is your vehicle, with warranty. It should be stress and "pissed" free. The fact that it seems you're not getting the best possible treatment (and all I have to go by is what you're saying) disappoints me. You spent a lot of money to buy a vehicle and you chose ours. We should be bending over backwards to get the resolved and thankful you are "Our" customer when there are so many brands you could have chosen.

Carissa · June 16, 2020

@carnau interesting ! I didn’t know that about the car is covered by the warranty. Somehow I feel as if there are several things I am not aware of lol

It gets extremely frustrating when they see my face and it’s like I’m “that girl” because they’ve seen me so many times but I didn’t ask for all of these issues with my truck. I always treat them

with respect but it seems I’m a burden to them.

Totally appreciate you responding to this, you hardly ever get to see the other person working on your vehicles side of things unless you know them. We have several mechanic friends and hear the awful stories they have so I TRY to not be like that but i would love for my truck to

not shut off on me on the highway ! Lol

I will always love GM. I’ve been able to modify my truck to exactly how I want it and as much as I hated all the work they had to do and the time i went without my truck sucked but so worth it to

me. I love my truck. However, if I could change the dealership and their customer service i would in a heartbeat.

You seem to work for a place that is honest and fair, wish they were all like that! Thank you again

carnau · June 16, 2020

18 hours ago, Carissa said:

@carnau interesting ! I didn’t know that about the car is covered by the warranty. Somehow I feel as if there are several things I am not aware of lol

It gets extremely frustrating when they see my face and it’s like I’m “that girl” because they’ve seen me so many times but I didn’t ask for all of these issues with my truck. I always treat them

with respect but it seems I’m a burden to them.

Totally appreciate you responding to this, you hardly ever get to see the other person working on your vehicles side of things unless you know them. We have several mechanic friends and hear the awful stories they have so I TRY to not be like that but i would love for my truck to

not shut off on me on the highway ! Lol

I will always love GM. I’ve been able to modify my truck to exactly how I want it and as much as I hated all the work they had to do and the time i went without my truck sucked but so worth it to

me. I love my truck. However, if I could change the dealership and their customer service i would in a heartbeat.

You seem to work for a place that is honest and fair, wish they were all like that! Thank you again

No Problem. Do you know which warranty you have? Is it from the dealership? I can help you figure out what all you are entitled to while your vehicle is being repaired.

Yeah, I understand that. Trust me, they are not thinking here is "that girl" they are more likely thinking here is "that truck". Sometimes when a vehicle is hard to figure out it slows the productivity down for the shop. Again, not your fault. But it's true. They want to fix your vehicle and move on to the next. That's how they get paid, since the whole shop is run on commission.

Here is just a suggestion. Lol. I fix everything of my own of course. But I have a large farm and a bunch of equipment. I have a lot of tractors that are under warranty. Every time I take the tractors into the shop I always bring like a bag of biscuits if it's morning or a box of doughnuts if it's after lunch. I drop it off and tell them "here is some fuel for you before you get to work on my equipment, since I know it's gonna be a headache." lol it eases the tensions and you would be surprised how far that goes. I have had them put me ahead of people, fix things I broke that were not under warranty. I always tell them to take their time and just let me know when I can pick it up within the hour... Just lightning the mood. Not that you have to do any of that. Just saying people work better for you if they like you. If you feed them and make them laugh, you will be amazed what that does.

My family actually owns the dealership I work at. So we take a lot of pride in making sure every customer is happy. I always tell the other employees that if someone leaves 50% satisfied and 50% pissed off... They are still pissed off. No one ever talks about how great of an experience they had somewhere... But you better believe they will tell everyone that it sucked. But sometimes... you have to fire a customer as well. Some customers you just can't help no matter what you do. Luckily in the 20 years I have worked here. We have only had that happen once.

If there is anything I can do, anything I can look up or get you information on anything I will be glad to do it. I hope this gets resolved quickly.

JeriG · October 16, 2022

@carnau a simple Google search with show you how many people have had this exact same problem, its a lot of people. Unfortunately it's mostly intermittent and when taken in the dealership cant spend enough time driving the vehicle around to experience it, probably why you havent heard about it.

GM probably wont do anything about it until people are dead, I have lost a lot of respect for GM since purchasing my 2017 silverado 1500 doing the exact same thing as mentioned by the original poster.

Martin1988 · June 25, 2023

I have 2014 that started doing the exact samething...I have reseached the issue, and it shows G218 as problem...video shows how to fix...

Martin1988 · June 25, 2023

This issue has been going on as of 2016....GM should have issued a recall by no.....I was told that there is a recall number out there by GM, but it only covers certain years/model trucks...guess GM is waiting for someone or a family to have serious accident and get sued before they do an all out recall on G218 problem...