Gave Chevy a chance, but...

EDL · November 7, 2020

Well, after today's fiasco, I am done with GM. My 2018 LTZ Z71 with 6.2L that I bought new 2.5 years ago, now with 28,600 miles on it just failed inspection. Reason: Inside front brake rotors and pads shot. It seems the the brakes were only applying pressure to a thin band area around the middle of the rotor. This has caused the pad to wear a groove about an inch wide in the middle of the rotor while the rusty, obviously untouched remaining areas has chewed away the outer edges of the pads. Inspector failed it for that. It;s on both front rotors and pads. The rears passed, but they too are exhibiting the same type of wear. GM obviously has a brake design or pad issue. Bad brakes was THE exact reason I did not buy a 2018 RAM as the reviews gave them poor ratings.
I've never in my life had rotors and pads wear out or wear unevenly in a new vehicle, especially at less than 30,000 miles.

Couple that with a clunky transmission that Chevy can't seem to fix and a very nonsmooth, vibrating ride, which they can't fix either, even after multiple wheel/tire balancing, I'm done with this thing.

Trade in on this truck is more than I owe on it, so looking at 2020 Rams right now...

ok, rant over.

m3n00b · November 7, 2020

Cool story. Thanks for sharing.

DeePa · November 7, 2020

Just fix the brakes. A lot cheaper.

trans has the tsb. Get it done.

Bash74 · November 7, 2020

I would just fix the brakes. Not much work and not that expensive. If you are going to look at something else you might want to look at Ford or Toyota. The wife's 2020 Ram is the worst mistake I made. Been in 7 times for recalls. On top of those the constant uconnect problems which means no radio, no climate control, nothing. Then the dreaded data bus failure which just makes the vehicle pointless. Before even totally explaining the problem the dealer says they know what it is. So basically it comes down to choosing the best you can and go with what you get.

EDL · November 7, 2020

Had the TSB done on the tranny, didn't fix it. They still can't explain the vibrations and they say there is nothing else they can do for the clunky trans.

I tried Ford before I bought this one. They won't deal on their trucks and they're over priced, IMHO. Have two cooworkers with F-150's. One has had a few probs, the other is a nightmare. Constantly having issues with the 4-wheel system, keeps blowing what he calls the "IWE's" Another friend buys F-150's for work (he's an electrician and owns the business). He hasn't had many issues, but a few.

Had a 2014 Grand Cherokee and never had an issue with it in 103,000 miles. Have had three Rams over the last 20 years, a 95 1500, a 2002 1500 and a 2004 2500 diesel (had almost 225,000 miles on it). Never a problem with any of them. Wife is currently driving a 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk with the 2.0l liter turbo engine, not a single issue with it so far.

So, replace the brakes and then what? do it again in another 25,000 miles? Then there's the remaining issues they can't seem to solve.

amxguy1970 · November 7, 2020

"GM obviously has a brake design or pad issue" Yeah, because everyone has had an issue with the brakes failing early, this is the first I have seen of it and brake wear is almost always on the driver and how it is driven. So no, it isn't an obvious brake design issue it is a user issue. As others have said, just replace them, much cheaper. New rotors and pads are around $200. TSB fixes the well known issue with the 8speed and the vibrating, not sure about that. My 2014 is smooth. Best of luck, Ram is notorious for their unreliability, they seem to get everyone with their pretty interior so I don't see you getting much of an upgrade at all and that 5.7 is slower than your 6.2 and maybe even the 5.3.

Tyler

SILVER SLED · November 7, 2020

Who inspected the brakes? Did you see the poorly worn pads and rotors? Is there a bad caliper(s) ? At 28,000 miles the truck should be covered by warranty for anything physical causing uneven brake wear.

Bash74 · November 7, 2020

You say you never had a problem with a Ram and the your wife hasn't had a problem. I say ok. I also say I haven't seen or heard about people having a problem with their brakes. I have seen my 7 recall notices and problems for my Ram though. You even pointed out Rams 2018 brake problem. The point is people run into issues with there vehicles, and it's just the way it is. I am just curious what caused the problem with your brakes? I ask because its still under warranty.

mookdoc6 · November 7, 2020

1 hour ago, DeePa said:

Just fix the brakes. A lot cheaper.

trans has the tsb. Get it done.

Classic!

flyingfool · November 7, 2020

GM is suffering from out sourcing , and pandemic issues. trust me nothing else out there is better, the global manufactering system is a mess

KARNUT · November 7, 2020

Not upside down, trade it. It’s a bug on your mind that’s not going to leave. Maybe the next one will be a keeper. It’s not this one. The one I kept a long time ( 12 years) was 20 years old when I bought it. Got all my money back. Used it to buy a cleaner 20 year old one. So maybe there’s that. My new truck buying days are over. Not worth it to me.

CamGTP · November 9, 2020

The wear that happened on the pads/rotors sounds like it came from issues with the slides and pins. If everything is inspected, cleaned and replaced with new metal tins/slides it should hold up a lot better. Spending $500 for front and rear rotors/pads and doing the work yourself is a cheap enough option.

Or just dump it if you don't want to deal with it and the other issues.

Edited November 9, 2020 by CamGTP

EDL · November 9, 2020

41 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

The wear that happened on the pads/rotors sounds like it came from issues with the slides and pins. If everything is inspected, cleaned and replaced with new metal tins/slides it should hold up a lot better. Spending $500 for front and rear rotors/pads and doing the work yourself is a cheap enough option.

Or just dump it if you don't want to deal with it and the other issues.

Oh, the brakes are getting fixed, and Chevy better fix them under warranty. Someone said they've never heard of these issues with these trucks. Apparently someone can't google. There's quite a few pages out there discussing this exact issue. Here's a couple.

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=11650

https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/gm-tech-tip-uneven-brake-wear/

EDL · November 9, 2020

On 11/7/2020 at 12:34 PM, amxguy1970 said:

"GM obviously has a brake design or pad issue" Yeah, because everyone has had an issue with the brakes failing early, this is the first I have seen of it and brake wear is almost always on the driver and how it is driven. So no, it isn't an obvious brake design issue it is a user issue. As others have said, just replace them, much cheaper. New rotors and pads are around $200. TSB fixes the well known issue with the 8speed and the vibrating, not sure about that. My 2014 is smooth. Best of luck, Ram is notorious for their unreliability, they seem to get everyone with their pretty interior so I don't see you getting much of an upgrade at all and that 5.7 is slower than your 6.2 and maybe even the 5.3.

Tyler

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=11650

https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/gm-tech-tip-uneven-brake-wear/

Just google it...this is just a couple.