2022 silverado faulty trailer brake controller and buggy camera when trailer connected

[Dakota Cole]

9 minutes ago, Texasrivercreek said:

Same issue. Purchased truck October 28. Hooked up trailer for the first time on November 28 after 1400 miles for a test drive with the trailer and experienced the same error almost immediately. I am glad I did that test run before my trip.
 

This has been a horrible experience. I could not get an appointment locally. The only dealership that would see me is the dealership where I bought the truck, which is 3 hours away (one way). We woke up at 3am to get to the dealer at 7am to diagnose the issue and tell me that there is nothing they can do and call GM. This is what the paperwork says “SCAN FOUND C159C TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER SWITCH UNKNOWN CAUSE ,,, ENGINEERING AWARE OF PROBLEM AND WORKING ON FIX TSI PIT5948A” That was an entire day wasted. A day I should have been camping.

 

Another pain, is that in trying to diagnose the issue on my trailer side (before I found this post) I replaced the 7-pin plug on my 1 year old trailer which I now know was totally unnecessary.

 

Opened a case with GM which has been escalated but have not talked to the next person yet. Also opened a case with BBB and GM called me about that case yesterday but I was unable to answer my phone. I will keep checking this post for updates and I will post as well.

 

 Like many of you have said, it is sad that GM sells these trucks with this known issue. We bought this truck specifically for towing my RV. Now every day I have this truck is another day I cannot use my RV, which I use for business trips, doctors appointments, and vacation trips. Just had to cancel a trip this week, and I have two trips lined up in early January and beyond. On top of that, this is our only vehicle.

 

My wife has also contacted consumer reports.

 

Anybody aware of any class action law suits?

 

Glad to posted to BBB, I also posted to NHTSA. I’ve not heard back. I’m not aware of a class action yet. Sounds like we use our RVs for similar uses making this a critical issue for us. I’m in OK and had a similar dealer experience and GM is supposed to contact me every 4 days with updates. My buy back request is pending. 

[Texasrivercreek]

Thanks for the update Dakota Cole. I did some searching and found that a law firm is investigating. They have a good write up.

 

https://lemberglaw.com/chevrolet-silverado-1500-faulty-trailer-brake-controller/

[64BAwagon]

Dont waste your energy filing anything with the BBB, their only function is to avert your attention away from people with the ability to actually solve problems. Its a trap. 

I know there are a lot of these cases out there but one of the biggest problems with trailers is the piss poor quality of the wiring and the components. Its kind of like trying to connect an 8 track player to your I-phone. 

A lot of the problem is trying to make a sophisticated, sensitive electronic system work with poorly built, ancient practices(RV's)

 

[New guy]

Well sad to say. I traded my truck for a ford.  Took a hit but the truck I got was well worth it. 

[Anthony Bessel]

My philosophy is never not to judge by the mistake itself but rather what's done to resolve it. There's something wrong with these trucks' ability to control a trailer. With such a complex machine, it's understandable that problems might come. 

 

GM should have communicated this directly to their dealers; especially when it's regarding a core function of the most popular vehicle in the lineup and its very popular derivatives. I spoke to three dealers and all three claimed to have no idea what I was talking about. I believe them. 

 

Instead the trucks found their way onto sales invoices with no parties involved aware the problem that had just been created for the customer. I feel for those of you that have had to cancel vacations or now can't complete important work. 

 

In my opinion, anyone approaching GM (not dealership) in a predicament because of this issue should have a buyback waiting for them after a dealership has confirmed the issue. Sure it's going to cost sales and is most likely not good for the bottom line but I think demonstrating they are willing to leave a paying customer hanging because of a known issue (i.e. preexisted the truck and the deal) can't be good for brand confidence. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Anthony Bessel

[DonewithGM22]

3 hours ago, Anthony Bessel said:

My philosophy is never not to judge by the mistake itself but rather what's done to resolve it. There's something wrong with these trucks' ability to control a trailer. With such a complex machine, it's understandable that problems might come. 

 

GM should have communicated this directly to their dealers; especially when it's regarding a core function of the most popular vehicle in the lineup and its very popular derivatives. I spoke to three dealers and all three claimed to have no idea what I was talking about. I believe them. 

 

Instead the trucks found their way onto sales invoices with no parties involved aware the problem that had just been created for the customer. I feel for those of you that have had to cancel vacations or now can't complete important work. 

 

In my opinion, anyone approaching GM (not dealership) in a predicament because of this issue should have a buyback waiting for them after a dealership has confirmed the issue. Sure it's going to cost sales and is most likely not good for the bottom line but I think demonstrating they are willing to leave a paying customer hanging because of a known issue (i.e. preexisted the truck and the deal) can't be good for brand confidence. 

Well said!! I couldn't agree more!!

It's just sad that in this crazy world we are living, big business no longer care about their customers. It seems making sales and lining their pockets is more important. 

We need to get as much information out to potential buyers as we can, so they don't have to deal with what we are currently dealing with. Again, that should be done by GM, not their customers. Nonetheless it needs to be put out to the public.

[1997SierraSLT]

The consumers ultimately head up GM’s beta testing department.  

[Anthony Bessel]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have a '22 that does not have the brake controller issue? 

[Mike Duhaime]

6 hours ago, Anthony Bessel said:

Out of curiosity, does anyone have a '22 that does not have the brake controller issue? 

I didn't get the brake controller. Picked up 22.5 Silverado off the lot as equipped cause it took 4-6 months to order. Barely any GM trucks  on lots here in Ontario. I just popped in my Curt Echo Bluetooth brake controller. It works off my phone. Plug and play, swap vehicles and take it with you. It just uses the 12 volt supply from hitch plug...owes nothing to the vehicle you drive. Just need 12 volt power supply (mine was there already). I used it on last trailer with no issues.

 

[Texasrivercreek]

I like the idea of the wireless brake controller. Thanks for the heads up, I can look into that. The Echo uses an accelerometer to apply the brake.

 

Kind of funny how a smart phone can interface with trailer brakes and a $60k truck cannot.

[Edavis08]

On 11/16/2022 at 7:30 PM, Mike Duhaime said:

Ford has way way more issues than GM. I've worked at both dealerships as a technician. GM has issues, but Ford problems are monumental. People still love them. Just as an example of the difference in FOWARD and GM...  we regularly had to tow new Fords off the car carrier. Some came from factory with AC compressor not installed, but hoses and wiring there. How about 3 sets of brakes on an F150 in 60k miles?  my insurance agent said GM is cheaper to insure because it's much harder to steal than Ford. GM tech with On star make it risky to take.

On my new GM, i'm simply using the Curt Echo smart wireless brake controller. Works real slick, plug and play. You're phone is the controller.

There will be a software update and patch.

Does your truck have the problematic trailer brakes?  Just curious if the Curt system will work if the truck has the integrated trailer brake system.  I've tried a couple of wired external brake systems and they won't work because of the integrated system. 

[Anthony Bessel]

I happened to notice this when looking through inventory on the Chevy site:

 

This note is on the vast majority of trucks listed but I can't seem to find any information on it. I also found the same message when looking at inventory directly on the dealer sites. Does anyone know what's behind this? Is it possible this is related to this thread? 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Anthony Bessel

[blazerk5drew]

Same issue on my truck 2022 ZR2.  Same "No resolution GM is working on a fix" response from dealer.  Started a claim with GM waiting for response.  I NEED to tow regularly with this truck, tractor or travel trailer 6-8k lbs trailer multiple times a week. I think we can all agree this isn't safe.  I just want the truck to work.  I'd be happy if they found me another one, but this downtime is killing me.  Before the problem was diagnosed, we spent a bunch of time testing on other trailers and other trucks.  Can anyone tell me what the benefit of posting the issue to NHTSA?  The dealer doesn't have anything to loan me and I just had to pay to have the travel trailer transported to my property.  I'm losing faith here as the truck also makes a strange intermittent knock noise while warming up in the morning too.  This situation with the trailer brakes is going to cause accidents plain and simple.  

[Mac1957]

On 12/9/2022 at 2:42 PM, Edavis08 said:

Does your truck have the problematic trailer brakes?  Just curious if the Curt system will work if the truck has the integrated trailer brake system.  I've tried a couple of wired external brake systems and they won't work because of the integrated system. 

I have the integrated trailer brake system and I have the curt system and it works great. Uses the power pin to power it so the truck doesn’t think it needs the brake controller.

[kboatr2]

Hey GM! Almost end of the year. WHERE'S the integrated brake fix? Fix what's already out there before building new ones. Recall for driving lights coming in January that's a safety issue. Get the lead out.