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

mhuff · January 28, 2023

Hi all. Add me to the trailer brake issue list. I just bought a 2022 1500 rst in Topeka, KS, to haul my camper with. Right out of the box, had to tow my camper 430 miles at reduced speed so I could stop safely. Over this whole trip The trailer brakes operated about 10% of the time. The other 90 I kept geeting the brakes disabled service message. Sometimes they would reset after restarting truck sometimes not. I had my son hook up to my camper with his truck and towed it, no issues. Hooked mine back on it and second time I used my brakes they were disabled. I need a vehicle that will tow my camper, this truck is useless to me. How the hell does GM get by with this. Consumer's should be informed about these issues before buying these paperweights.

Update: stopped by the local GM dealer on 1/31/22. They pulled the same code most of you guys are getting, c159c. Also did the driveway test...hooked up to camper.... using the slide controller it would occasionally flash a disable message but would clear itself. When using the brake peddle, somewhere between one and six presses I would get the disabled message and trailer brakes would shut down, until I shut off and restarted the truck.

Edited January 31, 2023 by mhuff
Update

Ted D · January 29, 2023

On 1/26/2023 at 7:25 PM, drafil said:

Hi Ted, thanks for sharing this!

Can you please let us know if the brake controller switch replacement procedure for Silverado Trail Boss is the same as for Sierra Elevation? Daniel Murphy posted the steps for Sierra here.

Thank you!

Everything In Daniel Murphy's post looks exactly the same as the TrailBoss I have. The only thing that was slightly tricky was once you have all the screws out of the heater controls trim, pulled carefully on the right side of the heater control trim to release the clips securing it to the carrier/dash behind it. Still had resistance on left upper heater control trim. I had to carefully pull out very slightly on the information trim just enough to remove the heater control assembly, by sliding it downward from under the radio/upper dash trim. Then I was able to swap out the trailer brake control switch. Just an FYI I called by dealer parts dept with the part number from the switch I removed, and was told that that part was superseded/updated to the new part number. I have a hunch the old part number was pre-refresh stock/parts and the refresh software is not compatible.

Ted D · January 29, 2023

21 minutes ago, Ted D said:

Everything In Daniel Murphy's post looks exactly the same as the TrailBoss I have. The only thing that was slightly tricky was once you have all the screws out of the heater controls trim, pulled carefully on the right side of the heater control trim to release the clips securing it to the carrier/dash behind it. Still had resistance on left upper heater control trim. I had to carefully pull out very slightly on the information trim just enough to remove the heater control assembly, by sliding it downward from under the radio/upper dash trim. Then I was able to swap out the trailer brake control switch. Just an FYI I called by dealer parts dept with the part number from the switch I removed, and was told that that part was superseded/updated to the new part number. I have a hunch the old part number was pre-refresh stock/parts and the refresh software is not compatible.

GMCustomerService · January 30, 2023

On 1/28/2023 at 4:43 PM, mhuff said:

Hi all. Add me to the trailer brake issue list. I just bought a 2022 1500 rst in Topeka, KS, to haul my camper with. Right out of the box, had to tow my camper 430 miles at reduced speed so I could stop safely. Over this whole trip The trailer brakes operated about 10% of the time. The other 90 I kept geeting the brakes disabled service message. Sometimes they would reset after restarting truck sometimes not. I had my son hook up to my camper with his truck and towed it, no issues. Hooked mine back on it and second time I used my brakes they were disabled. I need a vehicle that will tow my camper, this truck is useless to me. How the hell does GM get by with this. Consumer's should be informed about these issues before buying these paperweights.

This is certainly not what we like to hear, mhuff. Please know, customer satisfaction is extremely important to us. Our team would be more than happy to take a closer look into the concerns with your 2022 1500 RST. To do so, please send an email to [email protected] with ATTN: mhuff/GM Trucks in the subject line.

Please include your contact information, VIN, a brief description of your concern, and the name of your preferred dealership. We look forward to hearing from you. To learn more about GM’s Privacy Policy, please visit https://www.gm.com/privacy-statement.html. The information you provide may be monitored and recorded and is subject to the GM Privacy Statement.

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Alan Wisler · January 30, 2023

Bulletin PIT5948 only talks about model year 2022 but let me assure you I have the problem on my 2020. More often than not the trailer disconnects after the brakes are successfully applied. Unfortunately, it takes 20 seconds or so to reconnect all the while you are left with no trailer brakes. Trailer has no connection issues when pulled with my older 2000 Silverado that is equipped with an add-on controller.

Don Ross · February 2, 2023

I road tested my truck with new controller and no issues. Seems to be the fix!!

drafil · February 3, 2023

2 hours ago, Don Ross said:

I road tested my truck with new controller and no issues. Seems to be the fix!!

Great, thank you for the update!

Matt0495 · February 3, 2023

5 hours ago, Don Ross said:

I road tested my truck with new controller and no issues. Seems to be the fix!!

I tested just connections to trailer. No issues or failures. Plan on road testing this week!!! Previously it would fail quickly. So far so good!!!

bell75 · February 3, 2023

On 1/22/2023 at 7:55 AM, Daniel Back said:

Thanks for the info Daniel, going to call my dealership to see if I can get then to replace this and if not I may end up doing it myself.

Thank you very much Daniel. I followed your directions and pictures and they were a great help for me to switch out my controller. I’m happy to report that at this point it seems to be working fine. I Can’t understand why GM isn’t fixing this over about a $35 controller.

drafil · February 3, 2023

48 minutes ago, bell75 said:

Thank you very much Daniel. I followed your directions and pictures and they were a great help for me to switch out my controller. I’m happy to report that at this point it seems to be working fine. I Can’t understand why GM isn’t fixing this over about a $35 controller.

Good job bell75! Did you have to reprogram the new controller, or it worked out of the box?

You used the same part #84488395, right?

Daniel Back · February 10, 2023

Just got my switch in and installed today in my 2022 ZR2 and it seems to be working correctly. I ended up getting mine from amazon. Took the trailer around the block and no more message about the brakes being disabled and all the functions are working.

drafil · February 12, 2023

Called my dealer last week and they replaced my brake controller. They tested it in the shop and it seems to work, but I'll have to wait until end of March to validate it is working with my trailer. Hope it is fixed, I'll keep you posted!

drafil · February 12, 2023

Just found this article, somebody could have died because of the same issue: https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/outreach/call-for-action/gmc-truck-owner-says-trailer-brakes-failed-nearly-causing-an-accident/83-e4bbd375-3c35-4e02-9af0-13e6ce013471

Somebody will be gravely injured or die and there is still no official fix from GM to a problem they are aware of for half a year now! Very disappointing...

Edited February 12, 2023 by drafil

Daniel Back · February 12, 2023

My dealer called me Friday afternoon saying that they had an updated switch that they were going to put in my truck that is supposed to fix the issue. I'm taking it in on 24th to have it done so I'll keep you posted on whether it works or not.

blazerk5drew · February 13, 2023

Thank you @daniel murphy

With your tutorial I was able to replace this switch in about 20 minutes. Local dealer had one in stock (New P/N 84488395) for 20$. Towed about 100 miles yesterday and today without issue. No more alert message/trailer brakes disabled and Braking is much stronger on the trailer now. I had to back the gain down to 6 to prevent tires from dragging.