New '02 Silverado 2WD w/Problems

Jet-X · March 24, 2002

Well.... I initially thought this was going to be a good truck, however now it looks like I have a problem child. For the first 300 miles I could hardly tell the 5.3L engine was running, it was so quiet & smooth. Now that I have 900 miles on it, the idle is really rough, causing the vehicle to shake, especially when cold. The auto transmission is beginning to hesitate when pulling away from a dead or rolling stop. It seems that it can't decide which gear it wants, or the torque converter isn't locking up. I'm probably going to bring it to the dealer next week, but wondering if anyone else has a similar experience? What was done if anything, to resolve these issues? Lastly, I have a vibration coming from the engine compartment. It sounds like a loose heat shield or possibly something related to the exhaust. It only occurs when accelerating off idle. Thanks.... G :but:

carguru · March 24, 2002

Welcome to the board. Sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your new truck. For the transmission issue, does it do it when it is cold only or does it matter? The dealer may just have to reprogram the transmission to cure this if it is doing it at any temp. As for the rough idle, is it rough only when the engine is cold? Has the Service Engine Soon light come on? Not sure of the cause without more info. I had a '99 almost exactly configured as you described. I had nearly the exact problems you described. The idle problem I had caused the Service Engine Soon light to come on. The idle was rough no matter if the engine were hot or cold. Turned out to be that the gas cap was loose. Guys doing emissions testing did not tighten the cap. The transmission issue was resolved by reflashing the computer. Another board member, Shaners, just had that done to his and so far it has been fine. The rattle/vibration could be coming from the heat shield. I had one do this before. Very annoying. Since the one I had was welded on, they replaced the entire exhaust under warranty. Does this vibration happen all the time or intermittently? Good luck with the dealer. Hope they fix you right up.

Shaners · March 24, 2002

It's amazing what can be done to these new trucks through a reprogramming or "flashing" of the computer.

My tranny would either try to start in second gear and then once the truck was starting to roll it would slam into first, or other times it would act like it was in neutral and the engine would free-rev before it dropped into gear.

My engine also had a stumble in it in the 1400-1600 rpm range.

Both problems were easily fixed by a reprogramming at the dealer, and the truck has been prefect ever since!!!

CityTruck · March 25, 2002

The owners manual also states that the computer will extend the shift points if the vehicle is cold (ex: stay in first longer at higher rpm before shifting to second). I've had other vehicles do this before but I just thought it was a normal side affect of being cold. This one actually does it on purpose which took me a little getting used to. I generally let my truck idle for a couple of minutes before going anywhere (especially when it's cooler out). I don't like to put a load on it without feeling comfortable that the oil is everywhere it's supposed to be.

Jet-X · March 25, 2002

Thanks for all the replies. I found the cause of the noise. The metal tube on the back of the power steering pump was rubbing up against the pump housing. I just bent it out of the way. One other thing... I noticed this engine has an aluminum block and aluminum heads. Is this the first year for alloy 5.3L engines?