Over the past few weeks, you’ve probably seen a handful of articles with some variation of the headline “GM To Replace 2.7L Engines In Silverado, Colorado & Sierra Due to Cracked Blocks”. It’s a great headline to catch your interest and get you to read the story. But there’s just one problem- it’s grossly deceptive, and we have to admit we (and everyone else) got the story wrong.
When we first wrote our coverage on “Customer Satisfaction Program N232415060 – Block Main Oil Gallery Hot Core Pin Casting Defect”, we just reported what we knew. General Motors would replace an unknown number of engines in the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado, 2023 Chevrolet Colorado, and 2023 GMC Sierra. Of course, when you say “unknown number of engines”, it’s easy to get caught up and think it’s hundreds, maybe even thousands of trucks that will get a new engine. That’s what we did. That’s what every outlet that ran the story did. And we were fools for doing so.
As it turns out, the number of trucks getting a new engine due to this manufacturing defect is less than thousands. It’s less than hundreds- it’s even less than tens. It’s 12. Yes, twelve. Only twelve trucks have this issue- but you’d never know it from reading all the doom and gloom articles. It’s far from a major, far-reaching issue, especially for a company that produces over 100,000 of these engines each year.
Here’s the official communication to dealers:
Date: February 20, 2024
Subject: N232415060 – Customer Satisfaction Program
Block Main Oil Gallery Hot Core Pin Casting Defect
Models: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado
2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
2023 GMC Sierra 1500
To: All General Motors Dealers
General Motors is releasing Customer Satisfaction Program N232415060 today. The total number of U.S. vehicles involved is approximately 12. Please see the attached bulletin for details.
Customer Letter Mailing
The customer letter mailing will begin on March 1, 2024.
Global Warranty Management (GWM)
The Required Field Action section on the Investigate Vehicle History (IVH) screen will be updated February 20, 2024. A Stock VIN list is not included as our records show there are no vehicles in dealer new inventory.
We should have dug deeper and found out the number of trucks affected. Other outlets should have too. Even so-called General Motors “Authority” websites didn’t report the number of trucks with issues and just wanted your clicks.
Next time we promise to do better- and you should hold us to that.
About The 2.7L L3B Engine aka TurboMax
The L3B 2.7L Turbo engine, introduced in various model years for the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Chevrolet Colorado, is characterized by its advanced engineering and specifications. It features a four-cylinder configuration with a dual-volute turbocharger, optimizing power delivery and efficiency. Specifically, in the Silverado and Sierra 1500 models starting from 2019, the engine delivers up to 310 horsepower and 348 lb-ft of torque. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were introduced with this engine in the 2023 model year, and it adapts to meet the specific demands of a mid-size truck platform. Key technologies include turbocharging, direct injection, and a start/stop system to enhance fuel economy.
