Finally Traded My 2014 Silverado

[Newell33]

Hi Guys

 

I had seen this forum in the past, but I finally joined after purchasing my 2014 Silverado back in January of 2014. After several months of ownership, I came back to the forum to see if anyone else was experiencing the same issues as me, and if there were any solutions to my problems. As I've mentioned in other posts, my first new truck was purchased in 2000. I then bought new again in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2014. I've owned half tons with both the 5.3 engine as well as the 6.2 engine (2011). I also owned a 2007.5 2500HD with a Duramax. That was probably my favorite truck of all of them. I ended up trading it when diesel prices were high, and I was no longer towing. I was proud to own all of these trucks, and I never had any major issues with them.

 

My thoughts on GM's engineering and design skills changed completely after owning my 2014 Silverado. The truck was a 1500 with the 5.3 engine. This was the single most disappointing vehicle purchase that I've made thus far. Although I was lucky enough not to have the vibration issue, I had several other issues that really irritated me:

 

1. Transmission Tuning

It amazes me that some owners note that their trucks drive just fine, while others have clunking, hesitation, flair shifting, lurching, gear hunting, and other issues. My truck was horrible, and it made me want to pull my hair out every time I was in the driver's seat. The tuning was finally improved some after the transfer case recall (for whatever reason), but it was still completely unacceptable. There's no way the truck should have left the factory with this tuning. I'm convinced that a lot of these transmissions were not properly built, and a few members have provided evidence of this (loose pump or valve body bolts). Tuning fixes some of these issues, but some are still present after the tuning. I also wasn't fond of the transmission downshifting 2 gears when put into manual mode. Previous generations didn't downshift, they simple gave you the control to downshift or upshift as needed.

 

2. AFM System

The AFM system on my truck was horrible. It would lug and sputter when transitioning from downhill to uphill, and then the transmission would clunk, give the feeling that it was momentarily braking, and then sometimes downshift. Again, others mention that theirs is seamless. Mine was quite the opposite.

 

3. Headlights

The GMC trucks have been noted as having horrible headlights, but I also noticed a decrease in output going from my 2011 to my 2014 Silverado.

 

4. Seat Heaters

This was my first truck with heated seats. When I first tried them with my remote start system, I didn't think that they were working (even though the option was selected). What I and others have found is that the system takes quite a while to warm up, and you must be sitting in the seats for that warm up to be noticeable. When using this feature, I noticed that the seats would eventually warm up, but by the time they were warm, the rest of the cab was also warm, thus defeating the purpose of having warm seats when the vehicle was first started. I also had my lower heating element replaced once under warranty. This is common, and obviously a quality control failure somewhere down the line.

 

5. Console / Cup Holders

My truck had the bench seat with the flip down console. I noticed right away that the cup holder design had changed, and that my square Lipton tea bottles wouldn't fit without jamming them down in there. Even then, they wouldn't go down all the way. This isn't a bid deal, but the previous design was better. As illustrated on this site, the bottom of the cup holder area no longer had an insert, and there were open slots in the plastic that allow spillage and moisture to come in direct contact with the console fabric. Who approved this idea?

 

5. MyLink System

The MyLink system in my truck was very slow, and often required multiple touches to get the system to navigate through the menus. The voice command feature was pretty much useless, and after several initial attempts to use it, I never used it again. I hear that the 2016's are quicker and respond better.

 

6. Steering Wheel Controls

The steering wheel controls on my truck only seemed to work about half the time. The volume buttons worked fine, but the other buttons often took 2 or 3 presses of the button to get the system to function. I've seen other reports of this as well.

 

7. Wiper Blades

From day one my factory wiper blades didn't work very well. They left streaks, and didn't always make complete contact with the windshield. I've always left my factory blades alone as they always seemed to last 3-4 years without needing to be replaced. I think this is both a design and a blade quality issue.

 

8. LED Interior Lighting

At first I thought the LED interior lighting was pretty neat. After a while, though, I realized that the lumen output of the LED lamps were not adequate for me to see as well as I had hoped inside the cab. I did like the small lamp that's on all the time, and illuminates the beverage area. This was a nice feature. LED lighting is nice when it's properly designed. Unfortunately, I found myself needing more light quite often.

 

9. Loose Driver's Seat

I had seen other members post about a loose driver's seat. My truck was fine for about 11,000 miles. Then, it started to move around. I had my dealer fix the issue, but it started to become loose again just recently. Again, another design / quality issue.

 

10. Radio Reception

I noticed right away that my radio reception was worse than my 2011. When you listen to certain stations with your earlier model truck, and they no longer come in, then it's safe to say that the technology went backwards. My HD radio would also fade in and out, and sound like a muffled mono signal when it kicked out.

 

11. Warm Up Time

I noticed right away that my 2014 truck took longer than my 2011 to warm up. This was especially the case below 25 degrees F. I'm not sure if others had run into this issue or not, but it was noticeable for me. I also didn't like the fact that the HVAC system heated or cooled to the previous dial setting. Previous generations either heated or cooled to a certain temperature regardless of the dial settings. I believe there's an update for this.

 

 

I did like the looks of the interior of the truck, as well as the quietness of the cab. Beyond that, I think the truck was a step backwards in quality control and systems design.

 

After a little more than two years of disappointment, I finally decided to make a change. Instead of trying a 2016, and wondering if I'd get a vibrator, or another 14 with improved styling, I decided to buy my first used truck since the year 2000, a 2013 GMC Sierra 2500HD with the 6.0 engine. After driving the truck over the weekend, I can't believe how much happier I am. The transmission shifts like it should, there's no hesitation, clunking, or AFM issues, the steering wheel controls work like they should, the console storage is bigger, I can actually fit a tea bottle in the cup holders, the stereo system actually works like it should when you press a button, the headlights are considerably brighter (as I had remembered), and the truck just does what it's supposed to do.

 

I spend quite a bit of time in my truck, and I enjoy driving, and I can't tell you how irritating it was for someone who enjoys driving to drive a vehicle with such horrible tuning. Some of the other issues can be dealt with, but for me, the transmission and AFM tuning made me have a bad attitude every time I got behind the wheel.

 

I'm a firm believer that these trucks were value engineered, and that GM did a very poor job of quality control along the way. My advice to others is that life is short. I know it may not make sense financially, but if you're pulling your hair out daily, dump the truck and go with something you know is proven. Unfortunately, I had to go backwards a few years to accomplish this goal.

 

[chuckl1218]

I understand and have done it a few times myself (Cadillac STS-V, Lincoln LS). Electrical issues, components that keep breaking, vibration...

[WLC]

Nice looking truck!

[Daryl Z71]

Nothing wrong with going backwards in model year, I've done it myself. Nice truck!

[tnchevy]

Nice truck and good luck with the HD, very nice ride! I too have similar thoughts as you do about "value engineering" these trucks. I keep my trucks a lot longer than you but I have owned a 1982, 1992, 2002, and now my 2014 all Silverados. I really enjoyed my first three trucks from the day I bought them till the day I let them go. My 2014 has not been as happy as an experience. I do not dislike my 2014 but I have never really fell in love with it either if you know what I mean. It has nice gizmos like the touch screen and built in brake controller and the most powerful engine I have owned so far but I still feel like it is not half the truck my 2002 was. My 2002 was rusting to the ground but the engine and trans were in great shape, got nearly the same mpg as my 2014, smooth as silk on the interstate, and the radio worked great. I only drive my truck one day a week and a tight *ss too boot but if this was my daily driver I may have already traded. I too have been looking at HD's and there might be one in my future as well even though I have no use for one.

[f8l vnm]

Good luck.

In the truck business I've learned the grass is always the same color your on now. Every truck maker has problems.

[Stars_Fan]

I'm about to ditch my 14 also. I have many of the same complaints that you did and I'm not willing to continue to live with them.

 

I've been searching for a 16 camaro ss to replace my truck. I'm ready to get back to a manual fun car.

[tnchevy]

Good luck.

In the truck business I've learned the grass is always the same color your on now. Every truck maker has problems.

True but in my experience GM is getting worse at it, not better. I've owned a silverado from 4 different decades and drove 8 different ones for my job over the last 20 years and and I can tell the quality and drive ability is not what it once was.

[Graphic]

I traded mine in as well, but for a different brand. No way was I going to remain with GM after being treated like that. Sent them an 8 page letter that started as me just writing down what was going on and it turned into a "How to lose a customer after 25 years" example of what not to do. I am sure they have appropriately filed it. I know they got it, they called asking me what I wanted.

 

I had a lot of the same issues. I couldn't believe some of the things that were wrong, like the ridiculous warm up time, the transmission tuning, etc... My steering and eventually got sorta fixed, but everything I found wrong on my truck go the same "normal" response from the dealer, then the area rep. Then I could search for it on here and find TSB and recall numbers and fixes. I shouldn't have to do that for the dealer, or the area rep to prove my case.

 

Still the best interior I have experienced in a pickup overall. Hopefully the frames that were rusting due to the wax falling off like mine, (normal they say) will last. Probably will, but who knows what the interior of the frame looks like. That was the last straw for me. I do like the updated front on the 2016 though.

 

Before, all I really considered was GM. Sure I looked at others, but at heart I was a GM guy. Not so much anymore. Not at all actually. Not saying I will never go back, but if I do it will have to be a hell of deal.

[treefort]

After putting over 300,000 trouble-free kms onto my 2008 2500hd 6.0l, I seriously considered getting a 2013 with low kms too but so far so good with the 2014 ltz 5.3l. I have the afm clunk and slow seat warm up, but all other problems have been fixed. She has over 76,000kms now and I still love her. Maybe I'll regret not getting the 2013 down the road. We will see. I don't blame you trading yours in when you know how happy you could be.

[Rock1500]

I never had a truck so I can't compare my 2014 to anything else so to me I love my truch. But I notice the same issues as you have mentioned. Gm really went cheap on a lot of stupid shit. I mentioned it to the dealership. They are finally fixing them in the 2016 but still males no sense to leave the 2014 behind like they did.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[2017SierraSLT]

I like your taste in trucks. Your '13 is sweet!

[Electric]

is there any advice on the subject of replacing turn/flashers from incande lamps to led on 2016 Silverado I tried and got problem code and hyper flash

[silveradosid]

I am with you 2013 sierrasle, my buddy has a 2013 and it is so much nicer to drive than my 2014 clunkerado. hope I can find one as nice as the one you got

[L86 All Terrain]

I wish i still had my 2010 somedays too. About the only positive with K2 is styling and interior quiet-ness. My 2010 had napkins shoved everywhere to stop rattles and squeaks. 2015 is quiet and tight and more current. But as far as drivability, the 07-13 were way better. How do you have over 2 million miles of testing and not notice that the headlights suck? Did you forget to test at night, or did you order 800,000 headlamps based on a prototype because they look cool? Sick of prices going up and things getting Mickey Moused even harder.