2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 Complaints

STARTED TO LEAVE DRIVEWAY AND BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR WITH NO CONTROL. MANAGED TO COAST TO STOP AND PUSHED TRUCK BACK TO GARAGE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE FUEL GAUGE SHOWED AN ERRONEOUS READING OF EMPTY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL SENSING UNIT HAD FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 200,000. UPDATED 06/27/14*LJ UPDATED 8/23/2017*CN

IN ABOUT 2006, THE FUEL GAUGE IN MY HUSBAND'S TRUCK STOPPED FUNCTIONING. IT SHOWED EMPTY WHEN TANK WAS FULL. NO RECALL NOTICE WAS ISSUED TO US. WHEN HE HAD DIAGNOSED, THE DIAGNOSIS WAS A BAD CHIP OR ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, OR SWITCH. IT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE TO FIX.AT THIS TIME I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER & UNDERWENT SURGERY $ MOS. OF CHEMO. MY HUSBAND,MILITARY RETIREE, STAYED WITH ME IN HOSPITAL. AFTER MY CHEMO, HE HAD BOTH HIPS REPLACED AND WAS BEING TREATED UNTIL 2013 FOR SPINAL INJECTIONS. IN JULY 2013, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE 4 CANCER & PASSED AWAY IN AUGUST. IN THE MEANTIME, WHEN HE DROVE THE TRUCK HE RECORDED MILEAGE AFTER A FILL IN ORDER TO KEEP TRACK OF AMT. OF FUEL.I ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THIS AS BEING NON-SAFE, BUT HE COULD ONLY GET INTO A TRUCK BECAUSE OF HIS MEDICAL CONDITION, SO OUR CHOICES WERE LIMITED.NOW AFTER HIS PASSING, THE TRUCK IS IN MY NAME BUT I DO NOT DRIVE IT BECAUSE I AM AFRAID FOR MY SAFETY BECAUSE OF THE DEFECT.I AM STILL UNDER THE CARE OF AN ONCOLOGIST AND NEED THE TRUCK AT THIS TIME. ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM? IT WOULD RELIEVE THE STRESS & GIVE ME PEACE OF MIND REGARDING MY SAFETY. I AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE. I WAS REFERRED TO YOU BY THE NHTSA. *TR

I BROUGHT MY 2001 CHEVY SILVERADO IN FOR IT'S ANNUAL INSPECTION, I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRUCK DID NOT PASS INSPECTION AS THE FRAME WAS ALL RUSTED OUT, THE REST OF THE TRUCK LOOKS LIKE IT IS ONLY A FEW YEARS OLD AND OTHER THAN THE REAR BUMPER, IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY RUST ON IT, AS I HAVE TAKE WELL CARE OF IT SINCE I PURCHASED IT NEW; A FEW YEARS BACK, I NEEDED TO GET ALL THE BREAK SENSORS REPLACED, HAD TO REPLACE ALL THE BREAK LINES, AND REPLACE 2 OF THE BRAKE ROTORS AND DISK, DUE TO RUST. WHEN I CHECKED AROUND FOR A NEW FRAME, I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS VERY COMMON FOR GM TRUCKS BUILT AROUND 2001. I CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY A NEW TRUCK OR PAY THE APPROX. $7,000 COST OF PUTTING A NEW FRAME UNDER MY TRUCK. I THINK THAT DUE TO ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS PARTICULAR MODEL YEAR, GM SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL TO REPLACE THE FRAMES, AND REIMBURSE. *TR

UPON SLOWING DOWN NEAR MY HOUSE THE BRAKE PEDAL ALMOST TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR. I WAS ABLE TO PULL INTO THE DRIVEWAY WITHOUT HITTING ANYTHING AND I USED MY EMERGENCY BRAKE TO HOLD THE TRUCK IN PLACE WHILE I PLACED THE TRUCK IN PARK. I PUMPED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND FLUID WAS POURING OUT OF ONE OF THE BRAKE LINES. THE BRAKE LINES ARE SEVERELY RUSTED OUT AS WERE THE FUEL LINES I HAD REPLACED IN THE PAST. *TR

COMING UP ON A RED LIGHT, I APPLIED THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN TO A STOP, WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. ONLY THEN DID THE BRAKE LIGHT COME ON. I PUT THE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL, AND FINALLY COASTED TO A STOP. UPON FINDING A PIN HOLE IN ONE LINE, THE COMPLETE BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED. ONCE REPLACING THE BRAKE LINES, THE FUEL LINES WAS ALSO SO RUSTED, AND THEY WERE ABOUT TO FAIL. *TR

TRANSMISSION LOST 1ST AND REVERSE. SPOKE WITH TRANSMISSION MECHANIC AND LEARNED THAT THE GM 4L60E USES "PRESSED POWDERED METAL" TO MANUFACTURE THE SUNSHELL IN THE 4L60E. LEARNED THAT MECHANICS REFER TO THE 4L60E TRANSMISSION AS A "140 THOUSAND TO 160 THOUSAND MILE PART" REQUIRING A VERY EXPENSE REBUILD OR REPLACE. ALSO LEARNED THAT AFTERMARKET SUNSHELLS ARE AVAILABLE IN CASE HARDENED STEEL FOR ABOUT $50.00 USD. *JS

WENT TO CHANGE EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND GASKET WHEN NUMBER ONE CYLINDER MANIFOLD BOLT BROKE OFF UNDER MINIMAL PRESSURE. BOLT BROKE OFF FLUSH/RECESSED TO GASKET SURFACE OF CYLINDER HEAD. INSPECTED BOLT AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE BOLT WAS FRACTURED WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED DURING VEHICLE ASSEMBLY. SPOKE WITH DEALERSHIP AND REPRESENTATIVE PULLED UP VIN HISTORY IN COMPUTER. HISTORY SHOWED AN ERROR WITH NUMBER ONE CYLINDER DURING VEHICLE ASSEMBLY AND DEALER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE STATED "THAT MOTOR SHOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT OUT OF THE ASSEMBLY PLANT." NO HELP FROM DEALERSHIP TO REMOVE BROKEN BOLT SO EXHAUST LEAK CAN BE REPAIRED. DEALERSHIP ALSO NOTICED THAT THE NUMBER ONE SPARK PLUG ON THE SAME CYLINDER WAS STICKING OUT FURTHER THAN THE OTHER PLUGS. COME TO FIND OUT THAT THE SPARK PLUG HOLE HAD NOT BEEN THREADED ALL THE WAY INTO THE CYLINDER. NO HELP FROM GM ON THAT ONE EITHER. HAD TO BUY A TAP AND FINISH THREADING THE HOLE MYSELF AT HOME. RESEARCHED BROKEN BOLT EXTRACTION FOR SILVERADO EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS AN EPIDEMIC AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. *JS

SIMPLY DRIVING WEST ON NORTH AVE AT 25 - 30. HAD TO APPLY BRAKES GETTING CLOSE TO INTERSECTION. BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, HAD NO BRAKES AT ALL. TRIED USING FOOT OPERATED EMERGENCY BRAKE BUT IT DID NOT WORK EITHER. PUT IT INTO 4 WD LOW TO SLOW AS BEST I COULD. DROVE OFF THE ROAD ONTO GRASS TO AVOID CAR AHEAD OF ME. DROVE VERY SLOWLY IN 4WD LOW TO F&F TIRE AT 410 N. MOORLAND BLVD THE CLOSEST CAR SERVICE SHOP ABOUT 2 MILES FROM WHERE BRAKES WENT OUT. SERVICE TECH CHECKED AND REPORTED THE BRAKE LINES ARE EXTREMELY RUSTED AND ONE LET GO. LATER HE REPORTED ALL LINES WERE EXTREMELY RUSTED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. THIS TRUCK HAS SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 50,000. IT IS ALWAYS KEPT IN A GARAGE WHEN NOT IN USE AND RARELY USED AS PER 50,000 + IN 13 YEARS. HAD RUST PROBLEM WITH BRAKES WHEN VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 30,000. STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL REAR CALIPERS REPLACED AT THAT TIME SHOWING OUTER PAD ON DRIVER SIDE NEVER MOVED TO CONTACT ROTOR, BUT INNER PAD RIVET WAS GOUGING THE ROTOR. BRAKE PEDAL WENT CLOSE TO FLOOR DURING FIRST MONTH OF PURCHASE. CALLED DEALER AND WAS TOLD "THAT'S HOW ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ARE". TRUCK WAS TAKEN IN (DEALER) FOR ROUTINE CHECKING & TO INSTALL FOG LIGHTS. CHECK-OFF SHEET NEVER MENTIONED ANYTHING ABOUT BRAKES. HAVE REPLACE 4 ELECTRIC WINDOW MOTORS ON PASSENGER SIDE SO FAR. LAST TIME OPERATED THE WINDOW LESS THAN A DOZEN TIMES BEFORE WINDOW FAILED TO OPEN AGAIN. DEALER ALWAYS CLAIMS RUST IS BECAUSE TRUCK IS NOT DRIVEN ENOUGH. WEBSITE COMPLAINTS ABOUT RUSTY ROTORS AND BRAKES PROVES OTHERWISE, OVER 400,000 HITS WHEN I CHECKED AFTER MY BRAKES/ROTORS RUSTED AWAY. THIS VEHICLE IS A LEMON AND I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER GM PRODUCT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 190,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 198,000.