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GM states that drivers buy a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, “When Nothing Less than the Most Dependable Will Do.” This statement assumes that the Silverado is the most dependable truck on the road, but that’s not how drivers feel about it. Aside from smaller issues such as easily chipped paint, this full-size truck suffers from many deficiencies. Some of the major complaints stem from the rough powertrain, bouncy suspension and unreliable steering. The Silverado may be many things, but dependable isn’t the first word to come to many peoples’ minds.
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Power Train | |
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Steering | |
| Suspension | |
| Electronic Stability Control | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Seat Belts |
Problems with Vibration and Transmission
No one expects that a truck is going to provide the smoothest ride around, but today’s technology has made it better than ever. Many trucks now offer smooth-shifting, reliable power. Unfortunately, complaints regarding the 2018 Chevy Silverado suggest otherwise about this truck.
One driver took to Edmunds to make this statement regarding their experience. “Before it had 500 miles on it, I could tell something wasn’t right. The 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd shift had a hesitation and was sloppy. At speeds 25 to 45 mph it felt like it would miss or shudder, not terrible but I could feel it. In the mornings it would idle at 1100 rpm, and run terrible for the first several miles. I took it to the local Chevy dealer and we drove it, they told me the transmission had to ‘learn’ my driving style and it might take 2000 miles before it would improve. After some investigation on the internet, I found there was a lot of people with 2016 and 2017 with the same problems; GM actually has a name for it ‘chuggle and fish bite.’ I called GM and opened a complaint but basically got the runaround. At 2000 miles, I took it back to the dealership armed with service bulletin numbers for the 2017 that were giving trouble. They drove it and said there was a problem with the way it shifted but because the TCM service bulletins were for 2017 and my truck is a 2018 they couldn’t perform those updates. But there was another ECM update and they did that and it shifted better. Bottom line is my truck doesn’t run right. I have tried to call the GM customer service rep I have talked to last, he gave me his extension number. But I have left two messages and he hasn’t called me back.”
There are numerous Service Bulletins issued from the company regarding the powertrain concerns. Service Bulletin #PIP5531 relates to stalling shudder, hard shifting and reverse vibration. In this situation, technicians are asked to evaluate excessive crankshaft end play and inspect the crankshaft bearings.
In Service Bulletin #17-NA-228, the automaker refers to a clicking or ticking noise on 3-4 shift with trucks that have a six-speed Allison automatic transmission. With this issue, Chevy claims it is a normal characteristic and doesn’t require any repair. They also claim it won’t affect the longevity of the transmission. So, what they are really telling consumers is that it doesn’t matter what noises or weird sounds come from your truck, it’s completely normal. Believe it or not, some people think that’s actually true.
Here are some actual complaints logged with the NHTSA about the 2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 Transmission Problems:
PARKED AND SHUT OFF, DISCONNECTED TRAILER. TRUCK ROLLED BACK WHILE IN PARK. I JUMPED OUT OF WAY AND TRIED TO OPEN DOOR TO STOP. DOOR KNOCKED ME DOWN AND CONTINUED BACKWARDS DRAGGING ME. FINAL STOP OVER EDGE OF POND AGAINST TREE STUMP. HAD TOWED TO DEALER FOR INSPECTION BY CHEVY ENGINEER. 2 WEEKS NO COMMUNICATION.
THIS TRUCKS TRANSMISSION SHIFTS WHENEVER IT WANTS TO… I WAS DRIVING 45MPH AND COASTING TO A RED LIGHT WHEN IT DOWNSHIFTS HARD BUT WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AGAIN AND I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR I HAD NO TORQUE, LIKE I WAS IN 5TH GEAR AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN 2ND. I PRESSED A BIT HARDER AND IT DOWNSHIFTED HARD AGAIN AND WAS AT 5K RPMS! I THOUGHT IT HAD AN 8 SPEED TRANSMISSION, BUT IT SURE DOESNT SEEM LIKE IT. MY TRUCK WAS NEW AND ONLY HAS 5K MILES ON IT. UNACCEPTABLE
THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS OR SHUDDER, ALSO HAS FREE WHEELED WHEN GOING DOWN HILL AT SLOW SPEEDS, ALSO OCCURS IN REVERSE, USUALLY ABOUT 1 TO 2 CAR LENGTHS. HAVE RETURNED TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND BEEN TOLD THAT GM DOES NOT HAVE A REMEDY. HAD THE SERVICE RECOMMENDATION OF A TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH DONE TWICE WITH DIFFERENT FLUID INSTALLED WITH NO CHANGE. HAS BEEN IN THE DEALERS SHOP FOR 3 WEEKS WITH GM LOOKING AT THE PROBLEM, NO SOLUTION IN SIGHT. NO CONFIDENCE THAT GM CAN FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS COULD DEVELOP INTO A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE.
Problems with the Suspension
If you thought the noises and vibration ended at the powertrain, you would be wrong. The suspension seems to have just as many complaints about the ride it provides. It seems no matter which way you look at it; the Chevy Silverado can’t seem to offer a smooth, comfortable drive.
One owner on Edmunds wrote, “$50,000 truck that vibrates, shifts bad, drives terrible, jumps and jerks. And the dealer says it’s the way the truck should drive. I have owned 3 trucks and a Suburban with the same motor and transmission and none of them drove like this piece of junk. Dealer says you cannot compare them??? All kind of complaints on same issue but GM has done nothing.”
Again, there are multiple Service Bulletins from the automaker addressing concerns with the suspension. Bulletin #PIT5049E refers to the rattle, squeak, clunk, thump and bump noises coming out of the front suspension. In this correspondence, the automaker recommends looking to the opposite side of the noise to find the root cause, but there is no suggestion on how to repair it.
In Service Bulletin #PIT5533B, GM refers to another creak, click, pop or crack-type noise coming from the front suspension during turns. It appears that it happens more often while making a tight turn and can often be felt in the footwell region. The root cause appears to be insufficient torque of the front frame crossmember or lower control arm bolts. To fix it, the technicians must loosen and re-torque the four front frame crossmember bolts and nuts plus the front lower control arm mounting bolts and nuts. Despite Chevy’s claims, we still don’t see the dependability they are referring to; unless you consider loud, annoying noises as a sign of reliability.
Here are some actual complaints logged with the NHTSA about the 2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 Suspension Problems:
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL, ACCELERATOR PEDAL, AND CENTER CONSOLE EXPERIENCED EXCESSIVE VIBRATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO COUNTRY CHEVROLET (11 E. LEE HWY, WARRENTON, VA), BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200.
STARTED TO HEAR CLUNKING NOISE AROUND 15,000 MILES. THE NOISE STARTED TO GET WORSE AS TIME WENT BY. FIRST IT WAS JUST WHEN DRIVING UP MY DRIVEWAY THEN IT WAS WHILE DRIVING OR EVEN STATIONARY PUSHING DOWN ON THE REAR BUMPER. FOUND THAT THE LEAF SPRINGS WERE CRACKED BUT IT WASN’T VISIBLE WHILE THEY WERE ON THE VEHICLE.
Problems with the Steering
Up until now, we’ve dealt with a lot of issues regarding the ride and comfort, but the steering concerns take us to another level. No one wants to deal with steering problems as it leads to anxiety and fear while driving down the road. Still, Silverado owners find themselves wondering why they have so many issues with the steering column.
One owner went to Edmunds to vent frustrations. The review says, “Bought this truck 9 months ago has been in the shop 32 days for work since I bought it. It’s a daily driver for the road to work and home so not abused at all. First, it took them forever to figure out where the cab noise is coming from then when they did, it was the boot for the steering column, I have had the truck back a month and less than 500 miles and it’s back again. Come to find out that is a common problem with this boot and its defective. My truck is a 2018 same look, model, style and the 2016, 2017, 2018 and they still refuse to design a new boot to fix the issue and keep replacing it with the same defective existing piece. My truck goes back on Monday for the exact same issue again.”
GM issued Service Bulletin #PIT5565A which addresses a squeaking and squawking noise while turning the steering wheel. The root cause stems from the lack of lubrication in the shaft where it passes through the engine bulkhead I-shaft boot. To repair it, techs must apply lithium based grease where the I-shaft touches the rubber boot. Too bad there’s no way to put grease all over the truck to reduce all the crazy noises and sounds coming from it.
Here are some actual complaints logged with the NHTSA about the 2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 Steering Problems:
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE CONTACT RELEASED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE STEERING WHEEL RETURNED TO NORMAL. THE CONTACT CALLED CHEVROLET OF WEST (225 M W PKWY, WEST, TX 76691) AND WAS INFORMED TO CALL THE MANUFACTURER. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,759.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING (EPS) FAILED AND CAUSED THE STEERING WHEEL TO BE EXTREMELY TIGHT. THE STEERING WHEEL HAD TO BE MANUALLY MANEUVERED FROM RIGHT TO LEFT WITH DIFFICULTY. THE EPS INDICATOR FLASHED A WARNING EACH TIME AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY FORCE TO MANEUVER THE STEERING WHEEL TO ENSURE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SAFELY DRIVEN. THE DEALER (LINDNER CHEVROLET, 2805 FREMONT DR, CAÑON CITY, CO 81212, 1-719-315-1390) WAS NOTIFIED AND THE VEHICLE WAS LEFT AT THE DEALER FOR OVER A MONTH FOR TEST DRIVING AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE DEALER PROVIDED A LOANER VEHICLE WHILE SERVICING THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED MORE THAN TWICE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
TRUCK STATIONARY. STARTED ENGINE. IMMEDIATELY MESSAGE SHOWED UP ON DASHBOARD INDICATING STEERING ASSIST LOW, DRIVE CAREFULLY. NO POWER STEERING. TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIT. SHIFTED INTO REVERSE; TRUCK WOULD NOT MOVE AS IF IN NEUTRAL. TRUCK MOVE MOVE FORWARD IN DRIVE. SHUT OFF ENGINE AND RESTARTED TWICE. NO CHANGE. DID NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE.
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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10/02/2022 my wife and l were driving
This pick up and l felt like something was wrong with the front end of the pick up so drove to the side of the road and l checked under neath the front l didn’t see any thing bad l got on the pick up l shift reverse
The pick up was stuck l shift forward and we heard
Bad noise the truck road foware we got home
Park inside the garage l try to go on reverse and the truck got suck it will no go an reverse only foware
This pick up only have about 30’000 miles
We had different problems in the past
I have had problems with the Infocenter on my 2018 Silverado. It freezes, doesn’t respond to touchscreen at times and the USB cuts out and it indicates “no device found” It may come back on but at times I just hit the Sirius XM button. Finally emailed an executive (picked one off the website) an got a call. Take it to the dealer when this happens again and they will do the computer thing…AGAIN but this time on their dime. Told the Exec that I felt I was being shuffled by the dealer until the warranty ran out….have two work orders for the same problem….never fixed!
Same here, bought a 2018 Silverado 1500 LT with 22424 miles from Carvana. Had it 2 days, went into limp mode, took it to Midway Chevrolet in Phoenix, had it 2 weeks, could not find anything wrong. Got it back on a Tuesday afternoon, wife drove it home, then to work next day, on the way home, went into limp mode again. Drove it right to Midway again, where it currently is waiting for someone to figure out the problem.
I have a 2018 Silverado 1500. At 44K miles I had to replace the left hub and bearing and now at 48K I have to do the right for $980. I buy new cars and have a car note so I don’t have to deal with these kind of expensive repairs. If the car market wasn’t so bad, I’d dump it and go o back to Ford.
I bought my 2018 Chevy Silverado LTZ new, I do alot of traveling, my trucks starter went out at 70,000 mile, the water pump shortly after. I had to take it to a transmission shop because of jerking. They put an additive in it. That was about1 month ago. Its back. I was told next step transmission flush. $700-$800. I paid good money for this truck and Im so disappointed. I have other chevy vehicles and there Mileage is over 250,000. Transmission s didnt get overhauled until the 200.000 Mileage. My son has a 2015 Chevy Silverado Lt .had to get his transmission rebuilt at 79.000 miles. My other son bought a beautiful 2017 GMC Sierra Loaded. After 4 months and many trips to dealer over transmission issue he got rid of it because they could fix issue. My boys are trying to tell me to get rid of mine, but i love my truck. Just disappointed with Chevy. Ive been around mechanics my whole life ,there not happy either.
I have a 2018 Chevy Silverado. Haven’t had issues until now. The truck went on it’s won’t to 4 wheeling several weeks ago I thought maybe I touched it somehow the first time. But the 2nd time it did while driving. But this time I can’t change it back it makes noises like breaking parts and won’t go back to normal. I had a friend look at it who does auto repairs and drive it around the block. He said the computer is messed up. He said truck doesn’t know what to do & not to drive it.
I have a 2018 Chevy silverado 1500 with a 5.3. I had a warning on my dash for “No oil pressure shut vehicle off”. With this 8 down 4 engine the lifter collapsed and zero oil pressure even though there is plenty of oil.
Being told by dealership that they have several trucks there with the same issue. But they have no parts and GM may not back this issue at all.
2018 Silverado 1500 shacking and the transmission is on its way out. Had it to the dealer and the told me it’s the tires. The transmission dipstick is full of metal shavings. Clunky and banging vibration all the time. I don’t know what to do. Help me please
Both me and my dad have had 2018 Chevy Silverado’s and both have been continually in and out of the shop for different issues. Both of our batteries have been replaced twice each and now mine is going out again, so I’m getting rid of the truck. The vibration has occurred with my dads truck but not mine.
Have had truck to two different dealers 5 or six times for vibration getting run around for over a year
My Husband is in the Military. We Purchased the Car in Maryland, however car is registered in Florida. I have a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado. The car has 4,300 miles on it and it was purchased in May with only 100 miles on it. The Truck has been in the dealership 7 time, 4 times for air conditioner issues. No air, air leak, a new compressor. It has also been in twice for a low power issue, were the car would not run past 20 miles per hour. They removed a sensor and replaced and Soldered together a harness and reinstalled conduit and reconnected all Parts of the harness. Reinstalled the intake manifold. I am looking as to what my options are and if we qualify for Lemon Law .