Multiple problems with '04 2500HD

Hey everyone,:banghead:
I'm new here and looking for answers that dealerships & GM won't answer. I purchased my 2500HD LT w/ Duramax new in August of '04 and it has given me nothing but problems. To start off I've had 4 out of 8 of the steering wheel mounted control switches to burn out (backlight bulbs), the rear window defogger backlight is out, the backlight that lights primarily the 70-100mph range of the speedometer is out, I had the intermediate steering shaft replaced in August of '05 and it needs to be replaced again (14,000 miles later), I also had to have my power drivers seat reprogrammed at this time and just the other day the motor or switch that raises & lowers the drivers seat cushion is not operating, I've had to have the ECM reprogrammed, the radio/cd will eject CDs & reset the time to 12:00, & whenever I turn left it "whines" like there is no PS fluid, but I check the fluids and everything checks out. I have 51,000 miles and 1280 hours showing on the hourmeter. Needless to say my warranty has expired and the dealership wants to charge, but I can't accept not having some answers. Is Chevrolet just an inferior product? If this is the case I'll go back to Ford. Never had problems with previous Ford products. This is my first Chevy & I'm not impressed. Any & all information will greatly be appreciated!

This is exactly why you always want an extended warranty, the zero deductible and total coverage kind, and as much as you can possibly get if you're going to keep it.
Doesn't matter if its GM, Ford, or Dodge. They all make junk these days.

You're right they should take the 4 billion a year in advertising & invest into some quality R & D. While at it they can also use some $$$$$ to help keep America at work instead of the unemployment line! But, maybe the way they pay for advertising is from repair revenues!

It's too bad that they don't revise their design on ongoing issues like the steering intermediate shaft. I haven't worked at the dealership since 2001 but they were having this issue back then. It is not just the trucks, it is across the board. My '02 has the clunk, our '01 Bonneville had it repaired 3x, our '04 Grand Prix does it, Intrigues and malibu's did it really bad. Replacing the shaft is a temporary fix as it is the same design. You can pull the shaft and repack it with grease every 15k miles and it does the same thing. Why isn't the design changed? Same with fuel pumps, wheel bearings, exhaust manifolds, piston knock, etc etc etc.

That's the reason why they are about to go "tits-up"
People just are not going to keeping buying junky vehicles, especially at what they cost these days. GM can come up with all kinds of excuses for their predicament, but the bottom line is people are not going to spend big bucks on junk, especially when they have options out there. Sales figures prove that.

Yup! They've been living off the fat for too long, shoving this stuff on us.:nono:

Another problem came about the other day. As stated in my original post, I metioned the motor or switch for the seat cushion (rear area) height adjustment is inoperable. Now, just the other day, the switch or motor for the seat cushion (front area) height adjustment has become inoperable. How can I test to find out if it's the motor or switch?

You can buy extended warranties after the factory warranty expires. I have been thinking of buying an 06 with the 6 speed Allison/Duramax and I will absolutly buy an extended warranty. Check out the link below. There's a few warranty providers.

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Good Luck
Jason:2cents:

If you do buy the extended warranty, make sure it is from either the vehicle manufacturer or some other company you really trust because if the underwriter goes down so does the warranty. It has happened to lots of people. My advice is to not buy the warranty when you get the vehicle new. Drive it to within a few thousand miles of he expiration of the manufacturers warranty and then decide if it is worth it. I would say most people know if they got one with problems by then. As much as these warranty's cost, you can fix quite a bit and still come out on top unless you really got a dud. I mean, why do you think dealers push these things so hard. The profit margin on them is huge.

You're right. Seems like some will run forever on regular maintenance or non at all and others just has everything that can possible go bad. I will tell you that all manufacturers domestic and foreign will have a few bad ones. The people who say buy one brand over the other because of problems have just been lucky.

Jason

The biggest problem with all manufactures now a day's is that they are all putting on all of this electronic juck to make the ride better and the inside of the cab more confortable. When the shit fails then it is an expensive repair and 9 times out of 10 the only place that you can get the parts to fix the problems is from the stealer.

I gotta agree with all the electronics junk. I mean, I got the work truck model and even it has the oil life monitor and a few other do dads like the air bag sensors and such. Yet, they stip out all the components for the cruise control. When I got the truck, I was told it would be ~$1000 to get the manufacturers cruise control added because the electronics were stripped out of the work model (may be bs, haven't looked it up). I ended up going with an aftermarket add on (the old cable style, which is apparently not what they do anymore) and it cost about $300 dollars. I managed to make the dealer pay for it too (long story, if anybody is interested I could give some interesting stories about Hendrick chevy/hummer in raleigh NC).
Gotta say, I'm glad now that I don't have power seats. Sounds like they can be a pain.