1997 Chevrolet Silverado from North America - Comments

23rd May 2002, 11:07

"Not quite the Rock it is portrayed to be"

What things have gone wrong with the car?

The transmission started to shift hard between 1st and 2nd after 36,100 miles. Because it was past 36,000 miles I had to request from GM a waiver on the warranty to fix it. They did. It now has about 75,000 miles and the other I started to hear a grinding noise when it shifted out of first to second. The mean time failure is uncanny.

At about 50,000 miles the solder in the the alternator/generator melted on a hot day and the electrical system failed. I had to search 6 Auto-zones to find one that had an alternator in stock. It was cheaper then the dealers price and came with a lifetime warranty.

At about 60,000 miles my windshield wipers have stopped working correctly. They seem to stay on after I turn them off and on their own switch between delay and regular mode. I have to jiggle the switch on and off many times before the will shut off in the fully retracted position.

At 65,000 miles leaks started to form around the manifold covers and one of the hoses to the radiator. I replaced all the hoses and belts, but some leakage was still evidenced by the reduction of coolant in the reservoir. The shop quoted me $800 to change the manifold gaskets and told me that they have seen this problem in the trucks many times in the past. I elected for a 3 dollar container of stop leak (the aluminum powder type) and have not had a problem now for over a year. I still have half the tube of stop leak left.

Around 60,000 miles the center light in the radio console burned out.

General comments?

The truck is still very comfortable to drive, and from that perspective I enjoy it a lot. The interior for the most part has stayed together well. It does concern me that such a mature aspect of the vehicle (transmission) could be released into production with such poor longevity.


18th Dec 2002, 14:40

What was it that caused the hard shifting? My '98 is doing the same thing.

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30th Jun 2003, 04:29

I had a 96 z71 and now I have a 02 z71, both trucks had/have the shifting problem between 1st and 2nd gears. What is the problem? how much will it cost me after my warranty is up?

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23rd Jul 2003, 10:00

I have a 1996 Chevy C1500. I had an extended warranty because of financing requirements. At nearly 50,000 miles the automatic transmission started making a groaning noise between shifting. Took it to dealer, covered under warranty with $500.00 deductible. They tore the transmission down and could not find a problem. Put it back together and it was still there. Replaced transmission with a rebuilt. Total cost would have been around $3,000. Now I'm just shy of 100,000 miles and the transmission is again making the groaning noise.

I would like to find out how many others have had this problem and if they ever found out the cause.

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13th May 2008, 08:28

I have a 97 c/k1500.it has 200,000 miles. it has had 3 transmissions put in it and a new fuel pump. now the computer keeps resetting on its on. i don't know how to fix it. anyone know what the problem is?

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19th Feb 2009, 10:35

The windshield wiper problem may be fixable. On the firewall on the drivers side there is a little black box which contains the electrical to control the wipers. Take the cover off and spray it with wd-40. This will not hurt it as wd-40 contains no water. It fixed my problem on my '97 silverado.

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