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Love my toys! I'm a gearhead with redneck tendencies from TX who loves anything that can go fast or fly. Recent Posts
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CarSpace Toyota to GM convertThe [great] experience with my 2008 GMC 2500HD Jul 3, 2008 - 11,500 miles and transmission flash!As I mentioned in several past posts, namely the 638 mile update, the 6-spd auto transmission was really difficult to downshift in the 25-50 mph range - it required pushing down the gas pedal almost 3/4 of the way, and then it kicked down to 2nd gear, jerking you forward. Well, that is no more... Anyone with this problem, go to your stealership and ask for TSB # 07-07-30-030, which is a tranny reflash that reprograms shift points and response issues. Since having that done, I've noticed that it is much quicker to downshift in the 25-50 mph range. However, general smoothness of shifting, which before was unnoticeable, even at full throttle, is now not quite as smooth. Not that it's bad, it's just the 1-2 and 2-3 upshifts are a little more noticeable. Other than that, I still have the cabin rattles described in previous posts. I've grown used to them and partially blame them on terrible Houston pavement. The truck has developed an occasional squeal/grinding sound when first turning the A/C on. If I turn the A/C off, and then on again immediately, the noise stops. This seems to happen when I've left the truck overnight and it's the first drive of the day. I am going to have that looked at when I bring it in for regular service next. After 11,500 miles, I'm still glad I bought this beast. It is an amazing truck - comfortable, powerful, and it looks great. I can handle the few issues I've had, none of which have been major. I hope it will remain as reliable for another 5-7 years!
May 28, 2008 - 10K miles, move to TX, & random thoughtsWell, I moved to TX in late February, and on the trip here (towing a 5000 lb. trailer with all my personal belongings) I passed the 10K mile mark. Here's a couple thoughts after the journey and after 10K miles. I hope it helps anyone who is considering buying a 2500HD. -The truck handled a 5K pound trailer like there was nothing attached to it...even with the base V8. Tow/haul mode works great on the interstate. On this trip, I averaged about 12mpg at 65-70mph with the trailer. -Front seats are really comfortable for a long haul trip. The entire cabin is really well done in all areas. -So far, overall I've averaged about 14mpg in mixed driving. Mileage drops rapidly over 65mph and with a lead foot. I got 17.5mpg once driving like grandma. I also got 13mpg once on an all-highway tank, but driving 80+mph and like speed racer. -No quality problems other than rattles coming from the front driver's side door and the rear quarter doors, over rough pavement. Houston area roads are horrible, so I'm sure that's a factor. No other problems with the 2500HD though. -If you need to step on it, the 6.0L V8 will definitely git. It's a fast truck, even faster than my '01 V8 Dodge Dakota was (and I thought that was a rocket ship). The transmission is super smooth and the jerkiness that happened a few times when I first got the truck is no longer an issue. -The 6-CD non-Bose sound system sounds great in my opinion -The "ebony" colored "select cloth" attracts lint. Go with a lighter color, like gray, unless you want to see remnants of every shirt you wear on the seat. I'm really happy with this truck so far. It looks good and works well. For the price, it's a winner in my book, and I plan on keeping it for years to come.
Dec 17, 2007 - Just turned 5K miles......and my gas mileage has jumped a full MPG in the last two fillups. So I'm now around 15.5 vs mid-14s in mixed driving. I'm going to replace the stock air filter with a K&N soon. We'll see what that does to mileage.
Dec 7, 2007 - 4,500 milesIt's early December and I now have about 4,500 miles on the GMC. There is very little to report (a good thing), so I'll keep it short and concise: -Tranny is still slow to downshift from 4th to 3rd around 30-50mph (merging onto interstate). Got a call from a GMC Engineer (!!!) as a result of my JD Power Survey comments on this. Very impressive. Was told there was a new transmission calibration released earlier this month and to request it at next service. I sure will! Way to go GM. -Overall MPG is pretty bad (worse than expected), but this is a HD truck after all. I'm averaging about 14.5 MPG at every fillup, which includes about 35 miles per day round-trip to work, and is almost all interestate with a couple miles of suburban/rural roads. Still haven't towed with this. All my driving is easy on the gas pedal, with the exception of passing idiots on the road. Still hoping that when I hit the sweet spot of 7-8K miles, that MPG will improve, as it has with other guys' trucks. -Comfort still top-notch. No durability issues, except for a very slight rattle coming from the drivers' side door panel. Will have this looked at next service appt. Still very happy with my purchase, especially with the follow-up from GM Corp. They seem to really be trying. I am proud to see them releasing great new vehicles like the new Malibu.
Oct 24, 2007 - 3000 miles...Just hit 3K miles this past weekend with nothing huge to report (a good thing?). I'll be heading in for an oil change & tire rotation this week. This baby's been on a few road trips so far, and I gotta say the highway ride is purdy spectacular. Feels like a big ole Caddy on the interstate. I still find the truck to be very comfortable and I'm enjoying the creature comforts. I only have a couple minor gripes. There are two rattles that have developed - one in the driver's side door panel (in the upper corner near the lock mechanism); it can be suppressed by applying pressure to that corner. The second one is on top of the dash, driver's side, in the panel closest to the windshield. Again, it can be silenced by applying pressure. I'm going to have the dealer check these out, with the hopes that something can be tightened, but I'm fully expecting a "not able to duplicate" comment... Finally, gas mileage has not been so stellar, after an impressive first few tanks. I've been averaging about 12mpg city (with A/C running constantly) and 14mpg highway (A/C on @ 75-80mph). I'm hoping that the engine opens up & the mpg goes up at the 7K mile mark that lots of other owners have reported... Overall I'm very happy with this purchase! More to come later...
Aug 30, 2007 - 800 mile updateThis truck is an easy daily driver and a lot easier to maneuver than one might think. The steering could be a little lighter at low speeds, but when moving, it's perfectly weighted. One interesting thing happened on Monday... I was pulling out of my driveway and noticed the tranny "snapped" from 1st up to 2nd gear when shifting - it was almost jarring because the RPMs dropped so much. This erratic shifting pattern continued all the way to the store I was going to across town. On the trip back, the shifting was back to normal - very smooth. I have no idea what was causing it, but my guess is the transmission is still learning my driving style. If it happens again I'm going to bring'er into the stealership and have it checked out. One more note on the stealership. For every new vehicle I've owned, I've had the oil changed after the break-in period. It's almost a tradition for me now, and honestly most likely isn't even worth it anymore, but I still do it. Well, I tried to do it Monday at my GMC dealer here in Jacksonville, FL. I pulled into the service bay, and since no advisors were to be found, I had to have one paged. I must have interrupted this guy's lunch or something, because he basically denied writing me up for an oil change at 750 miles saying "it would be a waste of Penzoil". We went back and forth for 5 minutes, him lecturing me about how there is no longer such thing as break-in oil, etc. And me trying to just get him to write me up. Well, he wouldn't. Further more, I wanted them to check out my roof top cab lights (one of which was loose upon delivery, literally hanging by the wire). I had fixed it with my screwdriver but I wanted to have a tech make sure I fixed it right. Well upon me asking the advisor about the lights being looked at, he said "Are those aftermarket? i've never seen them on our trucks before.." This guy appeared to be clueless, in addition to being difficult... He got up on the door sill, and tugged at it and said "Well, it's on there tight so you should not have any problems..." Again, the guy basically refused to write me up. I ended up calling the service manager later that day and let him have it. How can they deny a customer being written up, no matter how rediculous their requests are, on a brand new truck? And I don't think my requests were that crazy! Needless to say, I won't be going back there for service. Too bad, because it's right around the corner from my house.
Aug 21, 2007 - 638 mile updateWell, if you go by the owner's manual, the truck is broke in now (500 miles). I'm still taking it easy but I do have a few more observations after taking a 300+ mile road trip this weekend. -Driving position is perfect for me - I'm 6' tall and have many places to rest arms/hands/etc. while driving. -Interior quality still amazes me (see pics, in response to reader request LOL). Also, there is a ton of storage for all my junk. -I paid $300 something extra for a 17" "all terrain" tire option. What I got were Bridgestone Duravis m700s, which are good tires, but all season highway tires. I wouldn't have spent the money on them had I known this. -Although the 6-spd auto tranny is nice when you start from a stop, I'm finding that you have to press down too far on the gas to get it to kick down when travelling at highway speeds. When you press down a little, you get 5th gear, but that gear is not enough for passing or to make it up a steep grade. Then you have to press down a lot more to get 4th, and when you do, you get pinned to the seat. One would think that having 6 cogs would lead to a bit more linear kick down response, but not so here. Thankfully I have the manual shift feature, which I'm using more and more for engine braking too. -I gave the beast its first washing today. I found a few fit & finish issues that ticked me off. #1, remants of sticky laminate was still on the door 2500HD badges. I had to spend 10 minutes with rubbing alcohol and a cloth to get it all off. #2, big, obnoxious white stickers with bar codes and other codes were on both underbody frame rails. The dealer didn't do a good job with PDI. I've seen these types of stickers on other trucks before, so I guess it's a recurring issue. Or maybe I'm making it one? LOL. Still, when you pay a lot of $ for a truck, you expect the little things to be taken care of. -I haven't mentioned this before, but when I took delivery, one of the cab roof lights (above driver's head) was loose and sticking out from the hole it's supposed to be mounted in. I managed to screw it in with a phillips head, but will be taking it to the dealer when I get a chance to make sure I did it right. I don't want a leak after the first rainstorm. -The engine sounds sweet above 3,000 RPMs. I wish the exhaust were a tiny lil bit louder though. Now that I'm past 500 miles I'm not skeerd to give it a little extra gas. You really feel the power come on at about 3,500 RPM, and whoa, at about 4,500 RPM, hold on! -A couple of more notes on random stuff. I was under the impression that the 4x4 HDs had an Auto 4x4 mode; I read this in some auto magazine when I was doing research on them. Well, mine only has 4wd high and 4wd low, so I'm not sure what the deal is. I thought that all the 4x4s had the same transfer case. I also thought the HDs all had supplemental hood air vents just below the windshield to aid in engine cooling. Mine doesn't, so either they are unique to Chevys or diesels. Again, something I read in a magazine.
So, overall, I like this truck a lot so far. The little gripes are really minor but still annoying. Here are a bunch of pics, as promised.
Aug 19, 2007 - Ordering and delivery of the new rigI originally set out to buy an 07, but there were none to be found (anywhere in the US) that weren't either a work truck or a totally decked-out model with leather & navigation. What's up with there not being any mid-level trucks with cloth seats? I would have thought that 50% of the buyers would want a mid grade 2500HD. I guess I was wrong. Anyhow , I missed the deadline to order an 07 model by three days, so the dealer put in my order for a 2008 SLE1 extended cab, gas V8, towing package, CD changer, and roof top cab lights the last week in May. My truck was built on August 2nd (the first week the '08s were built) and delivered on the 15th. Overall it was an easy process, and the dealership fleet manager kept me well updated on the build status. I am friends with my salesman so the whole process went well. It's a great truck so far and I got 15.7 mpg in the first tank, which blew me away. Man I was expecting more like 12. I'll keep this here blog updated with updates on the 2500. Hopefully you won't read anything about problems - there are none so far.
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