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Vans & Minivans Chevy Express & GMC Savana Chevy Express/GMC Savana
595 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2008 at 12:35 PM
You are in the Chevy Express & GMC Savana Forum. Your Host is Karens
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I am new in here, but have read a lot of the postings. All these problems sound exactly like mine, except I've had jusy about all of them! Balding tires, failing brakes, air conditioning and heating, transmission, service engine soon, loose panels, and on and on. The worst part is how many times I need to take the van in for repairing the same things over and over without success, despite trying different dealer service depts. It's a 1996 Savana Hi-Top Traveler Conversion by Explorer. We love the van except for the GMC part of it. It's great too when there aren't problems. We've had the engine rebuilt at 28,000 miles under warranty as they could never fix the service engine soon light which stayed on constantly, even after numerous servicing attempts. The O2 sensors were replaced at least 6 times prior to that. Tranny is hard shifting at times, and loses power frequently. Our heated side view mirrors vibrate incessantly, and yes, I do have a bug/wind deflector. The driver's side window often would not go back up when put all the way down, until we had the motor and switch replaced. Rear air conditioning blows heat, very day 1, if the front is set to anything but top vent a/c. Even put on front defroster, bi-level, or floor air flow, the rear shoots out burning heat which the dealer said was normal!!!!! Also had a time when the rear fan control did not work unless I pulled and held the emergency brake release out...not easy when you are driving. On premature brake replacement and tire replacement at about 26,000 miles, the dealer again said it is normal because it is a truck, a heavier vehicle than a car. Therefore, not a vehicle problem and not a warranty item. Like I said, when things are working fine, I love it. But too often, there are problems. With only 47,000 miles on it, I am glad God gave me the sense to purchase an extended warranty!!! Typically, this is a stupid thing to do for the consumer. I just know I will never make the GMC Savana/Chevy Express mistake again in my life. Screw me once, shame on GMC. Screw me twice, shame on me! Oh yeah. Traveler/Explorer conversion has been superb. Savanandy |
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I have 35,000 on my Express and will be taking it in this week or next week. The power antennae just stopped working. The only other repair was the alternator at 15-18K and a fuse for the break lights. Brakes made it to 30K. Sounds like I will have trans problems shortly but the van is showing no symptoms at this point. |
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I'm interested in getting a 2001 extended Express 3500 LS. I'll be doing some towing and I'd like either the 8.1L or the 6.5L turbo diesel. Some questions: 1) When will they offer the Duramax and/or Allison trans in the vans? 2) Any problems with the ext. 3500? 3) How much more does it cost to maintain (i.e. does the dealer charge more to work on a van vs. a truck due to the restricted space) Thanks |
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I just bought a 2000 Express cargo 2500 with the 5.7. As I work out of a van I was hoping that this one would hold up better than the 97 Dodge I paid off that was constantly in the shop. It was a nightmare, and I was treated like dirt, as South Carolina has the worst lemon laws and I suspect that lemons get dumped in our state for this reason. Anyway, I did notice the hard shift from first to second in the Express. Should I have this repaired, or is this normal? My experience is that the dealership will do anything not to come clean and I would only be waisting my time, with them telling me "we cant duplicate the problem" I think I got lucky with a heavy duty trans and diff. and can only hope this one holds up, as I need reliable transportation. I also noticed a heavy click when the ac was turned on. There is also a minor squeek in the front wheels when driving down a dirt road. I paid to have speed control added when I bought it, but they sent it out to have it installed. So I wondered why the factory didn't install the speed control. So far with 5,000 miles it is a pleasure to drive and the only problem is the hard shift at times from first to second. I am also very careful not to back into anything because with all the new electronics on modern vehicles, one good knock could, i suspect, cause a lot of problems. So, what problems should I expect from the 2500 5.7 ? Should I get the extended warenty? |
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Decision to buy and extended warranty should be based on: how long you expect to keep the vehicle how well you maintain and treat the vehicle (fully loaded with heavy plumbing supplies?, towing?, hard driving?, not regularly checking fluid levels, etc.) your expectation of the vehicle's reliability. I plan on keeping mine for 8 years. I don't expect any GM to be as reliable as my old honda was even though it had transmission problems. So I got the extended warranty. I try to take better than required care of it (easy driving and frequent fluid changes), so I am perhaps paying too much (warranty and extra care). Make sure you have written evidence of taking it into the shop for the transmission--especially if you don't get the extended warranty. Over 12,000 miles on mine...no big problems. Hope you enjoy your van as much as I have been enjoying mine. |
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| My 2000 Chevy Express Van 5 litre V8 uses 1 quart of oil in less than 1000 miles. I am using 15w40 motor oil and the van has only 6000 miles on it. I asked one Chevy dealer and they told this is normal,I dont't think it is. Also out of round brake rotors seem to be problematic with these vehicles, no wonder they go through brake pads prematurely.Richard,Richard | |
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Just both a 2000 Conversion van with the Mark III package. I traded in a 1997 Chevy van with Mark III package with 102,000 miles. The only problems I had with the '97 was the door windows not working(Dealer never did fix that problem) and a broken gas gauge that caused me later problems when dealer replaced float in tank and caused tank to leak because they replaced the gasket wrong. Other the van was great---thus the decision to buy another--same engine, 5.0 engine. Hope this one is as good as the other. The salesman told me the 2000 5.0 engine had more horsepower and torque than the '97 engine. Is this true? Sid |
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I do not understand it but you might try 5w30 and see if that helps your consumption. My Buick will use (burn) 10w30 but not 5w30. Good Luck! |
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Caution! You are in warranty. Use only the oil weight the manual says to use! Any good mechanic will tell you that, during the break in period, you can expect higher than expected oil consumption as the parts wear-in. Keep good records, fill to the same spot on the stick, always measure when the same temperature (hot). Take the records to the GM dealership and they will have guidelines to compare to your oil consumption. |
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| Your observation makes sense. When the first number of the oil grade or viscosity ends in 5 it denotes a much higher quality oil. Another example of this would be comparing 10w40 oil to 15w40 oil. the 15w40 being a much better grade of oil.I live in the deep South and it is very warm here most of the time. Most vans also have very clostraphobic engine compartments which mean very high motor oil temperatures | |
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