NHTSA Complaint #10125985 — 1999 CHEVROLET SILVERADO

I HAVE A 1999 CHEVY SILVERADO THAT HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PISTON SLAP. THIS ALL STARTED SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 1999. HOWEVER, THE DEALER REFUSED TO FIX IT, STATING THAT IT IS NORMAL NOISE. (NORMAL? THEN WHY DIDN'T THE ENGINE MAKE THIS NOISE WHEN I FIRST DROVE IT OFF THE LOT)? I CONTINUED ASKING THE DEALER ABOUT THE NOISE BUT THEY CONTINUED TO SAY THAT IT WAS NORMAL NOISE. FINALLY, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER GM DEALER ON APRIL, 2004. THE VEHICLE HAD 48,799 MILES. I ASKED THE MECHANIC AND SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE TO LISTEN TO THE ENGINE, BOTH DETERMINED THE NOISE WAS NOT NORMAL, AND NEEDED REPAIRED. THEY PERFORMED NUMEROUS ENGINE REPAIRS THAT SEEMED, AT THAT TIME, TO MAKE THE NOISE GO AWAY. IN JUNE, 2004, THE VEHICLE NOW HAD 49,023 MILES, THE NOISE HAD RETURNED, AND THE GM DEALER AGAIN STATED THE NOISE WAS NOT NORMAL. THEY THEN REPLACED THE LONG BLOCK OF THE ENGINE, THAT SEEMED TO HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THE PROBLEM. AS OF THIS DATE, THE VEHICLE IS BACK AT THE GM DEALERSHIP WITH THE SAME ENGINE NOISE, WHICH IS A LOUD TICKING/KNOCKING NOISE. I AM, AGAIN, BEING TOLD IS "NORMAL" FOR THIS ENGINE. (THIS IS STATEMENT IS BEING QUOTED BY GENERAL MOTORS, AS BEING "NORMAL". INITIALLY, WHEN I RECENTLY TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE GM DEALERSHIP, THE SERVICE TECHNICIANS INDICATED THE NOISE WAS NOT NORMAL...UNTIL THE ENGINEERS AT GENERAL MOTORS CONVEYED THE NOISE AS BEING "NORMAL".)