NHTSA Complaint #10418172 — 2004 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500

I HAVE A 2004 SILVERADO K2500 WITH A DURAMAX DIESEL (LLY). I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK NEW IN SEPTEMBER 2004. I PULL A FIFTH WHEEL CAMPER. MY TRUCK HAS OVERHEATED MORE THAN TWO DOZEN TIMES, AND ON SOME OCCASIONS LOST POWER, WHILE PULLING THE CAMPER UP LONG GRADES. I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TWICE TO CHEVROLET DEALERS. I HAVE THE SERVICE ORDERS THAT CLEARLY DESCRIBE MY OVERHEATING PROBLEM. BOTH OF THESE SERVICE CALLS WERE WHILE THE TRUCK WAS UNDER WARRANTY, BUT THE DEALERS COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. LATER WHEN THE TRUCK WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I FOUND OUT THAT GENERAL MOTORS RECOGNIZED THE OVERHEATING PROBLEM AND ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN #06-06-04-036D THAT DESCRIBES MY HEATING PROBLEM EXACTLY. THIS SERVICE BULLETIN WAS ISSUED PRIOR TO EITHER OF MY COMPLAINTS ABOUT OVERHEATING. THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING SERVICE BULLETIN #06-06-04-036D IS APPROXIMATELY $1,300 DOLLARS, SO GENERAL MOTORS RECOGNIZES THAT THIS SERIES TRUCK HAS A SIGNIFICANT OVERHEATING PROBLEM, BUT APPARENTLY THEY ARE HIDING THIS FIX FROM THE OWNERS UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I CAN GIVE MANY INSTANCES WHERE THIS OVERHEATING PROBLEM HAS CAUSED A SAFETY PROBLEM. ONE TIME I WAS PULLING THE CAMPER EAST ON INTERSTATE 40 ABOUT A 150 MILES WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM WHEN THE TRUCK OVERHEATED AND LOST POWER. THERE WAS NO GOOD PLACE TO PULL OVER AND I WAS TERRIFIED AS THE HEAVY TRAFFIC HAD TO CHANGE LANES AND PASS ME. ANOTHER TIME I WAS PULLING UP TO THE NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON ON A TWO LANE ROAD WHEN THE TRUCK OVERHEATED, LOST POWER AND I HAD A LONG LINE OF TRAFFIC BEHIND ME. IT WAS DANGEROUS AS THE TRAFFIC PASSED ME WITHOUT GOOD CLEARANCE. I COULD GO ON AND ON OF SIMILAR SITUATIONS THAT CAUSED DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. THERE IS ALSO A WEBSITE AT WWW.DIESELPLACE.COM THAT HAS AN ENTIRE SECTION DEVOTED TO THE LLY DIESEL. THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND POSTS CONCERNING THIS OVERHEATING PROBLEM. *TR