NHTSA Complaint #10533038 — 2000 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500

DURING A SCHEDULED MAINT./REPAIR VISIT AT A MAJOR CHEVY DEALERSHIP, THEY ADVISED THE SHOCK ABSORBERS COULDN'T BE REPLACED; THE UPPER MOUNTS FOR BOTH REAR SHOCKS WERE GONE. THE DEALER SUGGESTED I TAKE THE TRUCK TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP FOR THE NEEDED RESTORATION WORK, THEN RETURN. I LATER INSPECTED THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF MY TRUCK AND FOUND EXTENSIVE ROT AND RUST ON MAJOR FRAME STRUCTURES. BOTH UPPER SHOCK MOUNTS APPEAR TO HAVE ROTTED AWAY. BOTH FRAME SPREADER TUBES, TO WHICH THE UPPER SHOCK MOUNTS AND THE REAR FUEL TANK SUPPORT STRAP ARE ATTACHED, HAVE LOST MOST OF THEIR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. I ALSO NOTED MOST MAIN FASTENER BOLTS APPEAR TO HAVE LOST THEIR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY,DUE TO ROT AND RUST. IN DECEMBER OF 2009, I REPLACED THE FUEL STRAPS. ONE BRAKE LINE FAILED (ROTTED OPEN), CAUSING BRAKE LOSS, AS I WAS DEPARTING THE SERVICE VISIT. ALL THE BRAKE LINES HAD DETERIORATED TO THE POINT THAT REPLACEMENT WAS NECESSARY. IN JULY OF 2011, I HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR ROTTED OUT BUMPER. I AM NOW SEEING ROT AND RUST BREAKING THROUGH THE FRONT BUMPER OF MY TRUCK. IN LIGHT OF THE MAJOR RUST AND STRUCTURAL FAILURES I HAVE EXPERIENCED RECENTLY, I STARTED RESEARCHING NHTSA'S DATA BASE TO SEE IF OTHERS WERE EXPERIENCING THESE ISSUES WITH THEIR SILVERADO, OR IF THIS WAS AN ANOMALY. I WAS QUITE STARTLED TO FIND NUMEROUS REPORTS BEING CITED FOR IDENTICAL PROBLEMS AND FAILURES FOR THIS VEHICLE. TWO ISSUES CONCERN ME: FIRST, MAJOR RUST & ROT HAS BEEN REPORTED ON THIS MODEL AND LATER ONES FOR OVER A PERIOD OF 10-13 YEARS. SECOND, DO, OR SHOULD SERVICE SHOPS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVISE WHEN SIGNS OF MAJOR DETERIORATION OCCUR, SO WE CAN MAKE REPAIR/INVESTMENT CHOICES? I'VE OWNED SEVERAL TRUCKS, KEEP THEM FOR 8-10 YEARS, THEN REPLACE THEM. I'VE SEEN SURFACE RUST OVER THE YEARS, BUT NOT THIS KIND OF FRAME/UNDERCARRIAGE DETERIORATION OVER A RELATIVELY SHORT TRUCK LIFE. *TR