NHTSA Complaint #10871668 — 2008 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500

FIRST INCIDENT WITH THE ENGINE OCCURRED LESS THAN 3 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE. AT ROUGHLY 88K MILES I NOTICED A SKIP IN POWER/TORQUE ESPECIALLY WHEN GOING UPHILL AT A CONSTANT SPEED, A LIGHT LOSS OF POWER WAS NOTICED VERY BRIEFLY AS IF ONE CYLINDER WAS MISSING. LESS THAN 100 MILES LATER THE "SERVICE STABILITRAK" AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. I HAD THE ENGINE CODE READ AND CYLINDER 7 WAS MISFIRING. TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WITH 3 DAYS LEFT ON MY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY (THANK GOD RIGHT?), WRONG. FOR WHATEVER REASON AN ENGINE MALFUNCTION WAS NOT COVERED UNDER A POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. BUT THE LEAKING AND FAILING BRAKE SYSTEM WAS COVERED. ADVISED BY THE DEALERSHIP THE LIFTERS HAD FAILED WHICH COSTED ME A GRAND TO FIX LESS THAN 3 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE. EXACTLY ONE YEAR AND ROUGHLY 20K MILES LATER THE TRUCK DEVELOPED A LOUD TICK RIGHT AFTER STARTUP. ITS NOW IDLING VERY ROUGH, RPM GAUGE DOES NOT STAY CONSISTENT AT IDLE AND AT ONE POINT DROPPED ALMOST TO 0, TRUCK ALMOST SHUT OFF AND THEN JUMPED BACK UP. AFTER SPEAKING WITH AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC ABOUT IT HE PROPOSED IT WAS THE CAM FROM HIS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. IT SEEMS THE INCORRECT MATERIAL WAS USED ON SOME OF THE CAMS CONSTRUCTION ("SOFTER METAL"). THIS MECHANIC TOLD ME IT CAN PUT AN INDENTION IN THE CYLINDER WALL AND CAUSE THE VALVES TO MALFUNCTION, IN TURN CAUSING THE LIFTERS TO FAIL. SO IF THIS IS TRUE WHY HAS THERE NOT BEEN A RECALL FOR THIS PART? EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES INCLUDING BIG COMPANIES, THEY'D BE A LOT MORE RESPECTABLE IF THEY CORRECTED THEIR MISTAKES. SO NOW MY OPTIONS ARE TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY I SAVED FOR COLLEGE, FIX MY TRUCK FOR $4,000 AND NOT GO TO SCHOOL THIS YEAR OR TRADE IT IN AND GET A FORD.