oldmanchevy
4/15/2006 3:58:19 PM
I'm looking at a new van for my (home based) business and have been looking at the 1500 awd and a 2500 2wd. I drive 300-1,000 miles a week making deliveries on paved roads and good dirt roads in rural areas. I 've seen reviews in several places online where cargo van owners have heavily criticised the quality of their cargo vans (transmission, trim, Ac, and brakes appear to be the biggest complaints) or generally complained of overall lousy quality. I already drive GM vehciles and, bearing in mind that very unhappy users will post reviews and satisfied/happy drivers probably won't, can I get any feedback or advice from cargo van owners or how they might advise a potential buyer?
golfer
10/23/2006 11:33:58 AM
Drove a 00 Express 2500 cargo van with the 350 for 4 years with regular maintenance.
Pros:
- good power
- decent handling
- acceptable A/C and heat
- always started in very cold weather
Cons:
- problems with brake fade
- problems with power steering
- engine ; all eight lifters replaced at 60k miles
- rear axle seals wore out 50k miles
- hinges for cargo doors seize up regularly
- problem with DRL
These are my experiences.
oldmanchevy
12/23/2006 5:18:12 PM
Golfer - would you elaborate on the power steering problem(s)? Did it involve a hose somewhere?
jogodlew
12/24/2006 8:58:59 AM
Just wanted to add, I drive a 2003 1500 AWD and it does great in the snow and sand boat launches here in northern Michigan. I have the 8 passenger van with rear heat/AC and that works great. I don't know if the cargo version has rear HVAC.
golfer
12/25/2006 10:13:18 AM
quote:
ORIGINAL: oldmanchevy
Golfer - would you elaborate on the power steering problem(s)? Did it involve a hose somewhere?
There was a high pitched whistle sound ( normal use of steering ) when the ambient air temp. was warm to hot. This also lead to a slight and intermittent loss of power assist in the steering. Gm had used a system whereby the power steering pump also provided hydraulic pressure boost for the power brakes. This I believe was also the cause for brake fade issues experienced as well, unfortunately treated that as a separate issue and never connected the two.
The dealership went crazy trying to fix it but couldn't. They had also noticed this issue with other vans on their lot as well.
The factory engineers had instructed them to do a field modification which involved removing one of the hoses ( I don't recall which ) and replacing it with 6 feet of hose coiled up. This even made the shop Foreman chuckle and shrug his shoulders... it didn't fix the problem.
