Today my fleet took delivery of a brand new 2011 General Motors G3500 cube truck with 103 miles on it. Pulling into its parking space for the first time the CEL came on and it threw codes for no less than three emissions systems.

Photo taken after first run today:

428686_3205285450009_1202326893_3459522_757640314_ n.jpg picture by 732t37 - Photobucket

I could go on and on about the Express-series vans and their atrocious engineering, but anyone who knows anything about trucks can imagine. There's no need to explain.

I was yelling and wondering aloud how a company that makes such awful products is still in business. Then I smacked myself on the head and said, "Oh wait- They DID go out of business! Thanks, Uncle Sam!"

(disclaimer- I do not own any GMs. My boss buys them for some reason, even though Ford offers a truck that costs less, has the same specs, and has 1/4 the operating costs).

So, FTE folks, any good stories along the lines of my surprise today?

 

Sure it wasn't just the gas cap left off????

I just today drove a box truck like that. 31000 miles. Bouncy in the front, and kind of a shudder in the back. And the way the cutaway was done, the seat back is bolt upright with no way to lean back. Now it does shift a 5400 rpm and it does get down the road, and it's not wandering all over like our E350 box trucks do--with 352000 miles on them. But I look forward to NOT driving it again.

 

Oh yes, and I did check it manually. Codes were all for 02 sensor and EGR systems.

I realize plenty of vehicles have quirks right out of the factory but every one of these trucks does that (I have 6). One has 35,000 miles and has already been through two engine computers, and 4 axle seals and has 6 DTCs. I have some with high mileage (1-500k) and you wouldn't even believe me if I told you all the problems with them.

So far 3 of those trucks have blown up the water jacket on the turbo. One I caught, the other two (before I was put in charge of the fleet) people assumed it was head warpage because the water had to be going somewhere but no one bothered to check the exhaust for it. So with one, the engine was replaced even though not necessary, and with another it overheated so bad from sudden loss of coolant (driver didn't even notice) that some of the pistons exploded. These engines are $5-8k used, BTW.

The Fords in my fleet are very low maintenance. Fewer problems than one would expect given their mileage.

 

The GMs are certainly easier to steer. Alignment is easier too.

Possibly because of the extended hood on the GM's the "cab" is too short and there isn't enough room for the seats, as you point out. Additionally, at least one seat has to be removed to get the doghouse out, which happens quite often. My fleet simply removed all the passenger seats permanently because it was taking so much time to move them for engine maintenance.

 

a friend bought 3 gm piece of crap short buses for the wheelchair lifts for his bus company.
in the past 18 months they have all only had less than 500 miles put on them each, because the dealer has had them for each for at least 16 months.
the claim is that they are now out of warrentee because they have been modified.
who modified them?? yup, you guessed it, gm.
he is trying to get them lemon law and gm to pay for the 3 rental buses for the past year and one half, and is getting the run around form gm lawyers.

 

Tom: Dead serious here. My boss and I might be suing the dealer that, it would seem, attempted to cover up three serious and fatal turbocharger failures. Over $25,000 in repair costs due to the cover-ups, not to mention downtime and lost business. Will see how this new POS truck ends up until 1 mile before warranty expires and go from there.

So, if you want to, feel free to give the guy my contact info. Is he local?

 

yup they are in matawan. and i am pretty sure they already have a lawyer working on it .

 

Havn't you heard. Barry O declared that GM is the worlds TOP auto maker. Buy with confidence.

 

World's top automaker? Yea, maybe, if you're going by number of warranty repairs. "Barry O" is just like the last CEO of GM, thinks his organization's feces don't stink. Nice avatar, BTW

UPDATE: Truck went to local dealer today. CEL has been cleared, one oxy sensor replaced. Will see what happens next. Today one of the other trucks blew up a combustion chamber. Frankly, I'm not fazed. This is all everyday stuff when you have a fleet of GMs.

 

Meh, it is what it is. Every manufacture has lemons and some have more then others.

We have two GM's at work, a 4500 and a 5500 I believe both with the Duramax/Allison combo and both 2004's. Neither has had any major maintenance and both are close to 200,000 miles.

We also have two Fords, a F650 and a F750 2005 and 2007 I think. They are also great but the only thing Ford about them is the blue oval on the grill. One is a Cummins while the other is a Cat.

Then we have two F550's, a 2008 and a 2010. Both are 6.4 powerstokes and are broke down on a regular basis. The 2008 has 37,000 miles on it and is sitting on the yard with a bucket under it as I type. Great trucks .

 

Years ago I drove Ford Commercial vans..E 300...E 100/200...E 350 DRW, etc.

I drove them relatively hard...meaning loaded to their GVW and unfortunately the company I worked for was not consistent with maintenance.

However with all that these commercial vans were generally quite reliable, except for one E 300...which BTW was one of the first of the cube vans. It had a 302 V8 and although I'm a fan of this engine, I would say it was not powerful enough for the loaded weight of the E 300 Cube. We had nothing but problems with the transmission...replaced it a number of times. The engine had timing chain issues and was, IMO, deficient in torque...compared to the Ford 300 cube inline six and the 460 V8....both BTW, in truck form...wonderful engines, blessed with loads of torque, durable, reliable.

So one Ford van out of six Ford vans...was lousy with two major issues. But, more importantly the other five Ford vans were absolutely top notch, capable of very heavy service in difficult very cold winter and hot summer conditions...running Thermo King reefers...driven both in bumper to bumper city and highway traffic.

BTW...the company dumped that problematic E 300...too much down time. They replaced it with an E350 DRW cube van with a 460 V8. I drove that for a couple of years. One of the best vehicles I've ever driven and talk about power !!

BTW..we had one Chevy van...no problems with that either.

I think in general most commercial vehicles are very good...there will also be some issues and occasionally there will be a lemon. Every manufacturer has lemons.

 

Yes, they do. I've worked on plenty of Fords with low mileage and serious issues.

But I have 6 of these GM cubes and they're all like that.

I like to think that in most cases, there is no definitive, universal "best" of anything, especially when it comes to trucks, guns, women, and power tools. That said, Chevy is an awesome truck for a supervisor, or if you really appreciate the fine, sensitive steering, comfy ride, etc. Ford is an awesome truck if you have a staff of crack addicts driving 13,000# trucks in Newark, NJ, and you're beating them to death. It all comes down to what "best" means for you. Ford happens to be best for me.