Should I just go ahead and spend thousands of dollars to remove the AFM stuff?

If that brings you comfort, then do it. Up to you.

Just keep in mind that there are thousands upon thousands of these trucks running out there that have had no issues at all. My 2016 is about to turn 214K in the next few days and has no issues. My 07.5 had no AFM issues at 257K when I sold it. My wife has had several AFM equipped Tahoes and Suburbans with well over 100K miles that have had no issues. And so on and so on.

I have said this in many AFM threads you can find here and will say it again: Yes, AFM is a concern one should be cognizant of. If it makes you scared every time you turn on the engine, then you either need to get rid of the truck and get something else or spend the money to remove the AFM stuff. Or just live with it and not worry about it all the time like so many others.

There are plenty of threads about this stuff on this forum and most everything has been said about it, so please read up on them and then make up your own mind and plan your course of action. There are also ways to try to mitigate potential upcoming AFM issues which are very well documented here. Again, read up.

 

💯% with you! Plus we don't know how they drive, maintain, what they use the truck for. It's like going to the Dr, complaining that I gained lots weight, and never mentioned about my eating habits. The only thing I think is a good idea is installing a Catch Can. Butt I'm basing on the overweight guys comments!🤣🤣. What you say about the Catch Can, good idea or money burning?

 

 

I recently bought a 2014 Sierra SLT with 79,000 miles on it. It’s a beautiful truck, well maintained and in excellent condition.
When I was looking for a truck, I found a whole lot of 5.3 & 4.8 eco techs with well over 100,000 miles, many with over 150,000 and one with 200,000+ miles. Most seemed decent but I bought the one that I thought was the best for me.
However, upon reading the posts on this forum, it almost sounds like every time I start it up I have to worry about the AFM lifters taking out the cam. I’m thinking I’m on borrowed time waiting for the engine to explode.
It it really that bad, or just the fact that owners with problems are the only ones posting?? Should I just go ahead and spend thousands of dollars to remove the AFM stuff? Should I not take any trips over 50 miles?
Anyone have a solid motor with 100,000++ miles???

AFM in your generation truck is very reliable. You are however nearing the end of life for the transmission as GM redesigned its cooling system necessitating a thermostat which runs as hot as the engine coolant. Most of them kick the bucket at around 100K miles. Change the fluid every 40K miles or so and put in the lower temp transmission thermostat.

Dirty old oil and oil failing to meet GMs standards is the mortal enemy of the AFM system. Change the oil every 5K miles or so and it ought to last a long time.

 

............Dirty old oil and oil failing to meet GMs standards is the mortal enemy of the AFM system. Change the oil every 5K miles or so and it ought to last a long time.

Yeah, this ^^^^^^^ Super clean and fresh oil is the key IMHO. Hopefully the engine has been well maintained so far.

 

My families trucks

2009 with 190k no engine issues (AFM turned off at 40K with diablo tuner)
2014 with 220k+ no engine issues, but have had ac work and a new transmission recently (AFM turned off at 180K via diablo tuner)
2018 with almost 200k no engine issues has had a new transmission recently 100% bone stock other than slightly larger tires.
2021 with 58k no issues

 

Wow. I really appreciate all of the positive replies!!! You guys eliminated a lot of worries.
I understand the AFM operates based upon oil pressure so I will absolutely change the oil at 4-5,000 mile intervals with a quality filter. In fact, 2 hours after I bought the truck I found out that the dealer used 5w30 bulk oil. So I changed it the next day to Mobil 1 0w20 as specified….probably overkill but made me feel better. Ha.
You guys are correct….millions of them on the road and only some few (by comparison) are having troubles.
I will surely check on the transmission thermostat. Heat is generally the tranny killer.
Thanks again, guys!!

 

Wow. I really appreciate all of the positive replies!!! You guys eliminated a lot of worries.
I understand the AFM operates based upon oil pressure so I will absolutely change the oil at 4-5,000 mile intervals with a quality filter. In fact, 2 hours after I bought the truck I found out that the dealer used 5w30 bulk oil. So I changed it the next day to Mobil 1 0w20 as specified….probably overkill but made me feel better. Ha.
You guys are correct….millions of them on the road and only some few (by comparison) are having troubles.
I will surely check on the transmission thermostat. Heat is generally the tranny killer.
Thanks again, guys!!

Use OEM, Baldwin or Wix (XP) filters and you cannot go wrong.

 

I had a similar train of thought when I first got my truck, but I have decided life is simpler if I try not to worry about that kind of thing. Disregard the OLM and go with a more aggressive oil change schedule and stay on top of other maintenance, use good fluids and filters, and enjoy the truck. That's my plan going forward anyway.

Good luck with your truck!

 

Our 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 had its lifters fail around 105k miles, we had extended warranty so i guess GM did it job as it was just over the 100k mark. The repair was $5k. Then shortly after the alternator died, another $2k. That was a year ago that we did that, then we decided that's enough and traded it in for a duramax.

It's not just 2014, it's through out the entire V8 line, it's the damn switch between V4 and V8 that cause them to fail. You can tell if yours has some serious issues by listening to the engine at idle, if it sounds clicking or sometimes as much as a diesel engine would sound like, then yours is just a timebomb ready to blow (not kidding). Ironically i took our truck in to get the battery replaced, drove home and on the way home cylinder 7 was misfiring HARD, drove back to the dealer and then that was that.

 

Then shortly after the alternator died, another $2k.

it's the damn switch between V4 and V8 that cause them to fail.

How does an alternator replacement cost $2K? They obviously saw you coming.
Also, it's much more than "the damn switch between V4 and V8" that causes then to fail. Do the research......and it can be found on this site if you look.

 

The part was $800 or something and dealer always mark up for labor.

 

Even at $100 an hour for labor that means it was a 12 hour job...

 

pretty sure they charge a lot higher than that for labor


Besides, this lifter problem is still present in 2022's. Since my wife works for GM she's able to get people we know discounts. One of them bought a 2020 Tahoe. It died in 6 months due to a lifter failure. Yeah, poor engine oil can cause it, but not at 6k miles. There is basically a design flaw. The only way to prevent it is to disable the AFM.

 

Brand new GM alternator is $300 at RockAuto. Takes 30 minutes to change, including a couple of breaks for a cold beer in the Texas heat.

Anyway... Back to AFM topic...

 

Wow my dad had a 260k mile service on his VW passat diesel done (he goes 130k miles on the timing belt change intervals) and also had the alternator which is a $900 part by itsself and it was barely over 2K.

I definitely would not go back to that dealer, sorry that happened to you!

@Zzoogg You will always here more bad stories than good so thats why you read so much about the AFM stuff being problematic. There is a member on here who had a family members truck fail at 20k or something like that. SO its just a hit or miss.

I do 10k interval changes and im at 190k and have always used 5w30. I wish I could just keep this one just to tear down the engine when I get a new one to see if there is any damage.

 

btw i think it just depends on what you definition is "small failures" . To me, small failures means 6 sigma, or 3.4 failures per million. Your definition is probably 1 out of 1000 LOL, that's not small, statistically it's really bad quality.

 

My 09 silverado with the 5.3 had a lifter failure at 208k miles. I never had AFM disabled. Also went longer than most of these fellas would recommend between oil changes a handful of times. Not proud of it, just kind of happened. I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Just take good care of the the truck and drive it. If it happens, probably just bad luck. Having that motor rebuilt without AFM currently. Truck should be back on the road in a month or two.

Side note... I did however, disabled DFM on my new truck within the first couple months. It may help prevent failure in the long run, or it may not at all, but at least it wont hurt anything. Plus I got a few cool features out of that programmer anyway that I get to play around with. So win win.

 

Timing belt?

 

yeah they found a crack around 56k miles and replaced it under extended warranty, so that warranty was definitely worth it among other things (i.e. starter craps out at 40k, some tranny issue, steering column locks up completely so i can't start, etc.) The 2014 was made in Mexico, so i wasn't surprised i guess. Best extended warranty ever spent.

 

First, they're not extended warranties. They're "service plans." Huge difference.
What does "made in Mexico" have to do with it? My 15 was made in Mexico, and the only things that have been done to it besides regular obsessive maintenance was the air pump and the condenser. Both under WARRANTY.

And my timing belt is still good at 177K.

That water pump for a BMW is easy to understand. Dieter and Franz, the mechanics in the BMW service department know they have you by the short hairs when you've purchased a foreign luxury car. I used to kid my brother about that 20 years ago when he bought a 3 series Mercedes and it cost $175 for an oil change. Convinced him to get rid if it, then the moron went out and bought a Prius. We've always had a strained relationship, but that was the icing on the cake.

 

I had an 07 Silverado with the 5.3 AFM engine, and other than it burning a quart of oil every 2500 miles I had zero issues in the 250,000 miles I drove it. I did change the oil every 3000 to 3500 miles and drove it mostly freeway miles. Served me well the for the 16 years I owned it. I did have to replace the oil pressure sender once.

 

My 2012 Silverado LTZ got totaled.. bought a 2015 LTZ with 6.2 and 50K miles. I knew better and bought a good warranty. Within 1000 miles it started ticking. AFM lifter locked up and bent the pushrod. Took a month(parts issue) ..they pulled both cylinders, replaced all the lifters and VLOM parts. Warranty paid $6100 for repairs and rental truck.

See my post from another thread. I have attached the TSB and a technical bulletin that explains how the VLOM parts work. A lot of people don't know exactly how it works.

VLOM availability?

So, my mechanic is replacing my lifters for the 2nd time (exact same lifter collapsed again 2k miles later) and this time he is replacing the VLOM as well. However VLOM is almost impossible to get right now and the only one he can get says it is a part removed from a new engine that has never...

www.silveradosierra.com

 

.... bought a 2015 LTZ with 6.2 and 50K miles. I knew better and bought a good warranty. Within 1000 miles it started ticking. ....

Ahh grasshopper, you are very wise indeed.............................. 🕉

 

Btw it’s hilarious when you guys are trying to make an issue between timing belt vs timing chain. Meanwhile you are defending GM crap quality on lifters. Lmao.

 

Well… When somebody says they had the TIMING BELT in their GM full-size truck replaced, warranty or not, it throws any and all credibility of that person out the window.

 

Certainly not just 2014 Silverados made in Mexico:

“During 2022, GM Mexico manufactured more than 743,000 vehicles in its three production complexes in the country made up of the Ramos Arizpe plant (Chevy Blazer and Equinox), the Silao plant (Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500) and the San Luis Potosí plant (GMC Terrain and Chevy Equinox).Jan 26, 2023”

 

The quality at Mexico plant in 2022 is a world of difference from 2014. I wouldn’t care much about that today but in 2014 it was a bad decision for us to do that. If we knew a year later from her GM colleagues on those issues in 2014 we wouldn’t have bought it.

but the lifter issue still persist even late model years.

 

@fubolibs nobody is defending AFM lifters lol we all know they suck. We also know statistically there just aren’t that many that fail.

Also the weird obsession you have with Mexico being a bad manufacturer is just stupid lol GM has been building vehicles and trucks in MX for more than 20 years.

 

that’s not correct at all. Statistically it’s very significant. Like I said quality is measured with 6 sigma which is 3 failures per 1 million. This ain’t it. Lol

You are assuming I don’t think GM sucks in general. Honestly I think the Silverado EV will probably be the most reliable truck it has ever made assuming it doesn’t catch fire like the first generation Bolt.

 

 

Also many of your attitudes on this forum is like well I can fix it myself for spending XXX hours. Ya GM thanks you for being their free labor. 😀😀😀😀

I don’t care if i pay the dealer extra if they do fix the issue. Money isn’t really my gripe here it’s more wasting my time when the truck breaks down that I have to take it in. So yes I can go around to take to some other unknown mechanic have them try to fix it cheaper andnot knowing if it is done right and if it’s not waste of even more time taking it to another place.

unless you arefixing your truck as a hobby never not count the time as actually worth more. It is your life you are wasting due to a defect in a product. Just saying.

 

It is not a defect. Not that GM wanted to intentionally add it- the Gov and the EPA had them cornered. Toyota does not have this and they have issues with valve springs and cam towers.

 

Problem is the dealer is going to fix it temporarily with the same junk parts. I did it myself and removed and replaced with quality parts less likely to fail. If it breaks it on me and no one else to blame

 

My 2012 silverado ltz was made in Mexico. Had it from 16K miles to 80K when it got totaled. Had very few issues with that truck. I feel that the quality of everything, regardless of where it's built nowadays sucks. I have a large freezer in the basement that's been there as long as I've been alive...worked when I was a kid and 53 years later still working

 

..... I feel that the quality of everything, regardless of where it's built nowadays sucks. I have a large freezer in the basement that's been there as long as I've been alive...worked when I was a kid and 53 years later still working

Ahh grasshopper, you are even wiser than I originally thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 👏

 

You know, I sort of figured that when you first posted it. I thought, “ no big deal. He just used to wrong word…so what??”

 

So did I. But then he kept on repeating it over and over. Anyway… Have you decided yet what your course of action is going to be?