2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: sudden loss of power

Filed Jun 28, 2025 · Engine · CA

While driving uphill in my 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, I experienced a sudden and dangerous loss of power, accompanied by a flashing check engine light, ticking noise, and loss of oil pressure. The engine began to shake violently and I nearly rolled backward into another vehicle before I was able to shut it off. After restarting the truck, it began jerking and misfiring, making it completely undriveable. The issue occurred without warning and required a tow. Symptoms Observed: •Low oil pressure warning •Ticking/knocking noise from engine •Engine shaking and loss of power •Jerking and severe misfire when restarted •Flashing check engine light •Diagnosed failed/stuck AFM lifter in cylinder 6 •Engine misfire isolated to cylinder 6 (confirmed by unplugging ignition coil with no change) •Oil consumption and burning smell over prior months •Possible camshaft damage due to lifter failure Shops Involved: 1.Pep Boys (North Clairemont, San Diego) – Charged $400 and claimed to fix the issue, but symptoms returned immediately. 2.Rosecrans Automotive (San Diego) – Confirmed the issue is likely due to AFM system failure (collapsed lifter/cam damage). Estimated repair cost: $4,500+. Additional Impact: •Required towing after complete loss of drivability •Rental car for over a week (ongoing) •Potential lost income due to inability to commute to work •Total cost between diagnostics, failed repair, and upcoming repairs is significant Safety Concerns: •Sudden power loss occurred while climbing a steep hill—nearly caused a rear-end collision •Jerking, misfire, and engine instability made it unsafe to control •No prior warning; failure happened instantly Why I am reporting: This is clearly a systemic issue with GM’s Active Fuel Management system, especially in 5.3L V8 engines like mine. It poses not only a major safety risk to drivers and other vehicles, but also an enormous financial burden on consumers. Based on online forums an

Filed Aug 9, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · SC

Vehicle abruptly malfunctioned (lose of power) while sitting at the traffic light during a heavy storm. Fortunately, I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, which gave me enough engine power to get a a safe place. I had the vehicle towed to Love Chevrolet, Columbia, SC. Dealership stated the entire wiring harness needed to be replaced. The replacement cost would be $3500. They also stated the wiring harness for this vehicle has been discontinued and I have to take the vehicle to an electrical shop to be fixed.

Filed Feb 11, 2018 · Acceleration, Electrical · 88,325 miles · AZ

Rapid temporary loss of engine power, doorlocks cycling repeatedly, guages malfunctioning, radio shuts off and turns back on with no preset stations and showing 12:00 on the clock ,cruise control disengages. Once vehicle is shut off, no guages nor lights work...as if there wasn't any battery in the vehicle. Vehicle won't start until dome light is restored on via jumpstarting. Cleaning battery connections and numerous ground wire connections gives short-lived relief from symtoms but problems ultimately return. Chevy dealership diagnosis shows that ground wires have high resistance. Online research shows that tens of thousands of other chevy owners are having similar to exact same problems, yet no recall has been issued. Problem was "fixed" last year and has returned yet again.

Filed Jun 30, 2017 · Electrical · 92,000 miles · CA

Experiencing sporadic issues with my trucks electrical system. What will happen is that as I'm driving down the road (doesn't matter what speed), I will hear a loud "pop" (sounds exactly like a desktop computer losing power) and then my dashboard/monitor screen will go dark and after a split second everything come back on. The dashboard will flash on and off for a few more seconds. About every third time this happens, if I park the car and try to restart it it won't turn over. In these instances, I can hear current cycling through my power door lock switch along with an electric clicking noise that won't stop. If I let the truck sit for 15 minutes or so, I can get the truck to restart. I have had to have it towed a couple of times because I could never get it to turn over. This problem first occurred when the truck was 3-4 years old and still under warranty. They couldn't find the issue and didn't replace any parts. Now all the repairs are coming out of my pocket. I've replaced the battery a couple times thinking I had a faulty battery. Later I replaced the battery cable thinking this was the cause and most recently replaced the fuse box. In all instances, the problem would go away for anywhere from 3-6 months and then reappear. As I said it is very intermittent with no consistency to it whatsoever. My truck has never died while driving when this has occurred, although I'm scared to death it will do so and I'll lose all power. My brother-in-law is a master mechanic for a local dealership and it has him completely stumped. He's read through all the tsb's, checked on-line blog's, etc. As well as doing his own technical troubleshooting, but cannot pin down the exact issue. At this point we've resorted to replacing the most likely parts and hoping for the best. As I said I replaced the fuse box about 4 months ago and the problem resurfaced today.

Filed May 31, 2016 · Brakes, Engine · 117,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed May 19, 2013 · Engine · 63,099 miles · AZ

Engine lost power, rattling badly. After stopping, engine was still running, but had no power and rattled like a lifter blew. Towed to dealer, where they determined that the camshaft blew and damaged #7 lifter. The tech said it was a "materials defect/failure". 1.5 months out of powertrain warranty. Gm is giving me grief over taking care of the $3000.00 repair bill. They are offering only $1800.00, but a materials defect should be taken care of by the manufacturer. Truck only has 63000 + miles on it.

Filed Oct 20, 2012 · Engine · 102,000 miles · MI

While traveling on the expressway a check traction system warning appeared along with reduced engine power. After approx. 10 miles the engine shut down and I was forced to pull off to the side of the road. I shut the engine off and attempted to restart and the starter would not engage. After waiting approx. 3 minutes I was able to start the car and warning system was gone however the check engine light remained. The engine shut down again after I traveled another 20 miles at which point I repeated the steps outlined above and was able to get the vehicle home.